Iron Man 3 review: How will it impact Infinity War?

What worked?

It’s not hard to argue that Downey’s take on Tony Stark has been one of the positive aspects of the entire MCU. Once again that’s proven true that Downey gives another stellar performance.

For three movies up until then, we’ve seen Tony as cocky, witty and charming. He always seems cool and collected, and ready to face any situation. However here, his character is given a complete 180.

For the first time, we see Tony as stressed, unsure and even scared. It’s a characteristic that has not been seen from him before, and it works. Downey is such a good actor, he manages to play both sides of the coin.

What also works is the chemistry between Tony and specific characters. Again, because Downey is as talented of an actor as he is, he manages to have on-screen chemistry with almost every character. Once again, Tony and Pepper’s on-screen relationship, while annoying at times, tells a story. It shows how much he cares about her. Tony and Rhodey are always a fun duo, constantly quipping at each other. Even Tony and Killian have interesting chemistry together.

But probably the best relationship in the movie is between Tony and newcomer Hartley. Hartley, a kid from Tennessee, finds Tony hiding in his garage after the attack on his house. Immediately, the two, as Hartley says later, are “connected”. And it shows on-screen. The constant back and forth bickering between the two tends to be the highlights of the movie.

From a fan’s perspective, seeing all of the Iron Man suits at the end of the movie also provides a great payoff. As something that was teased at the beginning of the movie, seeing all of Tony’s suits together was a fun moment for the MCU.