My opinion still stands. It's a good movie, even one of Marvel's better movies, but still nowhere near as good as it could have been. It could have been great, the potential was there, but they blew it. And most of that had to do with the Mandarin one way or another, especially when taking into account all the buildup. However, I won't get into that again. We all know what each has to say on that topic. Won't beat a dead horse again.
That being said, I still think it's a good movie and doesn't deserve anywhere near the amount of flack it gets on these boards. Tony is very likeable and his character arc related to the PTSD is really well done. I really relate to him and find him sympathetic, anyone who has experienced some form of anxiety can. I love the film's take on the "I am Iron Man" message, showing exactly what makes Tony Iron Man as opposed to someone else wearing the suit. That without Tony, the suit is simply just a war machine while Iron Man is the byproduct of Tony's man-of-tomorrow intellect. It was a big theme in IM2 as well, only there they did more telling than showing. I think there is a certain amount of redo with IM3, in which they wanted to go back to some themes from IM2 and do them better. This one was definitely one of the big ones.
I love the tone overall and how darker certain things comes off than in the previous films. I don't mind the comedy that much and think most of it works. There's a couple of places in the beginning and second act where I don't think the soundtrack or comedy fits with how serious the scene is supposed to be, but it isn't a fatal issue. I love the the Christmas setting as well as the 80's buddy cop thriller Black was going for. Also while I don't care for their take on the Mandarin, to see Tony finally fight a non-armor related villain in an IM film is still exciting.
A lot of the plot holes people bring up aren't really plot holes. The biggest one is how all those suits broke so easily. I don't think people understand that they're all rush jobs. He built 35 Marks in the span of 6 months. They're all poorly done and solely designed just for coming to him as opposed to being durable, all because of his PTSD that makes him feel invulnerable without a suit. He also seemed to require a certain amount of time to get them all ready, which explains why they weren't all active when the Mandarin attacked his home by surprise while later in the film, he willingly sets them loose after the Party Protocol is fully prepared by JARVIS.
Another complaint I hear is how little of Iron Man there is in the film. I never understood this complaint, as I watch these films because I care for the character depth and development. Tony is Iron Man, with or without a suit, much like how Bruce Wayne is Batman with or without a suit. Plus that's kinda the whole point of his character arc. That he is still Iron Man without the suit, and that's what separates him from me and you putting on the suit.
It baffles me how people can criticize these direct links to his PTSD-induced character arc. To me, that just shows people don't understand the main point of the film, the protagonist's main journey.
One gigantic plot hole I take issues with is getting rid of the arc reactor. There is no legitimate explanation to how get gets rid of it after three films of "This is impossible". Yes, it's intentionally left ambiguous, and I don't agree with it being intentionally ambiguous. They should have explained how he did it or at least make a bigger deal out of the fact that he did. It just feels like "The end. Oh and by the way, I got rid of my arc reactor." Also Killian's motivations and reasons for doing things are all over the place...but won't get into that again. No Mandarin rant this time, I've done plenty.
Overall, good movie. 4/5. But it will forever be plagued by the fact that it could have done more. It could have gone further and easily be up there with TWS had it just got its **** together in certain areas, most particularly with the Mandarin.
That being said, I still think it's a good movie and doesn't deserve anywhere near the amount of flack it gets on these boards. Tony is very likeable and his character arc related to the PTSD is really well done. I really relate to him and find him sympathetic, anyone who has experienced some form of anxiety can. I love the film's take on the "I am Iron Man" message, showing exactly what makes Tony Iron Man as opposed to someone else wearing the suit. That without Tony, the suit is simply just a war machine while Iron Man is the byproduct of Tony's man-of-tomorrow intellect. It was a big theme in IM2 as well, only there they did more telling than showing. I think there is a certain amount of redo with IM3, in which they wanted to go back to some themes from IM2 and do them better. This one was definitely one of the big ones.
I love the tone overall and how darker certain things comes off than in the previous films. I don't mind the comedy that much and think most of it works. There's a couple of places in the beginning and second act where I don't think the soundtrack or comedy fits with how serious the scene is supposed to be, but it isn't a fatal issue. I love the the Christmas setting as well as the 80's buddy cop thriller Black was going for. Also while I don't care for their take on the Mandarin, to see Tony finally fight a non-armor related villain in an IM film is still exciting.
A lot of the plot holes people bring up aren't really plot holes. The biggest one is how all those suits broke so easily. I don't think people understand that they're all rush jobs. He built 35 Marks in the span of 6 months. They're all poorly done and solely designed just for coming to him as opposed to being durable, all because of his PTSD that makes him feel invulnerable without a suit. He also seemed to require a certain amount of time to get them all ready, which explains why they weren't all active when the Mandarin attacked his home by surprise while later in the film, he willingly sets them loose after the Party Protocol is fully prepared by JARVIS.
Another complaint I hear is how little of Iron Man there is in the film. I never understood this complaint, as I watch these films because I care for the character depth and development. Tony is Iron Man, with or without a suit, much like how Bruce Wayne is Batman with or without a suit. Plus that's kinda the whole point of his character arc. That he is still Iron Man without the suit, and that's what separates him from me and you putting on the suit.
It baffles me how people can criticize these direct links to his PTSD-induced character arc. To me, that just shows people don't understand the main point of the film, the protagonist's main journey.
One gigantic plot hole I take issues with is getting rid of the arc reactor. There is no legitimate explanation to how get gets rid of it after three films of "This is impossible". Yes, it's intentionally left ambiguous, and I don't agree with it being intentionally ambiguous. They should have explained how he did it or at least make a bigger deal out of the fact that he did. It just feels like "The end. Oh and by the way, I got rid of my arc reactor." Also Killian's motivations and reasons for doing things are all over the place...but won't get into that again. No Mandarin rant this time, I've done plenty.
Overall, good movie. 4/5. But it will forever be plagued by the fact that it could have done more. It could have gone further and easily be up there with TWS had it just got its **** together in certain areas, most particularly with the Mandarin.
