starring Robert Downey, Jr., Gwynneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce
directed by Shane Black
130 minutes
Bern, Switzerland - 1999 - Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) is partying at a conference with Maya Hansen (Rebecca Hall), a scientist, when he is approached by Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce), who tries to get Tony interested in his research project, Advanced Idea Mechanics (AIM). Tony blows him off.
Malibu, California - 2013 - Killian resurfaces. He shows up at Pepper Potts' (Gwyneth Paltrow) office unexpectedly. He tries to get her interested in his latest project. She listens to his pitch, unlike Tony, but doesn't commit to anything. Happy Hogan follows one of Killian's bodyguards and gets badly injured in a blast. The Mandarin, the leader of a terrorist organization, takes responsibility for the bombing. Tony is asked by the press about the attack. He lashes out and tells the Mandarin via the press, what his home address is.
Tony is making plans to investigate the Mandarin when Maya Hansen shows up at his house. She wants to talk to him. Before the conversation can get very far three helicopters attack Tony and Pepper's home. Tony, Pepper, and Maya just barely escape but the house is demolished. Tony zooms out of there (once he knows that the two women are safe) in one of his suits of armor.
Tony crash lands in Rose Hill, TN. His suit needs some down time. He ejects and drags it with him. He meets Harley, a young boy who helps him out. He also runs into some of the operatives from AIM's Extremis Program. They are there looking for a file. He manages to out maneuver them and escape with the file.
Iron Patriot (aka War Machine) is led into a trap and captured by Extremis powered agents of AIM. They force him out of his armor.
Tony's suit is still down. Tony doesn't know what to do. Harley suggests that he build something. Tony takes that idea and runs with it. He goes to a hardware store, buys some supplies and then builds some gadgets. Tony heads to Florida where he finds the Mandarin. Tony gets some information out of the Mandarin but then he gets captured by Killian. He frees himself with some help from his armor.
Coldblood, one of Killian's men, dons the Iron Patriot armor. He impersonates Iron Patriot and gets aboard Air Force One with the President. He is nominally there to protect the President but actually there to kidnap the President.
Tony finds out that the President's life is in danger. He gets to Air Force One while it is in midflight. Coldblood has started to execute his plan. Many of the people aboard Air Force One are dead. The hull is breached and everyone on board is sucked out of the aircraft. Tony quickly (with some help from Jarvis) comes up with a plan to rescue the thirteen people who are falling out of the sky even though he can't carry more than four of them.
Tony and Rhodey work together to rescue Pepper and the President. They find Killian's operation in a dockyard. Pepper has been injected with the Extremis virus. Neither Tony nor Rhodey have their suits of armor and they are going up against multiple members of the Extremis project.
Thoughts
I think this movie deserves more praise than it gets. It might be my favorite of the three Iron Man movies.
Tony experiences PTSD throughout the movie. It is an important part of the movie and yet it never really gets diagnosed or dealt with.
I went back and listened to the Comic Geek Speak episode about Iron Man 3, after watching the movie. I may have listened to it 10 years ago after I first watched the movie. It helped me to fill in some backstory and connect some of the dots.
I saw this movie once before, ten years ago in the theater, when it was first released. I enjoyed it then and I enjoyed it now. I found it to me solidly good but not flawless.
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