Iron Man Three (2013)
August 29, 2021 6:47 PM - Subscribe
When Tony Stark's world is torn apart by a formidable terrorist called the Mandarin, he starts an odyssey of rebuilding and retribution.
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Is there any explanation for why Tony can call in several of his spare suits at the end and operate them by remote control, but he can't do so in the middle of the movie when he's stuck in Podunk with a busted suit? Or why exactly the bad guy decided to give Pepper super powers? I liked parts of this, but it reminded me of other Shane Black movies (The Predator, The Long Kiss Goodnight) that had some great bits but didn't hang together very well.
posted by Halloween Jack at 7:51 AM on August 30, 2021
posted by Halloween Jack at 7:51 AM on August 30, 2021
I like the three Iron Man movies a lot, and also wish they hadn't done so much good character work on Tony Stark that got shoved out the window for the team movies. The Mandarin twist was so well done.
posted by PussKillian at 9:20 AM on August 30, 2021
posted by PussKillian at 9:20 AM on August 30, 2021
Heh. Puss would never.
posted by PussKillian at 12:02 PM on August 30, 2021
posted by PussKillian at 12:02 PM on August 30, 2021
This had the same "problem" as The Dark Knight Rises. They are both effectively movies set in their universe but don't have much of their main characters in character. Stark is mostly out of the suit for in IM3 and so is Wayne in TDKR.
I think this is by far the best of the IM movies but only because the other two came first.
posted by M Edward at 5:16 PM on August 30, 2021
I think this is by far the best of the IM movies but only because the other two came first.
posted by M Edward at 5:16 PM on August 30, 2021
I'd never seen this but I like Shane Black's humor so put it on this evening with high hopes. A bit disappointed; it's OK but mostly a great example of how Marvel / Disney files the personality off the talented directors they get, and the stunts and CGI aren't especially fresh at this point. (How Rian Johnson pulled off a distinctive Star Wars entry is even more amazing in retrospect.) The quirky highlight of the Iron Man series IMO is still the Sam Rockwell monologue in second one.
Plot wise it was OK. One reason I skipped it was I couldn't imagine someone doing "the Mandarin" as a villain but they obviously sidestepped that nicely. Jarvis' ability to control an army of Iron Men seems scary . . . I only remember Age of Ultron vaguely but I think the Avengers might have gotten off easy.
I didn't quite get the ability of the doped up villains to nullify the superhero suits with just a touch, other than being plot convenient. Plot anti-armor I guess.
posted by mark k at 8:04 PM on August 30, 2021
Plot wise it was OK. One reason I skipped it was I couldn't imagine someone doing "the Mandarin" as a villain but they obviously sidestepped that nicely. Jarvis' ability to control an army of Iron Men seems scary . . . I only remember Age of Ultron vaguely but I think the Avengers might have gotten off easy.
I didn't quite get the ability of the doped up villains to nullify the superhero suits with just a touch, other than being plot convenient. Plot anti-armor I guess.
posted by mark k at 8:04 PM on August 30, 2021
Is there any explanation for why Tony can call in several of his spare suits at the end and operate them by remote control, but he can't do so in the middle of the movie when he's stuck in Podunk with a busted suit?
"Sir, I have an update from Malibu. The cranes have finally arrived and the cellar doors are being cleared as we speak."
(at approximately 60:30)
posted by Grangousier at 8:40 AM on August 31, 2021 [3 favorites]
"Sir, I have an update from Malibu. The cranes have finally arrived and the cellar doors are being cleared as we speak."
(at approximately 60:30)
posted by Grangousier at 8:40 AM on August 31, 2021 [3 favorites]
(Of course 60:30 is ninety minutes - I originally typed 1:30 and that looked wrong so I changed it to something that not only looked wrong but was wrong. The quote was right, though.)
Oh, and surely the reason Killian dosed Pepper with Extremis was that he wanted leverage over Tony to fix the exploding problem - if she's in danger of going bang, Tony will put in more effort to find a solution.
Reading up on the movie, it seems that Maya Hansen was supposed to be the big villain and Brandt the top henchperson, which would have been much better (especially as the first thing Tony says to Maya when she comes to his house is "Are you the Mandarin?" and, well, yes, she would be). Is this entirely down to the cold, dead, misogynist hand of Ike Perlmutter?
posted by Grangousier at 11:56 AM on August 31, 2021 [2 favorites]
Oh, and surely the reason Killian dosed Pepper with Extremis was that he wanted leverage over Tony to fix the exploding problem - if she's in danger of going bang, Tony will put in more effort to find a solution.
Reading up on the movie, it seems that Maya Hansen was supposed to be the big villain and Brandt the top henchperson, which would have been much better (especially as the first thing Tony says to Maya when she comes to his house is "Are you the Mandarin?" and, well, yes, she would be). Is this entirely down to the cold, dead, misogynist hand of Ike Perlmutter?
posted by Grangousier at 11:56 AM on August 31, 2021 [2 favorites]
Yep, it was Ike, who has a toy company
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 2:45 PM on August 31, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 2:45 PM on August 31, 2021 [2 favorites]
Ah. I do not like Ike.
posted by Grangousier at 3:14 PM on August 31, 2021
posted by Grangousier at 3:14 PM on August 31, 2021
You are not alone on that.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 3:20 PM on August 31, 2021
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 3:20 PM on August 31, 2021
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posted by Cannon Fodder at 7:02 AM on August 30, 2021 [1 favorite]