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shallownessSaw it last night and I really enjoyed it (much more than IM2, whatever that's worth). I would say that you should try to go in as unspoiled as possible, which I would say anyway, being a spoilerphobe. But, depending on what else is out, I might even go and see it again. Or maybe it’s more accurate to say I wouldn’t mind seeing it again.
SPOILERS.
Overall, I found it really entertaining. I was tired, and possibly the person who laughed inappropriately the most in the audience – tiredness makes me callous.
I loved most of the Tony/Pepper stuff, that he (in particular) was working on it, that it was a committed relationship. There was a rumour that she’d be fridged, but I thought no, seeing as RDJ is a total shipper, however I was curious about the trailered scene of her in the suit saying ‘I got you’. But then that happened pretty early and she was a damsel in distress (sort of, and understandably so, and they did show Tony up against Rhodey’s trained military competence at times) until the end. Because she’d been given Extremis (or whatever it was called), I didn’t believe she was dead, but then the way she turned into Violent!Pepper was cool and yet, maybe a step too far, given what we’d previously seen? I don’t know, I don’t remember enough about the previous films. HOWEVER I would like the fic that takes place before she’s treated, where Natasha and Maria train her and help her deal with the ability in the meantime.
The beginning discombobulated me. I mean, I was glad that they showed Tony having a reaction to what had happened in New York, the whole Avengers thing and the whole nearly dying, wormhole, ALIENS! thing – in his own way. The fact that he opened up to Pepper about it was key. (I did expect Steve or someone to turn up and go ‘not cool’. I also had fun imagining Fury turning up at certain POTUS/VP confabs.) But they pushed the scenes to nightmarish extents, making me expect Tony waking up to have been a fake-out and that he was still dreaming. But no. Although, given that it mattered that some characters' facial injureies didn't heal, I don't know how grievous and weighty what happened was.
RDJ was, as ever, a blast. The interaction with Harley was not cloying – partly because of the snakr and oddball rhythms – even though I wanted to hate on it, because it was Iron Man talking to a figure that epitomised the Marvel fandom – a tween boy. He was also Tony talking to his childhood self, given their shared interests, and the son he hasn’t had. But Harley was also himself.
Tony-Rhodey also really worked in this film. Tony-JARVIS was a delight, and hey, lots of former director approval in Happy’s appearances and role. Happy loving Downton Abbey and identifying with Tom Branson was one of the things that made me laugh (possibly inappropriately.) So, Jessica Findlay Brown, you didn’t get to play Steve Rogers’s love interest, but you did get to cameo in Iron Man Three.
On the opposition. I knew that Pearce, Hall and thingy from Rubicon were in it, yay, good actors, but had been sold on the idea that the baddie would be Kingsley’s The Mandarin. I don’t read the comics, so I’ll be interested in the response of those in the know to how it played out. I could tell that Kellan was bad news, so I was worried that we were going to have too many bad guys (a la Spiderman 3 or Batman Forever) and groaning inwardly, but the way it turned out really worked for me. A very neat dodge of currentish preoccupations of terrorist figures – and hey, let’s not get into the politics or talk about War Machine/Iron Patriot etc etc. Because the crux is that I enjoyed SirBenKingsley’s performance(s) very much. The Mandarin’s broadcasts were eye-catching, but his Trevor ‘Ringo’ Slattery was sheer delight. (The other fic I really want to read is him slandering all the Downton Abbey actors, because you know he’s been in competition with some of them for parts.)
Mike from Neighbours – I mean Pearce – gave good increasingly crazed menance - and if you're going to end up with a character who breathes fire, that's the way to handle it. Though the enhanced henchpeople were derivative, they did work as opponents for Iron Man. Or the Iron Men, as it turned out.
I loved that they turned up for the final encounter, that mark 42 wasn’t just a Hitch-hiker’s nod. What's the collective noun? I suppose that they were based on various iterations of the suit in the comics. I also thought that having them be automated/bodies for JARVIS said interesting things about Tony and how he feels about being Iron Man. I mean, we had him sitting there, interacting with the suit!
Dear VP, you ableist. I tsked when I thought you just wanted to off POTUS William Sadler for your own sake, but...that’s another area where I want to back off and leave the analysis to others.
Was Gary (the one with the tattoo) played by Shanke Black himself? Stan Lee's cameo...will never top the one in Iron Man, and if we apparently can't have an Iron Man movie without a bevy of women in bi-kinis, you might as well lampshade it.
And finally, I actually asked when buying the ticket if there was a post-credits scene after being schwarmaed with the Avengers (where we didn’t get that scene). I was assured there was a scene, but told that it wasn’t all that, thus dampening my theorising. Because I had totally spent the last couple of days wondering if it would be a nod to Thor – that’s the one that’s coming out next, right? – or a Big Reveal that Coulson was still alive, which I always knew was crazy optimism, but given what Tony and Pepper survived in this one, not to mention how hard the baddies were to kill...But what we got was Science Bros, and that was a delight. I also enjoyed the end credits.
Trailerwise, I will be seeing Star Trek: Into Darkness and Byzantium, but not After Earth, 21 and Over or Fast and Furious 6. We got an exclusive clip of the latter introduced by The Rock, except he wasn't in it.
SPOILERS.
Overall, I found it really entertaining. I was tired, and possibly the person who laughed inappropriately the most in the audience – tiredness makes me callous.
I loved most of the Tony/Pepper stuff, that he (in particular) was working on it, that it was a committed relationship. There was a rumour that she’d be fridged, but I thought no, seeing as RDJ is a total shipper, however I was curious about the trailered scene of her in the suit saying ‘I got you’. But then that happened pretty early and she was a damsel in distress (sort of, and understandably so, and they did show Tony up against Rhodey’s trained military competence at times) until the end. Because she’d been given Extremis (or whatever it was called), I didn’t believe she was dead, but then the way she turned into Violent!Pepper was cool and yet, maybe a step too far, given what we’d previously seen? I don’t know, I don’t remember enough about the previous films. HOWEVER I would like the fic that takes place before she’s treated, where Natasha and Maria train her and help her deal with the ability in the meantime.
The beginning discombobulated me. I mean, I was glad that they showed Tony having a reaction to what had happened in New York, the whole Avengers thing and the whole nearly dying, wormhole, ALIENS! thing – in his own way. The fact that he opened up to Pepper about it was key. (I did expect Steve or someone to turn up and go ‘not cool’. I also had fun imagining Fury turning up at certain POTUS/VP confabs.) But they pushed the scenes to nightmarish extents, making me expect Tony waking up to have been a fake-out and that he was still dreaming. But no. Although, given that it mattered that some characters' facial injureies didn't heal, I don't know how grievous and weighty what happened was.
RDJ was, as ever, a blast. The interaction with Harley was not cloying – partly because of the snakr and oddball rhythms – even though I wanted to hate on it, because it was Iron Man talking to a figure that epitomised the Marvel fandom – a tween boy. He was also Tony talking to his childhood self, given their shared interests, and the son he hasn’t had. But Harley was also himself.
Tony-Rhodey also really worked in this film. Tony-JARVIS was a delight, and hey, lots of former director approval in Happy’s appearances and role. Happy loving Downton Abbey and identifying with Tom Branson was one of the things that made me laugh (possibly inappropriately.) So, Jessica Findlay Brown, you didn’t get to play Steve Rogers’s love interest, but you did get to cameo in Iron Man Three.
On the opposition. I knew that Pearce, Hall and thingy from Rubicon were in it, yay, good actors, but had been sold on the idea that the baddie would be Kingsley’s The Mandarin. I don’t read the comics, so I’ll be interested in the response of those in the know to how it played out. I could tell that Kellan was bad news, so I was worried that we were going to have too many bad guys (a la Spiderman 3 or Batman Forever) and groaning inwardly, but the way it turned out really worked for me. A very neat dodge of currentish preoccupations of terrorist figures – and hey, let’s not get into the politics or talk about War Machine/Iron Patriot etc etc. Because the crux is that I enjoyed SirBenKingsley’s performance(s) very much. The Mandarin’s broadcasts were eye-catching, but his Trevor ‘Ringo’ Slattery was sheer delight. (The other fic I really want to read is him slandering all the Downton Abbey actors, because you know he’s been in competition with some of them for parts.)
Mike from Neighbours – I mean Pearce – gave good increasingly crazed menance - and if you're going to end up with a character who breathes fire, that's the way to handle it. Though the enhanced henchpeople were derivative, they did work as opponents for Iron Man. Or the Iron Men, as it turned out.
I loved that they turned up for the final encounter, that mark 42 wasn’t just a Hitch-hiker’s nod. What's the collective noun? I suppose that they were based on various iterations of the suit in the comics. I also thought that having them be automated/bodies for JARVIS said interesting things about Tony and how he feels about being Iron Man. I mean, we had him sitting there, interacting with the suit!
Dear VP, you ableist. I tsked when I thought you just wanted to off POTUS William Sadler for your own sake, but...that’s another area where I want to back off and leave the analysis to others.
Was Gary (the one with the tattoo) played by Shanke Black himself? Stan Lee's cameo...will never top the one in Iron Man, and if we apparently can't have an Iron Man movie without a bevy of women in bi-kinis, you might as well lampshade it.
And finally, I actually asked when buying the ticket if there was a post-credits scene after being schwarmaed with the Avengers (where we didn’t get that scene). I was assured there was a scene, but told that it wasn’t all that, thus dampening my theorising. Because I had totally spent the last couple of days wondering if it would be a nod to Thor – that’s the one that’s coming out next, right? – or a Big Reveal that Coulson was still alive, which I always knew was crazy optimism, but given what Tony and Pepper survived in this one, not to mention how hard the baddies were to kill...But what we got was Science Bros, and that was a delight. I also enjoyed the end credits.
Trailerwise, I will be seeing Star Trek: Into Darkness and Byzantium, but not After Earth, 21 and Over or Fast and Furious 6. We got an exclusive clip of the latter introduced by The Rock, except he wasn't in it.
