There’s been a lot of talk about Iron Man 3 being disappointing. Was this really the way to send off Robert Downy Jr. as Tony Stark? Was the plot too self serving? Was it too ridiculous? Was it enough? Was it too much?
I liked it.
While it wasn’t the actioner previous Iron Man films were, I enjoyed this piece of storytelling perhaps not necessarily as the next stand-alone chapter in the cinematic Iron Man saga, but as a follow-up to The Avengers. This was more of a character piece, examining Tony Stark in the aftermath of what happened previously, not just in New York City in The Avengers but also his previous two films.
Essentially Tony Stark has become dependant on the Iron Man suit. In the aftermath of The Avengers he is beginning to “lose it” and have panic attacks. At the same time a new threat, a terrorist referring to himself as The Mandarin is attempting to “educate” America. Of course the two tangle, only this time Tony Stark is on the losing end.
And that’s the first third of the film.
Yes, there’s a gimmick here, and a suspension of disbelief that can be a little difficult even for a superhero film. It has to do with (and this isn’t really much of a spoiler) individual pieces of the armor coming to Tony Stark and attaching themselves to create the Iron Man suit. It feels like a bit of a stretch, but I’m willing to let this slide because these films are so fun to watch, especially Robert Downey Jr. That doesn’t mean I give the film an automatic “pass” because of this, I’m just a little more aware of my suspension of disbelief this time around.
Perhaps what some people are upset about with Iron Man 3 was two-fold. First, it really isn’t a stand-alone movie. Sure, almost everybody who watches Iron Man 3 will have seen the first two films as well as The Avengers (if not Thor and Captain America), but the earlier films definitely were their own stories. This one picks up some time after The Avengers and deals with the aftermath as it pertains to Tony Stark, as well as building on what we have seen earlier. You could watch Iron Man 3 on its own, but you won’t get half as much out of it as is intended.
The other thing I think that people are upset about was a level of expected action on the heels of The Avengers. Events ramped up neatly as each film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe were stand-alone events and The Avengers had a great balance of character interplay and action (actually, lots of action). Iron Man 3 doesn’t have that. Instead it is as I mentioned earlier, more of a character study, examining Tony Stark in the aftermath of The Avengers as well as the demons he has been chasing the previous Iron Man films. And this is why I really liked it, because it works very well.
There are a couple of ways to get the film, DVD, Blu-ray and 3D Blu-ray. I was given a screener of the 2D version of the film on Blu-ray for review, so I’m not sure how the film works in 3D, but there’s not a whole heck of a lot of scenes that would make it worthwhile (I can literally only think of a handful).
A host of special features are on offer here, starting with the Second Screen option. Instead of a proper picture in picture feature, you are required to synch up a tablet or laptop with the movie in order to see this. I hate that. It gets in the way of my enjoyment. I didn’t sample it as I want the option for a picture in picture. Besides, you have to download something, then search through it or something like that. If I wanted an activity I’d play a game. I just want to put the disc in and watch my special features.
We also get an audio commentary with Shane Black (director and co-writer) and Drew Pearce (co-writer) and moves along at a fast pace with plenty on offer for fans to hear. The short “Agent Carter” is the new Marvel One Shot that we’ve come to expect on these Marvel Cinematic Universe home video releases. This time around it is Captain America’s old love interest that takes center stage, only this time she’s working for SHIELD and… well, that’s all I should say.
Other special features include the requisite deleted scenes and gag reel, and a couple of featurettes, one looking at a specific scene and another giving a general overview. I bet all the “good stuff” is on the second screen application which I’ve mentioned before. Why isn’t it here available to view?
I’m not including the look at Thor 2 because that’s marketing, not a special feature for Iron Man 3.
If this is the final turn by Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark, I’ll be sad, but this is a great way to end it. Much like the actor, the character has been on a bumpy path and finds himself at both a personal high and low point and comes through it a better man for it.