I have to admit that I didn't really care much for the second installment of the Iron Man franchise, much as I love Robert Downey, Jr. It was still fun, but it lacked some of the charms of its predecessor.
Just to be clear, I never really dismissed Iron Man (heaven forbid, that would be like dismissing RDJ, which is sacrilegious), but it took a strong showing in The Avengers to remind me why watching Tony Stark is such an enjoyable treat. It was also a reminder that only RDJ can play Tony Stark / Iron Man.
If the very excellent The Avengers wasn't enough of a reason, there's also the fact that Marvel was pulling out all the stops for the final installment of the Iron Man stand-alone franchise by bringing in the Mandarin as a villain. What's more, they decided to cast Ben Kingsley for the part.
I was still in Mindoro when the film started showing in the country, so I had to patiently wait until my return trip to Manila before I can watch it. When I came back, however, my priority was to watch One Piece Film: Z, since it was only being shown in SM Cinemas and I wasn't sure if its run would last longer than a week. But my generous cousin took that option off the plate when he offered to treat Marvin, my brother Jan and myself to an IMAX screening of Iron Man 3. Needless to say, I never got around to watching One Piece Film: Z (will just patiently wait for the home media release) and ended up kicking off my summer film season with Iron Man 3.
All in all, it turned out to be a great trade-off. Especially since Iron Man 3 is spectacular to watch in 3D.
Iron Man 3 takes place after the events of The Avengers and Tony Stark finds himself suffering from PTSD after helping the superhero group save the world from the alien invasion led by Loki. Meanwhile, the world is starting to know more about the Mandarin, leader of terrorist group The Ten Rings, as he continually hijacks the US media channels to show videos of his violent achievements and to announce threats directed at the country's president. James Rhodes (Don Cheadle) is tasked to find the Mandarin using the Iron Patriot (formerly War Machine) suit. Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce) approaches Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) about launching Extremis, a regenerative treatment developed by botanist Maya Hansen (Rebecca Hall) that allows for recovery from even the most crippling of injuries.
By the time I watched the film, it had been running in the local cinemas for a couple of weeks. I was wondering why the reviews and reactions to Iron Man 3 were diverse and polarizing. After watching the film myself, I realized exactly why the film garnered such differing reactions.
Iron Man 3 hit all the earmarks of what we want in a summer blockbuster film. It features a stellar cast, has plenty of action, dramatic storytelling, a visual feast of special effects and humor that's bound to be universally appreciated. The great balance of these different elements make Iron Man 3 an extremely enjoyable film to watch and witnessing it all in 3D just enhances the experience for film viewers. All I can say is The House Party Protocol was very, very, very impressive to watch on an IMAX screen. It was hard not to applaud what follows after Tony commands Jarvis to activate the protocol and I don't care if the girl sitting next to me thought I was weird for clapping.
As for the negative reactions to the film, I found out that it depended largely on how big a fan you are of the source material the film was adapted from. The Mandarin has always been considered as the main archrival of Iron Man in the comic book series. Knowing that Iron Man 3 would be the final installment of the franchise (outside of The Avengers and possible cameo appearances by Iron Man in other Marvel films, of course), fans weren't surprised at the choice of villain. When the trailers were released, there were reactions regarding the origins of the Mandarin, who was suggested to have come from the Middle East instead of hailing from China. Then when the movie was released, the major point of contention was the true nature of the character of the Mandarin, which I choose not to spoil for those who have yet to watch the film.
I'm far from being an expert on the comic books that spawned the very impressive roster of Marvel superhero films that bring us so much cinematic enjoyment, but even I know about the Mandarin. At the very least, my experiences playing Marvel Ultimate Alliance on the Playstation 2 gave me a basic knowledge of the character. Yet, even knowing that, I found that while I was a little concerned about the differences in origin and how the character was ultimately represented in the film, I still enjoyed Iron Man 3 immensely and learned to appreciate how they interpreted the character of the Mandarin. I use the word interpret because perception plays a huge part in the film's narrative and playing on people's perception can largely impact the impression you make on them. Or how you can eventually lord over them.
And if you're still iffy about the liberties they took with the character, I suggest that you focus on one of the best elements in the film... the fact that the Mandarin was played by Ben Kingsley (that's Sir Ben Kingsley to you and me). If you watched the film and didn't find his acting choices, particularly his mastery of the way the Mandarin speaks, to be brilliant, then I'm not sure what film you were really watching.
Yet, it's not just Ben Kingsley who turned out a great performance for Iron Man 3. RDJ, Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle and Jon Favreau (playing Happy Hogan) all slipped back into their respective characters with ease, enforcing the character chemistry that makes the franchise great to watch. The film also benefited from the portrayal brought forth by Guy Pearce (always great) and Rebecca Hall (also good, but I have to wonder how original actress choice Jessica Chastain would have portrayed the character). Every character had a chance to shine... even Jarvis, who I've loved ever since the first film. People might not see him, but Paul Bettany is one of the greatest casting choices they ever made in this franchise.
While I might easily cite Ben Kingsley and Don Cheadle as my favorites in Iron Man 3, this is undoubtedly a Robert Downey, Jr. film. I loved that the film showcased a lot more Tony Stark action than we were used to in the previous films. It showed that the Iron Man suit was just that... a suit, and that it never really defined Tony Stark. Or at least, both he and the audience arrive to the conclusion that the name Iron Man didn't really just refer to the mind-boggling technology and cool looking mechanical armor suit he invented, but was actually a title that Tony earned and eventually deserved.
If you have little knowledge about the comic book background of Iron Man, then I'm sure that you enjoyed the film, or will enjoy it if you have yet to watch it. But if you have misgivings about the supposedly offensive inconsistencies with the source material, I suggest that you give Iron Man 3 another chance.
Because at the end of the day, the narrative that they created for the film was a great blend of action, drama and comedy that was merely enhanced by the spectacle of special effects.
And also, if you didn't watch it, you won't get to see Robert Downey, Jr. portray Tony Stark / Iron Man for another two years... when the second installment of The Avengers is expected to be released in 2015.
Happy viewing!!Labels: Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Film, Iron Man, Must-Watch, Superhero
