Iron Man 3 (Post-release)

[Jeyl]

A very nice solid entry. Liked it better than 2, and I think it's on the same level as 1.

My favorite part has got to be the "Barrel Monkeys" rescue sequence. I like seeing the good guys struggle to rescue people we don't know.

Wasn't a fan of the kid.

I thought the scene where Tony is in the news van could have been cut significantly by simply deleting all the scenes with the van's worker. Seriously, Tony gets into the van, logs on to Rhode's account, done.

Great use of villains in this movie. This is how you should be doing it JJ.

Glad to see Pepper getting some awesome moments. Can she be Rescue now?

Spoiler

Yeah, that wormhole plot point is so leading up to the next Avengers movie.

I actually really liked the removal of the Arc Reactor because I really didn't buy into the whole "stopping the shrapnel from entering my heart" thing to begin with. Just take it out!

Also, great to see you Bruce Banner!

 

[PAPA PRUT]

I really enjoyed the movie. Sure, like many have said, there were some issues with it, but I came out of it with a smile on my face.

One thing, that I think would have been great, would have been if they never hinted at any of the other suits in the trailers, or posters, leaving you to think that Tony was going to have to work with what he had... His MK 42 that he was dragging around with him trying to fix. And then BAM, at the end, they blow your mind with his army of suits. I was waiting for them the entire movie, I just think the element of surprise with them, would have been great.

 

[MooMooEgg]

Sadly, I don't think the people who put together the trailers will ever stop doing this. It sucks because it spoils SOOOOOO much of the film. I mean, they could have just held back the assembling of the suits before the last fight from the trailers/commercials, and that would have been good enough to not spoil anything. Hell, they even did a TV spot where they showed the rescue sequence with Pepper. I literally threw my arms up in the air and screamed at the TV when they showed that.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

 

[Bear]

I've seen a coup,e of the thoughts I'm going to share expressed here already but I'm including them in my review to form a complete thought.

I also want to say that my opinions aren't based on wanting the movie to follow the comics. My opinions are based mostly in my frustration that this film and script seemed to be made with very little thought. Here goes:

I'm terribly disappointed in Ironman 3.
Being a HUGE fan of these movies makes that hard to say.

High point? Robert Downey Jr. The man can do no wrong.
At least his snarky dialogue was one thing the writers got right.

That said...
If, like me, a lot of what you love about IM is the genius, tech, and especially the cool armor, it would be nice if they decided to use that in the movie.

Open letter to the writer and writer/director

*****. the Plot Holes:
How does a suit powered/recharged by the arc reactor run low on battery? You literally have Tony walking around with a battery charging the suit. Did you see the first movie?

So, the kid didn't recognize Tony Stark/Ironman? Really?

Speaking of which, how does Tony Stark, arguably the most famous guy in the world (who just saved it a few weeks ago), walk around without anyone recognizing him? Oh wait, the people you _wanted to_ did!
Just an aside. People in Chattanooga, TN don't wear cowboy hats. That would have made him stand OUT.

I guess most of the suits were trapped until the construction guys cleared the rubble. Too bad there wasn't 40+ incredibly powerful suits of armor in there that could have busted right through all that and helped out sooner. Oh wait...

Did you really think putting the "high level hostage" in a suit of armor and considering them helpless/vulnerable was a good idea? Ok, there's biometrics in the suits so he couldn't use it, but someone else besides Rhodey can?

Tony, you've got on prototype armor that doesn't fully work and helicopters are attacking. Run to the armor that works, not away from it!

Basic Story Writing:
If your antagonist is so easy to defeat that you have to constantly cripple the hero, you might want to work on your plot. Here's an idea, you don't even have to be original. Read the graphic novel you based most of the movie on!

The scene with the reporters. Too soon in the movie. Yeah, a friend was hurt, but not enough had happened to call for that level of a reaction from Tony. And why was he so pissed at that one reporter? I'm thinking empathy would have been the reaction.

Amazing that Tony just happened to meet with the Mother of the 1st Extremis failure right when she was meeting with the antagonists henchmen. Why did they wait so long? Why were they there then? Amazing coincidence that dropped me right out of the movie.

The armor "failing" is great for quick tension or humor. It's been used very well in IM, IM2, and The Avengers. But after the 20th time it's used in the same movie, the writers/director are just lazy and it got old.

It would have also been nice to see any of the 40+ suits work well at all. Tony Stark IS a genius right?

Thanks for build up elements only to let down the audience:
Hulk Buster armor? Great scene of it entering the movie! I guess using it to prop up a bunch of steel and leaving it there was a great use of it....um no.

Every time Tony put on a suit of armor and we thought he was going to kick ass? Fail.

...speaking of... he must have spent more time getting into and out of armor than actually in it. Something else so overused that by the time Tony dives into the suit?...Non-event.

How many story lines do you need in the movie?
Why was the Mandarin even in the movie?
The scene with the Vice President?
Why was so much time spent in TN?
Calling the armor a distraction? This was such a side plot that it didn't matter except to create dramatic tension and setting up a fireworks scene that makes ZERO sense. Want dramatic tension? You already wrote it. Tony's freaking out about NY.
Take these, the few minutes spent with the kid not recognizing Tony, and the others, and you buy back a half hour + of time to add substance to the main plot.

So much complexity, overuse of the same elements, missed plot holes, additional story build to a climatic ending that... never really happened. Such a heavy hand on everything. There was no subtlety.

I did get your point, though you didn't make it well at all. Tony is Ironman and it's not the armor that makes the man. But it is part of what makes Ironman.

In closing, thanks for not pulling a "George Lucas" with the kid, and next time call Joss Whedon for advice. Seriously.

WOW! Just WOW!

What a horrible movie. I don't even know where to begin with this -- I know there are people who love the armor and I guess they'll walk away satisfied but this boys and girls is a true study of what happens when you remove a core piece of structure and leave your characters dangling in the wind.

First off - Pepper was supposed to die - that's right, in the first act. She was to buy it in one of the Mandarin's terror attacks.

This was to put Tony on full on revenge mode - no superhero antics, he's just going to kill the guy who took away the one thing that made him happy, but the dilemma - thanks to the act Tony pulled to save New York he is viewed as a true hero - for the first time in his life he is looked at, and up to by millions and killing someone doesn't really match up with his newfound image. So he hopes Roady can do it - but Iron patriot is taken out (not killed but just about) - so that two people Tony cares about in or near the meat wagon. He knows if he can find the Mandarin he won't be able to hold back - what will he do? See, this small change would have given him a strong motivation - like the kind good movies are made of. Not Happy (a character who honestly could disappear and it not effect the story one iota) in the hospital. This is more like Beverly Hills Cop 2 - when the captain is gunned down, but the movie shuckers are too scared to kill him, so they put him in the hospital - don't remember - don't worry no one does - same as this film in a few months.

The Mandarin - what a waste of a great character - I thought Marvel was done with giving us half ass commitments like Galactus showing up as a big cloud because they cower from their own material. What they did with the Mandarin is just unforgivable.

I had such faith in Shane, but I know it's not his fault - these movies (post Avengers) will all be done by committee because there's just too much riding on the line. Shane's works are always daring and he's a hell of a smart guy who knows his pen to paper, but same thing that happened with Fav - He delivered them a good movie from a ho-hum script and they decided he wasn't good enough to do part 2 - after a whole lot of negotiation he was brought back - but the screenplay was pressed through the ringer giving him little wiggle room. Same thing they did with Raimi, same thing the Salkinds did to Donner. Such a shame. Oh well, on the next crapfest.... I've got to train myself to just fall in love with shiny things and big Booms.

BTW - I did watch Silver Linings Playbook and Jennifer Lawrence is so hot in that movie - has nothing to do with Iron Man - just thought I'd let you know.

Couldn't agree more. It's sad that my favorite scene was the short clip at the end of the credits,

 

[Peejfro]

He took the keys from Savin after he repulsor-blasted him...

mmrrrffff! yeah I didn't miss that either lol

 

[Peejfro]

OH, and a movie called "Ironman" is supposed to have Ironman IN IT...right? I really don't care to see Tony Stark running around with a gun karate chopping bad guys.[/QUOTE]

um the suit is the iron, tony is the man. at least that's my take on it.

 

[Clutch]

WOW! Just WOW!

What a horrible movie. I don't even know where to begin with this -- I know there are people who love the armor and I guess they'll walk away satisfied but this boys and girls is a true study of what happens when you remove a core piece of structure and leave your characters dangling in the wind.

First off - Pepper was supposed to die - that's right, in the first act. She was to buy it in one of the Mandarin's terror attacks.

I was just about to add that if Pepper had died, it would have been PERFECT!

 

[niennumb1]

Yeah I think Pepper dying would have made the movie better. Her coming back out of the fire to save Stark seemed a bit of an eye-roller and would have had more impact on him if he lost her.

I know it's all fiction, but I just can't wrap my head around that DNA technology injection thing.

 

[third3ye]

I absolutely loved this movie! Far better than the second one and IMO even gives the first one a run for it's money!

It's already grossed more than the first movie and it only took 2 weeks, so technically it's hasn't just given the first movie a run for its money, it's completely running it over with a mack truck!

 

[RougeAvenger81]

I will first say that I enjoyed the movie. I thought it was better then 2, but even for me (who doesn't follow Marvel Comics) they could have done better.

I agree with the above statement that Pepper should have died early on. It would have gave Tony a true reason for out and out revenge, but would have added to his anxiety issue. Say, she dies because Tony failed to save her from the Mandarin. Would have been much better.

Speaking of the Mandarin (again I don't follow IM comics, but do look things up from time to time) WTF? When I saw the trailers for Kingsley I was like, damn, he is gonna be a bad mofo and completely relentless. A true terrorist, as mentioned in previous films, about the leader of the 10 rings. What a let down! Don't get me wrong, Guy Pearce did a very good job at playing the villain, but the twist let me down so badly! Fake Mandarin terrorist leader? That was a slap in the face if you ask me.

The MK 42 breaking all the time, was a bit over used. You could have used that as the reason Tony couldn't save Pepper, then bring it back as the bad-a## suit it should have been.

Again, I liked the movie and liked it for an action movie. That's it. However, they had too many story lines going and the twist with the villain really let me down. Can't wait for Man of Steel to blow this out of the water tho! HAHA jk Marvel fans. Don't hate me for it.

 

[TravisO]

After the last two days I've come to the thought that Mandarin, Marvel & Disney just didn't have the "guts" to actually go through with the idea of a true terrorist villain. Maybe it didn't do well in the focus groups? Really starting to get the feel that IM3 sold its soul for box office cash. Wonders if there will be a directors cut on Blu-Ray? Like I said, enjoyable movie but not for the Comic book faithful.

I will first say that I enjoyed the movie. I thought it was better then 2, but even for me (who doesn't follow Marvel Comics) they could have done better.

I agree with the above statement that Pepper should have died early on. It would have gave Tony a true reason for out and out revenge, but would have added to his anxiety issue. Say, she dies because Tony failed to save her from the Mandarin. Would have been much better.

Speaking of the Mandarin (again I don't follow IM comics, but do look things up from time to time) WTF? When I saw the trailers for Kingsley I was like, damn, he is gonna be a bad mofo and completely relentless. A true terrorist, as mentioned in previous films, about the leader of the 10 rings. What a let down! Don't get me wrong, Guy Pearce did a very good job at playing the villain, but the twist let me down so badly! Fake Mandarin terrorist leader? That was a slap in the face if you ask me.

The MK 42 breaking all the time, was a bit over used. You could have used that as the reason Tony couldn't save Pepper, then bring it back as the bad-a## suit it should have been.

Again, I liked the movie and liked it for an action movie. That's it. However, they had too many story lines going and the twist with the villain really let me down. Can't wait for Man of Steel to blow this out of the water tho! HAHA jk Marvel fans. Don't hate me for it.

 

[third3ye]

After the last two days I've come to the thought that Mandarin, Marvel & Disney just didn't have the "guts" to actually go through with the idea of a true terrorist villain. Maybe it didn't do well in the focus groups? Really starting to get the feel that IM3 sold its soul for box office cash. Wonders if there will be a directors cut on Blu-Ray? Like I said, enjoyable movie but not for the Comic book faithful.

Sorry but I couldn't disagree more. Killian is still a terrorist leader - he doesn't look like Osama but the whole Mandarin twist was Marvel Studios' way of demonstrating how ridiculous that kind of villain looks in modern times, per commentary from Fiege, Black, and others. Both Fiege and Favreau have mentioned they've explored the idea of having a MCU Mandarin since the first movie but just couldn't find a way to make that villain work on the silver screen. And if Marvel truly sold out for box office gold, they would've not steered away from the standard superhero film formula that was a pure cash cow for them in Avengers, they would've stuck with a comic-inspired Mandarin, and the plot structure would've looked much more similar to all the previous MCU films. If anything they took a HUGE risk with this film and that's why it's so polarizing among fans, who btw became fans because of the prior films and the previous approach.

But I do agree with your last point - this film is not for the comic book fanbase, at all.

 

[JD]

Is it a bit of a cop out to have the Mandarin be an actor and not a supervillian? Is Marvel trying to be too PC by not making a what's perceived as a terrorist? Depends on your viewpoint.

Is Marvel potentially losing one of Iron Man's biggest foes by having him be an actor rather than the supervillian/terrorist we expect? Yes. Especially, seeing as they set up the Mandarin in the first film.

Did Marvel do a good job by setting up Kingsley's character as well as they did? In my opinion, they most definitely did. I can understand how some folks might be underwhelmed.

Could there still be a Mandarin out there for Iron Man? I hope so. It won't make sense if it's Kingsley again... which is a shame as he did such a great job.

 

[TravisO]

I think this conversation clearly points out that Mandarin may of not been the best choice for the movie. Let alone any movie that was not going to take or nor had the time to really explore the Mandarin. They (marvel) could of dived into AIM, MODOK would of been something to see on the big screen but in the end what kills an Iron Man movie is the lack of villains. Where the books have the time to explore the "human condition" as Tony experiences them a movie just does not have to sort of luxury.

I do stand by my first concern though, I am curious as to what this means for the Phase 2 of Marvel films? How far from the source are they willing to go? Wouldn't it be funny is Fox got the X-men movie dead on right & marvel flushed it with Capt 2 & Thor 2?

 

[SmilingOtter]

I was rather hoping that the goofy drugged out actor was going to turn out to be a ruse on the Mandarin's part. As was said above, it's not entirely realistic, but neither are plenty of other elements to the Marvel film universe.

 

[Catavarie]

Had a bit more time to let the movie mull over in my mind and I do have one complaint. When is the US Government going to stop letting people other than Tony Stark mess around with Rhodie's suit? Seriously he has gotten hacked in both movies.

For those that weren't paying attention the reason the AIM guy was able to control the IP suit is because...AIM worked on the suit for the government.


I still enjoyed it though.

 

[MooMooEgg]

I think this conversation clearly points out that Mandarin may of not been the best choice for the movie. Let alone any movie that was not going to take or nor had the time to really explore the Mandarin. They (marvel) could of dived into AIM, MODOK would of been something to see on the big screen but in the end what kills an Iron Man movie is the lack of villains. Where the books have the time to explore the "human condition" as Tony experiences them a movie just does not have to sort of luxury.

I do stand by my first concern though, I am curious as to what this means for the Phase 2 of Marvel films? How far from the source are they willing to go? Wouldn't it be funny is Fox got the X-men movie dead on right & marvel flushed it with Capt 2 & Thor 2?

I definitely feel like he wasn't necessary at all in the context of the story. You could have had the terrorist footage on screen with just a garbled voice and the character in the shadows. It really could have been anyone.

Personally, I could have gone without the extremis storyline. I'd rather have seen Tony down and out and doing research into finding out who the Mandarin really was and how he gained so much power and influence instead of hanging out with the kid so much and finding out why people were randomly exploding. And I honestly feel they also COULD have justified giving the Mandarin "magic" rings. Thor did mention his magic was actually science. So the rings could have been Asgardian artifacts that imbue power to the wearer(s). I mean, is it any less realistic than super-strong regenerating fire guys? And it really would have been a more creative and awesome fight against Tony and the Mandarin, seeing Tony use his intelligence and ingenuity to beat the ring powers rather than just having him dance in and out of the suits while Killian cut them apart.

But maybe the extremis stuff will have a huge part to play in Phase 2. We'll just have to wait and see, and perhaps many of us (myself included) may end up liking the IM3 a little more when viewed as a part of the story arc... Hopefully.

 

[WarMachineRox84]

I thought the movie was ok. Better than 2 but not better than 1.

 

[Brent M]

I thought the movie was ok. Better than 2 but not better than 1.

Exactly how I feel about it...not as good as #1, but better than #2. Have to say it's probably even more of a let down after The Avengers just last summer. I think if there hadn't been an Avengers film and this was the next film after IM2 it might have seemed a little more impressive. Oh well. :unsure

 

[WarMachineRox84]

Exactly how I feel about it...not as good as #1, but better than #2. Have to say it's probably even more of a let down after The Avengers just last summer. I think if there hadn't been an Avengers film and this was the next film after IM2 it might have seemed a little more impressive. Oh well. :unsure

Yea...

The Mandarin twist was funny, well Trevor was funny. But I do kind of wish they made him the badass villan and not just a joke.

The fact that they took a badass (War Machine) and turned him into basically a nothing (Iron Patriot) was disappointing. I mean the armor is sweet but he doesnt even do anything all movie. He has that kickass cannon and doesnt even use it once.

The Mark 42 was another awesome armor that they turned into a joke with it always falling apart.

I just thought that they turned this into a giant comedy. IMO all the joking around was a little excessive for what this movie was supposed to be. This was supposed to be a dark moment for Tony where his world comes crashing down.

Then we have the final fight scene. I wish we saw more of the armors. Maybe not all 42, but I would have liked to see more screen time for the ones in the movie especially with all the hype they created about the armors. Would have LOVED to see some of them doing their specialty. I think the only one who does it is Igor who lifted the platform.

The clean slate thing kind of got me though. Tony states that there is such danger after NY but he destroys all his suits? Im sure he can/will build more but idk. Also they seemed to close out the series with how the credits were (recapping all 3 movies). But Tony Stark will return so we will see!

The movie wasnt all negative though. After all it was an Iron Man movie! The visual effects were amazing. Loved seeing Tony on the big screen and ll the suits! The movie as a movie was entertaining and I cant wait for it on DVD.