Everyone please welcomed back Dr Batman - my go to guy for all things comic book related. Today he takes on Iron Man 3, a film which has sent comic book experts crying out of the cinema for disrespecting a much loved character. *Kanye Shrug*
I've read a lot of negative to hysterical reviews from comic book experts, which quite frankly were hilarious. But, the good Doctor Bats has done a good bit of service for the comic book community here - he's written an intelligent explanation to why he found Iron Man 3 disappointing. It's actually the best semi-negative Iron Man 3 review I've read to date.
How did I feel about Iron Man 3? I loved it. Unreservedly loved it. I thought it was better than the first. Shane Black has big iron balls and I salute him for it.
...
Iron Man 3 had a lot to live up to. After the initial critical and
commercial success of Iron Man, Iron Man 2 (although commercially successfully)
did less well with the critics, many stating that it paid too much attention to
building up The Avengers thus taking away from Robert Downey Jnr’s (RDJ) brilliant
Tony Stark. Then last summer Avengers Assemble and The Dark Knight Rises were
released, two of the best superhero films to ever come out - one with ol’ Shell
Head being in a starring role.
Iron Man 3 had the difficult task of jump
starting phase two of the Marvel film universe and in this respect in
particular I personally feel it fails, producing a film with many highs but
also many lows.
...
The story follows Tony Stark as he recovers from the events of Avengers
Assemble. A cyber terrorist known as The Mandarin is attacking America. Before
long The Mandarin makes it personal with Stark. Stark vows he will get revenge
as little does he realise just how personal this war has become.
...
Directed by Shane Black the plot loosely follows the seminal Extremis
storyline where a virus that can give you superpowers is injected into you.
There are many subtle moments that will bring a smile to any comic book fan
such as the President being called Ellis: Warren Ellis wrote Extremis. Further
the emotion that RDJ gives to his portrayal of Tony Stark is excellent. He adds
a depth to the character that is rarely seen as he struggles with the aftermath
of what he had to go through in New York. Tellingly Stark is armourless for the
majority of the film as he has to fight his own inner demons. This is when the
movie, and the Iron Man franchise as a whole, is at its best, allowing RDJ to
truly flex his acting muscles. The fight scenes and special effects work well.
Yet the 3D lacks that extra punch you expect it should.
...
In the comic books, The Mandarin is Iron Man’s greatest villain. He has
ten power rings that each have a different power. Black stated before the
release that this was a liberal translation of the character as he would have
no power through the rings. He would still wear them though. The film cleverly
modernised The Mandarin from the racial Chinese stereotype that he once was to
a legitimate threat closer to Osama Bin Laden. The ten rings nicely make up his
terror flag, embodying a link with their importance. I really found this
grounded interpretation of The Mandarin interesting and would have loved to see
more of it. The little we see of the character made me feel that he did not get
the airtime he deserved. Ben Kingsley plays the character brilliantly as the
menacing voice from the shadows.
Further Black and co writer Drew Pearce (who wrote the incredibly funny
No Heroics) develop the concept of The Iron Patriot, making it work in a sharp
fashion for the film audience.
There is a major plot twist in Iron Man 3 that everyone will be talking
about once they have seen it. I left with mixed emotions. In some respects I
loved it feeling that it was a brilliant idea that really showed a cleverness
in the script as well as adding a real twenty first century flavour to it. Yet
on the other I did feel that this idea has been done before in other franchises
such as James Bond and strayed away from the comic books. I am still on the
fence about this.
...
One of my main problems with this film is continuity or rather lack of.
After Iron Man 2 was seen as having too many links to the Marvel universe
(something I disagree with), Iron Man 3 seems to go completely in the opposite
direction. Stark and America as a whole is being attacked by a cyber terrorist.
Stark is left fighting on his own with no power source yet he neither considers
ever calling any of his super friends, explains why they are not coming to help
him or are even mentioned. Even more baffling is that SHIELD are never seen let
alone mentioned. In reality if we were being threatened by a cyber terrorist I
think America’s secret superhero service might have something to say about it.
The closest we get are mentions of ‘New York’, reiterating what happened in
Avengers Assemble. We also get is a bonus scene at the end of the film;
something that we have come to expect from Marvel. Even the bonus scene serves
no real purpose for the greater continuity. Yes it is entertaining and yes I
honestly feel this one scene adds a lot to the film but it would have worked
just as well if not better at the beginning of the film.
Further and more
importantly, these bonus scenes have become known as the thing that furthers the
continuing plot of the Marvel universe as a whole. In Iron Man we saw Fury
recruit Stark for The Avengers. In Incredible Hulk we saw Tony Stark be
interested in The Hulk. In Iron Man 2 we saw the discovery of Thor’s hammer. In
Thor we saw Loki take over Doctor Selvig‘s body and in Captain America, we saw
Fury explain to Cap that he had been frozen followed by The Avengers trailer.
Here we get nothing linking to Thor: The Dark World and more importantly
nothing linking to Guardians of the Galaxy, a film that is rumoured to have
Iron Man appear. All we are told is that Tony Stark will return. I am aware
that Marvel might have not wanted to shoot another scene with RDJ as this might
be his last hurrah in the armour but it still makes the film feel alien to all
of its other Marvel cousins.
...
Overall Iron Man 3 struggles because it could never live up to the
success of last year’s Avengers Assemble and The Dark Knight Rises. Shane Black
directs an entertaining film that lacks the substance of its younger brothers.
If this is the final time we see RDJ in the armour it is a nice way to end it
but it is not the swan song that a film like Avengers Assemble could have been
nor what RDJ deserves.
@LJHalsall
