Iron Man 3 Official Iron Man 3 rate/review thread. - Part 1

[Juicy J]

There were some good jokes. I really liked some of the scenes with the kid.

But it wasn't the best humor in any superhero film ever.

What other superhero film then? Kick-Ass? The Incredibles?

 

[The Shape]

For me, this is the best Marvel film to date, stronger and more cohesive than even The Avengers. Comic fans will definitely ***** about the "twist", but the fact of the matter is it WORKED. The audience I was with ate it all up, and so did I, despite being familiar with the true Mandarin from the comics. Props to Marvel for keeping it a secret for so long.

Other than that, the action was incredible and the effects were pretty stellar, except for in a few places where Iron Man is just walking around and they made him CGI for some reason. RDJ was funnier than ever, which was cool because Tony was actually struggling a lot in this one and you could see how his humor is almost like a defense mechanism sometimes. And the opening scene was 'Blue' playing was AWESOME.

 

[C. Lee]

Spoiler tags....spoiler tags....spoiler tags.....

 

[DorneyDave]

What other superhero film then? Kick-Ass? The Incredibles?

Batman and Robin!

The man of ice says...CHILL.

L.O.L.

 

[DorneyDave]

One of my favorite lines of the movie was

"Dad's leave. No reason to be a ***** about it"

I loved that because I thought we were about to go down a really lame melodramatic moment. But the response was perfect Tony and the way the kid tried to guilt-trip him at the end to. Awesome way to go about that.

 

[Rock Sexton]

When did stereotypical become synonymous with racist?

People are gonna crap bricks when/if they introduce Luke Cage into the movieverse.

Amen man. The whole Mandarin thing was overthought. Wouldn't surprise me they were just trying to appease the Chinese by making the bad guy not of their ethnicity.

 

[I SEE SPIDEY]

I am still working on a longer review.

But I'll say that Iron Man is back after his disastrous follow up in 2010. The film is a smart, brave genre bending good time. I've never read an Iron Man comic and have no affection for the comic version of it's characters so the twist didn't bother me. It was a well done twist. The action scenes were great and much better directed this time. The plane scene is one of the best action scenes I've seen period. I thought the plot was great and the acting was top notch. RDJ is still over doing his sthick though and the movie had tonal and pacing issues. They need to start toning down the comedy because it's still above Iron Man 1 levels and that annoys me.

Rating: 8-ish out of 10. It's as good as the first film which is a welcome relief after that last movie that I can't even watch to make fun of it.

 

[Juicy J]

One of my favorite lines of the movie was

"Dad's leave. No reason to be a ***** about it"

I loved that because I thought we were about to go down a really lame melodramatic moment. But the response was perfect Tony and the way the kid tried to guilt-trip him at the end to. Awesome way to go about that.

Friend of mine who I saw it with's dad left him and his family a couple years ago, and that line had him in stitches. He was doubled over laughing. It sort of surprised me since it's still a sensitive issue with him, but he loved that part.

 

[GremlinZilla89]

People may laugh at this, but all this complaining about the lack of Iron Man reminds me of one of my favorite Iron Man stories.

The Armor Trap by Greg Cox. It's a novel, and it's not canon, but it's one of the most entertaining and exciting Iron Man stories I've ever read. Why? It tests Tony OUT of the suite for most of the page count. War Machine takes up all of the action for most of the book only to have Tony get in on it at the end.

This never bothered me because Cox did such a good job at giving me a good plot, exploring the characters in a true and realistic way. Stark's ingenuity outside of the suite is on full blast here, making the time when he finally puts it on all the more satisfying.

This is what Iron Man 3 does well imo.

 

[I SEE SPIDEY]

My complaint about lack of Iron Man in the second film is because that film did it wrong.

 

[Norek]

What the hell does that mean? This film if anything is a transition to something new. It's not a total closure, but there's resolution here, that if RDJ and Gwyneth do not resign it's a farewell to them. No it's not a trilogy in the strict sense of the word and neither is TDK

It means these is as much a trilogy as Daniel Craig's James Bond films are a trilogy. They're more installments of the same franchise, but on their own, they don't work as a trilogy. It's unlike the Spider-Man trilogy, or the X-Men trilogy, or the TDK trilogy where, where there's a flow and transition from one movie to the other, with continuously unfolding storylines that get developed with each movie until resolved. Here we have IM2 that's as much as a prequel to the Avengers than it is a sequel to IM1, and IM3 which builds upon the Avengers, but still remains a standalone film that almost completely ignores the second film in the franchise and carries over little to no story arcs from the previous two films. On themselves, the IM films build no trilogy, because you obviously can't take out the Avengers from the whole puzzle, you absolutely have to see it in order to get the whole thing.

TDK has a forced trilogy. He becomes Batman faces the Joker quits for 8 years, comes back and fakes his death. It's a trilogy in that it's 3 movies, but it's not a trilogy in the same way the original Star Wars Trilogy was or The Lord of the Rings, where there's a first second and third act.

I disagree 100%, but this is not the Batman forums, so I'll just leave it at that.

 

[Juicy J]

People may laugh at this, but all this complaining about the lack of Iron Man reminds me of one of my favorite Iron Man stories.

The Armor Trap by Greg Cox. It's a novel, and it's not canon, but it's one of the most entertaining and exciting Iron Man stories I've ever read. Why? It tests Tony OUT of the suite for most of the page count. War Machine takes up all of the action for most of the book only to have Tony get in on it at the end.

This never bothered me because Cox did such a good job at giving me a good plot, exploring the characters in a true and realistic way. Stark's ingenuity outside of the suite is on full blast here, making the time when he finally puts it on all the more satisfying.

This is what Iron Man 3 does well imo.

Agreed 100%, that's one thing I loved about the movie.

Spoiler

Seeing Stark go to a hardware store and make a bunch of tools based on what he could find and his own ingenuity was a perfect throwback to him in the cave in the first movie. Genius.

 

[thenerdybomb]

I wrote this spoiler free review for the site. I personally really enjoyed the take on The Mandarin, but I can see why people would be upset by the changes.

http://thenerdybomb.com/iron-man-3/

 

[Tony Stark]

It means these is as much a trilogy as Daniel Craig's James Bond films are a trilogy. They're more installments of the same franchise, but on their own, they don't work as a trilogy. It's unlike the Spider-Man trilogy, or the X-Men trilogy, or the TDK trilogy where, where there's a flow and transition from one movie to the other, with continuously unfolding storylines that get developed with each movie until resolved. Here we have IM2 that's as much as a prequel to the Avengers than it is a sequel to IM1, and IM3 which builds upon the Avengers, but still remains a standalone film that almost completely ignores the second film in the franchise and carries over little to no story arcs from the previous two films. On themselves, the IM films build no trilogy, because you obviously can't take out the Avengers from the whole puzzle, you absolutely have to see it in order to get the whole thing.

I disagree 100%, but this is not the Batman forums, so I'll just leave it at that.

I was confused by what you meant in that it didn't stand on it's own. my point is that trilogies like Star Wars or the Lord of the rings, if you come into the middle of them, you might be thrown off. As individual movies they are all good films but are connected to the others. To me TDK does not fit that mold, but we'll agree to disagree.

I agree that the IM films you can see any of them without seeing the others.

 

[Mikelus]

Fanboys whining about the Mandarin, nitpicking everything like comics were Shakespeare material or something. Some of you take all of this way too seriously when most comics in general are mediocre, full of silliness and nonsense to start with. Expecting cbm to be perfect or Academy award material is incoherent to say the least.

 

[antonydelfini]

For me, this is the best Marvel film to date, stronger and more cohesive than even The Avengers. Comic fans will definitely ***** about the "twist", but the fact of the matter is it WORKED. The audience I was with ate it all up, and so did I, despite being familiar with the true Mandarin from the comics. Props to Marvel for keeping it a secret for so long.

Other than that, the action was incredible and the effects were pretty stellar, except for in a few places where Iron Man is just walking around and they made him CGI for some reason. RDJ was funnier than ever, which was cool because Tony was actually struggling a lot in this one and you could see how his humor is almost like a defense mechanism sometimes. And the opening scene was 'Blue' playing was AWESOME.

100% agreed!!!

 

[I SEE SPIDEY]

Fanboys whining about the Mandarin, nitpicking everything like comics were Shakespeare material or something. Some of you take all of this way too seriously when most comics in general are mediocre, full of silliness and nonsense to start with. Expecting cbm to be perfect or Academy award material is incoherent to say the least.

Intellectually I can understand fanboys not liking the twist but I don't really care. I litterally have no connection to the comicbook so I can't care. I think the twist is fine, just like how I think making Joker the one who created Two Face is fine. I even liked Rises version of Robin. If it's done well I litterally can't complain. I complained about some changes in some films because the films didn't pull them off. If the film pulls it off I litterally don't care!

 

[ElMariachi]

I loved this movie last night but I just keep liking it more. It's just such a unique and clever film. There isn't anything really like it in the superhero realm and that's why I think it's one of the best. It's the best comedy I have seen since 21 Jump Street last year. It's the best straight up action movie I have seen since The Avengers. This one-two punch of geniune laugh out loud moments and awe inspiring action makes the movie pretty darned special. In this regard, Iron Man 3 has more in common with True Lies or Die Hard than it does a more serious action drama like The Dark Knight.

!SPOILERS!

!SPOILERS!

!SPOILERS!


The Mandarin twist really helped make this movie unique and fresh. Instead of an old bearded man (or Asian Fu Manchu/businessman stereotype) using ridiculous CGI to blast Iron Man with fingertip tornadoes, we got a spot on representation of terror/evil in our world. How many evil dictators or terrorists live up to the hype? Look at someone like Gaddafi or Kim Jong Il/Un. Nothing more than eccentric goofballs using an act to scare or influence people. They look fearsome when they are threatening to nuke the United States or blowing up airliners over Scotland. Up close? Not so much. This is what the Kingsley Mandarin is. An easy target that turns attention away from greater dangers. A sideshow, essentially. The true Mandarin is a true global threat representing science, military industrial complex, corporations, and things of that nature. Blowing up marketplaces is small potatoes in comparison to developing nuclear weapons, allowing the Indian Bhopal disaster (which killed more than 9/11) creating deadly viruses in labratories, manufacturing Agent Orange, oil spills/pollution, and generally pushing science to dangerous levels. These things create a risk for World Wars, global pandemics, and even the destruction of all life on earth. Isnt that what Extremis was?

Killian was the true Mandarin we all know and love. Notice the dragon tattoos? The expert martial arts abilities? The ability to disguise himself and plotting behind the scenes? Guy Pearce was great. He was pretty scary when Extremis'd up. Almost Terminator-like.

Kingsley was fantastic, as well. Nobody has touched on this (to my knowledge) but he was also a good joke on British villains in movies. Killian pretty much turned some random British stage actor/drug addict into one of the world's greatest fake villains. I found this amusing because it's the same thing in most real movies! A testament to the quality of acting in the U.K. Mandarin wasn't Chinese. He wasn't even Indian or Middle Eastern. He was just some random Brit. The little island that produces stage actors who grow up to become Magneto, General Zod, Loki, Ras al Ghul, the Evil Emporer, Rene Belloq, and Hannibal Lecter.

!END SPOILERS!

!END SPOILERS!

!END SPOILERS!


The action in this movie was probably the best I have seen in a comicbook movie with Avengers maybe being the exception. What else even remotely compares to this movie? Tony going MacGyver and using his arsenal to his full advantage--changing armored suits like I change my shirt. I really enjoyed the kid and thought he held his own against RDJ. Happy was hilarious in this, Pepper and Rhodey were much improved over IM2, the secondary villains were rather intimidating and freaky, and Maya Hansen was the weakest character in the movie.

The soundtack was great, as well. Particularly that end credits music. How can you walk out of the theater listening to a bouncy Ska version of the Iron Man 3 theme and not have a smile on your face?

9/10. This movie is up there with Avengers and IM1. Far better than IM2. Better than any other superhero movie aside from BB and TDK. Tony is far cooler than Peter Parker so I would watch this movie over any of the Spider-Man movies. Or X-Men movies for that matter. If you like your action movies without the high school drama, garden variety melodrama, darkness, or nihilism---you would probably like this movie. The Dark Knight and Iron Man trilogies complement each other so well. Like cheese and wine. I wish more of the fanboys could see this.

 

[redfirebird2008]

The Dark Knight and Iron Man trilogies complement each other so well. Like cheese and wine. I wish more of the fanboys could see this.

Completely agree with that. I enjoy both very much.

 

[Norek]

Intellectually I can understand fanboys not liking the twist but I don't really care. I litterally have no connection to the comicbook so I can't care. I think the twist is fine, just like how I think making Joker the one who created Two Face is fine. I even liked Rises version of Robin. If it's done well I litterally can't complain. I complained about some changes in some films because the films didn't pull them off. If the film pulls it off I litterally don't care!

I have no special connection to the comicbook character of Mandarin, nor am I a comicbook purist or anything. Yet I didn't like the twist, because it broke my immersion and it was too silly for me. It took me out of the experience in an unexpected way that I didn't enjoy.

 

[ElMariachi]

Completely agree with that. I enjoy both very much.

Never understood why people couldn't enjoy both. It always seemed people had to 'pick a side' and defend one movie on movie websites. I like what both trilogies brought to the table. I don't want to see Bruce Wayne telling jokes and I don't want to see Tony beating people to a pulp. I think they are the two most unique comic movie franchises and should be celebrated as such. It would be like Game of Thrones and Hobbit fans bickering about which is better.

 

[Mikelus]

Intellectually I can understand fanboys not liking the twist but I don't really care. I litterally have no connection to the comicbook so I can't care. I think the twist is fine, just like how I think making Joker the one who created Two Face is fine. I even liked Rises version of Robin. If it's done well I litterally can't complain. I complained about some changes in some films because the films didn't pull them off. If the film pulls it off I litterally don't care!

I know the source material and the Mandarin is not that great of a character anyway. Marvel had the balls to try something different and it was executed well, so I'm not going to bash them for it. Regarding "Robin", I thought it was completely unnecessary, it added nothing to the character, but I digress.

 

[redfirebird2008]

Never understood why people couldn't enjoy both. It always seemed people had to 'pick a side' and defend one movie on movie websites.

Yeah, I don't understand it either.

 

[I SEE SPIDEY]

I know the source material and the Mandarin is not that great of a character anyway. Marvel had the balls to try something different and it was executed well, so I'm not going to bash them for it. Regarding "Robin", I thought it was completely unnecessary, it added nothing to the character, but I digress.

All I know is that Mandarin was created as a racist sterotype during a more racist time. I enjoyed that they turned him into another racist sterotype and then made fun of it. In that sense my limited knowledge of something from the comics helped me enjoy the film more. It was a kick in the balls to racism IMHO.

 

[danoyse]

One of my favorite lines of the movie was

"Dad's leave. No reason to be a ***** about it"

I loved that because I thought we were about to go down a really lame melodramatic moment. But the response was perfect Tony and the way the kid tried to guilt-trip him at the end to. Awesome way to go about that.

Friend of mine who I saw it with's dad left him and his family a couple years ago, and that line had him in stitches. He was doubled over laughing. It sort of surprised me since it's still a sensitive issue with him, but he loved that part.

That got one of biggest laughs at my show too. Although I wonder if we'll see that same uproar like we did from the people who were offended by Thor's "He's adopted," line in Avengers last year.