Iron Man 3 Review

[amanuensis1]

I didn't love it, I didn't hate it; I don't think it's a bad film, but I think the best I'm going to be able to give it is praising it with faint damn. It just wasn't the Iron Man movie I walked in to see.

This film is to Iron Man what Skyfall was to James Bond, and a lot of people loved Skyfall, and I just wanted my spying and gadgets and nuclear countdowns back. Similarly I wanted the Iron Man of The Avengers in this one, and I didn't get him. I love Tony Stark both in and out of the suit, but empty flying Iron Man suits with no Tony Stark inside them are boring, soulless. We already learned this wisdom in IM2: "Drones are better," says the villain. Yeah, for villainry. For soullessness.

It's like the writers of this film said, "We're going to show the technology going so far it moves to the ridiculous, so then we're going take it all away--suits, arc reactor--so that we can have a reboot in the next movie." And maybe that's what it needed, so that all future Iron Man appearances can feel fresh. The reboot's okay with me, but taking the tech to those ridiculous levels in the first place feels disrespectful. Certainly not what I wanted to see, and it pinged my secondhand embarrassment radar a lot.The whole film pinged my secondhand embarrassment radar so many times--oddly enough, not during the times when Tony has panic attacks, nor during the visit to Buttfuck, Iowa, where he was delightfully competent even out of his element. Just...every time they mocked the Iron Man tech. Watch the piece-by-piece assembly sort-of-not-work! Watch the truly awesome air rescue scene end with a crash and the reveal that Tony wasn't even in the suit! Watch two dozen suits arrive to fly around all by themselves!

Don't mock The Suits.

(You mock The Suits, you mock Tony. It's not like they could have missed that--it was the last line of their freakin' film.)

I don't think there's anything truly terrible in the film. There's good! There's some very good! All the acting is excellent. There could be theses about RDJ's astounding portrayal of Tony Stark as a character, and still every other actor held up their end alongside him. I loved the opening 1999 scene (probably my favorite in the film), and the air rescue was the best action sequence even if Tony was VR-ing it on the ground. I loved the Malibu attack from start to finish.

On the Mandarin: the Mandarin we saw in the first half of the film scared the bejabbers out of me; I am so perfectly the target for that kind of Bin Laden-esque fear, oh yes. The twist with the Mandarin was clever and left-fieldy as hell and made for nifty storytelling (and yes, Ben Kingsley wins forever) BUT once they upended his menace, there was no sense of menace left in the film. Guy Pierce and his Flamin' Hot Guy-lings may be dangerous but we saw from the start: he can seethe all he likes, but he'll never manage menace. So if you're going to reduce your hero's antagonist like that (cue the secondhand embarrassment again), you gotta give him another worthy antagonist, or everything's downhill.

I really, really don't like kid sidekicks. Watching Tony treat him like someone who doesn't like kid sidekicks either was fun, but I still couldn't wait for the kid to be gone. (I do love that Tony rewards him the way Tony Stark will--not with affection or personal communication, but, "Here, take what money can buy. It's what my dad did for me and why shouldn't you grow up as twisted as I did, it fosters genius.")

Ultimately though I felt like there was just too much trying to pack itself in. Did they want Tony to fix the suit, or did they want him looking ultra-slick in the raid on the Miami mansion? They were spreading him too thin for my sensibilities. The scramble to create an exciting climax after the Mandarin had been unmasked--well, it just got messy. I didn't care about the President, I cared about Pepper but knew it would end all right (not because of spoilers or anything, it was just evident) so I had no sense of tension about that, and the Extremis Attack Squad vs. All Tony's Suits at the end was just dull. (Okay, I liked watching Tony leap from suit to suit. If they'd done THAT all the way through the final battle it would have been great.)

I look at IM3 the same way I would look at a minor comic arc: it's over now and it didn't mess up canon in any way that impacts my fandom. Um, hooray? The destruction of the suits--that's nothing, and for this film it's good, as it removes that wanton abundance of soulless suits. All Tony needs is ONE. The arc reactor? Eh, I can handwave. And you know something will come to replace it. There were no core character deaths, and now that the Malibu house is gone Tony gets to move into the big Avengers Treehouse and it's movie nights and Science Bros and tower-wide paintball and sex for all.

Onward, fandom. You have it so easy this time.

Comments

[dancing_serpent]

I had tickets booked for IM 3 already, but I just can't go into a thing like that without thoroughly spoiling myself first. (It's a weakness, but totally necessary when it concerns characters I love - in this case, Tony Stark.) So after reading reaction posts on my dwircle and the wikipedia article, I decided to cancel my bookings and skip the movie until I've calmed down again.

I have a huge humiliation squick and that ties in with secondhand embarrassment. Everything you said about the suits and Tony's tech, I totally agree with you without having seen IM 3. And I hate kid sidekicks. And I'm kind of ridiculously glad you wrote this - it's the first review or reaction post I've seen that isn't all "OMG I really liked it, everything and everybody was so awesome".

So, I don't really know how to say this, but - thank you? This review both confirmed and relieved some of my worries about the movie in a way that will possibly make me get over them sooner than later. :)

[amanuensis1]

The humiliation may not get to you in the same way it does me! But when you mess with the suits in ways that make Tony look less than competent it bothers me. We had a little of that in the first film and that was OKAY, because first time around, humor, trial-and-error, of course you're gonna get that. But they kept it to a minimum and kept it appropriate and by the time Avengers rolled around it was GONE, thank you so much.

When I like something, I gravitate towards the good reviews (the co-squees). And the reverse happens accordingly when I don't like something; I want to share thoughts with the people who didn't like it. I'd rather have my thoughts affirmed than challenged, at first, when it's a matter of fiction and the heart, you know? So I'm glad you and I can share the similar thoughts! When you see it your expectations won't be as raised so perhaps you will relax and enjoy it more. I hope so! I'm fine that others did like the movie. They were looking for different things, probably. After I've satisfied myself that enough people felt the way I did then I can enjoy discussing the film more completely with those who did like it a lot.

And I'M so glad you wrote this comment! I needed your reply as much as you needed my review! *hugs happily*

[dancing_serpent]

But when you mess with the suits in ways that make Tony look less than competent it bothers me.
Yes, exactly that! Hello, genius inventor here, not mad scientist comic relief character!

They were looking for different things, probably.
In my experience, most definitely. And I'm used to that, and fine with it, too. I'm not a grouch who hates it when others have fun. But over the last years there's been this trend in fandom that I really don't like - people trying to tell others what they should and shouldn't like and why. The old "how to be a real fan" thing, just clad in other words.
And I really don't react well to that, especially if I'm looking for completely different things.

*hugs back* Your review and your comment are a great help already - I'm already a lot more relaxed. Although I'm not quite ready yet to give IM 3 a try. :)

[amanuensis1]

Sometimes I'm so overcome with love or hate for something that I want to get into "If you did/ did not like this you are an IDIOT" hypershouts, and that doesn't win ya any sympathies. ^_^ Most of the time I can curb myself back!

[dancing_serpent]

*nod nod* I sometimes think it would all be so much easier if more/all people shared my tastes. And then I sigh and want to kick myself for that. *g*

Uhm, also - I just read synecdochic's review right now. And where yours took me one step forward, hers took me three steps back. To the point where I'm afraid I'm going to hate it like burning. So nope, totally not watching it anytime soon.

[amanuensis1]

*goes to read*

Oh, interesting! What she says about the meta of the movie that is talking about the movie you expected--yes, I can see that. Under other circumstances I might have called that a really clever take, but I just saw this actual movie, and it didn't work for me in this context.

Well, eventually you will likely see it and judge for yourself! And you will go in forearmed, so... *hugs again*

[dancing_serpent]

Maybe in about half a year, when the DVD is out then. :)

[amanuensis1]

It is a very interesting take she poses--if the Mandarin twist delights you because it changes the whole movie, you're going to like the movie even more. Though I didn't necessarily want the upending myself. (I JUST HAVE SIMPLER NEEDS I ADMIT IT.)

[dancing_serpent]

I think I would love such a twist if it happened in a movie where I wasn't already invested in a character. Also, all the rest. Everything she wrote hit my embarrassment/humiliation squick so hard - I wouldn't have thought that possible from just a review.

[amanuensis1]

Oh, my. I don't want to make you detail things you'd rather just ignore and not remember, so if you don't want to carry on the discussion about that, by all means you don't have to. Still, I'm curious what it was in that review that pinged you in particular.

[dancing_serpent]

I'm dealing better with my squicks when I'm talking about them, so...

Because the Good Guys in this movie kept trying to follow the superhero movie script, and they kept getting kicked in the head because of it.

And instead, you get a story where, yes, Tony has had so much stripped away from him, and is forced back to basic principles in a lot of ways, but the point of the movie is that he doesn't have to be the lone man against his adversary (and in fact, fucks up when he tries to be).

You get a story where Pepper fucking Potts is the one to kill the bad guy.

Sorry, but no. When I want to watch such a thing, I'm not going for a superhero movie! I want my hero to be the hero. Yes, I like them all banged up and suffering, but I want them to triumph and save the day in the end. Anything else is just like what you wrote about mocking the suits and Tony's tech for me - embarrassing and humiliating.

I want to watch Iron Man - and not "Pepper Potts: How to tame Tony Stark" or even worse "How to get my superhero boyfriend to quit and stay at home while I take over and do his job." And that's the feeling I get from all those glowing reviews.

[amanuensis1]

I'm perfectly fine in most contexts when the hero is not the one to deliver the death blow, who actually needs help to defeat the villain and is gracious about how he can't do it alone. It does depend very much on the context, I agree. The hero who goes off alone to take down the villain and then gets caught and gloated over in the super-secret villain lair is such a trope that it pretty much no longer pings me at all. But when they make their share of mistakes, there is such a thing as piling it on too deep for me to bear. I didn't see that so much in this film! But, like you, I still want my hero to be heroic in the end, whether that's dealing a death blow, choosing not to deal a death blow, or being gracious when someone lends them a hand in the defeating.

[dancing_serpent]

there is such a thing as piling it on too deep for me to bear. I didn't see that so much in this film!

Okay, that's encouraging. I don't mind the hero needing help or making mistakes. But right now that has been exactly the feeling I got from everything I read: Tony gets kicked around all the time and someone else has to save him and clean up after him.

[amanuensis1]

Tony's extremely resourceful in this one, so when Rhodey and Pepper assist him it never does reek of "you loser." In fact, we see several times how Tony's still the best at what he does, even when others help. *I* just don't like how many times Tony's tech fails him and leaves him at the mercy of physics. And he does get chastised for his failings at other times, though.

I think that review is likely pointing out the way Tony is fooled, just as the viewer is fooled, into thinking the Mandarin is the great threat, and as a result is laid low. It's certainly one of those "you know if you go in alone you're gonna end up tied up in a lair!" situations. Really, you can feel how happy synecdochic is to learn the Mandarin is not what we think he is--it flavors her whole perception of the film.

[dancing_serpent]

it flavors her whole perception of the film.

I guess that's kind of the problem in general. In my case it will be my view/opinion of Tony and his relationships with the other characters that will flavour my perception of the movie. And it's no secret that I don't like Pepper (especially since I finally made my UFO post about her that I've been talking about for a while).

Maybe it would be best if I had a few drinks and just got it over with. The tension is most annoying by now.

[amanuensis1]

Hee! Have a few drinks and collapse on the couch and watch something you really like. IM3 will be around for when you feel up to it.

[dancing_serpent]

*g* Yeah, something like that. Going to pour myself a nice Scotch and head back to that really long academy era Bones/Jim fic - and try to ignore the rest of the internet tonight.

[kabal42]

I think you raise some valid points. The first time I saw it, I couldn't even figure out what I saw. Part of that was all my feelings about Tony (and RDJ) getting in the way. The rest was that I though I knew what would happen (because I could see two comic stories I like very much in the opening scenes) and that was not at all the movie I got! So it threw me there.

Second time around I actually really liked it for what it did give us! :) But I don't completely disagree with you. Like I said, I think you raise some very valid points. I guess it's just that I weigh the pros and cons differently. Like, I'm not going to get scared by a Mandarin like the one we saw. I wasn't too bothered by the kid (second time around that sequence felt really short compared to first time!), even though I'm really not fond of "the kid" in movies either. I hadn't thought about the suits thing like you phrase it, so I'll need to think about that before I weigh in on it. It bears thinking for me, actually, especially in terms of the destruction at the end. (And yes, he's totally going to go build new ones.) The first time, the ending bugged me like hell, I felt it was wrapped up too neat, but second time around I realised it wasn't that definitive.

[amanuensis1]

I'm feeling less keen on seeing this one again, but maybe that's what I need? Perhaps I'll feel differently about seeing it again after reading more reviews, especially from folk who saw a deeper message in what we were given.

[kabal42]

*nods* I don't blame you, really. With the experience you had of it. I can only say it worked for me, but that doesn't mean it will for anyone else. I'm curious to see if it will keep holding up for me or fade. I'm not sure I think there IS a deeper meaning. (Which is also my beef with Avengers, that has rampant plot issues and yet I like it.) The other two have gone through fases for me where I see different things in them - and so has Avengers. It's a complicated love affair ;) I will constantly dislike aspects of them and love others.
Ah, now I'm getting waxingly philosophical ;) Sorry. Stopping now!

[amanuensis1]

Waxing philosophical is why we are here and not just, you know, tweeting! :D

[kabal42]

:D Good point! Thanks for letting me babble at you, then :)

And I still think I need to see it more before I can completely make up my mind about it. I'm having all these weird feelings and reactions and I'm not sure if it's that I love it, that I don't love it enough or that I'm still not sure what I saw *G* So I'm definitely waxing.

[florahart]

Wow, I think you saw a different movie than I did (why yes, I did go see it today; the kids don't need to know this). I got not one shred of a sense of mocking of the suits, to the extent that I have absolutely no idea what you mean about that. I only got Tony trying to make it do bigger and better things while unable to sleep, leading to some of the bigger and better things not doing every single thing he wanted (but still succeeding well enough for him to think the suit at Pepper in the midst of the house falling off a cliff; I saw that as more impressive than making other upgrades he's made while well(ish - I'm not sure Tony is ever actually well, full stop)).

I loved that they wrote a movie about The Mandarin (note: I know nothing about the comics iteration of this, just what's in the text here) and then actually made him not even a little bit The Brown Guy That Is Foreign And Skeery, but rather, an actor being controlled by a couple of American terrorists. I liked Tony with the kid (the kid himself, didn't care one way or another, but I liked that with a kid, Tony Stark was Tony Stark, while standing next to a kid, you know?). I liked that when something he had never tried to account for (the super heater extremis thing that could fuck up his suits, as well as a bad guy that turned out to be not even slightly what he thought) fucked everything up so badly he had no plan at all and also no information (no JARVIS, middle of nowhere), he was able to take a breath and build shit that would work (out of scraps in a cave, more or less, but this time because everything about his personal motivation is different, the pressures are different), because looking slick isn't why his toys work; that's just the shiny.

Anyway. I'll see it again tomorrow, this time without 3D fucking up the content (today, to fit around other things, it had to be; this is never my first choice for reasons noted before) and maybe I'll see it differently? But I really liked it.

[amanuensis1]

Tony manages pretty well no matter the situation, doesn't he? That's the thing they've preserved so well through all these films.

What I mean by mocking the suits was how undignified a lot of the suit manipulation was, how the suits were demeaned by making so many of them, how unglorious Tony's use of them was by controlling them remotely or even letting them go off on their own. I felt it robbed Tony of the "The suit and I are one" that is the essence of Tony Stark as Iron Man. It got to the point where they were comically foolish, and you had to chuck them all to reboot Tony and give him back his respectibility.