"Iron Man 3" Talkback (Spoilers)

[Avaitor]

Unleash the power behind the armor.

Release Date: May 3, 2013
Studio: Paramount
Director: Shane Black
Aspect Ratio: 2.35 : 1
Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle

Plot Summary: Marvel's "Iron Man 3" pits brash-but-brilliant industrialist Tony Stark/Iron Man against an enemy whose reach knows no bounds. When Stark finds his personal world destroyed at his enemy's hands, he embarks on a harrowing quest to find those responsible. This journey, at every turn, will test his mettle. With his back against the wall, Stark is left to survive by his own devices, relying on his ingenuity and instincts to protect those closest to him. As he fights his way back, Stark discovers the answer to the question that has secretly haunted him: does the man make the suit or does the suit make the man

COMMENTS?

Final verdict- thumbs up. While Iron Man 2 tried to cram so much into its run time, while ending up expanding on little as a result, 3 succeeded with just about all of its story ideas (not all, though- the vice president subplot felt a little underdeveloped, even though it didn't really need that much screen time in the first place). I'd put it below the first Iron Man, Thor, Captain America and of course the Avengers, but I definitely have a desire to watch it again as soon as I can, which is better than most.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

My opinion of the movie pretty much mimics Avaitor's. It was a very satisfying entry in the series, and while it doesn't manage to succeed at topping the first movie, its still a very worthy sequel (unlike IM2). I think that the story-telling was really a lot better than IM2 this time around, and it made me actually give a shit about the characters again. So, if your a fan of IM1 who was disappointed with IM2, then I recommend you see this one. Just don't expect it to be AS good as IM1, but its still a very good movie all the same.

[Lord Dalek]

Breakdown of my opinions on the Iron Man Movies...

IRON MAN 1

Toon Zone: ITS A MASTERPIECE!
Me: Close but not.

IRON MAN "2"

Toon Zone: ITS A MASTERPIECE!
Me: ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!?!? THAT MOVIE SUCKED!!!!!!

THE AVENGERS

Toon Zone: ITS A MASTERPIECE!
Me: The 3D sucked and the 1.78:1 stuck out like a sore thumb (also Hulk > Loki >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Everybody Else in that movie, fuck you Tony you kinda sucked)

IRON MAN THREE (ie. REAL 2)

Toon Zone: IT IS BLASPHEMY! HOW DARE SHANE BLACK TURN THE MANDARIN INTO A BAD ACTOR!?!?!
Me: ...that was awesome! 

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

The 2nd post on the Iron Man 3 Talkback thread from Toon Zone listed off a bunch of problems that member had with this movie and to be fair some points were valid while others felt like serious nit-picking. Then around the end of the comment that user said that Iron Man 3 was overall a good film but not a "great" film like Iron Man 2 was. For me, that immediately invalidated anything he had to say about this movie. I actually can't fucking believe that there are people who think that Iron Man 2 is legitimately better than Iron Man 3, let alone the fact that they still think its a good movie to begin with (or in this case, a "great" movie).

As for me, I thought Iron Man 1 was great but not perfect, and I think that Iron Man 3 kicks ass, though not quite as much as the first one, in my eyes. Iron Man 2 can just go fuck itself, though.

[Silverstar]

Hmm, I thought Tony was awesome in Avengers. ("That man's playing Galaga. He thought we wouldn't notice, but we did.") In fact, I liked all the characters in that, even Cap, Black Widow and Hawkeye, none of whom I was expecting to care about that much.

But yeah, this is better than IM2, though IM1 is still the best Iron Man movie (IMO). I'm not a heavy comic book reader or a die-hard Mandarin fan, so the twist with Mandarin didn't bug me. And the teaser after the closing credits was perfect. Great way to cap off Phase 1.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I agree with Silverstar on that one. I loved Tony Stark's character in The Avengers. To me it was a return to form after he barely even got as much development as he deserves in Iron Man 2, and didn't even have that many funny lines in that movie. It was fun to see Stark interact with all of the other heroes and characters in The Avengers. He was personally my 2nd favorite character in the film. Naturally my favorite character was also my favorite Avenger from the movie-verse, Captain America, so I'm glad that they really managed to nail his character down in the film.

[Avaitor]

I have no problem with Tony in the Avengers myself. I very much liked his feud with Captain America in particular- considering how strong their pedigree as Avengers leaders were in the comics, I think it was a good idea to have the two deal with conflicts of interest, while their strengths as heroes is strong enough to make their eventual respect work.

One thing that I especially enjoyed about IM3 was how Rhodey's humor was upped. His patriotism isn't jeopardized at all, nor are his tactical skills, but Black seemed to went out of his way to make Rhodey a replacement for Happy and/or Coulson when he needed to. Thanks to Don Cheadle being Don Cheadle, it worked more often than not.

As for the Mandarin, I honestly did not mind the change. It makes sense, honestly. In the comics, the Mandarin was one of IM's flashiest, showiest villains, and considering how RDJ plays Stark, there's no way that the character would work as a main villain. Too much personality, not enough structure. This is why as awesome as Mickey Rourke is, Whiplash was so forgettable in IM2.

[Spark Of Spirit]

I saw it on Saturday and was pleasantly surprised by it. Like Lord Dalek said, this feels like a proper Iron Man sequel unlike the bloated mess that was Iron Man 2. The plot was engaging (the Mandarin twist was totally unexpected), the action was clever, and Tony was likeable again (which he was most definitely not in the second movie) and basically everything about it was what I expected from a follow up to Iron Man. I think the original is probably better, but this one is close. If you were turned off by Iron Man 2- go see this anyway. You'll be pleasantly surprised.

Rhodes was also WAY better in this film than in Iron Man 2. Good job, Don Cheadle.

[The Shadow Gentleman]

Thats it. "I'm Blue" is Tony Stark's official theme song.

Oh, and the movie was pretty good too.

[Kiddington]

I have to be honest here; there were times there that I began to lean in favor of this to even Iron Man 1. Ultimately I still think 1 holds up the best, but man... this was a really good movie. Wayyyyy better than 2, of course.

Lot of things I liked about this; Tony's anxiety attacks sort of "humanizing" him a bit, fleshing out his character more than just an invincible rock star. The humor was top notch, as always (2 had that working in it's favor as well, if mostly from Sam Rockwell). And the twist with Mandarin... how could anyone aside from an extreme fanboy not have gotten a kick out of that? That was great stuff.

So yeah, I loved it. I might even feel so inclined to go watch it again.

[Avaitor]

I actually just came back from seeing this again. My friends and I wanted to see a movie, but one of them had only seen the first 50 minutes of the first Star Trek, and neither of them saw this yet. Just as good the second time as it was the first.

Hopefully I'll see Into Darkness soon, though.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Iron Man 3 is one of those movies where I am absolutely certain about its level of quality after a single viewing. That's to say that I don't think I'll find that it gets worse with repeated viewings. I remember that back with Iron Man 2, I was initially in denial about the movie and tried to pretend that it was better than it really was, but the more I watched it, the less and less I found to actually like about it, and I finally came to terms with the fact that it was just a big disappointment, on the whole. To me, Iron Man 3 is the proper return to form for the series. I do still prefer the more simplistic and down-to-earth tone of the first movie, but to me 3 does a great job of successfully giving the series a more comic book feel without completely alienating casual moviegoers by being too far out there in the process.

Hopefully I'll see Into Darkness soon, though.

So, just out of curiosity, what were your thoughts on the 2009 Star Trek film, Avaitor? I'm assuming that, unlike me, you are much more well acquainted with the classic series, so I'd be interested to here your opinion on the matter.

Also, I'm assuming that 2, 3, and 4 are the only classic Star Trek films that I really need to bother with, or are there any other noteworthy titles in the franchise that I should be aware of?

[Avaitor]

Hopefully I'll see Into Darkness soon, though.

So, just out of curiosity, what were your thoughts on the 2009 Star Trek film, Avaitor? I'm assuming that, unlike me, you are much more well acquainted with the classic series, so I'd be interested to here your opinion on the matter.

I've only been acquainted with the shows in the past year, in all honesty. So like you, I came into the 2009 movie as a newbie. I'm also far from a diehard Trekkie, so any of the changes Abrams made to the originals did not bug me as I first saw, and as I look at it again, it still stands out as a solid blockbuster.

And it's not like all Trekkies hate the movie. Even Shatner was a big fan.

Also, I'm assuming that 2, 3, and 4 are the only classic Star Trek films that I really need to bother with, or are there any other noteworthy titles in the franchise that I should be aware of?

Six is good as well! You can totally skip the first and fifth, though.

As for TNG movies.... First Contact ain't bad.

[Kiddington]

Seen it again today. Yep, still love it.

"You know what keeps going through my head? Where's my sandwich?"

[Avaitor]

"Seriously, I don't even wanna work here. They are so weird!"