MAY
MAY 3rd
Typically, a big title opens up the summer movie season in an attempt to start the battle of the numbers game in the right direction. Last summers The Avengers was the opener of the season and like magical, tick-tocking clockwork, Iron Man 3 gets the mantle this year. Picking up on the adventures of Tony Stark, following the mega-spectacle events he experienced as part of The Avengers, Iron Man 3 will certainly be one of the biggies of the year. Director Shane Black (Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang) takes over director duties from Jon Favreau (who helmed the first two installments.) The teasers and full-tilt media blitz campaign underway seem to highlight a darker turn for the hero, once and again portrayed by Robert Downey, Jr. This time he's sparring against The Mandarian (Ben Kingsley.) Guy Pearce and Rebecca Hall join the franchise alongside returning co-conspirators Gwyneth Paltrow (as love interest Pepper Potts) and Don Cheadle (as James Rhodes / War Machine.) While the last Iron Man left something to be desired as it more than anything else felt like a soggy cog in the glut of the construction of The Avengers-- an ailment of sorts that plagued all the Marvel productions-- there's a certain interest that perhaps the third installment will get back to the frothy star vehicle charms that made the first Iron Man refreshing in its slippery self awareness.
Black seems like a novel choice for tentpole captain. After a successful screenwriting career in the early 1990s (Lethal Weapon), his star faded out in light of his bombastic offerings only to be redeemed with the indie satire Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang, which happened to also revive Downey, Jr.'s career. That oddball, off-kilter match worked wonders the first time out, hopefully it can remain even under the less irony-filled machinations of comic book blockbustering. Then again, this being the first film after the ultimate mega-ness that was The Avengers, there's a nagging thought that the entire Marvel universe may not have a plan of its own on a micro-character level or a macro-universe level. Each offering since Iron Man 2 (including The Avengers) have felt similarly like elongated commercials for the next thing...where, exactly is it all heading? I suppose there won't be a definitive answer until the disparate franchises start to dwindle in popularity. Both Iron Man films prior have grossed north of $300 million so finality may a long way in coming.
Also opening: Things We Lost in the Fire and Oscar-winning In a Better World director Susanne Bier debuts Love Is All You Need, her romantic comedy starring Pierce Brosnan. Olivier Assasyas (Carlos) has Something in the Air, a French drama that made the film festival rounds last year. Finally, What Maisie Knew, a family drama starring Julianne Moore, Alexander Skarsgard and Steve Coogan, a modern adaptation of the Henry James novella of the same name opens from the directors of The Deep End, Scott McGehee and David Siegel.
