Aravis Kenobi
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Iron Man 3 (possible spoilers! Read at own risk)
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? (IMDB.com)
My Rating: 3/5 stars
Review:
Where to begin? After the monetary and fan-based success of The Avengers last year, I think any superhero film has been hard pressed to live up to the expectations fans have. I think it's due to Avengers' success that this film has done so well in theaters, already exceeding Avengers' overseas haul, and breaking records set by Avengers' in such a short time. Even my expectations were high given how much I love/enjoy Avengers. Admittedly, I was not a big IM fan prior to this movie. I like the first Iron Man, but I found a lot of the content unnecessary and superfluous. I can't stand the 2nd film, so I was hoping that the 3rd movie would improve on the middle film. It did. PluggedIn berated this film for not having the emotional soul that the first film had, but I honestly beg to differ. Tony is shown as struggling with his status as a superhero, with not even his suits being able to save him from the nightmares and PTSD he struggles with as the result of what happened in New York. This film is an honest look at what celebrity status can do to people, and that being a hero isn't all it's cracked up to be. We see Tony's vulnerabilities, his weaknesses, his need to rely on others and his love for his friends (especially Pepper). I think we also see a new kind of Tony emerge at the end of this movie: a Tony that is no longer quite as concerned with himself as he is for those around him.
My biggest gripe with this film, however, is with the concept of The Mandarin. *sigh* This is where spoilers start, so stop reading now if you want to be surprised. The Mandarin is merely a front for the real villain. I feel purposely misled by the trailers and teasers because The Mandarin was being passed off as being this super evil, super nefarious villain...and all he is is a stage actor playing a part. It's because of this aspect I only give the film 3 out of 5 stars. Now, if we're talking about creepy villains, Killian Aldrich fits the bill. He is basically a scientist who has been messing with things he has no business fiddling with, and it literally backfires and blows up in his face. This film probably has THE scariest villains, as the bad guys in this film glow with fire, spew fire, and literally implode when their bodies decide to reject the drug(s) they're injected with. It's also because of this new level of scary/graphic that I have to put the film down at a 3 instead of 3.5 or 4.
Probably what was most surprising to me was the ending. Tony completely walked away from Iron Man. In doing so, he had the thing in his chest removed (don't laugh at me; I don't remember what he called it), and he destroyed all of his IM suits (presumably). It's this ending that has me wondering: will Tony return for Avengers 2, or is Robert Downey Jr. done for good with IM and the films? I certainly hope not, and I certainly hope we see IM return for both Avengers and subsequent IM films.
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? (IMDB.com)
My Rating: 3/5 stars
Review:
Where to begin? After the monetary and fan-based success of The Avengers last year, I think any superhero film has been hard pressed to live up to the expectations fans have. I think it's due to Avengers' success that this film has done so well in theaters, already exceeding Avengers' overseas haul, and breaking records set by Avengers' in such a short time. Even my expectations were high given how much I love/enjoy Avengers. Admittedly, I was not a big IM fan prior to this movie. I like the first Iron Man, but I found a lot of the content unnecessary and superfluous. I can't stand the 2nd film, so I was hoping that the 3rd movie would improve on the middle film. It did. PluggedIn berated this film for not having the emotional soul that the first film had, but I honestly beg to differ. Tony is shown as struggling with his status as a superhero, with not even his suits being able to save him from the nightmares and PTSD he struggles with as the result of what happened in New York. This film is an honest look at what celebrity status can do to people, and that being a hero isn't all it's cracked up to be. We see Tony's vulnerabilities, his weaknesses, his need to rely on others and his love for his friends (especially Pepper). I think we also see a new kind of Tony emerge at the end of this movie: a Tony that is no longer quite as concerned with himself as he is for those around him.
My biggest gripe with this film, however, is with the concept of The Mandarin. *sigh* This is where spoilers start, so stop reading now if you want to be surprised. The Mandarin is merely a front for the real villain. I feel purposely misled by the trailers and teasers because The Mandarin was being passed off as being this super evil, super nefarious villain...and all he is is a stage actor playing a part. It's because of this aspect I only give the film 3 out of 5 stars. Now, if we're talking about creepy villains, Killian Aldrich fits the bill. He is basically a scientist who has been messing with things he has no business fiddling with, and it literally backfires and blows up in his face. This film probably has THE scariest villains, as the bad guys in this film glow with fire, spew fire, and literally implode when their bodies decide to reject the drug(s) they're injected with. It's also because of this new level of scary/graphic that I have to put the film down at a 3 instead of 3.5 or 4.
Probably what was most surprising to me was the ending. Tony completely walked away from Iron Man. In doing so, he had the thing in his chest removed (don't laugh at me; I don't remember what he called it), and he destroyed all of his IM suits (presumably). It's this ending that has me wondering: will Tony return for Avengers 2, or is Robert Downey Jr. done for good with IM and the films? I certainly hope not, and I certainly hope we see IM return for both Avengers and subsequent IM films.
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(Ok yes, I would be lying if I didn't think that Cavill is H-O-T). I thought this film was pretty enjoyable, if not a little too long with a few too many battles. I mean, Smallville Kansas pretty much gets wiped out, then Superman and Zod get into a personal battle. Why didn't they just combine the two things into one instead of having a big battle and two smaller (interpersonal) battles after? Otherwise, I thought the film was a good origin story of Superman and answered some minor questions I had when watching "Superman Returns"