IRON MAN 3: An honest review

IRON MAN 3: An honest review

This review presented by a hardcore comic purist AND realist! Enjoy honesty!

Review Opinion
By tasman71 - May 09, 2013 07:05 PM EST
Filed Under: Iron Man 3

Finally took in Iron Man3 and I can honestly say it was quite good.

However, I would like to address a few things first. There are a lot of comic book purists who are groaning and moaning over this and that being wrong with Iron Man 3. So, I'm going to solve your issues right now.

1) IT'S NOT THE REAL MANDARIN!!!

Boo hoo. First of all, not everything in the comic world can be adequately translated into the limited time frame of movies/animation/tv. Similarly, not everything in the comic world would actually work in those media either. Honestly, a character the magnitude of Mandarin should be built up to in an Avengers movie, possibly number 2, which I will get to shortly.

Second, the Mandarin in IM3 was actually a brilliant twist. Killian finds this powerful legendary myth in the annals of history that all the world except America has heard of in some fashion or another. He then finds a figure head to allow him to be the 'Mandarin' behind the scenes and manipulate things to his benefit. Killian displays incredible intellect in this plan. To quote Lex Luthor from Superman TAS: "Do you even realize how much power I would have to give up if I became President!?" In the overall IM3 story, this works and plays out incredibly well.

What this also does is puts the concept of the Mandarin in play in the MCU, leaving the door open for, say, the Cult of the Mandarin to begin gathering the real rings to bring their Master back from whatever dimension he may have been banished to by performing some ceremony to set him free on earth once more, perhaps with some Thanos manipulation, for Avengers 2 or 3. Just because Thanos was a teaser at the end of Avengers doesn't mean he will be a direct villain right away.

Back to IM3.

2) WE NEED MORE ARMOR ACTION!!!

Oh golly gosh, there just isn't enough Iron Man and Iron Patriot action in the movie and Tony and Rhodes running around playing with guns is silly and that just ruins it! Please. If you believe that you truly did not understand IM3 at all! IM3 was never about the armors, it was about Iron Man and Iron Patriot. It forced Stark and Rhodey to realize the armor is just a tool and they are Iron Man and Iron Patriot. It was actually quite a refreshing display to see superheroes forced to discover the hero within to truly understand what it really means to be a hero of any kind! Again, brilliant.

3) THAT'S A STUPID SOLUTION!!!

How ridiculous that Tony has these insecurities and issues all through the movie and suddenly he gets over it by blowing up his suits! Really. If that's your take away then you need to learn some psychology. The biggest step and, ultimately, the one that leads to overcoming, not conquering, fears requires ridding ones self of their safety blanket. You never conquer fear because only a fool does not fear. You overcome fear by facing, embracing it, and rising above. Which is exactly what Stark did and, by destroying his armors, he set himself on a new path that will take him to that next level of hero. Again, brilliant.

Now, as to my review of Iron Man, it was a brilliant piece of character refinement balanced with the right amount of action, an enjoyable storyline, a nice tying up of story threads, and excellent cast performances. Guy Pearce does villain quite well.

All in all, I give Iron Man 3 a solid 4 out of 5 stars, better than IM2 but just a tad below IM1. Here's hoping Disney intervenes before Marvel screws up and loses all the stars before they even film Avengers 2.

To the whiner baby comic purists, your issues have been settled now so feel free to pipe down and just enjoy the movies!

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tasman71
tasman71 - 5/10/2013, 1:56 AM
Actually, if you think that sums up what I said, then you merely read without comprehending.

I was addressing the primary complaints of the comic book purists by showing that the complaints are are just nitpicking because the movies aren't made the way they want them, ie not deviating from the comics.

These movies aren't just made for comic book fans but, to bring new fans to the characters and, by extension, to comics themselves.

So, go back, reread, and comprehend what I wrote.
LibertySeaOtter
LibertySeaOtter - 5/11/2013, 2:42 AM
I stopped reading after Boo Hoo. What if it was Joker? What if it was Magneto? Bad start if you want to keep my attention.
sameoldthing
sameoldthing - 5/12/2013, 5:58 AM
I do like the Explination of armors being blown up but sorry pal..The Mandarin was poorly handled for the sake of a gimmicky "twist".

Also,I want to see IRON MAN not IRON -sometimes- MAN. Suit up more Tony.
SamuraiHairMaster
SamuraiHairMaster - 5/12/2013, 11:18 AM
Iron Man 3 was disappointing. I know people care about the Mandarin thing but I thought the whole movie was full of gimmicks that never seemed to come together.

First, Tony is fighting internal demons because he's realized there's much more to the universe then he thought. He actually talks about "magic" and "gods" ,things he can't comprehend. However, his internal struggle never seems to track his external foes. So he leaves a guy on the roof and he creates a convoluted villain whose motivations are as unclear as Stark's personal journey.

His panic attacks come off as a gimmick, his side kick comes off as a gimmick and the Mandarin thing was a gimmick. None of these things seem to really move the plot along or his character development.

The ending was horrible. Pepper has super powers but we've taking care of that in a few seconds. Iron Man blows up his suits but he is Iron Man and He is now a changed man. All done is a series of cut scenes that lasts less then a few minutes. When I read other reviews w/o spoliers they said things like "running on empty" "remote control" and "Rusted." I really, really hate to admit it but they were right. By the time the movie ended I didn't believe Stark was a changed man and I really didn't care.

Finally, villains can always be redone. So the Mandarin twist didn't bother me that much, except for the fact it was another gimmick. However, the makers of this movie missed an opportunity. Stark is having an internal crisis regarding his place in the universe, he realized his brilliance doesn't comprehend everything. The Mandarin is a villain who could have been used to really explore that issue, a villain who uses advanced alien technology that appears to be magic. Instead, we get Extremis bad tech guys. This is business as usual for Stark. Consequently, the reason for his panic attacks is never addressed and thus, his internl struggle becomes another gimmick thrown into a movie that is already overcrowded with them.
JayTopStix
JayTopStix - 5/13/2013, 8:48 AM
One of the best reviews I have read. I too consider myself a purist and also thought the TWIST was a brilliant piece of writing. This movie rally defines Ironman as a character and all the other people around him to the core.
It was a touching and fantastic film.
It is in fact the first time I have liked a disambiguation from the original story.
MarsivNayr
MarsivNayr - 5/13/2013, 3:39 PM
tasman71

Good write-up. You mentioned everything I was thinking. I too love the deviations they made with the story.

I went into that theater prepping myself for the ultimate badass that would be Ben Kingsley/Mandarin, and what I got was a british actor. I was shocked and awed. I loved it.

Guy Pearce was pitch perfect. His motivations clearly stated and explained. You know, sometimes characters don't outright say, "I'm a bad guy because...". Sometimes they are to be interpreted through dialogue and backstory and performance. Sometimes the best villians ACT, not TALK.

And 0megaDaGod hit it right on the nail. Stop looking for shit to complain about and stop thinking things are always going to be the way you want them to. Not saying every hater is a "hater" or being irrational, I'm just saying; there are many who look at these films on the surface and just ride it off as filth.

This might be my favorite Iron Man film. It was a bold creation.

Thank you and good day.
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