Iron Man 3 Review
So, I haven't posted anything in quite a while! I keep meaning to fix that, but my life is pretty boring lately and I'm not even writing much to make up for it. But I did see Iron Man 3 today, and I had far too many feelings (and spoilers) for twitter. So, a reaction/review post!
Let's get this out of the way first: I absolutely adore Tony Stark. He's a genius with a really good heart, and he's got a ton of issues (daddy issues, overblown ego yet with weird insecurities, survivor complexes and more), and I love the both the front he puts up and the angsty man inside.
The movie opened with a song that is dear to my heart, Blue by Eiffel 65, and from that moment on, I was at silent screaming and flailing extremities level of overwhelmed flail and I pretty much didn't stop (I don't think I have yet).
Here's a list of things that I didn't like, so I can get that out of the way first:
- super weird 180-degree-rule-breaking shots in that Tony/Rhodey scene at the bar. Seriously, what the fuck was with that?
- some of the lesser bad guys' acting (I wasn't a fan of the redhead girl, and others made me eyeroll at certain moments, though I did mostly like the right-hand-hechman soldier guy).
- the botanist one night stand girl, wasn't all that into her rapid flip-flopping; at first I bought that she was trying to help them/turn on her boss, so I can appreciate the first flip of it all being a ruse to get close to Tony/kidnap Pepper, but I wasn't persuaded by Tony's quick little speech in the dungeon, and I didn't understand what about it persuaded her to actually turn on her boss. I did like the guy's response of just shooting her and telling Tony a high level position just opened up, though.
And some of the action was overdone for my taste, but it's a superhero movie, so it was about what I expected. There were also a couple running jokes that I felt like even RDJ was bored of, but again, it comes with the franchise, and I knew what I was getting into with this movie (and all sequels), as, I'm sure, did he. I just read a review where the writer said he felt that Avengers and Whedon had reinvigorated RDJ in terms of playing this character and putting effort into it, and I agree; I think RDJ was fantastic in Avengers and in the first Iron Man movie, but the second one was a little lacking. This one was fresh and nuanced again.
Here's some things I absolutely adored:
- Tony's panic attacks and PTSD. This obviously was not resolved, so I'm hoping to see more explored in other movies? I hope I hope I hope? The first panic attack at the bar, I was like HOLY GOD IS HE HAVING A PANIC ATTACK, IS THIS FIC COME TO LIFE? And sure enough! And then it KEPT happening, which is pretty much my dream come true for all my favorite angsty characters. I love the idea of THIS man having such anxiety, so much that he can't sleep, that he gets triggered by New York and wormholes and nightmares and all kinds of things. He's so on top of the world, above it all, and you can really see how much it's freaking him out that HE'S FREAKING OUT. You can see him thinking "this shouldn't be happening TO ME, I'm not like this, I can do better than this" and yet, he can't figure out how to stop it. I really want to see more of this character development, and I'm glad so much of the movie did dwell on it this time.
- THE KID. Harvey? Something with an H? He was 1) adorable, 2) smart, 3) such a little brat, and 4) exactly who Tony needed as an ally, I think. He didn't have the bullshit of other adults, and he wasn't so young or so unintelligent for him to be extremely annoying to Tony.
- How much did I love that Tony's "distractions" when he has insomnia are basically plotting out every catastrophe and building a machine/programming a routine to get himself out of it? I LOVE IT A LOT. When the house blew up and he made the motion for his suit and it latched onto Pepper? OH, MY HEART. And all those "house party" drone suits, with all their different specialities? And the fact that JARVIS knows exactly what he wants and suggests things like the "house party" and the "clean sweep"? Amazing. Oh, Tony, you magnificent, emotionally fucked up genius.
- Obviously I really really love how much of this movie focused on character development. I love pretty much everything about Tony's character, so that was a big plus for me. I also really liked how much time he spent out of his suit. I love the suit and JARVIS, and I love Tony's capabilities in it, but I felt like this was much more stripped down, a look at the man as he was breaking and not just the suit and the weapon and the genius-playboy-philanthropist persona.
- Another aspect of Tony's character and PTSD that I loved is that though he didn't always know what triggered it (though anything relating to NY was obvious) and he didn't know when to expect it, he never freaked out in battle. Rhodey even asked if Tony was going to "freak out on him" but Tony is EXCELLENT when it comes to fighting and strategizing on the fly, using his environment and whatever's at hand to gain the upper hand, even when it's using his own weapons in ways they weren't meant to be used. I like the idea that everyday life is hard for Tony to handle, but when he's fighting, he's golden (even if he does get beat to utter shit in the process).
- I forgot this until now, but the nightmare scene where he called the suit in his sleep and it almost attacked Pepper, oh my god. He was SO FREAKED OUT. And so was she, for good reason! Oh, Tony, honey. You need help.
- SPEAKING OF NEEDING HELP, OH MY GOD THAT POST-CREDITS SCENE. I couldn't have asked for anything more perfect. BRUCE IS NOT THAT KIND OF DOCTOR, TONY. HE DOESN'T HAVE THE TEMPERAMENT. Amazing. I was flailing so damn hard. See, this whole movie was fic pulled from my brain, I swear it. It is exactly what I wanted, with nods to Avengers and previous IM movie canon, major character development and angsty issues for Tony, and some fun action and hilarious jokes sprinkled in for good measure. (And some of those jokes were truly hilarious; I'll need to see it again to remember anything specific, but I was LOLing a lot.)
- Oh, I loved Ben Kingsley! I loved that he was just an actor, a hired face for the public to target! I wasn't a huge fan of the bad guy superpower thing (I have not read any of the comics; I know some liberties were taken but I know nothing about them and I only care inasmuch as it makes a coherent and enjoyable movie), but I did like that the dude was clever enough to orchestrate this whole fake terrorist plot around some accidental (and then deliberate) bombings. The bombings, by the way, were a little jarring in the wake of the shit that went down in Boston, but obviously this was done way before any of that happened, so personally, it wasn't too hard to distance myself from reality and just enjoy the movie.
I think I'm running out of steam now. I probably forgot a lot, but I want to see this again ASAP. I only just got home from the theater like an hour ago, so this is all very immediate-reaction, so please forgive any incoherency! I still haven't calmed down. For the entire movie I was either slapping my hands over my mouth to contain my screams of glee, or flapping my hands/wiggling my fingers as a way to relieve tension, and I don't think they've quite stopped shaking yet. Seriously, Tony's issues? My favorite thing in the world. And I just got a whole movie focusing on those issues, expanding them, deepening them, reacting to them. It was exactly what I wanted. I said it before, but it really was like seeing fic tropes I'd dreamed up come to life on screen. I've only just begun reading fic (I asked for some angsty, long Tony fics and so far I've read one and a half, so I don't know if there is actual fic of things that ended up being in the movie or what) but this movie feels like something I would spend a lot of time thinking about, if not writing. Ha! Of course. Angstiest ever.
ETA: Oh one more thing! I don't know how this is going to play out in the future, or if it will be made a big deal of or not, but I liked the fact that Tony underwent surgery to get rid of the shrapnel in his heart! I used to wonder why he didn't do that in the first movie, but I figured it was just one of those superhero plot devices, so I was glad to see that he was taking realistic steps toward healing there at the end.
ETA 2: I fucking love Don Cheadle.
ETA 3: I loved Tony's use of pet names for Pepper. Or maybe I just liked hearing pet names in his voice. I don't know, they just sounded so natural and domestic; I liked the little glimpses of their domesticity as a filthy rich power couple.
ALSO, THE NEWS CREW DUDE WITH THE TONY STARK FACIAL HAIR AND TONY STARK TATTOO AND PRODUCT-LESS TONY STARK HAIRSTYLE. I was dyingggggg of amusement. Hilarious.
Let's get this out of the way first: I absolutely adore Tony Stark. He's a genius with a really good heart, and he's got a ton of issues (daddy issues, overblown ego yet with weird insecurities, survivor complexes and more), and I love the both the front he puts up and the angsty man inside.
The movie opened with a song that is dear to my heart, Blue by Eiffel 65, and from that moment on, I was at silent screaming and flailing extremities level of overwhelmed flail and I pretty much didn't stop (I don't think I have yet).
Here's a list of things that I didn't like, so I can get that out of the way first:
- super weird 180-degree-rule-breaking shots in that Tony/Rhodey scene at the bar. Seriously, what the fuck was with that?
- some of the lesser bad guys' acting (I wasn't a fan of the redhead girl, and others made me eyeroll at certain moments, though I did mostly like the right-hand-hechman soldier guy).
- the botanist one night stand girl, wasn't all that into her rapid flip-flopping; at first I bought that she was trying to help them/turn on her boss, so I can appreciate the first flip of it all being a ruse to get close to Tony/kidnap Pepper, but I wasn't persuaded by Tony's quick little speech in the dungeon, and I didn't understand what about it persuaded her to actually turn on her boss. I did like the guy's response of just shooting her and telling Tony a high level position just opened up, though.
And some of the action was overdone for my taste, but it's a superhero movie, so it was about what I expected. There were also a couple running jokes that I felt like even RDJ was bored of, but again, it comes with the franchise, and I knew what I was getting into with this movie (and all sequels), as, I'm sure, did he. I just read a review where the writer said he felt that Avengers and Whedon had reinvigorated RDJ in terms of playing this character and putting effort into it, and I agree; I think RDJ was fantastic in Avengers and in the first Iron Man movie, but the second one was a little lacking. This one was fresh and nuanced again.
Here's some things I absolutely adored:
- Tony's panic attacks and PTSD. This obviously was not resolved, so I'm hoping to see more explored in other movies? I hope I hope I hope? The first panic attack at the bar, I was like HOLY GOD IS HE HAVING A PANIC ATTACK, IS THIS FIC COME TO LIFE? And sure enough! And then it KEPT happening, which is pretty much my dream come true for all my favorite angsty characters. I love the idea of THIS man having such anxiety, so much that he can't sleep, that he gets triggered by New York and wormholes and nightmares and all kinds of things. He's so on top of the world, above it all, and you can really see how much it's freaking him out that HE'S FREAKING OUT. You can see him thinking "this shouldn't be happening TO ME, I'm not like this, I can do better than this" and yet, he can't figure out how to stop it. I really want to see more of this character development, and I'm glad so much of the movie did dwell on it this time.
- THE KID. Harvey? Something with an H? He was 1) adorable, 2) smart, 3) such a little brat, and 4) exactly who Tony needed as an ally, I think. He didn't have the bullshit of other adults, and he wasn't so young or so unintelligent for him to be extremely annoying to Tony.
- How much did I love that Tony's "distractions" when he has insomnia are basically plotting out every catastrophe and building a machine/programming a routine to get himself out of it? I LOVE IT A LOT. When the house blew up and he made the motion for his suit and it latched onto Pepper? OH, MY HEART. And all those "house party" drone suits, with all their different specialities? And the fact that JARVIS knows exactly what he wants and suggests things like the "house party" and the "clean sweep"? Amazing. Oh, Tony, you magnificent, emotionally fucked up genius.
- Obviously I really really love how much of this movie focused on character development. I love pretty much everything about Tony's character, so that was a big plus for me. I also really liked how much time he spent out of his suit. I love the suit and JARVIS, and I love Tony's capabilities in it, but I felt like this was much more stripped down, a look at the man as he was breaking and not just the suit and the weapon and the genius-playboy-philanthropist persona.
- Another aspect of Tony's character and PTSD that I loved is that though he didn't always know what triggered it (though anything relating to NY was obvious) and he didn't know when to expect it, he never freaked out in battle. Rhodey even asked if Tony was going to "freak out on him" but Tony is EXCELLENT when it comes to fighting and strategizing on the fly, using his environment and whatever's at hand to gain the upper hand, even when it's using his own weapons in ways they weren't meant to be used. I like the idea that everyday life is hard for Tony to handle, but when he's fighting, he's golden (even if he does get beat to utter shit in the process).
- I forgot this until now, but the nightmare scene where he called the suit in his sleep and it almost attacked Pepper, oh my god. He was SO FREAKED OUT. And so was she, for good reason! Oh, Tony, honey. You need help.
- SPEAKING OF NEEDING HELP, OH MY GOD THAT POST-CREDITS SCENE. I couldn't have asked for anything more perfect. BRUCE IS NOT THAT KIND OF DOCTOR, TONY. HE DOESN'T HAVE THE TEMPERAMENT. Amazing. I was flailing so damn hard. See, this whole movie was fic pulled from my brain, I swear it. It is exactly what I wanted, with nods to Avengers and previous IM movie canon, major character development and angsty issues for Tony, and some fun action and hilarious jokes sprinkled in for good measure. (And some of those jokes were truly hilarious; I'll need to see it again to remember anything specific, but I was LOLing a lot.)
- Oh, I loved Ben Kingsley! I loved that he was just an actor, a hired face for the public to target! I wasn't a huge fan of the bad guy superpower thing (I have not read any of the comics; I know some liberties were taken but I know nothing about them and I only care inasmuch as it makes a coherent and enjoyable movie), but I did like that the dude was clever enough to orchestrate this whole fake terrorist plot around some accidental (and then deliberate) bombings. The bombings, by the way, were a little jarring in the wake of the shit that went down in Boston, but obviously this was done way before any of that happened, so personally, it wasn't too hard to distance myself from reality and just enjoy the movie.
I think I'm running out of steam now. I probably forgot a lot, but I want to see this again ASAP. I only just got home from the theater like an hour ago, so this is all very immediate-reaction, so please forgive any incoherency! I still haven't calmed down. For the entire movie I was either slapping my hands over my mouth to contain my screams of glee, or flapping my hands/wiggling my fingers as a way to relieve tension, and I don't think they've quite stopped shaking yet. Seriously, Tony's issues? My favorite thing in the world. And I just got a whole movie focusing on those issues, expanding them, deepening them, reacting to them. It was exactly what I wanted. I said it before, but it really was like seeing fic tropes I'd dreamed up come to life on screen. I've only just begun reading fic (I asked for some angsty, long Tony fics and so far I've read one and a half, so I don't know if there is actual fic of things that ended up being in the movie or what) but this movie feels like something I would spend a lot of time thinking about, if not writing. Ha! Of course. Angstiest ever.
ETA: Oh one more thing! I don't know how this is going to play out in the future, or if it will be made a big deal of or not, but I liked the fact that Tony underwent surgery to get rid of the shrapnel in his heart! I used to wonder why he didn't do that in the first movie, but I figured it was just one of those superhero plot devices, so I was glad to see that he was taking realistic steps toward healing there at the end.
ETA 2: I fucking love Don Cheadle.
ETA 3: I loved Tony's use of pet names for Pepper. Or maybe I just liked hearing pet names in his voice. I don't know, they just sounded so natural and domestic; I liked the little glimpses of their domesticity as a filthy rich power couple.
ALSO, THE NEWS CREW DUDE WITH THE TONY STARK FACIAL HAIR AND TONY STARK TATTOO AND PRODUCT-LESS TONY STARK HAIRSTYLE. I was dyingggggg of amusement. Hilarious.