Iron Man 3 Discussion Thread

[DinoLast]

People who have not read Extremis should read it to see how much better the story in this film could have been.

 

[brucecamblzchin]

It's on sale in comixology for 99c an ish.

Trevor Slattery must return for IM4.

 

[Intruder04]

Well, I'm back. Finally got to see it tonight. Felt like an eternity after everyone considering this movie came out overseas a while ago. Well, let me start by saying this: I love Iron Man. The first Iron Man movie is my most favorite movie of ALL TIME. More so than my beloved classics like Terminator 2, Predator or Aliens. I always defended the Iron Man franchise and even IM2. People like to criticize that movie, but I love Iron Man 2... I truly think it's a great movie.

With all that being said, I hated Iron Man 3. HATED IT. From the very start I felt like it was garbage. I feel this movie is almost a bad joke. I was sitting there, thinking it couldn't be actually happening. Seriously, I'm so fresh out of the movie and so disappointed I don't even know where to start. Was there even a point in this movie? At all? What was the purpose of this movie, can someone tell me? I felt like it only exists as and excuse to show off a bunch of useless suits.

• I mean, the Mandarin fiasco. - Absolutely ridiculous.
  
• That whole thing with that stupid kid (funny but went on for way to long. It was ultimately, completely unnecessary).
  
• The lack or Iron Man action scenes. Even the plane rescue sucked. It's hard to feel anything towards it when you find out Tony wasn't even in the suit.
  
• The sheer stupidity that was EVERYTHING related to the Iron Patriot (never even fired a single damn shot, not ONCE!). Why is he even in the movie. What kind of piece of crap armor is that, that anybody can put it on without any safety protocols. How can it get deactivated so quickly and easily by a "hand shake".
  
• The fact that there was very little Iron Man in the movie. He wasn't even inside the armor half the time. They just completely erased the whole purpose of him being Iron Man. Why would he wear an armor and be in combat in person if he can just control a whole army while sitting on the couch?
  
• How can he be Iron Man, without an Arc Reactor? Why would they even do that? That was one of the worst parts for me.
  
• Oh, and Tony going solo, without any armor or real tech to take out the Mandarin. Armed with makeshift weapons? Guns? I'm sorry, but that made NO sense. He couldn't go home and get a suit first? He couldn't contact anyone? Going in, alone, guns blazing was the best plan (after he said to Steve Rogers "We are NOT soldiers!")?

I could go on but I don't even want to talk about it anymore. I just feel cheated. I wouldn't care if the movie was bad. I could at least say the overall, the trilogy was good but as it is now, this movie is such garbage that it even kills the idea of this being a good trilogy.

I truly am at a loss here as to why toy companies would invest so hard on this movie. I don't feel compelled to buy anything now. Why would anyone invest money on a Mandarin figure? Or hundreds of dollars in an armor that has 2 seconds of screen time.

Well, that is it. This movie even killed my enthusiasm towards CA2, Thor 2 and Avengers 2.

I gotta say that I'm with you regarding IM2. I enjoyed it although not as much as IM1 and I sorta missed Terrence. Not that Cheadle was bad but somehow I feel that he didn't fit his role as a Colonel.

Coming to IM3, the Mandarin twist was fun but yes, I'm disappointed that we didn't get to see the Mandarin that was shown in the trailers and promos.

Tony with the kid was okay and i liked the fact that they didn't follow the getting-emotionally-attached-after-the-kid-helps/saves-him stereotype.

There was good action though it should've got more screen time.

IP was the biggest disappointment imo too. I mean, not even a single repulsor blast?? C'mon, you are just a repainted War Machine; where's your badassery?? If it's so fragile, why didn't it melt away during that hand-shake or during Killian's torture? And yeah, whatever happened to those safety protocols? On the contrary, I actually liked Savin when he donned the IP suit.

I understand that they tried to focus on Tony being without his suit but ultimately, this is Iron Man not Batman. He built the suit in order to escape in the first place *********; the suit makes the man.

The whole throwing away the Arc reactor stunt pissed me off too. A surefire recipe for a reboot, nothing else and that disappoints me.

There are a lot of loopholes in this movie than Prometheus or atleast, I think so.

So, on a different note...

Spoiler

What if Trevor really was The Mandarin, and he actually used Killian as a puppet who pretended to be the puppet master even though Trevor was really pulling the strings behind the behind the scenes?

This is exactly how it should've been.

Me and some friends did the Marathon and even being a REALLY long day we all liked the movie.
I can understand if people just wanted to see him fly around in his suit and blow up bad guys like the last 3 films that this film might disappoint.
But I loved it because it answered the question Captain America asked " take away the suit and what are you?" He is apparently a badass. I am happy they expanded on Stark and finally showed that he is more than a guy with a fancy prosthetic.

Just my opinion, you can love IM3 or hate IM3 but i'm still going to see it again on Sunday

He is more than a guy with a fancy prosthetic yes, but only as a genius. Without his suit, he is a normal human being. I'd say he needs the suit and the suit needs him.

An ordinary guy that uses more than just a gun?....were you watching when he created what was essentially an arsenal of home made gadgets?

Yup. And all that did was take down a bunch of hired goons. Hell, he had to resort to his suit to escape again!

You still don't get it...it's his genius that is his weapon! Like the kid said, "you're a mechanic, build something". The kid in the movie got it!

The man makes the suit and it takes Tony's genius to make the suit.


Also, I don't care if it's unfinished but I'd love to see the 3hr15min cut of IM3.

This. I agree.

 

[spindrift]

Editorial (not mine) with spoilers:

I saw Iron Man 3 a couple of weeks ago at a press screening at the Disney Studios lot, and it was one of the most engaged audiences I’ve ever been a part of. If you’ve never been to a movie screening full of members of the press, quite often it can be a rather deadpan crowd. Full of critics observing and critiquing a movie as it unfolds before them or just jaded film enthusiasts that think art is dead and the Hollywood blockbuster will forever rule in its stead, much to their disdain. But at Iron Man 3, everyone was utterly entranced by the layers of humor, emotion, and plot twists. It was a great experience, and one usually reserved for midnight showings or convention screenings.

And then the movie started to open publicly across the world and I was totally shocked by some of the reaction from the hardcore comic book crowd. Granted, we’re a fickle lot that are very hard to please, but I was sure that Iron Man 3 would be a revelation that third movies could be just as good – and in my opinion far superior – to their predecessors. And while I’ve seen much positivity sharing the enthusiasm myself and my colleagues had after the screening we attended, I also found an overwhelming amount vitriol and ire regarding the movie’s focus on humor and, more so, the twist on the Mandarin character.

For my part, Iron Man 3 is the perfect successor to The Avengers, and currently ranks as my second favorite Marvel flick, just behind Captain America: The First Avenger (which I’m aware is another unpopular opinion amongst many fans). But it tackles all of the important thematic elements pertaining to Tony Stark; namely, as Cap asks him in The Avengers, what happens when you take away that suit of armor? Iron Man 3 answers that question with authority and shows that it’s the man that makes the Iron Man.

Additionally, the movie deftly handles the aftermath of the attack on New York City and Tony’s would-be suicide play into deep space. It explores the effect that has on his body, his relationship with Pepper Potts, his work, and his sanity. Meanwhile, co-writer/director Shane Black tackles all of this heavy material with a sense of humor and irreverence that is unmatched in any other superhero movie to date. Not to mention the action; oh, sweet lord, the action. How The Avengers 2 is expected to top Iron Man 3, I’ll never know (until May 2015, anyway).

All of that said, I do have some plot issues with the movie, but as a viewer, I find plot (or lack thereof) irrelevant if the character work is strong, and Iron Man 3’s character development for Tony, Pepper, Rhodey, Mandarin, and even Happy is off the charts.

This is where I part ways with many comic book fans, it seems. I understand the concern when long-standing comic book tradition is changed for the movie. But in the case of Iron Man 3, those changes are made to better the movie as a whole, not simply “to be different.” To be honest, the theatricality of the Mandarin within Iron Man 3 was over the top and hard to swallow. Those terror videos? Ridiculous and silly. But after the big reveal, it all made sense. It wasn’t a tragic lack of cohesive tone, it was a theater actor performing in a film produced by an out-of-his-mind scientist, who knows nothing about filmmaking.

The reveal actually redeemed my least favorite parts of the movie up to that point, because it justified the absurdity of those moments within the logic of the movie universe instead of trying to remain consistent with the traditional portrayal of the character. That portrayal, by the way, being the perpetuation of a stereotype that has no place in modern society. The self-referential humor of the movie is definitively Shane Black, which is another reason I enjoy the movie so much. It still works within the established cinematic Marvel Universe, but has Black’s creative stamp all over it.

I’m hoping that the shock and awe of the movie’s big twist will subside at a certain point and the fans that are put off by it will come to see why it benefits the movie and the character as a whole, and come to appreciate it in the long term. This reaction once again begs the question of, “Are we too attached?” that seems to crop up any time something like this occurs. It doesn’t fundamentally change anything about Tony Stark – who the movie is about, you’ll recall – and so why should it matter?

The whole point of this movie is to showcase the inherent heroism of Tony. Consider replacing post-Avengers Stark of this film with Iron Man 1-era Stark. None of the choices he makes here would stand. His self-sacrifice in The Avengers destroyed any last bit of selfishness he had inside, instead giving him a new near-fatal flaw: he can’t stop the self-sacrifice. He’s almost got a deathwish in Iron Man 3, and Black takes him on a journey of how to strike a balance between being a hero and being a person.

If nothing else, Iron Man 3 proves more than any other Marvel movie before that this universe can be littered with fun and explosions, but can also act as an introspective and heavy exploration of the characters that make it tick.

With explosions.

What do you think of Iron Man 3’s big twist and where it left the character moving into The Avengers 2?

Well said- you hit it on the head.

I dealt with the twist as part of the theme of the movie- it just didn't ruin the rest of the film.

I don't think it was so different from the others- just better(IM2, say no more) I enjoyed that the filmmakers wanted to do something different from Avengers, you just can't go that route one year after it.

General public loves it. Disney is happy.

 

[MitchF1GTR]

I think we all have to remember too the MCU isn't the same as the various arcs the comics have gone down....so this Mandarin, whilst only an actor, can be and is different to other Iron Man Mandarins.

 

[Irvy]

Marvel are apparently now in talks to develop a spin off movie.

Trevor Slattery: Toast of Croydon.

 

[Silasya77]

Marvel are apparently now in talks to develop a spin off movie.

Trevor Slattery: Toast of Croydon.

I'd pay to watch that ****. As long as Pearce isn't allowed near it.

 

[jye4ever]

jye you are a great member so I do not want to tear apart your well thought out review. However I must say reading this quote here I am now aware that you and I will never be movie buddies

lol, not my review or thoughts, someone pasted my name to these words in an attempt to infiltrate lolcat city.

 

[jye4ever]

People who have not read Extremis should read it to see how much better the story in this film could have been.

It is rather ballsy of Marvel to make Extremis Mandarin's powers.

 

[jye4ever]

So,

was Killian in charge of the ten rings all along in this trilogy or does the real ten rings still exist, the group that kidnapped Stark in this series.

was Killian the real Mandarin in charge of the real ten rings, or was he just stealing/using the name when he yelled out in anger "I'm Mandarin!" and for all we know the real Mandarin is still out there?

for me the real ten rings with a real Mandarin still exist because Killian's extent of his ten rings / Mandarin cover story was a studio in Miami.

Stark became IM because of the real ten rings gang.

what a cluster ****.

 

[MitchF1GTR]

IM4 we get the actual Mandarin who hired Killian to do what Killian did, include hire Trevor to pretend to be him?

Ironception Man.

 

[Niltusk]

So,

was Killian in charge of the ten rings all along in this trilogy or does the real ten rings still exist, the group that kidnapped Stark in this series.

was Killian the real Mandarin in charge of the real ten rings, or was he just stealing/using the name when he yelled out in anger "I'm Mandarin!" and for all we know the real Mandarin is still out there?

for me the real ten rings with a real Mandarin still exist because Killian's extent of his ten rings / Mandarin cover story was a studio in Miami.

Stark became IM because of the real ten rings gang.

what a cluster ****.

That was actually a bit confusing since there was an extremis agent at the site they had sent SuperPatriot.

As much as I enjoyed this movie (less than 1, better than 2) its master stroke was making all the fanbois cry like babies, this was what was missing in Avengers. I've never disliked a movie enough to post about it over and over and over again, these lifeless fanbois crack me up.

 

[Deckard]

As much as I enjoyed this movie (less than 1, better than 2) its master stroke was making all the fanbois cry like babies, this was what was missing in Avengers. I've never disliked a movie enough to post about it over and over and over again, these lifeless fanbois crack me up.

You spent from 3 pm to 10 pm, 7 hours straight online here on a Friday night yesterday. Maybe don't be so quick to judge eh.

 

[DiFabio]

Are you sure you're not Difabio or kindred of?

What the ****, I liked Iron Man 3? I haven't *****ed once about it.

Have you seen it Adolfo?

 

[DrQ2]

That was actually a bit confusing since there was an extremis agent at the site they had sent SuperPatriot.

As much as I enjoyed this movie (less than 1, better than 2) its master stroke was making all the fanbois cry like babies, this was what was missing in Avengers. I've never disliked a movie enough to post about it over and over and over again, these lifeless fanbois crack me up.

I don't mind talking about a movie. But, its still just a movie. Not like we can go to our local Mark shop and pickup the new Mark42.


Or Can we?

 

[DrQ2]

You spent from 3 pm to 10 pm, 7 hours straight online here on a Friday night yesterday. Maybe don't be so quick to judge eh.

Maybe he was not at the keyboard all that time. Like most we are on our cellphones. It would look like I live on this board. Right now I have only been on for 7 mins.

 

[DrQ2]

It's on sale in comixology for 99c an ish.

Trevor Slattery must return for IM4.

All of them or just a issue? How many issues are there?

 

[JAWS]

My thoughts in Bold

The movie wasn't ****, here's why....

This is post Avengers, this is Tony Stark after his experiences and it shows with Tony experiencing anxiety attacks from the sheer stress of him realizing just how human he is compared to those around him. It is slow at first but there's pieces that needed to be setup (the establishment of the players and the motives) but once it moved on to the Malibu house attack then things really started happening.

I said this before. Tony has had near death experiences before. Twice in the first film and one long one in the second. So why did this one bother him so much?? They just needed Tony to have some sort of mental issue so that seemed like a good one. It really made no sense. Having said that I did not mind his PTSD. It just was a bad reason to have it.

On the kid, every moment of Tony interacting with the kid worked and it also showed a child's perspective of superheroes that he only knows Iron Man and not who Stark was. It wasn't too long or drawn out and it wasn't crap.

I did not hate the Kid in the film. But it did go on too long.

The Mandarin twist (it's the 5th, here's your spoilers) fit perfectly in the grand scheme of things once it's revealed Aldrich Killian is the real man behind the scenes. Yes there's magic in the Marvel Cinematic Universe but they'd have had to have spent time establishing how the rings come to being and setting up the Mandarin. This movie isn't about Mandarin, it's about Stark.

The don't have the Mandarin in it. Don't set up this villain only to have him turn out to be the comic relief who tells a smelly **** joke. Could have save a lot of time and frustration by not having him in there at all. The film Jumped the shark at this time and just started to feel weird.

Now what this movie does and does well is tell the story of Tony coming to show that the man makes the suit, not the suit makes the man and by the end Tony clean slates that part of his life and really drives it home, the man makes the suit. People simply don't understand this, that's what the movie is about and that's what we get.....

Ok you want to look at it that way then that is fine. Personally I thought they made that point in the Avengers. The man in the suit was willing to sacrifice himself for the good of others. If course IM3 sort of ruined this by having him come up with ideas so he did not have to be in the suit thus never having to be the "hero" I get the feeling that this Tony stark would have fought the Aliens in the Avengers from the safety of his own home using one of his remote suits.

Everything you say is ruined when Tony out of the suit becomes a bumbling buffoon. I mean he was basically the comic sidekick to Rhodes when they got on the ship.

I would not have minded the smaller "Iron Man" screen time if Tony was as good and interesting as he was in IM1 and The Avengers. But it was poorly written. I am not sure I ever laughed. Tony was a bore and Iron man suit or not Tony Stark should never be boring.

Tony Stark IS Iron Man, he makes the suit and with or without it he's a fighter and a survivor.

Or at least he is McGyver. Yes Tony is Iron man. But let's be honest if the film had a better script, better action, better ideas, better villain and did not feel like a jumbled mess then the Tony is Iron Man idea could have worked. But he wanted and needed that suit. The only reason he did not use it was because he couldn't. Like I said he proved in The Avengers that he was more then "just a man in a suit" It was the point of his discussion with Cap America so to set up his sacrifice. To do something a real hero would do. Not a suit.

But....but.. iron man 3 suckz there isnt enuf blowing fings up and pew pew guns.Mandorin is an actoorrr thats it HOT TOYS CANCELLLEDDD 4 LYFE!!

IM1 has the least action of all of the IM films and yet is still the best. Why is that??? BECAUSE it was well written and directed. Something this film was lacking in spades.

Yeah, and after that just guns.

Fact is, without the suits Tony Stark isn't Iron Man, he's just Tony Stark, genius who can't save the day

Personally I think they could have shown a way of Tony being a hero without the suit but they kept shooting themselves in the foot.

He is Comic Relief sidekick with Rhodes.
He uses a remote suit to save the day
His life is saved by a Kid.
His Life is saved By Rhodes.
His life is saved By Pepper Potts - All of these when he is not in the suit. Sorry but nothing special there.

You still don't get it...it's his genius that is his weapon! Like the kid said, "you're a mechanic, build something". The kid in the movie got it!

The man makes the suit and it takes Tony's genius to make the suit.
.

Again they proved that point in the Avengers. In IM3 he does not really do anything to save the day without his suit. He has his butt saved without the suit but other then the McGyver scene (which was dumb) he did nothing to show me that without the Suit Tony is Iron Man.

I blame the script. It just failed all over the place.

 

[JAWS]

So,

was Killian in charge of the ten rings all along in this trilogy or does the real ten rings still exist, the group that kidnapped Stark in this series.

was Killian the real Mandarin in charge of the real ten rings, or was he just stealing/using the name when he yelled out in anger "I'm Mandarin!" and for all we know the real Mandarin is still out there?

for me the real ten rings with a real Mandarin still exist because Killian's extent of his ten rings / Mandarin cover story was a studio in Miami.

Stark became IM because of the real ten rings gang.

what a cluster ****.

IM3 made me officially not care about any of this.

 

[DiFabio]

So,

was Killian in charge of the ten rings all along in this trilogy or does the real ten rings still exist, the group that kidnapped Stark in this series.

I don't think so, he just created the Mandarin.

was Killian the real Mandarin in charge of the real ten rings, or was he just stealing/using the name when he yelled out in anger "I'm Mandarin!" and for all we know the real Mandarin is still out there?

No, I don't think he had any association with the group from the first film.

Let's not forget about Raza and the other fat terrorist leader. They were hardcore, not actors.

for me the real ten rings with a real Mandarin still exist because Killian's extent of his ten rings / Mandarin cover story was a studio in Miami.

YOU ANSWERED YOUR OWN QUESTION JYECAT.