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Iron Man Three
May. 9th, 2013 12:03 amHere There Be Spoilers...
So, I finally got to see Iron Man Three tonight. I say "finally" because let's face it: nearly a week is a long time to wait for a movie like this. But somehow, against all odds, I managed to stay 100% spoiler-free. I knew Ben Kingsley played The Mandarin and that was *it*. I hadn't even seen a preview. I'm oh so very glad I hadn't, as there was one scene that I now know was in some of said previews that I'm beyond happy I hadn't seen ahead of time. We'll get to that in a minute, but first? My overall score: A-. This one's got its issues for sure, but it's a winner. It's not an A+ or even a regular A, but it manages to still score an A range score from me.
It's also my new favorite holiday movie, right up there with Die Hard. Oh, hell, let's be honest, I love Die Hard, but I *adore* Iron Man. This is my new favorite holiday movie. ;)
Anyway, the nitty gritty:
If you are going to take on the Extremis storyline, three things need to happen:
1-Maya has to die (she also needs to be a secret baddie and an ex-lover of Tony's, but those are less important). Check.
2-people (test subjects) must explode. Check.
3-I'll cover this later, in my thoughts about the end of the movie. Suffice to say: Check.
Now, if somehow you are going to blend in aspects of the Rescue storyline, one thing has to happen:
1-Pepper must don the suit. Check. Holy fuck, hell yes, CHECK. This be the scene I referred to above. Oh, how glad I am I hadn't seen this earlier, because this was far and away the best scene of the movie for me. I loved it, and I'm glad I got to see it with fresh eyes. More on this in a minute, but to say I loved it is an understatement. :D
Thirdly, if you're going to wrap things up by doing the "Tony destroys everything he's ever made in a fit of guilt/to prevent it falling into the wrong hands/to get a clean start" thing, well, it's pretty obvious that only one thing has to truly happen.
1-the suits must be destroyed. All of them. And yes, there needs to be a lot of them, with each one designed for a specific task, because that's the way Tony Stark does things. Check and check.
So, all in all, this movie did a hell of a job covering all the canon bases, for those who are inclined to care about such things. In general, I am not one of those people, as I can easily separate films from books in regards to this. But Extremis is pretty near and dear to me, and, well, this one mattered a bit. They did a good job here. They tagged all the bases.
That said, they took some liberties with the canon, and frankly most of those liberties didn't hurt a thing and *gasp* even made things better.
1-I like that they used Extremis to change Pepper rather than an arc reactor. I like that they didn't mortally wound her to do this. Having the bad guy transform her was pretty cool, and it provided some serious drama for Tony, which I liked a lot. And the fact that Pepper got to fight? FUCK. YES.
2-speaking of Tony and that particular drama and being in no way canon, I actually like him and Pepper in this movie. The odd falseness of them in Avengers wasn't there anymore. They were Pepper and Tony the way Pepper and Tony would be if they actually ever got together. I liked that they weren't all shiny and bright. Tony being an idiot is required here, and they did that. That was nice. Also, the reason this movie works as a holiday film? It's all sappy and sweet at the end. All together now...aaaawwwwwwwwwww, look at the Pepperony! *cuts a big slice and digs in*
3-Happy. I'm glad he didn't die. I like that they nod to his fate in the comics, but don't kill Happy. Happy is awesome.
4-but there was one area where they deviated from canon that bothered me some, and I'm sure a lot of fanboys are all up in arms about it. I haven't read any reviews or anything else yet about this movie, but making The Mandarin some sort of charade? I'm not so on board with that, and I suspect a lot of others feel the same way. I thought it was funny, yes, but it was odd. Granted, the Mandarin did try to Extremis the whole world at one point, so having Killian do that fit the storyline, but...odd. They castrated one of the greatest villains of all time by making him some sort of joke. I'm not a huge Mandarin fan, so I can live with this just fine, but it and the kid helper cliche is the reason this movie isn't an A+ for me. I liked the kid alright (I was tickled with Tony's treatment of him and the kid trying to manipulate Tony and then shrugging it off, because he knew exactly what he was doing - he was a real child, not a movie perfect kid), but...meh. And when you add in that Killian's plot/motivation are a bit sketchy at best, well...meh. [EDIT: see comments for more on the Mandarin point. Also, I seriously considered giving this movie a B+ because of this, but thankfully, Pepper Potts and RDJ saved the day. *grin*]
Moving on from the canon/not-canon crap, my very favorite thing about this movie was Tony himself. I absolutely loved that they went there, if you know what I mean. Tony isn't okay. He's not going to magically be okay anytime soon. He's a broken man, and it affects him in many ways at this point in his life. Having him struggle to cope is fabulous, and very Tony. His characterization in this film is spot on, and RDJ absolutely nailed it. I also enjoyed seeing Tony get back to his ingenuity roots that got him out of that cave with that hardware store run. Again, very Tony. And the fact that Tony is clearly still a clueless moron in many ways with Pepper but puts her first when push comes to shove in that fabulous suit scene? Perfection. Tony may be a douche, but when the chips are down, he's got your back. Having Pepper cover his six in response? *dies* So pretty.
I also loved the post-credits scene. (One guy left - surely it was his second viewing? Because really?) The Science Bros in action, so to speak! (By the way, True Believers, you know that Mark Ruffalo fully endorses the Science Bros phenomenon, right?) That's all there is to say there.
So, that finally brings me to the end of the movie, where I'm going to cover that last little point about Extremis.
I'm putting this behind another cut, because frankly another thing I loved about this movie was that the end is open to interpretation, and if you want to just live with your own, I encourage you to do so. I love open endings, and I don't want to bias yours. As Jimmy Buffett sings, "write your own ending and hope it comes true." But if you want to know my thoughts, click the cut.
The third thing that has to happen for any Extremis story to be complete is that Tony has to get Extremis. Check. You can interpret the removal of his shrapnel however you want, but that's what happened. He stabilized Extremis in Pepper and then injected himself with it, so he could repair himself, have his shrapnel removed, and ditch the arc reactor. Oh, and, you know, directly interface with his armor now. Minor detail, that.
So, no. Tony is not done being Iron Man. Not by a long shot. I know that could be inferred, but... no. Just no.
However, I actually sincerely hope they are done making films about him for a while. This film caps off the Iron Man trilogy nicely. The open ending is beautiful just as it is, and though I would dearly love to see Rescue kick some ass in the next movie (I think I'd have a seizure if that happened), I think it's time to put this franchise to bed. I know RDJ has expressed similar feelings, but I'll believe that when I see it. That said, I hope it's true. The first Iron Man film was brilliant, the second was decent, and this one was good. Let it lie. Iron Man can come play in the Avengers sandbox, but he needs to tour with the group now.
I'll need to watch this movie a few more times to make more sense of my feelings about it, but overall I quite liked it. My new favorite holiday movie indeed. (What's with the May release? Like the Mandarin thing, I can't quite figure this one out, but whatever.)
Oh, and one final note?
I didn't say a word during the entire movie. I rarely do, but in this case? Not a word was uttered at any point until I felt a slow smile spread over my face just before the last four words of the film. I mostly mouthed them just as Tony said them, but I confess I did just barely whisper them to myself. I couldn't help it. I knew they were coming, but that didn't lessen their impact. And those last four words are what keep this movie's ending from being too over-the-top sugary for me. They were a nice call back to the first film and they injected an essential touch of grit to the ending. They let us know that Tony is still Tony, and that even if he's trying to be a normal guy right now, he'll never let go of his suits, and he'll always be there for us. Always. So say it with me now.
I AM IRON MAN.
So, I finally got to see Iron Man Three tonight. I say "finally" because let's face it: nearly a week is a long time to wait for a movie like this. But somehow, against all odds, I managed to stay 100% spoiler-free. I knew Ben Kingsley played The Mandarin and that was *it*. I hadn't even seen a preview. I'm oh so very glad I hadn't, as there was one scene that I now know was in some of said previews that I'm beyond happy I hadn't seen ahead of time. We'll get to that in a minute, but first? My overall score: A-. This one's got its issues for sure, but it's a winner. It's not an A+ or even a regular A, but it manages to still score an A range score from me.
It's also my new favorite holiday movie, right up there with Die Hard. Oh, hell, let's be honest, I love Die Hard, but I *adore* Iron Man. This is my new favorite holiday movie. ;)
Anyway, the nitty gritty:
If you are going to take on the Extremis storyline, three things need to happen:
1-Maya has to die (she also needs to be a secret baddie and an ex-lover of Tony's, but those are less important). Check.
2-people (test subjects) must explode. Check.
3-I'll cover this later, in my thoughts about the end of the movie. Suffice to say: Check.
Now, if somehow you are going to blend in aspects of the Rescue storyline, one thing has to happen:
1-Pepper must don the suit. Check. Holy fuck, hell yes, CHECK. This be the scene I referred to above. Oh, how glad I am I hadn't seen this earlier, because this was far and away the best scene of the movie for me. I loved it, and I'm glad I got to see it with fresh eyes. More on this in a minute, but to say I loved it is an understatement. :D
Thirdly, if you're going to wrap things up by doing the "Tony destroys everything he's ever made in a fit of guilt/to prevent it falling into the wrong hands/to get a clean start" thing, well, it's pretty obvious that only one thing has to truly happen.
1-the suits must be destroyed. All of them. And yes, there needs to be a lot of them, with each one designed for a specific task, because that's the way Tony Stark does things. Check and check.
So, all in all, this movie did a hell of a job covering all the canon bases, for those who are inclined to care about such things. In general, I am not one of those people, as I can easily separate films from books in regards to this. But Extremis is pretty near and dear to me, and, well, this one mattered a bit. They did a good job here. They tagged all the bases.
That said, they took some liberties with the canon, and frankly most of those liberties didn't hurt a thing and *gasp* even made things better.
1-I like that they used Extremis to change Pepper rather than an arc reactor. I like that they didn't mortally wound her to do this. Having the bad guy transform her was pretty cool, and it provided some serious drama for Tony, which I liked a lot. And the fact that Pepper got to fight? FUCK. YES.
2-speaking of Tony and that particular drama and being in no way canon, I actually like him and Pepper in this movie. The odd falseness of them in Avengers wasn't there anymore. They were Pepper and Tony the way Pepper and Tony would be if they actually ever got together. I liked that they weren't all shiny and bright. Tony being an idiot is required here, and they did that. That was nice. Also, the reason this movie works as a holiday film? It's all sappy and sweet at the end. All together now...aaaawwwwwwwwwww, look at the Pepperony! *cuts a big slice and digs in*
3-Happy. I'm glad he didn't die. I like that they nod to his fate in the comics, but don't kill Happy. Happy is awesome.
4-but there was one area where they deviated from canon that bothered me some, and I'm sure a lot of fanboys are all up in arms about it. I haven't read any reviews or anything else yet about this movie, but making The Mandarin some sort of charade? I'm not so on board with that, and I suspect a lot of others feel the same way. I thought it was funny, yes, but it was odd. Granted, the Mandarin did try to Extremis the whole world at one point, so having Killian do that fit the storyline, but...odd. They castrated one of the greatest villains of all time by making him some sort of joke. I'm not a huge Mandarin fan, so I can live with this just fine, but it and the kid helper cliche is the reason this movie isn't an A+ for me. I liked the kid alright (I was tickled with Tony's treatment of him and the kid trying to manipulate Tony and then shrugging it off, because he knew exactly what he was doing - he was a real child, not a movie perfect kid), but...meh. And when you add in that Killian's plot/motivation are a bit sketchy at best, well...meh. [EDIT: see comments for more on the Mandarin point. Also, I seriously considered giving this movie a B+ because of this, but thankfully, Pepper Potts and RDJ saved the day. *grin*]
Moving on from the canon/not-canon crap, my very favorite thing about this movie was Tony himself. I absolutely loved that they went there, if you know what I mean. Tony isn't okay. He's not going to magically be okay anytime soon. He's a broken man, and it affects him in many ways at this point in his life. Having him struggle to cope is fabulous, and very Tony. His characterization in this film is spot on, and RDJ absolutely nailed it. I also enjoyed seeing Tony get back to his ingenuity roots that got him out of that cave with that hardware store run. Again, very Tony. And the fact that Tony is clearly still a clueless moron in many ways with Pepper but puts her first when push comes to shove in that fabulous suit scene? Perfection. Tony may be a douche, but when the chips are down, he's got your back. Having Pepper cover his six in response? *dies* So pretty.
I also loved the post-credits scene. (One guy left - surely it was his second viewing? Because really?) The Science Bros in action, so to speak! (By the way, True Believers, you know that Mark Ruffalo fully endorses the Science Bros phenomenon, right?) That's all there is to say there.
So, that finally brings me to the end of the movie, where I'm going to cover that last little point about Extremis.
I'm putting this behind another cut, because frankly another thing I loved about this movie was that the end is open to interpretation, and if you want to just live with your own, I encourage you to do so. I love open endings, and I don't want to bias yours. As Jimmy Buffett sings, "write your own ending and hope it comes true." But if you want to know my thoughts, click the cut.
So, no. Tony is not done being Iron Man. Not by a long shot. I know that could be inferred, but... no. Just no.
However, I actually sincerely hope they are done making films about him for a while. This film caps off the Iron Man trilogy nicely. The open ending is beautiful just as it is, and though I would dearly love to see Rescue kick some ass in the next movie (I think I'd have a seizure if that happened), I think it's time to put this franchise to bed. I know RDJ has expressed similar feelings, but I'll believe that when I see it. That said, I hope it's true. The first Iron Man film was brilliant, the second was decent, and this one was good. Let it lie. Iron Man can come play in the Avengers sandbox, but he needs to tour with the group now.
I'll need to watch this movie a few more times to make more sense of my feelings about it, but overall I quite liked it. My new favorite holiday movie indeed. (What's with the May release? Like the Mandarin thing, I can't quite figure this one out, but whatever.)
Oh, and one final note?
I didn't say a word during the entire movie. I rarely do, but in this case? Not a word was uttered at any point until I felt a slow smile spread over my face just before the last four words of the film. I mostly mouthed them just as Tony said them, but I confess I did just barely whisper them to myself. I couldn't help it. I knew they were coming, but that didn't lessen their impact. And those last four words are what keep this movie's ending from being too over-the-top sugary for me. They were a nice call back to the first film and they injected an essential touch of grit to the ending. They let us know that Tony is still Tony, and that even if he's trying to be a normal guy right now, he'll never let go of his suits, and he'll always be there for us. Always. So say it with me now.
I AM IRON MAN.
