Iron Man 3

Tony Stark may have become ever more annoying in the Marvel comics, essentially being the antagonist of Civil War and providing most of the many low points of Avengers Vs X-Men, but as this last part of the trilogy shows, his films continue to be the best of all Marvel’s big-screen adaptations, and his anchoring presence in The Avengers make it much more palatable.

That film’s presence here is somewhat oddly incorporated in a series of anxiety attacks that actually make Stark much more vulnerable and sympathetic. The existence of aliens and gods hasn’t entirely transformed the Marvel Movie Universe, but it has certainly affected Stark, who can’t sleep and spends his time tinkering with new suits. Meanwhile, the terrorist threat of The Mandarin begins to put pressure on the American government and faces from Stark’s indifferent party-boy past begin to come back to haunt him.

The film manages to adapt from the Extremis storyline but makes its own distinct and complete statement. It does a lot in its run time, and paces it all excellently. You have the huge explosions and suits of armour flying about shooting things. You have thrilling rescues of people falling from thousands of feet. You have helicopters blowing up buildings and damsels in distress. But you also have Stark having to deal with mental illness, bonding with a random kid, regretting his past and having to deal with putting those he loves in danger. You have James Bond-style infiltration. You have brilliant comedy, including scenes with grunts that come from the Whedon school of humour yet do not jar like his similar lines do. You have an utterly brilliant way to use Sir Ben Kingsley and the Mandarin character that will no doubt have some comics purists gnashing their teeth but is brilliant for this film and the post-Bane superhero world, with the ever-current terrorists-sending-videos-and-making-threats paranoia of the States both used and subverted. And in a concession that just about manages not to be patronising, you get the damsel in distress solving everything. Everything you want from a blockbuster, and more.

The film wraps up a little too neatly, and though I was thankful that it didn’t just ignore the possibility of Stark using a miracle healing formula to deal with that shrapnel in his heart, the epilogue felt very artificial, especially as we all know there’ll be more from the Avengers yet and the film appends a very Transformers the Movie ‘Tony Stark will return’ anyway.

Guy Pearce does a brilliant turn as a man transformed over the course of 13 years, and both Jon Favreau (director of the first two films) and Gwynyth Paltrow doing a lot in limited screen time. And the naturalistic acting of Ty Simpkins, with all the ums and ahs and gabbled lines of a Downey Jr, will very possibly lead to a long and accomplished career. James Badge Dale puts in some gangster swagger, but he has an edge that makes him very compelling to watch. Of course, Stan Lee makes his appearance, and it’s one of the funniest yet, and they get Mark Ruffalo in for a silly stinger scene at the end.

I have to say, though, it does seem to me that this Christmassy film ought to have been released at Christmas.