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Iron Man 3 (stylized onscreen as Iron Man Three) is a 2013 American superhero film featuring the Marvel Comics character Iron Man, produced by Kevin Feige of Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It is the sequel to 2008's Iron Man and 2010's Iron Man 2, and the seventh installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, being the first major release in the franchise since the crossover film The Avengers. Shane Black directed a screenplay he co-wrote with Drew Pearce and which uses concepts from the "Extremis" story arc by Warren Ellis. Robert Downey, Jr. reprises his role as the title character, with Gwyneth Paltrow and Don Cheadle reprising their roles as Pepper Potts and James Rhodes, respectively. Jon Favreau, who directed the first two films, serves as an executive producer and reprises his role as Happy Hogan. Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hall, Stephanie Szostak, James Badge Dale, and Ben Kingsley round out the film's principal cast.

After the release of Iron Man 2 in May 2010, Favreau decided not to return as director, and in February 2011 Black was hired to rewrite and direct the film. Throughout April and May 2012, the film's supporting cast was filled out, with Kingsley, Pearce, and Hall brought in to portray key roles. Filming began on May 23, 2012 in Wilmington, North Carolina. The film was shot primarily in North Carolina, with additional shooting in Florida, China and Los Angeles. The film's visual effects were handled by 17 companies, including Scanline VFX, Digital Domain, and Weta Digital.

Iron Man 3 was converted to 3D in post-production. The film premiered at the Grand Rex in Paris on April 14, 2013. It was internationally released on April 25, 2013 in IMAX and was released on May 3, 2013 in the United States.

The film was both critically and commercially successful. It grossed over $1 billion worldwide, and as of May 2013 ranks as the 9th highest-grossing film.

Plot

Tony Stark recalls a New Years Eve party in 1999 with scientist Maya Hansen, inventor of Extremis—an experimental regenerative treatment intended to allow recovery from crippling injuries. Disabled scientist Aldrich Killian offers them a place in his company Advanced Idea Mechanics, but Stark rejects the offer, humiliating Killian.

Years later, Stark's experiences during the alien invasion of New York are giving him panic attacks. Restless, he has built several dozen Iron Man suits, creating friction with his girlfriend Pepper Potts. A string of bombings by terrorist the Mandarin has left intelligence agencies bewildered by a lack of forensic evidence. When Stark Industries security chief Happy Hogan is badly injured in one such attack, Stark overcomes his stupor and issues a televised threat to the Mandarin, who responds by destroying Stark's home with helicopter gunships. Hansen, who came to warn Stark, survives the attack along with Potts. Stark escapes in an Iron Man suit, which his artificial intelligence JARVIS pilots to rural Tennessee, following a flight plan from Stark's investigation into the Mandarin. Stark's experimental armor lacks sufficient power to return to California, and the world believes him dead.

Teaming with Harley, a precocious 10-year-old boy, Stark investigates the remains of a local explosion bearing the hallmarks of a Mandarin attack. He discovers the "bombings" were triggered by soldiers subjected to Extremis, which at this stage of development can cause certain subjects to explosively reject it. After veterans started exploding, their deaths were used to cover up Extremis' flaws by manufacturing a terrorist plot. Stark witnesses Extremis firsthand when Mandarin agents Ellen Brandt and Eric Savin attack him.

With Harley's help, Stark traces the Mandarin to Miami and infiltrates his headquarters using improvised weapons. Inside he discovers the Mandarin is actually a British actor named Trevor Slattery, who claims he is oblivious to the actions carried out in his name. The Mandarin is actually a creation of Killian, who appropriated Hansen's Extremis research as a cure for his own disability and expanded the program to include injured war veterans. After capturing Stark, Killian reveals he is the real Mandarin; he has kidnapped Potts and subjected her to Extremis to gain Stark's aid in fixing Extremis' flaws and thereby saving Potts. Killian kills Hansen when she has a change of heart about the plan.

Killian has also manipulated American intelligence agencies regarding the Mandarin's location, luring James Rhodes—the former War Machine, now re-branded as the Iron Patriot—into a trap to steal the armor. Stark escapes and reunites with Rhodes, discovering that Killian intends to attack President Ellis aboard Air Force One. Remotely controlling his Iron Man armor, Stark saves some surviving passengers and crew but cannot stop Killian from abducting Ellis and destroying Air Force One. They trace Killian to an impounded damaged oil tanker where Killian intends to kill Ellis on live television. The vice president will become a puppet leader, following Killian's orders in exchange for Extremis to cure a little girl's disability.

On the platform, Stark goes to save Potts, and Rhodes saves the president. Stark summons his Iron Man suits, controlled remotely by JARVIS, to provide air support. Rhodes secures the president and takes him to safety, while Stark discovers Potts has survived the Extremis procedure. However, before he can save her, a rig collapses around them and she falls to her apparent death. Stark confronts Killian and traps him in an Iron Man suit that self-destructs, but fails to kill him. Potts, whose Extremis powers allowed her to survive her fall, intervenes and kills Killian.

After the battle, Stark orders JARVIS to remotely destroy each Iron Man suit as a sign of his intention to devote more time to Potts. The vice president and Slattery are arrested. With Stark's help, Potts' Extremis effects are stabilized, and Stark undergoes surgery to remove the shrapnel embedded near his heart. He pitches his obsolete chest arc reactor into the sea, musing he will always be Iron Man.

In a present day post-credits scene, Stark wakes up Dr. Bruce Banner, who fell asleep listening at the beginning of Stark's story.

Cast

• Robert Downey, Jr. as Tony Stark / Iron Man:

A self-described genius, billionaire, playboy, and philanthropist with mechanical suits of armor of his own invention. Stark now struggles to come to terms with his near-death experience in The Avengers, suffering from anxiety attacks. On making a third Iron Man film, Downey said, "My sense of it is that we need to leave it all on the field — whatever that means in the end. You can pick several different points of departure for that." On following up The Avengers, Downey said they "tried to be practical, in a post-Avengers world. What are his challenges now? What are some limitations that might be placed on him? And what sort of threat would have him, as usual, ignore those limitations?".

• Gwyneth Paltrow as Virginia "Pepper" Potts:

Stark's girlfriend, longtime associate, and CEO of Stark Industries. Paltrow says of her character's relationship to Tony, " adores Tony, but she absolutely gets fed up with him. He gets caught in a feedback loop." Kevin Feige comments on Pepper's role in the film: "The love triangle in this movie is really between Tony, Pepper and the suits. Tony, Pepper and his obsession with those suits, and the obsession with technology." Feige also states that the film uses the character to play with the damsel in distress trope, and posits the question, "Is Pepper in danger or is Pepper the savior?"

• Don Cheadle as Col. James "Rhodey" Rhodes / Iron Patriot:

Stark's best friend, the liaison between Stark Industries and the U.S. Air Force in the department of acquisitions. Rhodes operates the redesigned/upgraded War Machine armor, taking on an American flag-inspired color scheme similar to the Iron Patriot armor from the comics. Kevin Feige said of Rhodes and the armor, "The notion in the movie is that a red, white and blue suit is a bold statement, and it's meant to be. With Rhodey, he's very much the foil to Tony's eccentricities, and in this one you get to see this and be reminded of the trust and friendship between them in that great Shane Black buddy-cop fashion." In the film, the president asks Rhodey to take up the moniker "Iron Patriot", and don the red, white and blue suit, in order to be the government's "American hero" in response to the events in The Avengers.

• Guy Pearce as Aldrich Killian:

The creator of the Extremis virus and the founder of Advanced Idea Mechanics. Killian develops Extremis to cure his own debilitating disability; in addition to his regenerative healing qualities, he has superhuman strength and the ability to generate extreme heat. Prolonged exposure to Extremis also grants him the ability to breathe fire. On taking the role, Pearce said, "I feel a little more experimental in what I'll take on these days, but I still don't know that I would want to play the superhero myself, since I'm playing a different kind of character in this film... The main difference was that, when I did The Time Machine, I was pretty much in all of it, so it was a really grueling experience. Prometheus and Iron Man are really kind of cameo stuff, so the experience of shooting them... I mean, on some level, it's tricky because you feel like a bit of an outsider. You don't really live the experience that you do when you're there all day every day with everybody. But at the same time, it can be more fun sometimes because you're just working in concentrated spurts." Pearce described his character as a man "who came into this world with a number of physical disabilities. He's never been able to accept those limitations though and has spent most of his life trying to overcome them in any way he can. His tenacity and blind determination in fighting for a better life are seen by some as irritating, as he often comes across as obnoxious. He just won't accept the cards he was dealt, and being as intelligent as he is, has real drive to change and become a different person." Shane Black specified, "Ultimately we do give you the Mandarin, the real guy, but it's Guy Pearce in the end with the big dragon tattooed on his chest." He elaborated, "Do they hand me a blank check and say, 'Go break something!' Or, 'Go violate some long-standing comic book treaty that fans have supported for years?' No, but they'll say: 'Let's break something together.' So it's okay to come up with these crazy things, these far out ideas … and they'll fly. It's just that the Marvel guys have to be in the room."

• Rebecca Hall as Dr. Maya Hansen:

A botanist whose work helped create Extremis. Hall said Hansen would be a "strong female character," and described her decision to take the role, saying, "I decided to do Iron Man 3 because I've never done the 'hurry up and wait' movie before. Even the studio movies I've done have been small studio movies, or indie films that we made on a wing and a prayer. I love those, but Iron Man is refreshing in a way because it's something out of my realm of experiences."

• Stephanie Szostak as Ellen Brandt:

A war veteran who becomes an assassin after her exposure to Extremis. Describing Brandt, Szostak says, "... was a second chance at life. We talked about what you feel like and I think it almost makes you a fuller version of who you are, all your weakness and your qualities - just everything gets enhanced. I saw it as very freeing, almost you become your true-self and your fantasy-self all at once."

• James Badge Dale as Eric Savin:

Killian's Extremis-powered henchman. Dale stated that his character in the film was "loosely based on" the comic version of the character. According to Dale, "Ben Kingsley is the mouthpiece. Guy Pearce is the brain. I'm the muscle."

• Jon Favreau as Happy Hogan:

Tony Stark's former bodyguard and chauffeur, now Stark Industries head of security. Favreau, who served as both actor and director on the previous two Iron Man films, said participating in the new film was "like a proud grandfather who doesn't have to change the diapers but gets to play with the baby."

• Ben Kingsley as Trevor Slattery:

A British actor with substance-abuse problems whom Killian hired to portray the Mandarin, a terrorist persona in jammed television broadcasts, in which he is depicted as a leader of the international terrorist organization The Ten Rings. Kingsley was filming Ender's Game when he was cast, and said that, "Quite soon I'll be with everybody and we'll be discussing the look and the feel and the direction of the character. It's very early days yet, but I'm so thrilled to be on board." On his performance, Kingsley stated: "I wanted a voice that would disconcert a Western audience. I wanted a voice that would sound far more homegrown and familiar – a familiarity like a teacher's voice or a preacher's voice. The rhythms and tones of an earnest, almost benign, teacher – trying to educate people for their own good." The Mandarin was initially set to appear in the first Iron Man film, but he was put off for a sequel as the filmmakers felt that he was "too ambitious for a first ". On the character, Feige stated, "The Mandarin is most famous foe in the comics mainly because he's been around the longest. If you look, there's not necessarily a definitive Mandarin storyline in the comics. So it was really about having an idea." Shane Black explains that Ben Kingsley's Mandarin is not Chinese in the film as he is in the comics in order to avoid the Fu Manchu stereotype: "We're not saying he's Chinese, we're saying he, in fact, draws a cloak around him of Chinese symbols and dragons because it represents his obsessions with Sun Tzu in various ancient arts of warfare that he studied." The filmmakers also cited Colonel Kurtz from Apocalypse Now as an influence for the character.

• Ty Simpkins as Harley:

The first child featured prominently in the Iron Man films, Harley is a troubled boy living with his mother, who must work all hours since Harley's father left them before the events of the film. After Stark arrives in his town, Harley becomes his sidekick and helps to repair his suit and track down the Mandarin.

Paul Bettany reprises his role from previous films as JARVIS, Stark's AI system. Ashley Hamilton portrays Jack Taggart, one of the Extremis soldiers. William Sadler plays President Ellis, and Miguel Ferrer plays Vice President Rodriguez. Shaun Toub reprises his role as Yinsen from the first Iron Man film in a brief cameo, and Stan Lee makes a cameo appearance as a beauty pageant judge. Wang Xueqi briefly plays Dr. Wu in the general release version of the film. A cut of the film produced for release exclusively in China includes additional scenes featuring Wang and an appearance by Fan Bingbing as one of his assistants. Mark Ruffalo makes an uncredited cameo appearance in a reprisal of his role as Dr. Bruce Banner from The Avengers in a post-credits scene. Comedian Bill Maher and Joan Rivers and Fashion Police co-host George Kotsiopoulos have cameo appearances as themselves on their respective real-world television programs, as do newscasters Josh Elliott, Megan Henderson, Pat Kiernan, and Thomas Roberts.

Production

Development

"Truthfully, the way to go about doing a part 3, if you’re ever in that position, as I’m lucky enough to be, is to find a way that the first two weren’t done yet. You have to find a way to make sure that the story that’s emerging is still ongoing and, by the time you’ve finished 3, will be something resembling the culmination of a trilogy. It’s about, 'How has the story not yet been completely told?,' and I think we’re getting there. I think we’ve really found ways to make this feel organic and new, based on what’s come before, and that’s what I’m happy about."

Following the release of Iron Man 2, a conflict between Paramount Pictures, which had distribution rights to certain Marvel properties, and The Walt Disney Company, Marvel Entertainment's new corporate parent, clouded the timing and the distribution arrangement of a possible third film. On October 18, 2010, Walt Disney Studios agreed to pay Paramount at least $115 million for the worldwide distribution rights to Iron Man 3 and The Avengers. Disney, Marvel, and Paramount announced a May 3, 2013 release date for Iron Man 3.

Iron Man and Iron Man 2 director Jon Favreau said in December 2010 that he would not direct Iron Man 3, opting to direct Magic Kingdom instead. He remained an executive producer of director Joss Whedon's crossover film The Avengers and also served as an executive producer of Iron Man 3. In February 2011 Shane Black entered final negotiations to direct and write the screenplay, and in March Drew Pearce was hired to co-write the screenplay. Black described his take on the film as not being "two men in iron suits fighting each other", and more like a "Tom Clancy thriller", with Iron Man fighting real world type villains. Downey, who had previously starred in Black's film Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, said, "Bringing in Shane Black to write and direct Iron Man 3 to me is basically the only transition from Favreau to a 'next thing' that Favreau and the audience and Marvel and I could ever actually sign off on."

Pre-production

In September 2011, Marvel Studios reached an agreement to shoot the film primarily out of EUE/Screen Gems Studios in Wilmington, North Carolina. Michigan was also in contention to land the production, but the Michigan Film Office could not match North Carolina's tax incentives. In April 2012, Ben Kingsley entered into negotiations to play a villain in Iron Man 3. The film's fake working title was revealed to be Caged Heat, and Marvel Studios worked with the Tona B. Dahlquist Casting company to hire extras in the North Carolina area. The following week, producer Kevin Feige revealed that Iron Man 3 would begin shooting in North Carolina "in five weeks", and said that it "is a full-on Tony Stark-centric movie ... very much inspired by the first half of Iron Man ... e’s stripped of everything, he’s backed up against a wall, and he’s gotta use his intelligence to get out of it. He can’t call Thor, he can’t call Cap, he can’t call Nick Fury, and he can’t look for the Helicarrier in the sky." A few days later, The Walt Disney Company China, Marvel Studios and DMG Entertainment announced an agreement to co-produce Iron Man 3 in China. DMG partly financed, produced in China with Marvel, and handled co-production matters. DMG also distributed the film in China in tandem with Disney.

The next week, Guy Pearce entered into final talks to play Aldrich Killian, a character who is featured in the "Extremis" comic book story arc. Chinese star Andy Lau became involved in negotiations to join the film, as a Chinese scientist and old friend of Tony Stark's who comes to his aid. Jessica Chastain entered into discussions for a role in the film but bowed out due to scheduling conflicts. In May, Rebecca Hall was cast in her place, and her role was described as "a scientist who plays a pivotal role in the creation of a nanotechnology, known as Extremis". Over the next few weeks, James Badge Dale was cast as the villain Eric Savin, Ashley Hamilton was cast as the armored villain Firepower, and Jon Favreau was set to reprise his role as Happy Hogan from the first two films. William Sadler was also cast in the film, as the President of the United States. Despite erroneous early reports that Cobie Smulders would reprise her role as Maria Hill from The Avengers in the film, Smulders wrote on her verified Twitter page that this was not so.

Filming

Filming began in Wilmington, North Carolina on May 23, 2012 at EUE/Screen Gems Studios. Cinematographer John Toll shot the film primarily on the Arri Alexa camera. From June 4 through June 6, 2012, filming took place in Cary, North Carolina at the Epic Games headquarters, with a large Christmas tree set up on the front lawn. A scene was also shot at the Wilmington International Airport. On set photos in North Carolina featured an actor wearing armor similar to the "Iron Patriot" suit from the comics. It was later reported to be the War Machine armor painted in red, white and blue. Another picture appeared online showing a building with a sign saying AIM, Advanced Idea Mechanics. In late June it was reported that the large water tank in the EUE/Screen Gems Studios was being used to film a scene in which Stark's Malibu mansion would be destroyed and fall into the ocean. It was also reported that Andy Lau had turned down the role he was negotiating to play, due to the birth of his first child on May 9. With Lau out, other actors in consideration for the role included Chen Daoming and Wu Xiubo. Chinese actresses reportedly contacted for separate roles included Yao Chen and Fan Bingbing.

From July 19 to August 1, 2012, filming took place on Oak Island, North Carolina, to "film aerial drops over the Atlantic Ocean". In late July, it was reported that Stephanie Szostak had been cast in the film. Filming took place in Rose Hill, North Carolina in early August 2012. On August 14, actress Dale Dickey said she had been cast in the film, and was currently shooting her scenes. On August 15, production was halted when Robert Downey, Jr. suffered an ankle injury. Shooting had resumed by August 24. In early September, it was reported that Wang Xueqi had been cast for a role for which Lau had initially been cast.

Cast and crew began arriving in Florida on October 1, to shoot scenes on Dania Beach and around South Florida. That same day, Robert Downey Jr. returned to the set after his ankle injury. In early October, scenes were shot at a replica of the Malibu restaurant Neptune's Net, and filming took place on location at the Vizcaya Museum and Gardens. Scenes were shot during the daytime inside the Miami Beach Resort at Miami Beach on October 10 and 11. The production returned to Wilmington in mid-October for additional filming. On November 1, scenes were shot at the Vizcaya Museum and Gardens and at an abandoned cement factory made up as an Afghanistan village market. Filming in the United States wrapped on November 7 in Wilmington.

Filming began in Beijing, China on December 10. Filming was scheduled to wrap a week later on December 17, 2012. The China filming did not include the main cast and crew. In January 2013, it was reported that a film crew led by Shane Black would begin location scouting in Hyderabad, India and Bengaluru, India between January 20 and 24. Also in January, Don Cheadle confirmed that reshooting was taking place in Manhattan Beach. Shooting also took place on the week of January 23, 2013 at TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.

Post-production

Chris Townsend served as visual effects supervisor for the film, which featured over 2,000 visual effects shots and was worked on by 17 studios: Weta Digital, Digital Domain, Scanline VFX, Trixter, Framestore, Luma Pictures, Fuel VFX, Cantina Creative, Cinesite, The Embassy Visual Effects, Lola, Capital T, Prologue and Rise FX.

Digital Domain, Scanline VFX and Trixter each worked on separate shots featuring the Mark 42 armor, working with different digital models. The studios shared some of their files to ensure consistency between the shots. For the Mark 42 and Iron Patriot armors, Legacy Effects constructed partial suits that were worn on set. Townsend explained that "Invariably we’d shoot a soft-suit with Robert then we’d also put tracking markers on his trousers. He would also wear lifts in his shoes or be up in a box so he’d be the correct height – Iron Man is 6″5′. During shooting we used multiple witness cams, Canon C300s, and we had two or three running whenever there was an Iron Man or Extremis character." The artists studied time lapse photography of decaying fruit and vegetables and actual phenomena such as the aurora borealis as reference for the effect of the glowing Extremis characters.

Music

In October 2012, Brian Tyler signed on to score the film. The score was recorded with the London Philharmonic Orchestra at Abbey Road Studios, utilizing the recent Dolby Atmos recording technology. Tyler is the third primary composer to score an Iron Man film, following Ramin Djawadi of Iron Man and John Debney of Iron Man 2.

Disney Music Group announced in March 2013 that the concept album Heroes Fall and the film's original soundtrack would be released on April 30, 2013 by Hollywood Records and Marvel Music.

Release

Iron Man 3 is being distributed worldwide by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures with the exception of China, where it is being released by DMG Entertainment, and Germany and Austria, where it is being released by Tele München Group. The Chinese version of the film offers specially prepared bonus footage made exclusively for the Chinese audience. This version features a four-minute longer cut of the film, with a scene showing Dr. Wu on the phone with Iron Man visible on a television screen behind him, as well as a longer scene of Dr. Wu operating on Stark. The extra material also features product placement of different Chinese products. The United States premiere of the film was held at the El Capitan Theatre on April 24, 2013. The UK premiere of the film, originally set for April 17, was pushed back to the 18th in order to avoid possible unrest over the funeral of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, which took place on the 17th. The film is being shown at a Korona World theatre in Nagoya, Japan in the 4DX format, featuring strobe lights, tilting seats, blowing wind and fog and odor effects. Regal Cinemas, AMC Theatres and Carmike Cinemas put presale tickets on hold, two weeks before the US premiere. The cinemas were in a contract dispute with Disney, who wished to receive more of the ticket sale profit than they currently did, largely based on the projected premiere-weekend intake Iron Man 3 was expected to have. Carmike was the first to come to terms with Disney. It was later reported that Cinemark Theatres had also stopped selling presale tickets, and Regal Cinemas had removed all marketing material for the film from its locations. On April 25, 2013, Regal, AMC and Disney ended their dispute, which allowed Regal and AMC to proceed with selling presale tickets again.

Marketing

In July 2012, at the San Diego Comic-Con International, a new Iron Man armor from the movie, the Mark XLII, was on display on the convention floor, along with the Marks I-VII from the first two Iron Man movies and The Avengers. A panel was held, during which Shane Black, Robert Downey, Jr., Don Cheadle, Jon Favreau and Kevin Feige discussed making the film, and several minutes of footage from the movie were shown. The first television advertisement aired during Super Bowl XLVII on the CBS network in the United States. On March 25, 2013, Marvel and Disney revealed on the official Iron Man Facebook page, "Iron Man 3: Armor Unlock", to reveal suits Stark has made before the events of the film.

Disney also promoted the film at its domestic theme parks. Disneyland's Innoventions attraction received a Stark Industries exhibit beginning April 13, and Monorail Black of the Walt Disney World Monorail System was given an exterior Iron Man scheme. The exhibit, entitled "Iron Man Tech Presented by Stark Industries", features the same armor display that was shown at the 2012 San Diego Comic-Con, with the Marks I-VII and the new Mark XLII. In addition, there is a simulator game, titled "Become Iron Man", that uses Kinect-like technology to allow the viewer to be encased in an animated Mark XLII armor and take part in a series of “tests,” in which you fire repulsor rays and fly through Tony Stark’s workshop. The game is guided by JARVIS, who is voiced again by Paul Bettany. The exhibit also has smaller displays that include helmets and chest pieces from the earlier films and the gauntlet and boot from an action sequence in Iron Man 3.

A smart phone video game titled Iron Man 3: The Official Game, developed and published by Gameloft, was released on April 25, 2013. Gameplay is similar to Temple Run: the player attempts to dodge objects to score points and complete the level while still defeating the Crimson Dynamo, Ezekiel Stane, Living Laser and M.O.D.O.K.

Tie-in comic

In January 2013, Marvel Comics released a two-issue comic book prelude by writers Christos Gage and Will Corona Pilgrim with art by Steve Kurth and Drew Geraci. The story set between Iron Man 2 and Iron Man 3, centers on War Machine and what he was up to during the events of The Avengers and why he was not present during the battle in New York. Comic Book Resources gave the first issue two-out-of-five stars, saying the writing is front-loaded with exposition and overly terse at the end, and the art, while not awful, flounders compared to other superhero comics.

Reception

Critical reaction

Iron Man 3 received generally positive reviews from professional film critics. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 78% approval rating with an average rating of 7.0/10, based on 222 reviews, while Metacritic gave a score of 62 out of 100 based on 43 reviews.

In an early review by the trade magazine The Hollywood Reporter, Todd McCarthy said that, "After nearly crashing and burning on his last solo flight in 2010, Iron Man returns refreshed and ready for action in this spirited third installment ... benefits immeasurably from the irreverent quicksilver humor of co-writer and director Shane Black.... Calling the film "darker and more serious than its predecessors," Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times credited director and co-writer Shane Black for "chang this billion-dollar-plus franchise's tone for the better while keeping the same actor as Tony Stark. ... There is quite a bit of Black's trademark attitude and humor here as well, things like a throwaway reference to the sci-fi classic Westworld and a goofy character who has Tony Stark's likeness tattooed on his forearm. Black and company throw all kinds of stuff at the audience, and though it doesn't all work, a lot of it does and the attempt to be different and create unguessable twists is always appreciated." Rafer Guzman of Newsday characterized Iron Man as "the anti-Batman, all zip and zingers. He's also, suddenly, rather family-friendly. Some of the movie's best moments are shared by Stark and latchkey kid Harley (Ty Simpkins), who mock their budding father-son relationship while acting it out." Psychology Today concluded that the film presented an accurate portrayal of Tony Stark's posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms.

Nick De Semlyen of the UK film magazine Empire had criticisms, even while giving the film four of five stars. Finding it "a swinging caper with wit, balls, heart and exploding baubles," he said the villainous "super-soldiers who can regenerate body parts and survive astounding damage visually interesting ... but their motivation is murky and unconvincing." Likewise Joshua Rothkopf of Time Out New York bestowed 3 of 5 stars, saying, "Black has massively upped the verbal sparring and kept the broad inventiveness of comic-book malleability in mind. ... The most wonderful of Black’s surprises harkens back to his ’80s reputation for character revision and is simply too good to ruin here." But, he asked, "hy, finally, are we down at the docks — in the dark, no less — for one of those lumbering climaxes involving swinging shipping cranes? The energy bleeds out of the film; it’s as if the producers were scared the crowd would riot over not enough digital fakeness."

Reacting more negatively, Stephen Whitty of The Star-Ledger found the film "slickly enjoyable" for the visual effects, but said, "here's something empty about the film. Like Tony's suits, it's shiny and polished. But this time, there's nobody inside. ... This movie has neither the emotionalism of the first film, nor the flashy villains of the second. ... Tony's relationship with girlfriend Pepper Potts is in inexplicable jeopardy — and then simply fixes itself. A supposedly cute kid sidekick — a true sign of authorial desperation — is introduced, and then dropped." Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune echoed this, saying, "n a gleefully cynical bid for a preteen audience (a few years too young for the violence in Iron Man 3, I'd say), Stark befriends a bullied 8-year-old (Ty Simpkins) who becomes his tag-along and sometime savior. ... Stark no longer needs to be in the Iron Man suit. He's able to operate the thing remotely when needed. The movie's like that too. It's decent superhero blockbustering, but rather remote and vaguely secondhand. At this point, even with Black's flashes of black humor, the machinery is more or less taking care of itself, offering roughly half of the genial wit and enjoyment of the first Iron Man.

Box office

Iron Man 3 has earned an estimated $311,404,000 in North America, as of May 18, 2013, and an estimated $698,900,000 in other countries, as of May 18, 2013, for a worldwide total of $1,010,304,000. Worldwide, it is the ninth highest-grossing film, the highest-grossing 2013 film, the second highest-grossing film of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the highest-grossing film of the Iron Man film series, the fourth highest-grossing comic-book and superhero film, as well as the second highest-grossing film distributed by Disney. It achieved the sixth-largest worldwide opening weekend with $372.5 million. On the weekend of May 3–5, 2013, the film set a record for the largest worldwide weekend in IMAX with $28.6 million. On its 23rd day in theaters, Iron Man 3 became the sixth Disney film and the sixteenth film overall to reach $1 billion. It is the fourth fastest film to reach the milestone.

Outside North America

Iron Man 3 is the eleventh highest-grossing film, the highest-grossing 2013 film, the second highest-grossing superhero and comic-book film, and the third highest-grossing film distributed by Disney. The film earned $13.2 million on its opening day (Wednesday, April 24, 2013) from 12 countries. Through Sunday, April 28, it earned a five-day opening weekend of $198.4 million from 42 countries. The film's opening-weekend gross included $7.1 million from IMAX venues. It set opening-day records in the Philippines, Taiwan, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia, China, Ukraine, Russia and the CIS, as well as both single- and opening-day records in Thailand and South Africa. In India, it had the second best opening weekend for a Hollywood film after The Amazing Spider-Man. It also scored the second-biggest opening day in Argentina (only behind Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2). The film set opening-weekend records in the Asia Pacific region, in Latin America, and in individual countries including Argentina, Ecuador, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Vietnam, Taiwan, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, South Africa, and the United Arab Emirates. It also achieved the second-largest opening weekend in Mexico, in Brazil, and in Russia and the CIS. IMAX opening-weekend records were set in Taiwan, the Netherlands, Brazil and the Philippines. It is the highest-grossing film of all time in Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam.

In China, where part of the production took place, the film set a midnight-showings record with $2.1 million, as well as single-day and opening-day records with $21.5 million (on its opening day). Through its first Sunday, the film earned an opening-weekend total of $64.1 million. China is the only market where the film earned more than $100 milllion, besides North America.

North America

Iron Man 3 is the thirty-fifth highest-grossing film, the highest-grossing 2013 film, as well as the ninth highest-grossing comic-book and superhero film. By the end of its opening day, Iron Man 3 made $68.9 million (including $15.6 million from late Thursday shows), achieving the seventh highest-grossing opening day. By the end of its opening weekend, the film earned $174.1 million, scoring the second-highest opening weekend of all time (behind Marvel's The Avengers). 55% of the opening-weekend audience was over 25 years old and 61% were males, while only 45% of the gross originated from 3-D screenings. Opening-weekend earnings from IMAX amounted to $16.5 million. It topped the box office during two consecutive weekends. It achieved the fourth-largest second-weekend gross with $72.5 million.

Accolades

Future

According to director Shane Black, Robert Downey, Jr.'s contract with Marvel Studios, which expires after the release of Iron Man 3, may be extended in order for the actor to appear in a second Avengers film and at least one more Iron Man film. He said: "There has been a lot of discussion about it: 'Is this the last Iron Man for Robert ?' Something tells me that it will not be the case, and will be seen in a fourth, or fifth." Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige has said that the character of Tony Stark will continue to be featured in the Marvel Cinematic Universe regardless of Downey's involvement. Downey has since said he is open to extending his contract, stating he feels "there's a couple other things we've gotta do" with his character. Feige said the character's next major appearance and storyline would be in The Avengers sequel, which was confirmed by writer/director Joss Whedon.

In an April 2013 interview, Don Cheadle mentioned the possibility of James Rhodes appearing in Captain America: The Winter Soldier and The Avengers sequel. Cheadle told Empire magazine that Iron Man 3 could be the final film in the series: "The door is always left open in these kinds of movies especially when they do as well as they have done. I know there was talk of making sure we did this one right, and if it worked it could be the last one. There's room for more to be done with these characters. We're getting to a sweet spot with Tony and Rhodey, anyway. Robert's really busy, he's just had a kid, and if he were to say I need a break for a second, I would not blame him." Actor Ty Simpkins has signed a 3 picture deal for Marvel Studios.

After the post-credits scene, a final line states "Tony Stark will return".

Notes

1. As part of the deal transferring the distribution rights of future releases of Marvel Studios films to the Walt Disney Studios, Paramount Pictures' logo appears instead of any Disney logo, as was the case in the film The Avengers. However, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures is credited at the end of the film.

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External links

• Official website
• Iron Man 3 at IMDb
• Template:Amg movie
• Iron Man 3 at Rotten Tomatoes
• Iron Man 3 at Box Office Mojo
• Iron Man 3 at Metacritic

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