12 Reviews of Christmas - Iron Man 3 (2013)

         Hey guys, Chuck here. Today for 12 Reviews of Christmas, we're jumping back into the well of the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Iron Man 3. Okay, I know what you're all thinking. What the hell does Iron Man 3 have to do with Christmas? Well, there's a lot of Christmas decorations, some Christmas music, and verbal references to Christmas peppered throughout the movie. This is mostly due to the fact that the film's director, Shane Black, has a tendency to set films he directs at Christmas time. So, with that in mind, let's kick off Phase Two of the MCU a few months ahead of next year's Marvel May with Iron Man 3. 

        So, the movie opens with a flashback to New Year's Eve in 1999, where Tony Stark is partying when he meets Maya Hansen, who introduces him to her project for recovering from crippling injuries: Extremis. Scientist Aldrich Killian offers them a place working with him at his think tank: Advanced Idea Mechanics, or AIM for short. Stark turns him down, but Maya eventually joins him. Cut to December 2012, several months after the events of The Avengers, Stark is now testing out his latest armor, the Mark 42. Unfortunately, Mark 42 has a tendency of falling apart, and Stark has been suffering from infrequent panic attacks. Apparently, the events of the Battle of New York, as depicted in The Avengers, caused Stark to suffer from PTSD, which is causing him to doubt himself. Meanwhile, Stark Industries is being run by Pepper Potts, with Happy Hogan acting as head of security. Killian, looking better than when we saw him in 1999, is using AIM to spread Extremis to wounded soldiers everywhere. However, Extremis appears to have a glitch, which causes people to overheat and eventually explode. One of these explosions, outside of the Mann's Chinese Theater (or Grauman's Chinese Theater for some of my readers), caused Happy to be so injured he ended up in the hospital. Many of these explosions, among other incidents, have had a mysterious individual calling himself "The Mandarin" taking all of the credit. The Mandarin seeks to punish the current President of the United States, President Ellis, for crimes against the world, including one that involved Roxxon Energy Corporation. Rhodey, meanwhile, has become the US government's top weapon: the Iron Patriot. I know, not as cool as "War Machine," but hey. Focus groups, am I right? 

        After the attack on the Mann's Chinese Theater, Stark is really pissed. He even goes on to call out the Mandarin on TV, leading to an attack on his house, and Stark ends up in rural Tennessee. Low on power, Stark heads to a local town, where he gets help from a boy named Harley, who helps to recharge the Mark 42 armor. Meanwhile, Stark tracks the Mandarin's signal to Miami, where he finds the Mandarin's compound. It is here that Stark learns that "The Mandarin" is a washed-up British stage actor named Trevor Slattery, who was hired to play the part of the Mandarin by Killian, who uses the Iron Patriot armor to kidnap the President from Air Force One. The President is taken to the remains of a Roxxon Oil Tanker, where Killian plans to kill the President on live TV. Arriving at the scene, Stark activates the "House Party Protocol," where countless Iron Man armors, all with unique names like Red Snapper, Igor, and so on, arrive to fight Killian's Extremis soldiers. Stark wins, the President and Pepper are saved, Killian is destroyed, and all of the armors, including Mark 42, are destroyed by the "Clean Slate Protocol." Pepper has the Extremis safely extracted, and Stark does the same with the shrapnel still in his chest, eliminating the need for the Arc Reactor, ending the movie. 

        So, you may have noticed that story wise, Iron Man 3 isn't very Christmas-y. And you'd be right. So again, why am I reviewing it for 12 Reviews of Christmas instead of Marvel May? Well, because there are Christmas elements in the movie. Christmas trees, a giant stuffed rabbit as Tony's Christmas present to Pepper, heck Tony's listening to frickin' "Jingle Bells" while testing out the Mark 42. So, unlike with something like Batman Returns, where Christmas is a key element, Iron Man 3 could literally be set any time of the year and it wouldn't make a shred of difference. Robert Downey Jr, Don Cheadle, and Gwyneth Paltrow all do a great job returning as Tony, Rhodey, and Pepper, and new additions like Guy Pearce as Killian, Rebecca Hall as Maya Hansen, and Ben Kingsley as Trevor Slattery are enjoyable as well. Unfortunately, the twist involving the Mandarin, Iron Man's arch nemesis, being a drunkard was lame, the Extremis plot was weak, and there wasn't enough Iron Man action to satisfy the fans. Heck even the post-credits scene showing that Stark was telling the events of the movie to Mark Ruffalo's Bruce Banner was kinda lame. Overall, not among the stronger MCU movies, and a weak connection to the Christmas holiday, Iron Man 3 only really gets a rating of 3.25/5. This is Chuck signing off. Stay tuned for my review of a genuine Christmas movie tomorrow with The Santa Clause as we continue 12 Reviews of Christmas, and be sure to join me in May of the New Year as we kick off Marvel May with Thor: The Dark World.