Iron Man 3 Revisited!

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 In anticipation of the next installment of 'Phase 2' of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, I thought I would revisit the first film in that cycle. Also check out my thoughts on the last installment Thor: The Dark World  here
 and my predictions for The Winter Soldier here 

 At first, I was somewhat disappointed with Iron Man 3 but, every time I re-watch it, I end up liking it a little bit more.  I finally realized that my problem was that I had been trying to view it as a stand alone movie; it's not.  When viewed in the context of, not only the first two films, but the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe (which now includes Agents of SHIELD) it works much better.

This was not meant to be a stand alone work or even the latest installment of a film franchise; it is the final 3 episode story arc of Iron Man season one (or, for you anglophiles, and probably a bit more accurately, series one). The movie even breaks up pretty much evenly into three 40-45 minute segments; you can pretty much pinpoint where the 'To be continued....' would have come up at the end of the first two episodes.Granted, this is basically a three-act structure which is not at all unusual for a big budget action movie (or any movie) to follow, however, the more in-depth exploration of the character of Tony Stark and the plot's dependence on the developments from other films in the MCU makes it feel like it belongs part of a larger whole as well.

The first 'episode' sets up the events that are to follow and sets the stage for the resolution of the final act.  In fact, if we are now to consider Iron Man the first story arc in this series, then the flashback of a pre-Iron Man Tony Stark at the beginning of the film is an appropriate callback that allows the final story arc to bookend nicely with the first.  Also, we have Tony Stark dealing with the fall out from the previous story arc which would have, of course, been The Avengers.

Having had to truly risk his own life for the first time, he has become traumatized.  He is suffering from a sort of PTSD and it all goes back to a conversation he has with Captain America in The Avengers:

Captain America:  You're not the guy to make the sacrifice play, to lay down on a wire and let the other guy crawl over you.

Tony Stark: I think I would just cut the wire.

However, at the end of The Avengers Tony finds himself, for the first time, unable to "cut the wire"; if he wants to be the hero, he has to lay down his own life.  He couldn't outsmart the situation. At the start of Iron Man 3, we learn that he has been busy trying to make it so that he never finds himself in this situation again.

He has been building armor, after armor, suitable for every imaginable scenario so that he never finds himself without a way out again.  In fact, his latest project, the Mark 42, is a direct response to the dilemma of The Avengers; he doesn't even need to be in the suit to control it. Thus, he can save the day without having to actually put his own life on the line. However, the problem with this is that he has become too dependent on his armor; he retreats into it whenever he feels the least bit insecure.

What is great about the Marvel heroes, not just in the movies but in the comics as well, is that it's always about the guy underneath the mask not the mask itself.  Iron Man 2 demonstrated this by showing us that Tony Stark might not be the best guy to be in the suit--- at least in objective terms--- but, for better or worse, he is the guy in the suit and Iron Man is more than just the suit.  However, it would seem, that in Iron Man 3 Tony seems to have forgotten this. This paves the way for the second act of the film where Tony finds himself unable to use, not only his suits, but any of his sizable resources.

The second 'episode' in this story arc is, perhaps, the most successful.  If we are viewing it as a single 'episode' of the Iron Man series, it might be my favorite episode. Also, it would probably  be titled simply, "The Mechanic".  In it, Tony must learn to function without a suit and most of his technology; hell, the best watch he can conjure is a child's Dora the Explorer watch.  He must learn to remember that what makes him Iron Man is not his suit or even his resources but his brain. He is "the Mechanic"; he can always build.  That is his gift.  That is his 'super-power'.

Note: I would be remiss if I didn't mention the relationship with the kid in the second act.  Not only does it make for some of the funniest exchanges in the film, but it is handled in a way that manages to both have heart and avoid being overly sentimental.  Not an easy combination to pull of in this type of film.

The final act has always been the most problematic for me but, the more I watch it, the more I end up liking it. After a second act which saw Iron Man out of his armor, you would expect the final act to consist of Tony and Rhodey suited up and fighting side by side, right?  Yet, Tony still spends most of the final act out of the armor.  Oh, sure, we see a lot of armor--- about 40 different suits to be exact--- but Tony spends very little time in them. The final action sequence involves him jumping from one suit to the next without spending much time in any of them with most being controlled remotely by JARVIS.

While I still feel the ending is a bit overblown in terms of the action (Director, Shane Black, is perhaps best known for scripting the original Lethal Weapon and developed a reputation in the late 80s and early 90s for writing big-budget action scripts that were fun to read; particularly if you were a coked up studio exec.... and some moments--- James Rhodes rolling and jumping through a glass window, guns blazing; the final showdown at 'the docks'--- feel a bit cliche), it actually manages to distinguish itself from the previous Iron Man movies.

Most of the solo Marvel films have followed a similar approach for the final act:  the hero has a final showdown with an evil counterpart--- in both the first two Iron Man films and Captain America: The First Avenger these counterparts are, quite literally, evil versions of the protagonist: The Red Skull is a product of the same formula that produced Cap and both the Iron Monger and Whiplash are variations of Iron Man's own suit.  If the 3rd film had Stark, yet again, going mano a mano with another guy in a suit of armor, it would have been redundant.

In Aldrich Killian, we have a very different kind of villain; yet, one who still serves as reflection of sorts for Stark.  Killian is another brilliant mind but, unlike Stark who hides inside a suit of armor, he has transformed himself, his very body, into a weapon.  As the Extremis formula gives him a very different set of powers, it requires a very different solution. Tony can't just go armor to armor; he has to find a different solution.

That solution takes the form of the Mark 42 armor and it's unique ability to shift, piece by piece, to someone other than Stark.  In the film's climactic moment, the Mark 42, believed to be destroyed, enters the fray late.  The audience is set up to believe that this will finally be the moment that the glitchy armor proves itself but, instead of triumphantly merging with Tony, it crashes and, once again, falls to pieces.  It is actually unclear whether this was a legitimate malfunction or a misdirection play by Stark since his next move is to have the armor attach itself to Killian before self-destructing.  Once again, it is Tony's mind that saves the day--- the technology itself isn't important, it's knowing how to use it (it is also worth noting that it is a powered up Pepper Potts who, ultimately, finishes of Killian).

A final word on The Mandarin; I loved the twist!  Kingsley was brilliant! Mandarin is a fairly problematic character to bring into the 21st century anyway; he's very much a relic of "yellow terror" fears from the Cold War.  Besides, if you weren't happy with what the film did with him, the latest Marvel One-Shot with the Thor: The Dark World DVD drops some hints that there might be more to "The Mandarin" than we are seeing here (after all, the '10 Rings' was a legitimate terrorist organization in the first film).

Favorite Movies 2013

In keeping with the geekiness of this blog, most of my favorite movies of this year were actually of the geeky variety; however, there are a couple of honorable mentions that aren't that geeky but still worth mentioning:

American Hustle - While I felt it was a far less entertaining movie than it should have been based on its premise, it probably has the best cast of any movie this year with stellar performances all around. Jennifer Lawrence continues to shine in roles beyond her years and Christian Bale is definitely deserving of all the awards for his performance.

The Wolf of Wall Street- Martin Scorsese does for white collar crime what he did for gangsters in Goodfellas.  Dicaprio and Jonah Hill deliver A plus performances, but the movie clocks in at 3 hours, which is probably about an hour longer than it needs to be; there's only so much you can take of characters that are, basically, terrible people--- no matter how charismatic--- before you start to actively dislike them.

Also, I won't get to see Her until it's widely released... but I very much want to see it....

But on with the main list....

10. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

Yes, they added a lot of padding to this one, more than the first even, but it is still, more or less, an enjoyable movie going experience. However, it probably would not have made the list if not for one very important thing: Smaug. Looks. AWESOME!!!!!

9. Pacific Rim

 Giant robots fighting giant monsters: what's not to like? Granted, I didn't like it as much the second time around, but the film creates a workable and interesting mythology and builds a compelling story around its simple 'Robots Vs. Monsters' premise. I regret not seeing this one in 3D....

8. Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues

 Is it as funny or as good as the original? Not really. After all, it can't be; part of the original's charm was its uniqueness, the unexpectedness of the gags. So, it's not quite going to be the same.  That being said, it is still very funny and it gets bonus points for getting in a few shrewd jabs at the 24 hours news networks (particularly as practiced by the folks at Fox). Sure, it's 30 minutes too long but, if you're not laughing at something, just wait 5 minutes and something will come along to make you chuckle.

7.  Star Trek: Into Darkness

 The new Trek franchise would be better if it just completely cut ties with the original continuity entirety; any serious Trek fan will have your head spinning with inconsistencies in a matter of minutes.  I think what I like about these movies is that they are decidedly NOT Star Trek movies.  They're a bit more akin to Star Wars which is why I'm psyched that JJ Abrams is hopping ship to that franchise.  Still, what Into Darkness might lack when it comes to the more cerebral elements of the Trek tradition, it makes up for with loads of fun.

6. Joss Whedon's Much Ado About Nothing

 Not really a geek film per se, but it IS Joss Whedon so it gets a pass.  This happens to be my favorite of Shakespeare's comedies so there's also that.  Beautifully filmed at Joss Whedon's home with a cast of friends, its greatest charm is its simplicity.  Mr. Whedon, you have a lovely home; invite me over some time.

5. Iron Man 3

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 Every time I watch this movie, I like it a little more.  So much so that I think I'm going to have to write a more detailed post on this later.  The last third is still kind of a mess, but there's more going on here than meets the eye....

4. Thor 2: The Dark World

This earned its spot by being the most pleasant surprise of the year; I wasn't expecting a lot from Thor 2 but it turned out to be one of the most fun movies of the year and, quite possibly, even one of the best Marvel Cinematic Universe movies.


3. This is the End

I'm a smart guy.... but I'm also a guy.  This means that sometimes I like stupid things.  Sometimes I just wanted to see annoying celebrities playing themselves sucked into hell or ultimate indie nice guy Michael Cera playing the ultimate hollywood asshole who snorts coke and gets his salad tossed by 'groupies' or (SPOILER ALERT) Danny McBride making Channing Tatum his bitch in a post-apocalyptic landscape.   I don't know how they ever convinced them to give them the budget to do this.... but they did... and I love it....

2. Despicable Me 2

 While it lacks some of the original's emotional heft (mostly because that film's central pathos was bound up in Gru's transformation into a good person, something that is already established at the beginning of this installment) it still has a lot of heart and is an all around charming movie.  And, we get MORE Minions... and that's always a good thing!

1. The World's End

Not only is this my favorite movie of the year, it probably now one of my favorite movies, period. It is probably deserving of its own post at some point but, for now, I will just say that it is my favorite of 'the Cornetto Trilogy' (yes, I think it's even better than Shaun of the Dead).  What is brilliant about this movie is that, 30 minutes into the movie, I had forgotten that weird stuff was going to happen.  I was genuinely caught off guard when the first robots showed up because I had actually gotten so immersed in the story of these old friends that I had forgot the type of movie that this was going to be.  Pegg/Wright/Frost pull this same trick in Shaun of the Dead but, here, they pull it off even better.  I'm getting to where I'm about the same age as the characters so I probably relate to this film more deeply than I'm even willing to admit.  Oh--- and the final act! Gary King's argument with the alien intelligence--- brilliant! Absolutely brilliant! I love this movie so much that I want to see its sequel and its prequel (which I actually hope they never make because they will never be as good as I want them to be in my head).

Thor: The Dark World

This movie should have been a mess. It draws inspiration from Walt Simonson's seminal 1980's run on the Thor comic which was an odd blend of sci-fi, superheroes, and sword and sorcery.  Pulling off a concept such as this in a big-budget blockbuster is a challenge to say the least but, somehow, it works.

The film clocks in at just under 2 hours but it certainly feels longer.  It doesn't exactly drag but there is a lot of plot packed into that time. Some might even say the plot is overly complicated or convoluted. Fortunately, Thor: the Dark World has one overwhelmingly positive trait that allows you to look past its flaws: it's fun! In fact, while it is not the best Marvel movie by a long shot, it might be the most fun outside of Avengers. Not to mention the fact that, despite having neither Robert Downey Jr. or Joss Whedon, it still manages to have the sharpest wit of any of the films (with the possible exception of Avengers).

After the in-depth character study that was Iron Man 3, Thor: the Dark World comes as a refreshing surprise.  After all, you can look under the armor and explore who Tony Stark really is but, with Thor, there is no need; Thor, simply, is Thor.  These characters are gods and, therefore, archetypes.  They aren't meant to be multifaceted.  That doesn't mean that they aren't without complexity and the familial relationship between Thor, his brother, Loki, and the Asgardian royal family is mined to give the story some emotional depth but, at the end of the day, Thor is still the noble warrior and protector and Loki is still the treacherous villain. No in-depth psychological profiles are needed. 

It surpasses its predecessor in every way.  Mostly, it does this by taking the parts of that movie that worked best (Asgard and Thor smashing things with his hammer) and gives us a lot more of those.  In the case of Asgard, while the first film was about 30% Asgard, 70% Earth, Thor: The Dark World doesn't just reverse that dynamic but does it one better with a ratio of about 80% Asgard versus 20% earth.  Most of the earthbound sequences involve a lighthearted sub-plot featuring Darcy, her intern (yes, the intern gets her own intern), and Eric Selvigg trying to re-establish a link with Asgard.  It's welcome comic relief and helps keep the film grounded whenever it verges on becoming a bit heavy handed.

 The cast is excellent; I found Kat Dennings delightful as Darcy (which only serves as a testament to how truly bad Two Broke Girls must really be as I can't make it through 5 minutes of that show without wanting to claw my eyes out) and, of course, Tom Hiddleston steals every scene he's in as Loki.  Stellan Skaarsgard also provides a lot of the film's laughs, reprising his role as Erik Selvigg from the first Thor and Avengers and showing that not every mortal who finds himself caught up in superheroics manages to come out of things with all of their faculties in place.

The film looks awesome as well.  A lot of big budget blockbusters have been skimping when it comes to cinematography but not Thor: The Dark World; it is probably the most visually striking of any of the Marvel movies.

At the end of the day, Thor: The Dark World is by no means a work of art but it certainly is a lot of fun.

After Credit Thoughts: The after-credit scenes, which have now become ubiquitous in the Marvel movies, have now taken on a new role.  There is now a 'mid-credits' scene (the one that takes place right after the main credit sequence).  This started with the Thanos tease in Avengers and usually serves to tease a future film.  This allows the audience to leave the theater without feeling that they are missing something (with Thor: TDW it is a tease for next summer's Guardians of the Galaxy).  There is then another 'post-credits' sequence that is mostly a little something extra for the fans; the schwarma  scene from Avengers, Tony Stark's 'therapy' scene from Iron Man 3, and, for Thor: TDW, I'll just say stick around for the super-happy ending of the movie.