OK for kids 13+
Fewer playboy antics, but still plenty of violence.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Iron Man 3 is another big-budget entry in the Marvel universe, and after the immense popularity of 2012's The Avengers, it will have huge appeal for tweens, teens, and adults alike. The violence is as explosive, large-scale, and pulse-quickening as you'd expect from this franchise. While the body count and mass devastation aren't as high as in The Avengers, scenes of both extremely destructive public bombings and casual shootings could be disturbing; overall, there's a bigger "human" factor to the violence here than in Robert Downey Jr.'s previous Iron Man movies, which involved more robot/machine action. On the other hand, there's less sexuality here (aside from a mention of a one-night stand and shots of women in bikinis or bra and panties) than in the other two, and language is on the milder side (one "s--t" and "p---y," plus "goddamn," "jerk," "hell," "ass," etc.). Expect some drinking and product placement. Iron Man 3 is as much about Tony figuring out who he is without the suit as he is with it, and there are some mature themes about identity, anxiety, the dangers of unchecked power, and the necessity of a moral compass.
- Families can talk about the movies in the Marvel universe. How does Iron Man stack up against the other Avengers films? Do you prefer the individual superhero movies or The Avengers together? Why?
- How has Tony changed since the events of The Avengers? How is this movie a response to Captain America's question about what Tony is without his suit? Why does Tony wonder whether he's as worthy as his other "super friends"?
- Tony's going through an identity crisis in Iron Man 3. Which other superheroes have comparable moments of introspection of anxiety with their "super" gifts?
- Are weapons of war glamorized in the movie? Should weapons be portrayed as that shiny and cool? What message does this send?
The good stuff
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Messages: Iron Man 3 has some of the most obvious messages in the franchise to date: that with power and opportunity, even the purest of intentions can mutate into hubris, greed, and ruthlessness. It also deals with themes of identity, anxiety, and the necessity of a moral compass. There's a clear distinction between the heroes and villains, with the exception of one misguided character who's confused.
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Role models: At this point, Tony is a much different man than he was in the first movie. He's committed and selfless, he acts as a heroic father figure to a young boy, and he saves strangers as often as he does friends -- though there are also scenes in which he casually (and almost glamorously) kills a villain's bodyguards. Rhodes is Tony's steadfast companion and best friend; Pepper is generous and patient with Tony's stubbornness and mood swings.
What to watch for
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Violence: Although the violent confrontations are most graphic toward the end of the movie, there are plenty of cringe-inducing images in the first half, too: The Mandarin stages executions and big bombings in several public places that cause a ton of collateral damage and critical injuries, a man is assassinated on camera (audiences hear the gunshot but don't see the dead body), and a house is blasted to smithereens by missiles. Guards/bad guys are killed casually. There's also a huge battle between mutated soldiers and Iron Man and his remote-controlled suits. Weapons include the high-tech Iron Man suits, guns, bombs and explosives, and fists, though there's less robot-on-robot fighting this time and more humans involved in the violent moments.
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Sex: Pepper and Tony kiss a few times. Pepper wears a sports bra and low-slung trousers in the movie's final sequence. In a flashback, Tony has a one-night stand with a woman who's briefly shown in her bra and panties. Also in a flashback, Tony makes jokes about "going to town on" a woman he's with for New Year's Eve. A villain views Pepper as his "trophy," and a bunch of bikini-clad/lingerie-wearing women laze about in a Miami mansion (two of them await a man in bed at once in one scene). A few short scenes take place at a beauty pageant, with women wearing skimpy swimsuits.
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Language: Language includes one "s--t" and one teasing "p---y," plus "damn," "d--k," "what the hell," "ass," "crap," "idiot," "jerk," "bloody hell," "freak," "spaz," "goddamn," and "oh my God."
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Consumerism: Slightly fewer product placements than in Iron Man 2, but there are still several prominent close-ups of Audi cars, a Dora the Explorer watch, the companies Oracle and Sun, and PBS' Downton Abbey. Skype is also seen/used.
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Drinking, drugs and smoking: Characters drink at a New Year's Eve party and at a bar. A character admits he had a problem with substances and is often seen chugging a beer. But this is Tony's soberest movie.
Fan Reviews provided by
5
Excellent!! by topthrilldragster
Avengers was better. But this is a great movie. Excellent Effects. Incredible turn of events. You will be very surprised at what happens through out the film. Stay until after the credits are over for another surprise.
3
Happy Needs to Direct by DaveWV
It was a bold new direction, but a bad one. It had the potential, but relied on RDJr to carry it with jokes. See it if you are a complete-ist, otherwise watch Avengers again. And I'm not a hater, I sat in line for 7 hours yesterday to be first. I wanted to love this movie as much as I did the first two (and Avengers).
5
Best of the three hands down! by sea7
I can not begin to say how surprised I was that this third movie in the series was this time out!!!
All the characters were fabulous! The humor and action and plot were intense. (The humor surprised me! people were laughing out loud throughout the movie! I did not expect the humor!) The special effects were stunning!
The villains were almost nightmarish, there was serious tension, a ton of action and good character development.
It was a good and fun movie to watch and didn't seem as long as it was which is rare.
I am very pleased and I am over 50 and a woman who loves action-adventure movies like this.
Highly recommend!
GO for sure! You will have a blast!
3
What went wrong here? by HoodCritic1
IM3 was supposed to be the beginning of Phase 2 of the Avengers Initiative. Instead of starting off with a bang, I left the theater scratching my head wondering what went wrong. The action was there, the acting was there, the screenplay was fine, the visual effects were up to code, but this star didn't light up the way it was supposed to. Shane Black had a nice vision for what this movie could have been but I felt that he sacrificed continuity and the chance to make this saga as full circle as possible for the chance to just leave his own stamp on the "Iron Man" franchise. I was let down by this movie. I tried to like it, but somewhere, this movie lost its firepower and turned out to be a dud.
5
A Must See for Iron Man Fans! by Ang3hans
I am not a die hard comic reader, in fact I have never read a comic book in my life, but I still enjoy the marvel movies and have to take it at face value, since I have no prior history to base it on. After seeing the 3rd Iron Man movie, I have to say that I think it was the best one so far! So much great action and effects at every turn, and many things surprised me and caught me off guard. I did see this movie in 3D, and was slightly disappointed by the 3D graphics, but still, it was a great ride from start to finish.
4
Worth seeing but not as great as I had hoped. by blu_rondo
It was pretty good. Lots of action and big explosions which I like. A good number of the typical "Tony Stark wit and humor" laugh moments. They could have done a bit more plot development instead of leaning so heavily on the action. The end felt like a let down, though I can't place my finger on why.
3
This one is for the people new to Iron Man, not the long time fans. by JKitsune
To start off, I'll view the movie through my father's eyes. He likes any movie that goes boom and uses tons of special effects. In short, he loves every Jerry Bruckheimer film. Power to him, there is nothing wrong with that. From this perspective, the movie was great. Tons of special effects, lots of explosion and high flying action. Plenty of witty banter and corny cliches. It was another comic book movie that people can all sit around and talk about what part they thought was cool. For those people, this movie was great and I say enjoy.
However, this is not some random character performing some random heroism to save the day. This is a 50 year strong comic book character that has an well established persona, to date. And so, for most of the casual and serious comic fans, this movie will fall short. If I had to point fingers, it would be newbie Shane Black. His script and direction left me wanting more and less at the same time. Good for the new fans, bad for the old ones.
3
A lot slower and less depth. by coolact
This movie is a lot slower, less going on, and also a simple plot. Not much of a story really. Action and special effects are A++ very nice.
4
Excellent entertainment by dfredrick
There were some discrepancies, but all-in-all a fun movie. Humor was on point. Pepper...whoa...they moved up her game. I would recommend for most viewers.
5
I NEVER SAW THIS COMING!!!!!!!!!!! by john_patricks
The movie was just plain out AWESOME. Acting was very well done by all the cast. The movie was fill with it's moments of laughs, scares, and just sheer EPICNESS! I WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND SEEING THIS MOVIE IN IMAX 3D! The movie is filled with many twists and really just comes together well! If you have not seen the movie yet I only have one question for you; WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU WAITING FOR?!?! Grab your friends,your kids, your wife, your girlfriend, your next door neighbor and just go see this movie!!!!! YOU WON'T REGRET IT! I GIVE IT A 10 OUT OF 10!!!!!!!