I saw Iron Man 3 at midnight on Thursday. Not that I'm the biggest Iron Man fan (they were next door in the 3D show), but it was my friend's birthday, and I usually go without sleep at least once a week, so what the hell.
The biggest change from the previous movies is that John Favreau is no longer the director. He keeps a hand in as Happy Hogan, but his role is minimal, especially after Iron Man 2. New director Shane Black definitely has a style all his own. He's directed such classics as Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, and written the Lethal Weapon series and Last Action Hero. Of these I've only seen Last Action Hero, so I don't have anything to compare him to.
The narration threw me off, but having it end in a delicious cameo joke was worth the oddness. Definite flashes of the Tobey McGuire Spiderman. I liked the device there, but it feels a little weird from Tony Stark.
What I miss most is the unscripted dialogue. In the first two films very little was scripted, letting the actors conversations flow naturally, creating a better chemistry. Here, every line seems to be solid, so we lose the intimacy between Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, and Don Cheadle. It's not a major issue, but it affects the tone.
This movie is a departure from the other Iron Men in tone. It's far darker, with Tony killing mooks left and right. No electrostatic bursts to paralyze an enemy, no tying them up, just straight killing. It's jarring. These aren't the Chitau'ri: they're mostly human goons that have guns. He does let some get away, when the mood suits and the joke is funny.
The plot is a lot more complex than it looks, although I called the twist with The Mandarin. Mack (my fiancee) hoped there would be a double twist and that Sir Ben Kingsley would be the big bad after all, but alas, no such luck. Not that Guy Pearce is a bad villain or a bad actor. He's compelling as both. Of course, the die-hards will complain that The Mandarin is supposed to use magic, be Chinese, and any other number of things, but I as a causal reader was able to let it go.
Tony hanging out with Harley was reminiscent of an episode of Batman The Animated Series where a sick Batman...hides in a kid's basement. At least the actor wasn't annoying, and it wen't by quick with some good jokes and a lot of Stark-ness. We do NOT need another Iron Lad.
I feel like there were miss opportunities with Pepper: she's in the suit, but doesn't do anything. She gets super powers, but they're gone (well, we THINK) by the end of the movie. This would have been a great way to get her more involved in the next Avengers flick. Super Pepper! She became a super-hero in the comics. It'd be nice to have another chick besides the Black Widow. Someone with ACTUAL POWERS. Ah well, at least we'll have The Wasp soon. I hope.
All that being said, I enjoyed Iron Man 3. Seeing the fallout of the ultimate science guy dealing with being almost killed by magic aliens was neat. Granted, the panic-attacks were a bit painful to watch (not in the good way), aside from the nightmare scene with Pepper. THAT was gold.
Overall, I'd say it measures up to Iron Man 2. Iron Man 1 is still my fav of the trilogy. It doesn't suffer from Sequelitis, and I'm looking forward to the next appearance of Tony Stark.
That being said, Marvel Studios better give RDJ whatever he wants when they renegotiate his contract. Another guy coming in to play the part at this point would be sooooooo screwed.
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