Some Thoughts About Iron Man 3

So where does Iron Man 3, Marvel's latest super-hero movie, fit in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Well, IM3 is not as good as last years blockbuster romp - The Avengers. It isn't even as good as the original Iron Man. But Iron Man is a solid, entertaining film in this genre - but a entertaining film with flaws albeit, some of the flaws may be more my personal taste. I did like IM3 better than Iron Man 2 where seeing your super-heroes falling down drunk is not my idea of a good time. I guess in the Marvel movie world, Iron Man 3 comes in middle of the pack - Not as good as the best (Captain America The First Avenger is even better) but better than the worst (Iron Man 2 and Thor are at the bottom of my list).

There is some talk as to whether an aging Robert Downey Jr. (now in his early 50's) should continue on as Tony Stark / Iron Man. Some think he may price himself out of the role given Marvel's reputation as a rather frugal company (I'm sure Disney loves that). Marvel has made comments that they could just go the "James Bond" route and replace actors in franchise movies if circumstances or actors demands dictate a change is needed. My issue with Downey is that as the appearances as Stark / Iron Man mount (now in movie #4) he seems to be increasingly overacting the part, adding complexities to the character that aren't needed or wanted. It's almost as if he adds things to the Stark character to keep himself from being bored by the role. On the other hand, the Gwyneth Paltrow / Pepper Potts role expands in each movie in a very pleasing and graceful way. 

A couple of other quibbles with Iron Man 3. Did I really want to see 42 Iron Men in the sky at one time? Perhaps the true jewel of the first Iron Man is seeing this isolated solitary man of metal kick butt and take names of some very bad men - a super-hero every kid growing up wants to be. With 42 flying Iron Men (mostly remote controlled).... the figure loses some implact. He also seems a little too comfortable sitting on the couch. Some have complained about the Mandarin villian. I read Iron Man comics as a kid and can't recall the Mandarin but apparently he really is a villian and adversary for Iron Man. In the movie, the Mandarin is an actor, a front man for some very sinister and violent acts of terrorism perpetrated by others. This didn't bother me so much and I very much liked the comic aspects of Ben Kingsley performance as the Mandarin.

But issues aside, I enjoyed my 2 hours of Iron Man 3 (seen in IMAX and 3D). I was entertained and caught up in the story. Will I buy it when it comes to home video and Blu-Ray? You bet I will. In about 2 weeks, IM 3 has made close to a billion dollars in world wide box office receipts - a pretty good cash haul for Disney and Marvel.