The plot twist in Iron Man 3 is a travesty to the legend of Iron Man. Any fan of Iron Man comics or superheroes in general should be appalled at their treatment by Iron Man 3. The plot twist takes place after about two thirds of the movie has run. I've complained about the tone of the movie and have judged this movie with a negative review. Recently, I've noticed the positive reviews of Iron Man 3 and a defense of the plot twist. I don't want to put down fellow critics but their rationale makes me ask whether if they have ever been a fan of a comic book, or had any knowledge of the Iron Man story. I'm so surprised by the positive reaction that a feeling of paranoia creeps in. I mean were these writers paid by Disney? Okay, there's no proof of that but that's how stunned I feel.
So let's discus the plot twist in Iron Man 3 and go over why it stinks. Major spoilers ahead. So you've been warned.
MAJOR SPOILER AHEAD.
Before I discuss the plot twist to Iron Man 3, we need to go over some background information. The plot twist deals with the classic Iron Man villain, The Mandarin. Let's go to Wikipedia for a little history of The Mandarin. He was "born in China before the Communist revolution, to a wealthy Chinese father and an English aristocratic mother, both of whom died when he was very young. He is characterised as a megalomaniac, attempting to conquer the world on several occasions, yet also possessing a strong sense of honor." He's also " portrayed as a genius scientist and a superhumanly skilled martial artist." "[H]s primary sources of power are ten power rings that he adapted from the alien technology of a crashed space ship. Each ring has a different power and is worn on a specific finger." So, this is one bad ass in the Iron Man mythos. As a kid, I wasn't the biggest Iron Man fan but I thought he was cool. And part of being a cool superhero is also the adversaries she or he would face. They had to be as cool as the superhero or else we couldn't take the superhero seriously.
So what is the plot twist in Iron Man 3? The Mandarin (pictured ) is not a bad ass villain and terrorist. Nope. He's an actor named Trevor Slattery. (Ben Kingsley) You see the real bad guy is Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce) who is using him like a puppet to manipulate the public into buying his biologically created super-soldiers. So what is the problem you ask? Slattery is a beer guzzling drunkard who has a penchant for prostitutes. We meet him coming out of the bathroom warning his hooker friends about the smell he created. Yes, The Mandarin is played for comedy. Not very legendary is it?
By portraying The Mandarin, one of Iron Man's greatest nemesis, as a clown, trashes the mythos of Iron Man. I admitted that I laughed when Slattery is on the screen then I groaned every time. It's as if in The Empire Strikes Back, Darth Vader says to Luke, "I am your father" and then removes his helmet to reveal the face of Mad Magazine's Alfred E. Neuman. We can no longer take the movie or Iron Man seriously anymore.
Look, I'm for complex villains and will support surprises about them if the story is making sense. For example, in Spider-Man 2 (2004), one of the best superhero movies of all time, villain Dr. Octavius is a good man searching to create energy for mankind. After an accident where mechanical arms influence him to become bad, he begins a career of crime. But at the end of the movie, he dies heroically saving the city because he remembers who he was. That's a surprise but one that makes sense. And it's not outside the realm of the comic books since he's been a tragic character. But taking a classic villain like The Mandarin and making him a clown turns the Iron Man movies into parody.
Film, comic book critics and the fawning media need to get some courage. Stop being afraid of Disney's big bad wolf media empire. Call Iron Man 3 for what it is. A sarcastic movie that spits in the face of Iron Man fans. They should join with fans of Iron Man and demand a reboot of the film franchise. This time take Iron Man's story seriously. In the meantime, fans should cling to the wonderful first Iron Man (2008) film and ignore the sequels.
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7 comments:
You are so right! Disney screwed up with all the Marvel films since they bought the company. Now I dont wanna even see any of the Marvel films since Disney owns it. I just hope DC Comics doesnt surrender to Disney.
And speaking of Star Wars, SCREW THE UPCOMING FILMS! The Emipre is gone and the galaxy is at peace. Now Disney is gonna ruin it all.
Alternatively, you could look at the boldness of the filmmakers for tackling the concept of a manufactured terrorist bogeyman and the government and military/industrial complex's engagement and culpability therein.
Dangerous stuff for a sanitised Hollywood blockbuster made by Disney. This movie did still suck though, I'll grant you that. Macguyver Stark and his kid sidekick was just damn painful and his retirement at the end sucks. Who wants a humble, nice Tony Stark?
Iron Man 3 sucked taint due this lame twist, poor characterizations, and the unappealing personality of Paltrow. What they did with the Mandarin wasn't clever, just a transparent rip-off of Nolan's Batman movies.
spiderman 2 was as laughable as iron man 3. and again i say this is Marvel's M.O.
As far back as Blade they have gone off the reservation from the better stories they have in their catalog. It's one thing to mix things up with the source material but to do so and then add their quirky, light hearted, tongue in cheek, camp, however people categorize the tone they are always a split second gag or line of dialogue away from inducing groans from the serious audience members.
Iron man 3 was a disaster. A slap in the face of the true fans. There are many many many things I can say about the movie but here are some of my main points.
Apparently jarvis can simultaneously control over 40 iron man suites yet he can not warn tony stark of 2 heavily armed helicopters that are flying in an area witch can not be hidden and also cant lock the door. The comedy was out of hand. Everything was a funny situation. Even when at the end his suit is flying in and blows up right. Why make us sit thru that garbage and then rob us of a final fight scene? The movie should have been called tony stark 1 due to the lack of iron man. The panic attacks were another thing I didnt understand and made him look like a high school girl without a date to the prom. The story line leaves you with more questions then Inception. They turned a superhero movie into a fight against terrorism. But the worst thing of all. The most flabbergasting event. The biggest slap in the face witch in pretty sure everyone has repressed because no one including myself talks about was tony stark taking out his chest piece!!!!!! Wft!!! The entire plot of the 2nd movie was fixing it yet now he just takes it out!? All copies of the movie need to be destroyed, the director of the first 2 iron mans needs to be brought back in and the movie needs redone.
Iron Man 3 was truly pathetic and although people are loving the money it's making soon they'll realize the massive damage it's doing to the Marvel Universe: it has turned it into a joke and a farce!!! From now on it will be very difficult to believe Marvel is anything but a Disney Sesame Street stand up routine without even the thinnest of plots.
It's just plain boring!!!
And look at the armor.....it falls apart so easy........ I think Avengers was the true iron man 3
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