I'm doing the same, though according to Fandango the Regal theater near me is playing IM2 starting at 9pm (little over 2 hours from now), and have a new showing every half hour through like 1 or 2 am. Weird, I always thought they were prohibited from airing it until midnight due to that being the official US release date.
Eh, either way looking forward to it. I already saw it but was a crappy version (the sound was terrible) and it didn't include the post-credits scene, so can't wait.
Saw it today. I have to admit I was pretty let down. The big twist seemed silly. As did Tony's post-Avengers panic attacks. It was pretty funny throughout, but still didn't live up to expectations. I don't remember a lot of the second film, but my initial reaction is that I liked this roughly as much as I like the #2. 7/10
Saw it today. I have to admit I was pretty let down. The big twist seemed silly. As did Tony's post-Avengers panic attacks. It was pretty funny throughout, but still didn't live up to expectations. I don't remember a lot of the second film, but my initial reaction is that I liked this roughly as much as I like the #2. 7/10
Jesus, really? This one is night and day better than IM2, there's far more substance to IM3 than the second one. As for the big twist, I actually liked it. The "faceless" villain ruse Killian was using made perfect sense in the post 9/11 world, and while I understand fans' complaints over Mandarin being "wasted", that's really not the case when you think about it.
Killian WAS Mandarin, Ben Kingsley's actor character was just a patsy with the classic Mandarin look, but Killian even says at the end "I am the Mandarin!" while he's fighting Tony, and the dragon tattoos he had on his chest seem to imply an eastern influence--Fin Fang Foom cameo as a tattoo, perhaps?
And the panic attacks also made perfect sense in terms of Tony's massive ego being forced to come into question for him: after Avengers, he realizes he's not the most powerful being, let alone on Earth but in the universe. The almost dying in another part of the universe after directing the nuke through the wormhole seems a logical precursor to PTSD.
The underlying theme of the film was examining Tony's capabilities out of the suit as much as in it. I think it did a great job of exploring what makes him tick, how he's changed since the first movie, how he's grown (and not), etc. I saw it a few days before and thought it was good, but on my second viewing I realized how much better it was than I initially thought. It did a perfect job of forcing Tony to adapt out of his element (the armor), and this film showed the most character growth for Stark compared to the previous two films.
I also thought the few references to the Avengers worked well, very organically and as a way of both motivating and informing the narrative of IM3 on its own, without coming off as an advertisement for Avengers like IM2 did in large part.
And when it comes down to it, Killian was the most dangerous, effective, and biggest match for Tony in both intelligence and abilities compared to Obadiah or Vanko.
I give it a 8/10. It did have a few problems, but overall was one of the strongest Marvel Studios films, after only Avengers in my opinion.
Jesus, really? This one is night and day better than IM2, there's far more substance to IM3 than the second one. As for the big twist, I actually liked it. The "faceless" villain ruse Killian was using made perfect sense in the post 9/11 world, and while I understand fans' complaints over Mandarin being "wasted", that's really not the case when you think about it.
Killian WAS Mandarin, Ben Kingsley's actor character was just a patsy with the classic Mandarin look, but Killian even says at the end "I am the Mandarin!" while he's fighting Tony, and the dragon tattoos he had on his chest seem to imply an eastern influence--Fin Fang Foom cameo as a tattoo, perhaps?
And the panic attacks also made perfect sense in terms of Tony's massive ego being forced to come into question for him: after Avengers, he realizes he's not the most powerful being, let alone on Earth but in the universe. The almost dying in another part of the universe after directing the nuke through the wormhole seems a logical precursor to PTSD.
The underlying theme of the film was examining Tony's capabilities out of the suit as much as in it. I think it did a great job of exploring what makes him tick, how he's changed since the first movie, how he's grown (and not), etc. I saw it a few days before and thought it was good, but on my second viewing I realized how much better it was than I initially thought. It did a perfect job of forcing Tony to adapt out of his element (the armor), and this film showed the most character growth for Stark compared to the previous two films.
I also thought the few references to the Avengers worked well, very organically and as a way of both motivating and informing the narrative of IM3 on its own, without coming off as an advertisement for Avengers like IM2 did in large part.
And when it comes down to it, Killian was the most dangerous, effective, and biggest match for Tony in both intelligence and abilities compared to Obadiah or Vanko.
I give it a 8/10. It did have a few problems, but overall was one of the strongest Marvel Studios films, after only Avengers in my opinion.
SPOILERS: Yeah, I just don't get the love this movie is getting. It was decent, don't get me wrong, but I still think the original Iron Man, Captain America, Thor and the Avengers were better films. Maybe it has something to do with the trailer being ABSOLUTELY nothing like the actual film, and therefore my expectations were very different going in. As for Killian being the Mandarin...he's really the Mandarin in name only (oh, and a couple dragon tattoos). They never provide any reason for why he's the Mandarin, why he's adopted that name, or anything at all connecting him to the character. It honestly felt like a less effective version of the twist from Batman Begins. It's definitely humorous, but just seems like a waste of a character they've been pointing to since the original film. So, Killian went all supervillain after Tony ignores him at a party? I'm just not buying that.
The panic attacks make sense, I just don't think they were particularly well done. Maybe it's because half the time they are played for laughs. I agree that the references to Avengers were well done. That said, you can't help but wonder why Captain America or Fury isn't showing up to help confront this terrorist. At one point he's about to kill the President, which seems like it'd be something for all hands on deck to help with. That's a minor quibble though, and is something the audience is just going to have to accept in these stand alone films.
SPOILERS: Yeah, I just don't get the love this movie is getting. It was decent, don't get me wrong, but I still think the original Iron Man, Captain America, Thor and the Avengers were better films. Maybe it has something to do with the trailer being ABSOLUTELY nothing like the actual film, and therefore my expectations were very different going in. As for Killian being the Mandarin...he's really the Mandarin in name only (oh, and a couple dragon tattoos). They never provide any reason for why he's the Mandarin, why he's adopted that name, or anything at all connecting him to the character. It honestly felt like a less effective version of the twist from Batman Begins. It's definitely humorous, but just seems like a waste of a character they've been pointing to since the original film. So, Killian went all supervillain after Tony ignores him at a party? I'm just not buying that.
I think Maya Hansen's line about pride and ego taking over the good intentions helped explain Killian's change of heart. As for the Mandarin, yes, it did in a sense "throw away" the character, but the logic of Killian needing a patsy made sense for me. Also, while the Ten Rings were mentioned and appeared in the first film, there was never a mention of Mandarin till this third film. Granted for comic fans who were knowledgable of the character that did seem to indicate a nod to Mandarin in IM1, but I think it's important to remember this is a new universe, with new character origins and interactions than the one from the comics. I think a lot of people upset over the Mandarin reveal were expecting something that wasn't necessarily advertised, or at best was advertised with the purpose of being a red herring.
The panic attacks make sense, I just don't think they were particularly well done. Maybe it's because half the time they are played for laughs. I agree that the references to Avengers were well done. That said, you can't help but wonder why Captain America or Fury isn't showing up to help confront this terrorist. At one point he's about to kill the President, which seems like it'd be something for all hands on deck to help with. That's a minor quibble though, and is something the audience is just going to have to accept in these stand alone films.
I suppose it could be explained they were busy with other problems. Don't forget, the Avengers were brought together to stop a threat to the entire world, not just a case of limited domestic terrorism, even involving the President's life. I would enjoy a spin off MCU comic sort of like Fury's Big Week that helps explain what and where the other Avengers (besides Thor) were during these events, but then again, I don't think it's necessary. Each character will still have solo films, and it'd just kind of ruin the movies worrying where Iron Man is during next years The Winter Soldier, or where Cap was during IM3. Just like in the comics the films draw from, the characters have solo, more personal adventures, and occasionally team up for the big stuff. It's also entirely plausible SHIELD and Cap, Black Widow, Hawkeye, and Fury were investigating the Mandarin bombings but the evidence led them on a wild goose chase much like Rhodey before he was captured by Killian.
So, it was okay, but it really wasn't good. I would say that not only was it the worst movie of the Iron Man franchise, it was the worst movie of the Avengers franchise. It was legitimately funny, and there were some cool scenes with Tony outside the suit - The best part of the whole movie was Tony fighting with one arm and one leg from his suit. The line from the henchman at the end was perfect - But those were the only things holding the movie together. And the fiery regenerating soldiers were stupid.
The twist sort of made sense for setting up Killian as a big bad, but it didn't make sense within the universe of the movies. They had been setting up the ten rings as an international terrorist organization since the first movie, but now it's just a recent cover story for AIM? Yeah, they didn't mention Mandarin in #1 or the 10 rings in this one, but he used their symbol. The patsy Mandarin was the beginning of something clever, but it wasn't developed enough. If they had dug a little deeper into Killian running the ten rings as an international terrorism and crime syndicate in order to fund his scientific research, that would have been interesting.
Wow, what an incredibly divisive film! I'm on the love side, though, currently. I want to see it again, but I really enjoyed what I saw last night.
I thought the humour was very well-balanced; DARKKNIGHT, you mention that you felt the PTSD stuff was played for laughs, but I though it was fantastic how Shane Black could still make me go from laughing to feeling genuinely concerned for Tony in a heartbeat. This happens pretty early on, I think in one of the early scenes with Pepper (or maybe it was before that - while he was working), but the movie went from funny to dark and back again really really well. I thought it had equal parts humour and development, and actually one of my favourite parts about the movie was the character study of Tony Stark. This is something that the second film attempted (though obviously under a completely different context), but never really pulled off to any satisfying degree, so I was happy to find myself really buying it here.
Like I said, I want to see this again, but I came out of the theatre very satisfied.
So, it was okay, but it really wasn't good. I would say that not only was it the worst movie of the Iron Man franchise, it was the worst movie of the Avengers franchise.
Thought it was good but I still don't know where to rank it amongst Avenger films. Definitely left more satisfied than Iron Man 2 but maybe I'll have to rewatch.
The twist sort of made sense for setting up Killian as a big bad, but it didn't make sense within the universe of the movies. They had been setting up the ten rings as an international terrorist organization since the first movie, but now it's just a recent cover story for AIM? Yeah, they didn't mention Mandarin in #1 or the 10 rings in this one, but he used their symbol. The patsy Mandarin was the beginning of something clever, but it wasn't developed enough. If they had dug a little deeper into Killian running the ten rings as an international terrorism and crime syndicate in order to fund his scientific research, that would have been interesting.
Yeah, we thought we were going to get a big Emperor type bad guy and they we sit down in our seats and get fart noises. I, too, felt like they cheapened the Ten Rings Organization Setup that made Iron Man 1 more exciting with that easter egg. I think Black actually cheapened the entire universe with this move. I understand that they don't want a caricature popping up but to continually defend the decision with that excuse was boring the hell out of me. They are experts in their craft, aren't they? They know how to originally adapt, progress, and evolve a character for any medium. Instead they cheapened him. I only accepted it throughout the movie because I thought Ben Kingsly was going to walk away in the end drop the acted act and do a double reveal and then the movie ended and nothing happened. Unfortunately I also feel like that trick is a big overdone so I really thought they should have played Mandarin straight or gotten Russel Brand to play him because Ben Kingsly was such a waste of perspective talent here. And anyone just "acting" as Osama Bin Laden and not realizing how much harm to the world their causing isn't that funny.
I thought about this too. It might have been silly and redundant but I think since they were all made from the exact same process they should all have the exact same abilities.
I was a big fan of the panic attacks and the themes of the movie. Easily the most interesting part was his reliance on his alter ego because he was vulnerable and scared after the events of Avengers and it was too much to handle. Even with the over the top humor with those scenes, it made sense. Tony Stark's biggest defense mechanism is humor and charm. Also, I thought the anxiety was a great substitute for the alcoholism story most of us want to see unlike that dumb techno virus blue vein **** from Iron Man 2.
And the fact that SHIELD or Avengers didn't show up. I know it was necessary not to have them in so that these movies can stand on their own but it's like a new case of yelling at the TV trying to help characters out of their situations only this time you're just like, no, it's ok Tony Stark has 4 super powered friends that can help. Originally this annoyed me but I think they can make excuses for all of them. SHIELD now doesn't deal with worldly terrorists, Thor isn't on Earth, Captain America is on a mission, and Hulk is in New York. Either way it needs to be explained later why they all let they're friend to rot. I guess in the comics they all get individually attacked without assistance all the time to but for some reason in the movie-verse I felt it should be different.
I didn't like the end when Pepper fell over and surprisingly RDJ couldn't act for the final act of the movie. First, Rhodes asks to suit up and Tony tells him no. This would be ok if Tony was genuinely concerned about his friend in the midst of the surrounding chaos and told him, "Look, they're really only coded to me. Sorry." that would be one thing. Instead Rhodes is out in the open, vulnerable, and could help but Tony just makes a wise-ass comment and flies off. The audience really doesn't know if he was being a jerk to Rhodes or not.
Back to Pepper falling. I know there's more pressing issues with Killian but you're everything, as far as you know, just fell to her death. A little anguish please? Then she pops up all super powered. Something I'm sure most of us knew was going to happen as soon as we saw her in the chair.
And what's with Tony getting the chest piece out? HE COULD DO THAT THE ENTIRE TIME?!?!?! What the hell? Can anyone explain this to me?
Still, I enjoyed it more than I had problems with it.
Guy Pierce was phenomenal. Most of the comedy was well placed (Save for Mandarin IMO), Action was great. Most importantly it was recognizable as an Avengers sequel while progressing Tony Stark's character.
I think Shane Black was maybe going for something meta with this, having acknowledged the fact that the Mandarin is a "racist caricature" in the press and then casting a British actor to play him in the movie as a British actor playing this stereotype. But I couldn't think of a better way to insult Iron Man fans who have had the Mandarin, Iron Man's archnemesis, built up for two movies. I didn't really mind when they announced that Ben Kingsley was playing the Mandarin because I understood with the first movie that they were updating Iron Man's origin and making the villains from the Middle East instead of making them Chinese or Vietnamese. I understood that this was going to be a different interpretation of the character. And there are a lot of ways you could adapt the Mandarin without making him a racist caricature. But the twist in this movie is insulting and it's not really consistent with the events of the first movie and it's ****ing terribly done. I don't understand how there are comic book fans who are watching this movie and then going home and saying "That was good."
Even aside from the "big twist," this is a bad movie. I laughed so ******* hard when that suit with the drill-arms destroyed the bridge, dispatching two Extremis-powered henchmen. In what other situation would that suit have been appropriate? There are so many convenient suits at that moment, I imagine a suit that would be extremely convenient to any other situation sitting in the corner while all these other extremely convenient suits are dispatching Extremis-powered bad guys.
Tony Stark is supposed to be an *******, I get that, but he turns into a full-blown ******* in this movie and I cannot sympathize with him at all. A kid tells him that his father abandoned him and Tony Stark CALLS HIM A *****. AND THE AUDIENCE LAUGHS. Imagine the kids who actually were abandoned by their dads and looked up to Iron Man before they saw this movie.
Tony Stark is supposed to be an *******, I get that, but he turns into a full-blown ******* in this movie and I cannot sympathize with him at all. A kid tells him that his father abandoned him and Tony Stark CALLS HIM A *****. AND THE AUDIENCE LAUGHS. Imagine the kids who actually were abandoned by their dads and looked up to Iron Man before they saw this movie.
I was a big fan of the panic attacks and the themes of the movie. Easily the most interesting part was his reliance on his alter ego because he was vulnerable and scared after the events of Avengers and it was too much to handle. Even with the over the top humor with those scenes, it made sense. Tony Stark's biggest defense mechanism is humor and charm. Also, I thought the anxiety was a great substitute for the alcoholism story most of us want to see unlike that dumb techno virus blue vein **** from Iron Man 2.
Tony Stark is supposed to be an *******, I get that, but he turns into a full-blown ******* in this movie and I cannot sympathize with him at all. A kid tells him that his father abandoned him and Tony Stark CALLS HIM A *****. AND THE AUDIENCE LAUGHS. Imagine the kids who actually were abandoned by their dads and looked up to Iron Man before they saw this movie.
In the US it's definitely more acceptable. The c-word's pretty much the only word that is still kinda shocking to hear someone say (in addition to some racial slurs). As for whether it's misogynistic, I dunno. I don't see how it's much different than calling someone a dick, which is pretty much accepted.
I'm 24hrs out from seeing this and I'm not sure how I ultimately feel about it. There were things I loved and things I hated.
HIGH POINTS:
The subtle nods to Fraction's "Five Nightmares" with human bombs.
RDJ as Stark suffering with PTSD instead of alcoholism we're all kinda expecting.
Kingsley as Mandarin (pre-reveal).
LOW POINTS:
A whole lotta stuff. So much set-up...so much let down...
No actual Extremis injected into Stark. And the chest piece coming out at the end? WTF?
No post-credit scene of Rescue.
Am I the only one mad that the red-headed Extremis soldier with the scarred face didn't turn out to be Whitney aka Madame Mask?
Even though it was just introduced...I kinda wish AIM was a lil more than just a company.
Wasting The Mandarin and Ten Rings is just inexcusable. With the introduction of Thor a s the 9 Realms, the Red Skull harnessing power of the Tesseract and even Chuitari alien invasion...it's no longer a stretch to conceive the magical origins of the Rings. So for him to be a Ras Al Ghul wannabe...I'm just disappointed.
Extremis Pepper? Yeahbutwhat?
Overall I really enjoyed the film, but maybe it was cuz I was just enjoying seeing more comic stuff on film and being with my wife? Would I see it again? Yes. But it's definitely got a lot of faults.
That actually would've been cool. However, not sure if you knew this, but that character (Ellen Brandt) in the comics was the wife of Ted Sallis, aka the Man-Thing. In the comics she also had a scar/disfigurement (but much worse), worked for AIM, and played a part in Ted becoming Man-Thing. Not really sure why they chose that character over Madame Masque, other than maybe a case of too many villain characters requiring development already.
I'm 24hrs out from seeing this and I'm not sure how I ultimately feel about it. There were things I loved and things I hated.
HIGH POINTS:
The subtle nods to Fraction's "Five Nightmares" with human bombs.
RDJ as Stark suffering with PTSD instead of alcoholism we're all kinda expecting.
Kingsley as Mandarin (pre-reveal).
LOW POINTS:
A whole lotta stuff. So much set-up...so much let down...
No actual Extremis injected into Stark. And the chest piece coming out at the end? WTF?
No post-credit scene of Rescue.
Am I the only one mad that the red-headed Extremis soldier with the scarred face didn't turn out to be Whitney aka Madame Mask?
Even though it was just introduced...I kinda wish AIM was a lil more than just a company.
Wasting The Mandarin and Ten Rings is just inexcusable. With the introduction of Thor a s the 9 Realms, the Red Skull harnessing power of the Tesseract and even Chuitari alien invasion...it's no longer a stretch to conceive the magical origins of the Rings. So for him to be a Ras Al Ghul wannabe...I'm just disappointed.
Extremis Pepper? Yeahbutwhat?
Overall I really enjoyed the film, but maybe it was cuz I was just enjoying seeing more comic stuff on film and being with my wife? Would I see it again? Yes. But it's definitely got a lot of faults.
This pretty much sums up my entire thoughts. I was sold on the Mandrain with the first video and then just that...what.
I loved the PTS stuff but then its just forgotten. The kid is all you are a mechanic, build something. Well you little ****, thats all he has been doing and it didn't do anything.
I do like the idea that this movie is suppose to be the answer to Captain America's question in The Avengers. "Take the suit away and what are you?". Well it seems that Tony is basically James Bond.
The main henchmen guy was so great. He just oozed sleaze. I have mixed feelings about Pepper and Extremis, but I liked her "Oh that was violent line".
Also if Tony could have the chestplate removed at any time....what the ****. Extremis created a perfect excuse to get rid of it and they didn't use it.
I like Iron Man 2 a lot more then this. I actually liked IM3 when I left the theater, but the more I think about it, the more I hate it.
I have a question that they may have answered in the movie and I just missed it, but why did Hogan live when everyone around him was seemingly eviscerated?
