I was fairly late to the Marvel party. The original Iron Man was the only movie in what they consider Phase 1 of the Avengers series that I saw in theaters. I didn't see Iron Man 2 until well after it was released and I did not see Thor, The Incredible Hulk or Captain America until a week or two before The Avengers was released. I knew I wanted to see The Avengers so I thought I might want to catch up. I never fell in love with any of those films leading up to The Avengers but I didn't think any of them were horrible either. Most fell in the 2 1/2 - 4 star range. I did however love The Avengers and gave it 4 1/2 stars and I think it was one of the best movies of 2012. Flash forward to the present and I was very excited to get Phase 2 of the Avengers series underway with the release of Iron Man 3. Apparently I was not the only one excited about it as the films grossed $174 million in its opening weekend, good for second best all-time....Unfortunately, I don't feel it lived up to the hype at all. I came away feeling pretty empty.
Robert Downey Jr. returns as brash industrialist, and egomaniac, Tony Stark. Stark is suffering anxiety attacks resulting from the incidents that took place in The Avengers. He gets very little sleep and spends much of his time tinkering with his Iron Man suits, of which he has assembled many to occupy his time. The stress has put a strain on his relationship with Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), who continues to stand by her man but is becoming incresingly worried about him. Pepper is also dealing with Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce), the founder of Advanced Idea Mechanics (AIM), which funds research for a serum called Extremis, which can cure the physically disabled. Stark's security chief, Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau), is skeptical of Killian and begins keeping a watch on him. Hogan however is severly injured in an explosion masterminded by a terrorist known only as the Mandarin, who has learned how to take over the television airwaves of the US to spread his propaganda and threats. Tony Stark, angered by the attack that injured Hogan, calls out the Mandarin and even gives him his home address so the Mandarin can find him. This backfires as Stark and Pepper are attacked at their house, an attack which many believe kills Stark, but actually sends him across the country to track down the Mandarin.
What I described to you is basically the first hour or so of the story, and if everything had ended there this would be a much better movie. I was into this opening act and was intrigued by all the characters and their motivations. However, soon after this, there is a plot twist and from then on the story just completely falls apart for me. It becomes convoluted and we end up jumping from location to location and I end up forgetting where we are at. By the end of the film, I no longer cared. My biggest issue with this movie is something I would really like to rant about but unfortunately it could be considred a bit of a spoiler so I won't go there. But I was very disappointed by it. There is also a section of the movie where Tony befriends a 10-year old boy (Ty Simpkins), and while I understand why this is put in here, presumably to pull in a younger audience, I feel it is out of place and does not work. I don't feel the movie is a complete waste, I really like the Tony Stark character and I enjoy Robert Downey Jr. playing this character. I like the wit and charm he brings, he definitely is the character and that is a good thing. But this story and even his performance in some parts, just feels mailed in. They knew this was going to make a fortune (which it has already) so they rested on their laurels. I look forward to more Tony Stark/Iron Man, I'm just finished with him in his own world. I want to see more of him in the broader world of The Avengers. I give this movie the very slightest of recommends, but only to die hard fans. Everyone else can safely wait for cable or video.
2 comments:
Most will be pissed by what happens at the end, but for me, I was just happy to get ready and fired-up for this summer. Good review Mick.
Thanks for the comment. I wasn't pissed, I was just bored more or less. I read your review (nice site by the way) and I agree with most of what you say. I'm not as on the fence about the "twist" as you are, I thought it totally threw the movie off the rails, but that's just me. By the time that last scene came along, I had checked out mentally so the ending was just a Transformers/Battleship clone to me, lots of noise with little substance. It definitely is the start of the summer movie season and I am excited for it. Hopefully we'll get some gems like last year. Thanks again man.
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