The Demons We Create
8.5 out of 10 | Movie and DVD
Rated: PG-13 Sequences of intense sci-fi action violence throughout, and brief suggestive content
Release Date: May 3, 2013
Runtime: 2 hours 20 minutes
Release Date: May 3, 2013
Runtime: 2 hours 20 minutes
Director: Shane Black
Writers: Shane Black, Drew Pearce
Cast: Robert Downey, Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Ben Kingley, Rebecca Hall, Jon Favreau, James Badge Dale, Stephanie Szostak, Paul Bettany, William Sadler, Ty Simpkins, Miguel Ferrer
Writers: Shane Black, Drew Pearce
Cast: Robert Downey, Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Ben Kingley, Rebecca Hall, Jon Favreau, James Badge Dale, Stephanie Szostak, Paul Bettany, William Sadler, Ty Simpkins, Miguel Ferrer
SYNOPSIS: After the events in New York City fight off the alien attack alongside Captain America, Hulk, Thor, Hawkeye and Black Widow, Tony Stark's world is further torn apart by a formidable terrorist called the Mandarin. After those he holds dear are put into jeopardy, Stark starts an odyssey of rebuilding and retribution.
REVIEW: Shane Black re-invented the action genre with his screenplay for Mel Gibson's Lethal Weapon. After writing The Long Kiss Goodnight, Black slipped into the background for a period of time before he and Robert Downey, Jr. on the 2005 Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. That film may have been the catalyst that reintroduced both into A-list territory again. Now they collaborate again, with writing efforts from Drew Pearce (the upcoming Pacific Rim), with the fourth adventure of the armored avenger named Iron Man.
The alien attack on New York City from a wormhole connected to the other side of the galaxy is over. The Avengers have disbanded for the moment. Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr., The Avengers), still suffering from the aftermath of the battle and his near death experience, finds he can not sleep and finds himself spending sleepless nights making new Mark armors. Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow, Contagion) has moved in with Stark at his Malibu ocean front home, with her and Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau, Identity Thief) working at Stark Industries. Colonel James Rhodes (Don Cheadle, Flight) still pilots the War Machine suit, repainted and renamed the Iron Patriot as it serves the United States' interests. AIM think tank director Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce, Prometheus) approaches Pepper with the idea of rewriting the human DNA structure for healing people, but she worries that the technology is too easily concerted to a weaponized version. All the while, United States President Ellis (William Sadler, Man on a Ledge) and Vice President Rodriguez (Miguel Ferrer, The Manchurian Candidate) deal with a new terrorist threat in the form of The Mandarin (Ben Kingsley, The Dictator), a man who hi-jacks the airwaves with announcements of America's corruption and need for cleansing fire. When a bomb blast puts Happy in a coma, Tony declares to the public that The Mandarin is in Iron Man's vengeful cross-hairs. Tony's public announcement sets off a chain reaction of destruction and damage that tests the limits of both the Iron Man suit and Tony's determination and abilities.
Tony Stark has come a long way from his abduction and captivity in the desert under the thumb of the Ten Rings. He has endured threats from within his own company and threats by his own government. Now a hero in the eyes of the nation, he must deal with internal demons revolving around his own insecurities against defending against the unknown, and new international terrorist threats that strike too close to his own home and family. Insomnia and anxiety rule his life, even with the support of Pepper.
Shane Black brings a different dynamic and tone to the third solo Iron Man adventure. Pulling his source from the 'Extremis' storyline, Black and Pearce create a modern villain to put in Tony Stark's path, coupling that hidden threat with the public face of Iron Man's most famous nemesis, The Mandarin. Tony Stark must face overwhelming powerful enemies, face questions about his own mortality against the likes of gods, aliens, and monsters, and face the fact that even with all of his armor he must rely on his own guile and wit. In the first two Iron Man films, Stark's genius created the Mark suits to win the day. In Iron Man 3, the power of the suits in simply not enough - no matter how smart Stark is.
Robert Downey, Jr. shows again why there is no other choice to fill the Mark suits as Tony Stark. Its not just the designer sunglasses and well groomed facial hair. Downey, Jr. has the humor, physicality, snark, and range to put Tony through all of his paces. Jon Favreau acts his namesake as Happy Hogan, happy to be an actor instead of pulling directing duties as well. He even gets to play detective for a bit. Paltrow shows she is not just a pretty face, donning the Iron Man suit on one occasion and kicking serious butt in another. Guy Pearce is at his slick, charismatic best as the rival genius Killian to Stark, taking Iron Man 2's Justin Hammer and adding a more beautiful exterior and a more mad scientist interior. Ben Kingsley, who may never hear the end of it from the devotee fans of the comics about his interpretation of The Mandarin, brings the Iron Man villain to an all-too-real modern era as a terrorist, losing the powers of the alien rings that the comics' Mandarin relied on to face the armored avenger. Rebecca Hall (Everything Must Go) joins the cast as bio-geneticist Maya Hansen.
Joining the bad guys, James Badge Dale (The Grey) plays Killian #2 thug Savin and Stephanie Szostak (We Bought a Zoo) plays soldier Brandt. Paul Bettany (Priest) returns as the trusty A.I. servant Jarvis, and Ty Simpkins (Insidious) plays young Harley Keener, a kid that seems to set off Tony's anxieties with a couple simple questions.
Shane Black plays with a 70s motif and sensibility, making Tony Stark deal with a mystery that he may not be able to solve with computer models and simulations - or his powerful armor. Part Bourne Identity, part Mission: Impossible, part I Spy, Stark deals with a threat as fluid as Cold War tension and as real as Modern Era terrorism. Stay through the graphic end credits for the retro style and music to end cap Black's tone. Also stay until the end for an Easter egg scene. It's not as geek-tastic as some of the sequences we have seen in the past, but it is amusing.
Iron Man 3 is a different machine from previous outings. A little more serious than Favreau's films, this sequel has everything we have come to expect, and more. The only thing missing is the AC/DC soundtrack.
Tony Stark has come a long way from his abduction and captivity in the desert under the thumb of the Ten Rings. He has endured threats from within his own company and threats by his own government. Now a hero in the eyes of the nation, he must deal with internal demons revolving around his own insecurities against defending against the unknown, and new international terrorist threats that strike too close to his own home and family. Insomnia and anxiety rule his life, even with the support of Pepper.
Shane Black brings a different dynamic and tone to the third solo Iron Man adventure. Pulling his source from the 'Extremis' storyline, Black and Pearce create a modern villain to put in Tony Stark's path, coupling that hidden threat with the public face of Iron Man's most famous nemesis, The Mandarin. Tony Stark must face overwhelming powerful enemies, face questions about his own mortality against the likes of gods, aliens, and monsters, and face the fact that even with all of his armor he must rely on his own guile and wit. In the first two Iron Man films, Stark's genius created the Mark suits to win the day. In Iron Man 3, the power of the suits in simply not enough - no matter how smart Stark is.
Robert Downey, Jr. shows again why there is no other choice to fill the Mark suits as Tony Stark. Its not just the designer sunglasses and well groomed facial hair. Downey, Jr. has the humor, physicality, snark, and range to put Tony through all of his paces. Jon Favreau acts his namesake as Happy Hogan, happy to be an actor instead of pulling directing duties as well. He even gets to play detective for a bit. Paltrow shows she is not just a pretty face, donning the Iron Man suit on one occasion and kicking serious butt in another. Guy Pearce is at his slick, charismatic best as the rival genius Killian to Stark, taking Iron Man 2's Justin Hammer and adding a more beautiful exterior and a more mad scientist interior. Ben Kingsley, who may never hear the end of it from the devotee fans of the comics about his interpretation of The Mandarin, brings the Iron Man villain to an all-too-real modern era as a terrorist, losing the powers of the alien rings that the comics' Mandarin relied on to face the armored avenger. Rebecca Hall (Everything Must Go) joins the cast as bio-geneticist Maya Hansen.
Joining the bad guys, James Badge Dale (The Grey) plays Killian #2 thug Savin and Stephanie Szostak (We Bought a Zoo) plays soldier Brandt. Paul Bettany (Priest) returns as the trusty A.I. servant Jarvis, and Ty Simpkins (Insidious) plays young Harley Keener, a kid that seems to set off Tony's anxieties with a couple simple questions.
Shane Black plays with a 70s motif and sensibility, making Tony Stark deal with a mystery that he may not be able to solve with computer models and simulations - or his powerful armor. Part Bourne Identity, part Mission: Impossible, part I Spy, Stark deals with a threat as fluid as Cold War tension and as real as Modern Era terrorism. Stay through the graphic end credits for the retro style and music to end cap Black's tone. Also stay until the end for an Easter egg scene. It's not as geek-tastic as some of the sequences we have seen in the past, but it is amusing.
Iron Man 3 is a different machine from previous outings. A little more serious than Favreau's films, this sequel has everything we have come to expect, and more. The only thing missing is the AC/DC soundtrack.
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