MCU rewatch-Iron Man 3

[CTTT]

So, I watched this the other day. I enjoyed it. The interaction between Tony and the kid was hilarious. Usually, in other movies with kids and adults, the adult takes the kid under his wing, but with Tony, he just bulldozes him with snark. And it's hilarious. I like the bit at the end, where he rebuilds his little workshop with the Mach II potato gun. With the Mandarin fake out, I didn't mind it. Ben Kingsley looked like he was having a blast playing a drugged out washed up actor. And really funny. Only downside was Happy was sidelined for pretty much the entire movie. And Tony flew around in messed up suits the whole time or not much at all. I hope Shane Black does another MCU movie. Cinematography by John Toll I thought was good as well. If you're not familiar with Toll, definitely check out Terence Malick's The Thin Red Line.

[j9ac9k]

This was one of the few MCU movies I disliked. There were isolated fun bits, but the overall product was a thumbs down for me.
-- The Mandarin: Nothing to do with wanting to see the comic book Mandarin or any expectations from the comics. The Mandarin that Kingsley portrayed was already a big departure, but that character as presented looked like a great threat. The thing about the plot twist that I always say is, "Did it give us something better?" And the answer for me is a big "NO." We knew Killian was a bad guy so that wasn't a surprise. But replacing this enigmatic powerful head of a world-wide terror organization with another Tony Stark wannabe was a big step down for me. Kingsley was funny, but it killed the drama of having a great bad guy. The fact that the OP doesn't mention Killian as a highlight reinforces my point.
-- Maya Hansen: Her character just deserved better. The bean counters didn't think her action figure would sell if she were the Big Bad, so... bullet to the head.
-- Tony's PTSD: It seemed like a promising idea, but they just kinda played lip-service to it the way they used his drinking problem in IM2. They were ultimately just excuses for RDJ to chew the scenery a bit and weren't dealt with in a satisfying way for me.
-- Tony (and the movie) not wanting to be Iron Man: Some of the stuff with the kid was cute, but it was too much time out of his armor. Then Tony plays James Bond/Macguyver. Then all his armors keep falling apart. Then he blows them up and rejects his superhero ID by claiming he's "Iron Man" without the armor? Nope. Even if that was the natural end to the character like Nolan's Batman I can appreciate the story, but we all knew he'd come back in his armor anyway, so - what was the point?

[Frobisher]

There's a lot I like about it, including the kid, the henchmen getting lines and it transitioning into a Shane Black buddy team-up at the end, and obviously the end theme is superb. The main thing that annoys me in retrospect is knowing that Maya was supposed to be the villain and Perlmutter vetoed it. it makes so much more sense if Mike-From-Neighbours is only a patsy in a concentric shell of fake villain identities, and also a super-baller move that Maya actually has her men blow up Tony's house while she's in it. I suspect the whole theme of the story is supposed to be about building identities around yourself as armour - hence "I am Iron Man" at both the beginning and end, and that's kind of fluffed with Killian.

(Also probably the reason why Pepper gets super-powered up at the end and finishes off the villian - which is obviously the girls-fight-girls trope, but I'd give that a pass if it worked.)

[Vic Vega]

I really enjoyed the swerve so much that I didn't mind that we didn't get the "real" Mandarin.

It helps a lot that as villain plans go Killian's plan was pretty rational. He found a way to profit off his lab rats blowing themselves up and worked his way up from there.

I am also a Shane Black fan so I enjoyed a lot of what this movie had to offer dialogue and direction wise.

[Jekyll]

Iron Man 3 is one of those films that has really grown with me over the years. When I first saw it, I wouldn't say I hated it, but it was very disappointing. Over the years with more watches, I have really grown to not only appreciate it but really like it. Each time I re-watch it moves higher up on my MCU list.

[raidensix]

Tony and Harley had good chemistry. It was a nice touch to show Harley in Tony's funeral scene in End Game.

My main gripe about the film was all the armor suits appearing rather fragile.

[KabutoRyder]

Can't do it. Hated it when I first saw it, hate it to this day. Tho it is honestly a toss up as to which I hate more The Dark World or Ironman 3....

[The Gold Stream]

down with harley

[PCN24454]

I didn't hate it at first, but nothing really gets resolved it the movie. Makes you wonder what the point was.

[Rincewind]

I really enjoyed the swerve so much that I didn't mind that we didn't get the "real" Mandarin.

It helps a lot that as villain plans go Killian's plan was pretty rational. He found a way to profit off his lab rats blowing themselves up and worked his way up from there.

I am also a Shane Black fan so I enjoyed a lot of what this movie had to offer dialogue and direction wise.

I'm an Iron Man fan going back to the early 80s, and I have no love for the Mandarin character. I loved the twist. It was a great swerve on the monologuing villain who has planned for everything.

My biggest complaint on the movie is that outside of the Tony's PTSD, the story really didn't have an impact on the MCU. The specialty armors, extremis formula, AIM, and Iron Patriot redesign are gone by the end of the movie, never to return.

But overall I enjoy it as a Shane Black action comedy set in the MCU.

[DrNewGod]

I might have found IM3 more enjoyable had there been no MCU around it (and especially, no AoU following it). The story seemed to be the end of Iron Man's story, but come next Avengers film, we've taken a hard swerve away from it. It just felt like the end of a self-contained trilogy, rather than an entry in a broader franchise.

[Witchfan]

I used to think that Iron Man 3 was the worst MCU film, but it has aged rather well and I like it somewhat better than I used to. Thor: Dark World is now the worst MCU film.