Iron Man 3 is sorely overlooked when it comes to the MCU. Yes, has its faults, but it’s a good movie… and here’s why.
There ever-present debate surrounding the best and worst movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe usually tends to see Iron Man 3 landing in the latter category. The last of Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man trilogy, the film was a divisive one.
Sure, that movie had its faults. For example, the final fight scene wasn’t the best. It lacked the pizazz that we’re used to seeing in a Marvel Studios movie. The sad part is the concept was cool because the idea of seeing all of Tony Stark’s armors really could have worked. The problem is the execution. It was dark and the scene was clunky. Other than that, however, the movie itself was good.
People judged Iron Man 3 too harshly for a couple of reasons. First, because The Avengers was so incredible, fans were expecting the same from this movie. That’s unfair. It should be judged by the movie. Second, Robert Downey Jr. has been gold in everything he was in – so they wanted the same thing. Here’s the funny part though, he was still gold here. In fact, a debate could be made that this was his best performance as Tony Stark.
There are a lot of things to love about Robert Downey Jr.’s last Iron Man flick. Let’s take a look back and check out the things that made this a better movie than people tend to give it credit for.
Tony Stark’s PTSD
This is something we don’t talk about enough. Tony Stark isn’t built like the rest of the Avengers. He didn’t want to be a hero. He was thrown into this life and tried to cope.
Meanwhile, Steve Rogers, Black Widow, Nick Fury, and Hawkeye are all soldiers. All of them know and have fought in wars. They’ve already been through their traumatic moments. If they haven’t they’ve found a way to deal with it.
Steve Rogers in the beginning of The Avengers went to a punching bag and unloaded on it. Thor has been a warrior for centuries and comes from a family and people who fight wars almost weekly; he knows how to cope, and even then, he became a shell of himself after feeling like he failed the universe when he didn’t kill Thanos. Bruce Banner has taken years to learn how to deal with becoming the Hulk. In some ways, he’s still dealing with it.
We know all of this, yet we don’t appreciate what Tony Stark went through.
Tony Stark almost died three times saving the world. Being thrown out of a window by Loki, guiding the nuke into space, and then falling who knows how far to, thankfully, be caught by the Hulk. Also, did he really deal with being captured and tortured in Iron Man? Probably not.
Iron Man 3 showcase his journey to finally dealing with his trauma, highlighting all the negative and positive aspects of that journey, while providing Robert Downey Jr. with some deeply authentic and compelling material.
Harley and Tony
This could be the one thing that everyone praises. At first, Harley seemed like a weird addition to the movie, but it ultimately worked out for the better. He was a kid that just happened to come across Tony Stark. Of all the sheds he could have picked, Tony ended up crossing paths with someone who’s almost as snarky as he is.
That wasn’t the only thing however. Tony saw the same genius in him as well, and the two of them bonded in a way that only they could: By essentially being jerks to each other. And within all of the cynical remarks and Harley trying to trick Tony, we gained a heartwarming tale. One that was different from the other character arcs we’ve seen in any of the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies.
This was easily the best part of the movie. It’s unfortunate that we didn’t get more Tony and Harley scenes in the MCU. However, we did see Harley at Tony’s funeral. This means he could appear in the future – and this would be great.
As much as everyone (me included) is ready for a Riri Williams debut, for now, Harley may make more sense. He could be the one to introduce her as well. Who wouldn’t want to see Harley and Riri Williams working together in a Marvel Studios project? It could be a big brother/little sister kind of movie as they carried on Tony’s legacy.
It was fun despite its faults
Before we begin, yes, the Mandarin plot twist was a giant waste of time. What could have been Tony Stark’s greatest enemy (next to Thanos) was turned into a joke. But the Mandarin was just an actor – not the intelligent force we know of in the comic books.
Despite that, the scene was at least funny. Sure, it may have been difficult to get past it then, but try to now – you might have a different view of what he was meant to be: One of the breaks from everything going on.
Tony was losing everything: His house, Pepper Potts, his sanity. His life was spiraling out of control. And in spite of all this, the movie had a plethora of genuinely fun moments.
Tony spinning around on parts of his armor as he’s fighting goons? Rhodey thinking he was going to get his armor only to be sent away for his own good? Or when Tony’s armor was just not working the way he expected it? All of this was very entertaining. Sure, the film also had its moments where we all went, “OH COME ON!” However, you can’t deny that, at times, it wasn’t flat out fun.
Who could forget the scene in which Tony was looking at his armor while it was sitting on the couch? That alone was a memorable MCU moment and deserves more credit than it’s given.
In conclusion
One of the best things about Iron Man 3 was the fact that we saw more Tony Stark than Iron Man. Tony is the reason we love Iron Man to begin with. Seeing him be more than just his armor was just what the character needed at this point – especially after the debate he had with Steve Rogers in The Avengers about him being nothing but the suit.
Tony basically turned into James Bond, but he didn’t need anyone to create his gadgets. It was amazing. He was solving most of the problems on his own – another aspect that many of its critics critics didn’t appreciate, but should. After all, he isn’t Black Widow or Steve Rogers. He just wasn’t built for these kinds of missions. However, he still got the job done.
Long story short (too late), Iron Man 3 isn’t the worst movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It’s far from it. Is it everything we wanted after The Avengers or as good as the first Iron Man? No. Both of those movies are something that will hold a special place in our hearts. Iron Man 3 was something different, and because of that, it deserves another look.
Give it another chance with an open mind and you’ll enjoy it!
What do you think? Does Iron Man 3 deserve another shot? Am I completely off? Let us know in the comments below.