QUICKIES SPECIAL
Shane Black made his name writing intelligent, one-liner strewn, action comedies. The most notable of which, and my favourite, being Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. Kiss Kiss also happens to be RDJ's best movie to date (yes, I'm including his career defining Tony Stark entries in this statement), a perfect mix of actor and script.
So, much as with Branagh and Thor, Marvel's choice of Black to helm the third installment of their Iron Man series piqued my interest as, given this is the fourth film the title character has appeared in and the fact IM2 was a huge disappoint, I was no longer all that interested in the adventures of Tony Stark outside of the Avengers.
Black does not disappoint and, together with co-writer Drew Pearce, delivers a script filled with superb one-liners for RDJ and the rest of the cast, Sir Ben Kingsley in particular, to work with. This film has all the hallmarks of a Shane Black movie: Christmas, one-liners and overarching narration. Sadly, however, whilst Black can handle the interpersonal relationships at both script and directorial level he seems out of his depth at handling the comic book aspects of the film, whilst the narration draws comparisons to Kiss Kiss and it is unfair to compare this film to that.
RDJ is on sparkling form, clearly relishing the script, in a film that is more about Tony Stark than his superheroic alias. Whilst Ben Kingsley, with his weird "where in the world" did that accent come from, threatens to steal the film. As for the rest of the cast: Guy Pearce, Gwyneth Paltrow, Rebecca Hall and Don Cheadle put in solid if unspectacular performances.
What is bothersome is the lack of Avengers. Kudos to Marvel for building a shared universe that works, but there is no explanation as to why the eponymous team never shows. Now whilst I did not expect Thor or the Hulk, given the threat that is at the centre of the film where was Cap or Black Widow or Hawkeye or SHIELD? Surely they would not have been turning a blind eye to the Mandarin?
The Good: RDJ... sharp one-liners... the 70's style closing credits sequence... "Three" not "3"... Ben Kingsley... Tony's PTSD... 1999 Happy Hogan... Croydon
The Bad: the lack of a real explanation as to the villains power set... the finale rehashing IM2... where are the Avengers?... Rebecca Hall being underused... all tied up to neatly... the telegraphed plot twist... the stinger
IM3 is an enjoyable film but take away RDJ and the sharp one-liners what you are left with is a movie of more style than subtance.
No comments:
Post a Comment