Movie Review: Iron Man 3

[caitri]

All of the spoilers.



Okay, so I have mixed feelings about the film mostly because I went in expecting it to be closer to the Extremis comics which I LOVE SO MUCH, OKAY, and they did a way loose interpretation of it. Like “no seriously, why call it Extremis? call it Terminatoris or something, that’s what those effects looked like, criminy.”

FYI, in the books Extremis nanites can give you powers, and in Tony’s case the injected nanites give him the power to mentally connect with computers and stuff, such that the armor physically becomes part of him and he can summon it when he likes and the undersuit is stored in his bones. (It’s comics-logic, it doesn’t hurt or anything.) It’s pretty awesome.

Anyway, the changes made me wonder what was going on. And I think I decided that basically in comics post/trans-humanism a pretty acceptable thing, whereas in mass culture, it’s not. So for mega-bucks it had to be an “evi-el thing.” And so I think that’s why they had to make a whole thing of “Tony healing = being fully human = removing shrapnel” etc.

Which, also, if getting rid of the shrapnel was that easy, WHY HAS HE HAD AN ARC REACTOR FOR SO LONG?!

(grr)

Basically I think right now our culture has intense anxiety about the post-human, largely tied in with rampant anti-science in the first place. Look at all the “science run amok” stories vs. “science is awesome” stories.

THAT SAID. I largely enjoyed the film and thought RDJ shown throughout. I earnestly hope he continues in the role of Tony Stark, because it is SO tied up with him right now. Also, the little post-credits bitlet of Tony and Bruce was ADORBS, though I was dying for just a bit of Steve to be somewhere, anywhere. Oh well, he’s busy with Winter Soldier, I guess.

Which. I WILL DIE OF GLEE when that movie comes out. Just sayin’.

Comments

[elanya.livejournal.com]

The point I got from the movie about him having the arc reactor still was that it was something he trusted, and that he felt he needed it to be "Iron Man", that it made him the person who was capable of doing all those things. Where as in III he realizes that he doesn't need to have it, or the suits, to be himself.

So, he could have had it out before, but he thought he needed it. Also I think there are some trust issues that needed to be worked out, in terms of how much he is was willing to let pepper look after him and look out for him that also got resolved better in IMIII.

Burt I think the point was more that he doens't *need* the suits, not that he doesn't want them... I'm pretty sure he'll be around for the Avengers movies, but I dunno about more IM ones :/

I don't have much experience with the comics, though, so I don't have that influence on how I experience the movies, for better or for worse.

[browngirl.livejournal.com]

I was going to say something much like this, only not as well.

[aadarshinah.livejournal.com]

100% agreement.

[tn-tiger.livejournal.com]

Thank you for your review! I was actually kind of disappointed to see the arc go, because it was such a symbol of his personal transformation. Although, along those lines, I jumped in my seat and squeed that we got to see a glimpse of Yinsen!

Interesting thoughts about transhumanism. I'm still busy sussing through what the last two movies say about American ambiguity about drones.

[morfin.livejournal.com]

I thoroughly enjoyed it. I have no idea what Extremis is in regards to the comics, since I stopped reading them in the early 70's. I do remember that originally, Tony wore a metal chestplate to keep himself alive, and that he had a heart transplant or something so he no longer needed to wear it. I admit, I have an aversion to human/technology hybrids. It removes the humanity at some point, much like being a Borg (and if anyone saw Dr. Who last weekend, did you get the idea someone watched too many Borg Trek episodes?). I'm not one of those who see technology implants as a good thing.

The thing I surprisingly liked was the revelation of who the Mandarin was. The purist in me didn't like it, as it would be like seeing a Batman film and finding out the Joker wasn't real, but Kingsley was so damned good in it (and channeling Russel Brands so perfectly) and I couldn't not like it.

Paltrow said in a recent interview she thought this would be the last Iron Man film with the original cast, so I guess we can only hope to see RDJ in the Avenger's films. I can live with that. 3 is a good film in which to end this incarnation.

[tommy50702.livejournal.com]

Good review. I think I enjoyed it more than you did