Downey Jr. impresses in ‘Iron Man 3’

It isn't hard to see why "Iron Man 3" has grossed over $1 billion worldwide.
By KATIE BLEVINS
SNN Staff Writer
The newest movie in Marvel’s Iron Man franchise has grossed over $1 billion worldwide, and it isn’t hard to see why. Director Shane Black and co-writer Drew Pearce crafted a must-see movie that had me biting my nails for a large portion of the film.
Comic book enthusiasts and fangirls alike flocked to the theaters to see Robert Downey Jr. reprise his role as Iron Man/Tony Stark, with Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle and Jon Favreau returning as Pepper Potts, Col. James Rhodes and Happy Hogan, respectively. Ben Kingsley plays new villain The Mandarin, along with Guy Pearce as Aldrich Killian, a nerdy scientist with a grudge.
The movie, which was released May 3, starts with Stark reflecting on how seemingly unimportant moments in our life come back to affect us in the end. In short, the egotistical Stark from the past blew off a crippled and eager Killian. Killian then goes on to create Extremis, a virus that can regrow limbs and give super-human strength.
In the meantime, since the events in Iron Man 2 and The Avengers, Stark has been restlessly building several new Iron Man suits, a majority of which are featured in a cool fight scene between Stark, Killian and the Extremis-altered humans toward the end of the movie. The showcase of the suits Stark has built is one that he can call with a flourish of his hands and it will fly to wherever he is and reassemble itself, piece by piece, on his body. This suit can also become a walking shell that Stark can command from anywhere by using remote controlled technology.
Once again, Iron Man features some pretty cool ideas, special effects and technology while balancing it with comic relief, action and that tiny bit of romance between Stark and Potts. The only negative thing that can be said about Iron Man 3 is that you needed to have seen The Avengers, another Marvel movie that came out in May of last year, to understand the source of Stark’s anxiety attacks and some references that are made. The movie does feature a major twist that some see as a negative, but I actually enjoyed it because it was purely comical.
All in all, I would recommend this movie. It’s a step up from the sub-par Iron Man 2. Downey Jr. is really attractive and gave a great performance. Go watch the film because Robert Downey Jr.’s muscles are perfection.