Iron Man 3

The time has come, folks.  Phase two of The Avengers is upon us with Iron Man 3, the self-contained Marvel thriller that really puts their tent post character through the wringer.  Shane Black takes the audience through an adventure that sees Tony Stark outside of the Iron Man suit for most of the film proving once and for all that the suit doesn’t make the Iron Man, Tony does.

SPOILERS.  GO SEE THE MOVIE.  RIGHT NOW.

SERIOUSLY.  GO.  I’LL WAIT.

Marvel deserves a lot of praise for keeping secrets and surprises in their movie from the general audience.  In a time where one leaked photo can completely ruin a good twist (see: The Dark Knight Rises) Kevin Feige and Shane Black have kept most of the story secret.  I didn’t see the second half with the kid coming and I definitely didn’t see the Mandarin twist until it smacked me in the face like wet salami.

Shane Black’s tone fits Iron Man perfectly.  His directorial debut, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, was fantastic and I always thought Robert Downey Jr.’s dialogue in that movie fit Tony Stark so seeing this match-up was definitely rewarding. 

On my initial viewing, The Mandarin twist angered me.  Not the fact that the twist exists, for that I believe the filmmakers should be clapped on the back and given medals, but I, and I might be alone here, really enjoyed Ben Kingsley’s version of The Mandarin.  It was just fun to watch.  Yes, it might be a little corny and over the top, but what good super-villain isn’t?  I know this would never happen, but how unbelievably cool would it be if in the next movie Ben Kingsley comes back as The Mandarin and reveals that he just Hans Gruber-ed everybody.  Just think of how vile a villain he would be.  He just pulled the wool over everyone’s eyes for years.  He would reach a new high for super-villain.  And I can think of some clues to back up this conspiracy theory, since they are all the rage now-a-days.  When Tony Stark breaks into his room, Trevor (the actor portraying The Mandarin) has fake beards on foam heads.  Now, when he comes out of the bathroom he has his beard, and when he’s arrested he has his beard.  I’ve never been arrested with a fake beard, but I think the authorities would take that off lickity-split.  Secondly, he killed a man on live TV.  I know, in the cheesy seventies credits the guy got up, but that makes no sense.  How did you fake a man’s death on live TV?  I don’t think a prisoner is going to play along and I don’t think you could use another actor because that guy is obviously going to show up to work tomorrow, or at the very least his friends and family members that watch The Mandarin’s broadcast will know that’s not him and they will tell authorities who would then start looking for the missing man.  So, all of that being said, I don’t think Trevor, a stage-actor drug junky, has the capacity to shoot a man in cold blood on TV and keep a menacing face.  There.  I’ve said it.  Let me know what you think.

As a post-script to that theory, I do want to say that I loved Guy Pearce’s performance and I would totally accept him as another villain, but come on man.  Ben Kingsley’s character was awesome.

Anyway, leave a comment.  Let me know what you think or if you have any requests or suggestions.  Until tomorrow, friends.