Film Review: “Iron Man 3” (2013)

Yes, it’s a Christmas movie. (Spoilers included)

It’s that time of year when families get together, people trample each other to death at your local Walmart because their secret Santa pick was an estranged relative, and spoiled rich kids post their brand-new cars and Rolexes on Instagram. In other words, It’s Christmas. In the film world, that also means one of three things: families lining up to see the next big blockbuster, film nerds catching all of the Awards season hopefuls, or people putting on their favorite holiday film. I’ll be blunt: I’m more of a Halloween guy. Even many of the films don’t necessarily do it for me. Most people would rather watch 24 hours of “A Christmas Story” on cable TV, I’m part of the camp that declares “Die Hard” a Christmas movie. I’m not a monster: I have my favorites. Aside from the aforementioned “Die Hard”, I do enjoy other classics such as “Lethal Weapon”, “Gremlins”, and “Batman Returns”. I also dig some of the more traditional films such as “Christmas Vacation” and “A Harold & Kumar Christmas”. Just count me out of the Hallmark channel, please.

If there’s one film I always revisit around this time of year, it’s Marvel’s “Iron Man 3”. Upon its release back in May of 2013, the reception from both critics and audiences was about as divisive as 2017’s “The Last Jedi”. There were some who hated the film and its narrative direction while there were others who loved it for its entertainment value and its thematic explorations. I tend to fall into the latter. It’s not a perfect movie by any means but, I do rank it very highly among most of the MCU. As the Marvel Cinematic Universe has continued over the past several years, “Iron Man 3” has only gotten better. How? Well, let’s find out!

Taking place after the events of “Marvel’s The Avengers”, Tony Stark (The legendary Robert Downey Jr) is dealing with PTSD after barely surviving the battle of New York. As he is getting ready to celebrate Christmas with the love of his life, Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), notable figures from his past (Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hall) start to appear and his home is attacked by an at-large terrorist known as The Mandarin (Trevor Slattery aka Sir Ben Kingsley). After losing his home and being on the run, he ends up in Tennessee and enlists the help of a kid who idolizes him (Ty…