Iron Man 3

[Heroic Slacker]

I just want to see

Pepper in her Rescue Armor, Lego kind of spoiled it with the Malibu Mansion Attack set

[stack32]

I'm sad that the "Hulkbuster" concept is actually going to be in the movie. So ugly. How hard is it to just use the Granov version?

[MiniFiend UK]

Ok I saw IM3 today and for me its ok but not the best of the bunch. If it wasnt for the last action sequence/battle I could actually say it sucked alot of the way through. Especially one very key character reveal sequence which for me just crushed the whole movie for me.

[winkerbean]

Same here, seeing extremis on the screen was amazing just like the comics as for the key character reveal i think i actually said "what the f@#k" out loud in the cinema

[dj87]

that sums up my feelings very well too. Really disappointed, but a fun 20min fight, yeah.

THAT bit was shocking, how anyone made that decision is criminal.

[UK Collector]

i think i actually said "what the f@#k" out loud in the cinema

Haha. I know exactly where you're coming from.

[Nessex]

Just saw this last night. It was fairly enjoyable. They did let RDJ ramble on a bit too much through-out the film... and there was the unnecessary insertion of a heart-warming cutesy section (although, they did their best to keep it funny and not too sappy).

I actually laughed out load at the WTF moment. During the watching i thought 'This is insane - how can they do this?!?!?'.... but on reflection, it was not a bad move to make. It's far more believable for the direction of the film & fits very snuggly into the movie-verses established rules and mythology.

I'm sure a lot of comic book fans will be outraged... but when are they not? My partner (who came to it with no IM knowledge, other than the previous films) seemed to find the film reasonably enjoyable.

The trick is to leave your expectations at the door and either a) ignore your knowledge of the comic book history, or use your comic book knowledge to enjoy all the fun little nods and red herrings that they've use to throw the fan-boys off.

As seems to be the case with IM films, it would have been really nice

to get a glowing, tattooed final battle Aldrich

, but i'm sure some clever chap on here will do it for us

[TM2 Dinobot]

THAT was a good movie. Almost as good as 1, twice as good as 2. They kinda take a divergent path from Avengers, so everyone who's going "How can it top Avengers?" it doesn't try to. It gives Avengers a pat on the head and keeps up with its own pacing.

I know it may not be fair comparison, but everything Batman 3 tried and fail to do, IM3 delivered on. It was great and amazing, I enjoyed every minute of it.

[undeadpool]

I went to a private screening earlier this week but Im waiting till I see it officially with friends tomorrow to post my final thoughts, but a few quick things:

1. the pacing in this film is a lot different than the first 2 and at times did bother me (not enough to effect my opinion of the film tho)

2. the new characters didnt get very much build up or depth

3. the WTF moment is indeed a "WTF Moment" but worked and I loved his performance anyway

4. We NEED more mates of this film

[Heroic Slacker]

Just got back from seeing the film.

Loved it

During the entire film I kept thinking of armors, characters and outfits I wanted as figures.

[hellpop]

Will somebody post a spoiler of the "WTF moment" already so I don't have to go and search it out? I'm a busy man!

Edited May 4, 2013 by hellpop

[Donny B]

Warning: be sure you're ready for this spoiler, because it will drastically alter your perception of the whole movie going in. It's not as intense as knowing the twist to 6th Sense before watching it, but it's still a pretty big thing. Don't read this spoiler if you plan on seeing the movie unfold as it's meant to:

Mandarin is a hoax. Ben Kingsley's character is actually just an actor being fed lines by Aldrich Killian.

[Punisher]

Yeah that was a WTF moment for sure but not the only one I had during the movie.

I was pretty pissed that that random kid had nearly as much screen time as Tony in armor, but I assume that was the Mouse at work?

I'm just really bummed in general about Mandarin though. I honestly thougth he was pretty bad-ass, and with all the Ten Rings build-up just to reveal a Johnny Depp Jack Sparrow impersonator was such a let down.

[Donny B]

Oh yeah, there were several of those moments throughout the film. I had maybe half a dozen (some good as well as bad) but I won't get into all of my thoughts because I can't be any different than all the other fanboys posting their thoughts all over cyberspace. but I'd say there was one *big* reveal that had people reacting strongly...

[TM2 Dinobot]

He was exactally the same as Bane in Batman 3, right down to the being a fake and useless villain. Kingsly, however, did it MUCH better, playing it up and putting everyone at ease with the concept. Even joking about his own height, rather than being empty like Bane. And Killian at the end says 'I am the mandarin" both 1) mimicing Tony's claim of "I am Iron Man" and 2) indicating the the Mandarin may be more of an idea than a person.

I was totally okay with it, and I loved the kid. Them playing together was great. I loved this movie so much. I love how everything Tony does breaks, how he keeps losing and is at his absolute lowest point, even to the end of saving Pepper. He just can't do anything right, the entire world is falling through his fingers, and RDJ plays that so well.

[stack32]

I liked the movie quite a bit, which seems a little strange to me since I could easily come up with a list of things that I didn't care for. It's definitely not the movie a lot of fans were expecting. I might be reacting differently if I wasn't aware of the twist going in. I also wasn't sure about the kid, but I think it worked because they played it differently than the cliched kid/hero relationship.

On the twist:

As Dino pointed out, Aldrich says: "I am the Mandarin." He's the master manipulator and genius that does all the villainous things you want the Mandarin to do and fights fights Stark directly. He even has dragon tattoos. If we're comparing to Batman, he's the "Ducard" to Kingsley's "Ra's Al Ghul." It seems like people are missing this, even though Killian practically turns to the viewer and explains it to them. They even hinted at it with the false Mandarin's dialogue: "You'll never see me coming."

[Trekker 42]

My only problem with the twist is that, yes Stack I agree with your spoiler thing and I understand what they did, but

he never used the 10 Rings. The idea of those rings giving him all sorts of badass powers to fight with was just so compelling to me that I really REALLY wanted to see it. But instead we got Guy Pierce breathing fire once. Now I know he was the dark mastermind side of the Mandarin. But I feel like just as important to seeing him on the big screen is the 10 Rings. And we didn't get those.

[TM2 Dinobot]

Having never read an Iron Man comic in my life, and the first time I'd heard of Mandarin was the minimate, I'm perfectly fine with it.

[gambitron]

Just saw it and I loved it. It was a great evolution of the character and series.

[Punisher]

After thinking it over a bit I'm not as disappointed in Kingsley not being the Mandarin, but rather the fact that I found Killian to be a weak villain himself, thus making the reveal so unnecessary. So your super villain origin story is that you stood on top of a building for a few hours alone? Give me a break.

[Twisted Two-Face]

I already posted this in the Minimates thread but i guess it bears repeating here too.

I loved the twist. Even knowing what i wanted the Mandarin to be, it was really annoying brilliant on Shane Black's part. I really liked Killian as well, although like the rest of you i did not take the "i am the Mandarin" line too seriously; The Mandarin is an idea like it's a "machine" in Ultimate Iron Man; in 3, the Mandarin is the terrorism and the villainous plot. I'm okay with that.

I really liked, and was intimidated by, the Ben Kingsley Mandarin however, that's only reason i had to not "like" it per say. His Mandarin was what i wanted Bane to be; everything about the terrorism reels was pretty horrifying; when he shot the US official, i clenched the seat. But Trevor was also a fantastic performance, so i'm torn.

What i TOTALLY expected the credits scene to be was

Trevor in a jail cell, looking up into the camera with a Mandrin look in his eyes, and whisper "One. Test. Left." He made a big deal about their being "two" left before, and i thought it would have been a GREAT twist to the actual twist, of Mandarin actually being the Mandarin and lying to Killian and Stark.

Would be great set-up, and leave fanboys not too upset. I can't believe all the hate this film is getting though. Loved every minute. Best of the 3, IMO.

EDIT: Oh, haha, also there's one thing i found ironic:

After a long period of time when everyone agreed it wouldn't be Savin as the Patriot, i loved the fact that he wound up in the suit anyway. Patriot as a villain, even if it wasn't Norman, was fun.

Edited May 4, 2013 by Twisted Two-Face

[stack32]

I can't believe all the hate this film is getting though.

I 100% agree with you here. There are plenty of legitimate criticisms of this movie and I can understand people not liking it, but I've skimmed the internet today and seen some really stupid comments, even to the point of someone saying RDJ should be replaced as Stark. That's just dumb.

[TM2 Dinobot]

Craziness.

http://kotaku.com/why-many-in-china-hate-iron-man-3s-chinese-version-486840429

[UK Collector]

I thought the film was ok. Felt a bit let down to be honest. Most people seem to be really enjoying it though, which leads me to believe my gripes may be from a purely 'fanboy' perspective.

One thing that's been bugging me, that isn't necessarily a criticism of the movie, is that:

They have been previewing the new armours for weeks, making a big deal about the Heartbreaker, Igor and Red Snapper among others. But when they turn up they only got about 10 seconds screen time each....and Hot Toys (for one example) are expecting me to spend $300 or so on die cast figure of these? Not in this lifetime.

And I like some of the suggestions for a post credits scene, and I've given that some (way too much?) thought.

The scene opens in a factory, where hundreds of people are sorting through scraps of metal, at the back of the room is a man in a chair with his back to us. He is watching the news. The camera begins to move towards the seat as we hear the newscaster:

'just a week after his capture for his connection to the Mandarin bombings, British actor Trevor Slattery has been found dead with a broken kneck in his cell. The initial cause of death given was suicide, but his death is made even stranger when you consider that he was in solitary confinement at the time. The investigation has been reopened and is ongoing.

In other news, Tony Stark today held a benefit dinner for US Army veterans. The even raised....'

TV off.

The camera is now over the mans shoulder and turning to give us a view of his face. The Mandarin is sternly sitting in his seat. He breaks his silence. 'One. More. Test.'

As he speaks, he clasps his hands together, interlocking his fingers. A red glint starts in his eyes and pulses through the rings on his fingers.

The camera then pans up from his face, and over his shoulder. We are now looking down the factory, as one of the workers pulls something from a box of scraps, holds it aloft, and starts to celebrate. The other workers start to chant in celebration.

The camera zooms in and focuses on the item in his hand. It is a damaged Iron Man helmet, clearly not beyond repair....

End of scene.

Now where's my Oscar

Craziness.

http://kotaku.com/why-many-in-china-hate-iron-man-3s-chinese-version-486840429

Thanks for the link. I was constantly looking for where they could put in the 'Chinese' scenes and couldn't come up with anything. Seems like they were just shoehorned in then.

[MiniFiend UK]

I dont know if its fan boy but the WTF bit still killed the film to me. It could have been handled better and even with the end credit sequence ppl suggested it would have brought it back around with a double twist.

After reading around the web it did kinda slap me in the face that all three films have basicly the same villain set up as in some other rich person who at one point has had a falling out with Stark. The Mandarin character could have been totally different a tie in to the first film with the the ten ring group and ppl have said the mandarins rings themselves dont fit into the gritty realistic world of these new Marvel movies. Well the easy out for me would have been to have the rings themselves as salvaged butchered Chitauri tech they could then explain away anything from lasers, shields, teleports etc, basicly anything they wanted to toss in. But they didnt so no use griping really.