IRON MAN 3: The Good, The Bad, and Why It Wasn't Ugly

IRON MAN 3: The Good, The Bad, and Why It Wasn't Ugly

Although making over a billion dollars, Iron Man 3 gets a lot of flack. Is it truly garbage, or is this judgment unjustified? Hit the jump for my take.

Editorial Opinion
By GliderMan - Aug 15, 2014 12:08 PM EST
Filed Under: Iron Man 3

 

THE GOOD



 

If there's anything all of us should agree on, it's that the acting in this movie was solid A+ material. Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Ben Kingsley, Jon Favreau, Ty Simpkins, Guy Pearce, and even the lesser bad-guys Stephanie Szostak and James Badge Dale all nailed their performances. The only one I had any issue with was Rebecca Hall, but she still felt right for the role, and you was disappointed to see her as a bad guy. As far acting, it was actually great.
 
The movie, while not exactly comic book accurate, was definitely well thought out. The plot, the twist, the theme, the characters--all fresh and developed. Even if you were annoyed by the Mandarin twist and the plot's resemblance to The Incredibles, the main villain Aldrich Killian's motives were understandable and his bitterness relatable. We understood him. We understood the stress Pepper Potts had on her in dealing with Tony, and we understood Tony's stress in coping with the world-changing events of The Avengers.

The case has also been raised that Iron Man 3 was just a cash-grabbing filler movie, and I must argue against this as well. I think it potentially be the strongest connective tissue between the first and second Avengers films, if Joss Whedon handled it that way. Let me explain. IM3 was the first MCU movie to be released after The Avengers. So it had to deal with what just happened in New York as well as laying the groundwork for the future. Stark was used to being the big gun, and now he's not anymore. What was it he told Pepper? "There are gods and aliens, I'm just a man in a can." It's this realization that haunts him, and through their exploration in Stark's PTSD we delve deeper into his character, and I loved it. Not only that, but we see the government's reaction to the events of The Avengers by rebranding War Machine as Iron Patriot, who will be their hero sent on different missions. But it also planted seeds such Iron Legion and President Ellis. We will see a new version of Iron Legion in Age of Ultron, and I'm sure we'll see Ellis again sometime in the future. Most importantly was the overall theme of the movie: "We create our own demons." I hope this theme carries over in to AOU, as it is Stark himself who creates Ultron.
 

THE BAD


 

The humor and Mandarin twist themselves wasn't what bothered me; what bothered me is that it wasn't what it paraded itself to be. The trailers for the film made it seem like it was going to be a darker take on the Invincible Iron Man; what we got was an action-comedy. I am perfectly fine with action-comedies. But I was in the mind-set of something more Nolan-esque. It was also assumed that the Mandarin was going to have ties to the Ten Rings terrorist group that plagued Stark in the first Iron Man film. But although they're mentioned, they didn't have a presence whatsoever in the movie, and that was disappointing.
 
Another thing that bothered me is that it wasted a few characters. Ashley Hamilton and James Badge Dale portray Jack Taggart and Eric Savin, respectively. In the comics, Taggart and Savin were Firepower and Coldblood, two minor Iron Man villains. Coldblood is of more interest because he's a cyborg. Since they are minor villains, it's easy to excuse, but I don't know why they didn't just use original characters for Extremis henchmen. I mean, Jack Taggart was barely in the movie at all, and they could have used his character for later movies.
 
And the most minor thing of all was what bothered me the most. At the end, Stark orders J.A.R.V.I.S. to activate the "Clean Slate Protocol," which blew up all of his suits. This was an effort to show Pepper that he will be focusing on her from now on, without other distractions. However, this just didn't feel right to me. I get what he was trying to do. But theme is that he created a demon in Killian, which came back to haunt him. As a weapons dealer, you know he created other demons, and that there will be other threats to him and Pepper. If not for his "distractions," they would have surely been defeated. So blowing them up didn't make sense to me. After all, they're already built, he could easily say that he's going to let either J.A.R.V.I.S. or Rhodey take over for a while, or SOMETHING of the like. Also, we know there will be another Iron Legion in Age of Ultron, and it would have felt more connected to me if they had used the same Iron Legion.
 

WHY IT WASN'T UGLY

While I definitely would have done things at least a little differently, Iron Man 3 was an enjoyable film. No, it wasn't accurate to the comics, but it fit well with the MCU, it had funny one-liners and awesome action scenes. That's all I want from an Iron Man movie, man. I mean, people get so caught up in what they don't like that they forget all the cool things that came with it. All the different, badass suits, the cool Stark escape scene, the Bruce Banner cameo. It was entertainment, and damn good entertainment if I do say so myself.
 

IRON MAN 3 Director Shane Black Reflects On The Movie's Christmas Setting...And Admits It Wasn't His Idea!
Related:

IRON MAN 3 Director Shane Black Reflects On The Movie's Christmas Setting...And Admits It Wasn't His Idea!

IRON MAN 3 Star Guy Pearce Talks Possible Aldrich Killian Return In IRONHEART Or ARMOR WARS (Exclusive)
Recommended For You:

IRON MAN 3 Star Guy Pearce Talks Possible Aldrich Killian Return In IRONHEART Or ARMOR WARS (Exclusive)

DISCLAIMER: As a user generated site and platform, ComicBookMovie.com is protected under the DMCA (Digital Millenium Copyright Act) and "Safe Harbor" provisions.

This post was submitted by a user who has agreed to our Terms of Service and Community Guidelines. ComicBookMovie.com will disable users who knowingly commit plagiarism, piracy, trademark or copyright infringement. Please CONTACT US for expeditious removal of copyrighted/trademarked content. CLICK HERE to learn more about our copyright and trademark policies.

Note that ComicBookMovie.com, and/or the user who contributed this post, may earn commissions or revenue through clicks or purchases made through any third-party links contained within the content above.

1 2 3
ScottMontgomery
ScottMontgomery - 8/15/2014, 12:35 PM
I personally think Iron Man 3 is good, I don't love it but goddamn it's such a fun movie. The whole Mandarin thing annoyed me, but it didn't piss me off like I know it did with a lot of other people. I personally don't see the big deal behind it or why there was such a big controversy around it
BrowniesExplode
BrowniesExplode - 8/15/2014, 12:44 PM
I have to watch it again I've only seen it once and that was when it in theaters. Ihated because it was too much humor and it wasnt serious and dark like the trailers made it. Rhodey wasnt a badass nor in the suit. I understand way the suits were weak. Pepper doing the flying kick was not necessary. Killian should have been like he was in the comics. And Ben Kingsley should have been The Mandarian what a waste of talent.
Pasto
Pasto - 8/15/2014, 12:48 PM
The film sucked. Plain and simple.
JillyMcBeam
JillyMcBeam - 8/15/2014, 12:54 PM
I'd rather ALMOST sit through Green Lantern again than this shit.
ScottMontgomery
ScottMontgomery - 8/15/2014, 12:59 PM
Apparently I'm one of the only people who liked it though...
Dingbat
Dingbat - 8/15/2014, 12:59 PM
I tried watching it a second time but it was impossible.
kinghulk
kinghulk - 8/15/2014, 1:01 PM
i enjoyed the film depite it's problems. and i loved the scene where he rescues them all from the falling plane that was brilliant.
GinjaNinja
GinjaNinja - 8/15/2014, 1:19 PM
it was a good movie. noit great not bad
TheHero
TheHero - 8/15/2014, 1:19 PM
Great article.
I was one of the few who liked it, but never really got why people disliked it.
comiccow6
comiccow6 - 8/15/2014, 1:20 PM
I had... mixed feelings when I saw it in theaters. But when I could see it at home with some air conditioning, a soft couch, and no-one to laugh at anything every five seconds, I loved it.
MrBlackJack
MrBlackJack - 8/15/2014, 1:26 PM
I've really warmed up to Iron Man 3 over the last couple of months. As much as I hate to say it, I was wrong. I still think it has issues, but some of the issues I've listed in the past were exaggerated and it's actually pretty enjoyable. I think part of my disliking from it stemmed from all the flame wars from last summer/year, something which I'll never be able to let down.
cipher
cipher - 8/15/2014, 1:27 PM



Trevor is my god.
GiantNerd
GiantNerd - 8/15/2014, 1:28 PM
I seen it in theaters and was somewhat let down but I was entertained throughout. I rented the blu-ray after it came out to show my friends who hadn't seen it and they all thought is was awesome. I think us nerdy folk are the majority of people who had a problem with it.
WYLEEJAY
WYLEEJAY - 8/15/2014, 1:29 PM
I loved it. I do agree with you on the Ten Rings. That was a little disappointing. Of course now that I know he wasnt the real Mandarin I guess that shouldn't bother me now. As long as they do something with him in a future film. The only thing that really bothered me was super ninja Pepper. If I had written it, I would have left the part where she smacks Killian away from Tony, but I would have left it at that for her. As Killian was getting back up Tony would of ran forward and threw that little rocket at Killian himself. The heat that Killian was giving off would of detonated the rocket just the same as when Pepper knocked it into him. Thats the only thing that gets to me when I watch it.

It was like the point of the move, that Tony is Iron Man with or without the suit gets tossed out the window in that one scene. Tony was just sitting there helplessly. I know that was supposed to be a bit of a tribute to Peppers character Rescue from the comics, but it was just a little too much for me.
WYLEEJAY
WYLEEJAY - 8/15/2014, 1:31 PM
@cipher. I am Trevor.....
WYLEEJAY
WYLEEJAY - 8/15/2014, 1:32 PM
OleOleOleOleOleOle!!!
cipher
cipher - 8/15/2014, 1:46 PM
@WYLEEJAY

Ooh.. I knew there was a reason I desperately want to hump your leg every time you're here.
cipher
cipher - 8/15/2014, 1:47 PM
C'mere, babe..

Don't be bashful. Let them watch. They might learn a thing or two.
Darktower
Darktower - 8/15/2014, 1:51 PM
i love ironman but i wont even call this one an ironman film!! [frick] Shane Black n the guy wrote that script !!
WYLEEJAY
WYLEEJAY - 8/15/2014, 2:00 PM
@cipher. HaHa. My plan worked! Thought I was gonna have to change the name of the organization to The Ten G strings to get your attention.
Abary
Abary - 8/15/2014, 2:29 PM
Batman & Robin > Iron Man 3
McNyagano
McNyagano - 8/15/2014, 2:30 PM
Great movie. Had a few flaws but overall, I loved it. Best Iron Man film imo.
MercwithMouth
MercwithMouth - 8/15/2014, 3:27 PM
"The humor and Mandarin twist themselves wasn't what bothered me; what bothered me is that it wasn't what it paraded itself to be. The trailers for the film made it seem like it was going to be a darker take on the Invincible Iron Man; what we got was an action-comedy. I am perfectly fine with action-comedies. But I was in the mind-set of something more Nolan-esque."

So, Shane Black executing his twist with precision was a problem? That's the whole point of a twist. You shouldn't see it coming. If there had been hints towards the twist, fanboys would've picked up on it months before the movie came out. They had to fool you with trailers.

Fantastic movie. My 2nd favorite MCU film, and slowly creeping up to Avengers #1 slot. Cap 2 might take one of those spots though when I finally see it.
GiantNerd
GiantNerd - 8/15/2014, 3:49 PM
@OmegaDaGod
Iron Man 3 and Man Of Steel editorials in my timeline?

Are you referring to my article?....It's about BvS as much as it's about MOS.
Pedrito
Pedrito - 8/15/2014, 4:05 PM
All the valid criticisms are very minor, really. It was a great film.

Trevor 4eva.
CorndogBurglar
CorndogBurglar - 8/15/2014, 4:09 PM
To me ot was the worst Marvel film to date.

I expect humor and everything you mentioned in an Iron Man film also, but you know what else I expect in an Iron Man film? Iron Man. It just seemed like Stark was out of the suit the entire film until the very end.

And don't get me started on how War Machine got jobbed out like a punk.

I was bored the entire time I watched it. Sure the end was cool with all the suits, but still. I had to sit through the rest of the film to get there.

Also, people can say what they want about the MCU still having a real Mandarin somewhere out there, but that only happened because the fans were pissed about how Mandarin was handled in this film.

No one will ever convince me that Marvel planned to have a real Mandarin after this film. Killian's line at the end, "I AM THE MANDARIN!" pretty much proves that.
homodrome
homodrome - 8/15/2014, 4:20 PM
A comics accurate Mandarin would have been mad racisty. It's nearly impossible to make a dude with a fu man chu moustache and magic powers seem realistic, grounded and unoffensive to a lot of people.
Dingbat
Dingbat - 8/15/2014, 4:32 PM
Pepper defeating Killian was so lame.
UltimateCookie
UltimateCookie - 8/15/2014, 4:36 PM

This movie is okay with me!
Khanlark
Khanlark - 8/15/2014, 4:55 PM
I am one of those weirdos who prefers Iron Man Three over the first two. It's a parody of superhero films, and for that I give it the most highest of praise.
WinterSoldier33
WinterSoldier33 - 8/15/2014, 6:57 PM
i don't like IM3, it sucks
1 2 3
View Recorder