Trailer Trashin’: Tony Stark Lives Again in Iron Man 3

Happy Halloween, everyone! It’s the time for candy, costumes, trick-or-treating, parties, and watching horror and monster movies. On the Trailer Trashin’ docket this week is the first trailer for a film that’s sure to inspire a lot of Halloween costumes next year: Iron Man 3, the first post-Avengers film from Marvel Studios.

Premise: When an enemy disrupts that which industrialist Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) holds most dear, he must rely on his ingenuity to protect those closest to him. Along the way, he discovers the answer to a question which has haunted him: does the Iron Man suit define him, or does he define the suit?

My take: I’m a huge fan of comic book movies, and some of my favorites have been the independent Marvel Studios that make up the Marvel Cinematic Universe. What Marvel calls “Phase One” of the MCU began with Iron Man back in 2008 and culminated with The Avengers earlier this year. But after the massive crossover movie, some wondered whether doing more solo films with the superheroes would now seem unexciting. Adding to the concern was the fact that Jon Favreau, who helmed Iron Man and Iron Man 2 (2010), would not be returning to the director’s chair. Taking his place is Shane Black, best known for writing the action films Lethal Weapon (1987), The Last Boy Scout (1991), Last Action Hero (1993), and The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996), as well as writing and directing Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005), which also starred Robert Downey Jr. Besides directing, Black is co-writing a screenplay based on the acclaimed “Extremis” story-arc from the comics. Now the first trailer for Iron Man 3 has arrived, and it looks awesome.

I think all the Marvel Cinematic Universe films have had great casts, and Iron Man 3 is no exception. Returning from the previous films are Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man, Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts, Don Cheadle as James Rhodes/War Machine, Jon Favreau as Happy Hogan, and (not seen, obviously) Paul Bettany as the voice of JARVIS. I think all of them were perfect choices for their roles, particularly Downey as Stark, and I’m glad to see them all again. We get two looks at Guy Pearce as Aldrich Killian, the scientist who created the Extremis virus; I’m interested to see how big of a role he has. There’s one shot of Rebecca Hall as Maya Hansen, another scientist and co-creator of Extremis. A brief shot of a guy in military gear is probably either James Badge Dale as Eric Savin (who in the comics becomes the cyborg Coldblood) or Ashley Hamilton as Jack Taggert (who operates the armored suit Firepower). And finally, the big one: Ben Kingsley as the Mandarin, Iron Man’s archenemy; they’ve have been hinting at Mandarin making an appearance since the first Iron Man, and it’s great to finally see him onscreen.

What surprised and impressed me the most about this trailer is its tone. Both the previous Iron Man films had a fairly light, breezy feel to them; this one, by contrast, looks to be going much darker and grittier. The villains are clearly trying to get to Tony by going after his loved ones, and I’m wondering if some of the good guys might not make it out of this one alive. And the element of the Iron Man armor being somehow able to act on its own, whether it’s become sentient, is being remotely controlled, or something else, is both really awesome and very creepy.

The little we see of the film’s action also looks very impressive. I’m intrigued by the scene with the plane, because it looks like Iron Man rips into the plane, but then saves the people who get sucked out. Of course, the biggest set-piece we see is the helicopter attack on Tony’s home in Malibu. And the part of that scene with Iron Man clinging to the broken ledge, before being caught in the cables and dragged underwater, was pretty intense, and I imagine it’ll only be more intense on the big screen.

I have nothing to complain about here. This is a great first trailer, and it has me even more excited about this movie. With a great cast, some awesome action, and a new darker approach, it looks like “Phase Two” of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is definitely going to start with a bang. Come next May, you can bet I’ll be checking out Iron Man 3 on opening weekend.

ANTICIPATION: My arc reactor of geekdom is overcharged with excitement!

Release Date: May 3^rd, 2013

Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hall, James Badge Dale, Jon Favreau, Ben Kingsley, Ashley Hamilton, Wang Xueqi, William Sadler, Stephanie Szostak, and Paul Bettany
Director: Shane Black
Writers: Drew Pearce and Shane Black