Big Screen Breakdown: Iron Man 3

Next time I post joke spoilers about a movie, I think I'm REALLY going to have to up the hyperbole. All that stuff I said? Lies. Filthy, filthy lies. So, since I haven't shared my real opinion of Iron Man 3' I'll do it now.

• The action sequences come fast and frequently, to the point where I seriously could not remember on the way home how the movie actually started. It hit the ground, man, and it was OFF.
• As in the other Iron Man movies, the real joy comes from watching Robert Downey Jr. do his thing, and he's at the top of his game here. It's funny how much sympathy he's able to milk in a role that's completely unsympathetic. Pretty excellent stuff.
• Gwyneth Paltrow may have been my favorite part of the movie. I always thought the role of "Pepper Pots - Love Interest" was a little underwritten, but... it still is. That said, Paltrow does an excellent job with what she's given, and she gets a couple of real kick-@$$ moments.
• I think there must have been something added to RDJ's contract stipulating that his face needs to be seen more, because he's, like, almost NEVER completely covered up by the Iron Man suit. And that's not really a bad thing.
• So... the villain of this piece is called "The Mandarin." It struck me as a little too "yellow peril" for a perfectly PC 2013 filmgoing audience. But Ben Kingsley totally nails it. The whole thing totally works, and the Mandarin may actually be my other favorite part of the movie.
• Iron Man 3 is doing the whole superhero shared universe thing RIGHT. It acknowledges the events of The Avengers while standing on its own legs as a story. The previous movies add flavor, but the dish is satisfying without knowing where it came from.
• My third favorite part of the movie? DIY-ron Man.
• There's a couple of throwaway lines referencing the Roxxon Energy Corporation. Most people will see Roxxon as a fairly obvious analog to Exxon-Mobil; however, in the comics, Roxxon is owned by a man named Aleksander Lukin, one of the primary antagonists in the Captain America story The Winter Soldier. And guess what the next Captain America movie's called?
• No AC/DC songs? Hm...
• My other OTHER favorite part? I can't really talk about it, cuz it's kind of a spoiler. Let's just say I frickin' love it when superheroes get to act like superheroes and save the day, even if they do so with the squishiest of soft-sciences. Rule of cool applies here, people.
• Yes, there's a stinger after the credits. No, it doesn't spoil Avengers 2 Yes, it's worth it... but the credits themselves are actually pretty fun. There's a stylish roll-call sequence that recalls some of the more enjoyable parts of the James Bond franchise. Loved it!
• Verdict: Highly Recommended (maybe even better than The Avengers.) (Yeah, I said it.)

Braddy's Super Spoiler-Filled Iron Man 3 Blog Post

Sometimes it pays to have connections. I've got a buddy who's a film critic, and every now and again he's able to bring a friend to a pre-screening of an upcoming movie. And THAT'S how I go to see Iron Man 3 before it came out. Don't believe me? Look, I got a poster:

Fun fact: This poster is backwards.

Iron Man 3 gave me a TON to talk about, so y'all better hold on to your dairy products, because HERE. COME. THE SPOILERS!!!

• Once upon a time, I predicted that there was no way Iron Man 3 could be any good, because they'd already used up all the good AC/DC songs. Well, the movie was still fantastic, but they really DID run into a bit of a musical problem, when "Big Balls" plays over the opening fight sequence.
• Are we really going to get a Mickey Mouse cameo in all of the Marvel movies now? The Stan Lee stuff was silly enough.
• Tony Stark keeps Agent Coulson's brain in a jar, and he spends almost the whole movie trying to find a way to put the brain inside one of his Iron Man suits.
• Remember when "shawarma" was the big scene after the credits in The Avengers? Well, that wasn't as random as it looked... Turns out the Mandarin's entire motivation can be traced back to that scene. If you watch the scene again, you can actually see Ben Kingsley stick his head out from the kitchen in the restaurant. I can't believe we all missed it the first time around.
• SOMEONE had to die in the third Iron Man movie. I expected it to be Jon Favreau's character, or, heck, even Don Cheadle. I got REALLY ticked when it looked like they were going to kill Pepper, but then Stark steps up, takes the bullet, and... dies?
• Of course, Pepper holding her stomach at the funeral kinda gave me the impression that she was pregnant, and with all the genetic engineering stuff that goes on in the movie, I think it's entirely possible that we'll wind up with some kind of Teen Iron Man in future movies. Hey, it happened in the comics.

Things I'll Love Forever: Superman

I've always been one to miss a bandwagon. Yesterday was apparently the 75th anniversary of the publication of Action Comics #1, and thus it was also the birthday of Superman. As I've gotten older, I've gotten more and more disillusioned with superheroes as a medium - mainly because the characters who filled the stories I loved as a child now exist in forms I'd never want my own children to witness. Now, sometimes the more mature takes on superhero storytelling are indisputably awesome, but I still find myself longing for the clean, four-color adventures I grew up with, when heroes were heroes and villains wore impractical costumes and wanted to "take over the world." And, in recent months, Superman has come to embody that quiet optimism for me.

• The classic Superman look - blue tights with red cape and shorts - is undeniably goofy, but somehow endearing at the same time. In real life, someone dressed in a Superman costume looks silly. Period. In a comic book, though, in that brilliant four-color world, the Superman costume looks downright inspiring.
• I have to admit that Superman's concept is a little silly, but sometimes silly is good. A confluence of silly things can come together to make an outrageous yet profoundly meaningful story. Sure, Superman's secret identity is a little hard to swallow (glasses?), and his powers are all over the place (he has the ability to shoot a midget version of himself out of his hands. Seriously), but those silly ideas simply build up a world where anything can happen, and when it does happen, it turns out for the best. You can't beat that kind of optimism.
• There's a beautiful metaphor at the heart of Superman's character. He's an alien, an outsider... yet he chooses to be a part of society. He has the power to be whatever he wants... and he chooses to be a hero. Tell me that's not what every parent wants for their struggling teen.
• I've heard a lot of people complain that Superman is "too powerful" to be relatable. With all due respect to those people, who are of course entitled to their own opinions, their the wrongest wronglings to ever be wrong about anything. In a Superman story (well, a good one, at any rate), the conflict of the story isn't settled through violent confrontation, except maybe as metaphor. The stakes are never life and death - they're deeper. Superman, a literal embodiment of selflessness and heroism, battles against Lex Luthor, who represents greed, vanity, and all the worst aspects of human nature. And Superman wins every time. That's some &@$%in' good stuff, mate!

Okay, I've rambled a bit, but I still don't think I've made my point. Let me close with the words of Grant Morrison, writer of All-Star Superman (with art by the inimitable Frank Quitely, whose pictures I've used here). Morrison probably expressed in a couple dozen words the sentiment I've failed to capture in however many paragraphs:

"Somewhere, in our darkest night, we made up the story of a man who will never let us down."

And THAT'S why I'll love him forever.

BONUS: I stumbled across this video a few days ago. Check it out: Superman from the days of Merry Melodies. It's an animation classic and quite possibly my favorite Superman story I've seen in a long time.

I Believe In Heroes

Maybe I'm the only one this ever happens to.

I caught The Amazing Spider-Man at the dollar theater last night, and I drove home with just this enormous swell of energy in my chest. I was seriously pumped up, like I wanted to go out and punch up all the lizard monsters I could find. As I reflected on the emotional responses I had to the film, I realized that, no, I didn't really want to hurt anything. Rather, I wanted to create. I was inspired, as I often am after a good story, to go out and make something good.

I'm of the opinion that we've been blessed by the recent deluge of superhero movies - and yes, I do mean "blessed." "Blessed" as in "bestowed with good," because as campy, silly, and completely unrealistic as superhero stories are, I believe them to do a very good thing, beyond the pure escapist entertainment they provide. Yes, I loved The Avengers for being a furious fist-pump of a movie, but I also appreciated that it illustrates how important cooperation is. The Dark Knight Rises, though flawed, showed how one man refused to give in to despair despite overwhelming odds. It was a pretty fitting and inspiring conclusion to the best movie portrayal of Batman since Adam West (Yeah, that's my opinion, and I am NOT backing down).

However, of the three prominent superhero movies that came out this year, I think I liked The Amazing Spider-Man the best - which is odd, considering I have next to no real history with the character. Something about the way Peter Parker was portrayed in the new film really spoke to me - a gifted if somewhat awkward young man is granted a lot of power that doesn't immediately make his life better. Rather, he uses that power for selfish ends and learns (the hard way) to accept the responsibility that comes from his growth. More than just about any other superhero movie, The Amazing Spider-Man shows the main character develop in a way I found both profound and deeply personal.

The fact that he got to make out with Emma Stone was just gravy.

Sweet, sweet gravy

At its heart, the superhero concept is a very childish one. Frequently, these stories follow characters who are stuck in a situation beyond their control. By mere chance, they receive some type of gift that grants them power over their circumstances. It's a fantasy a lot of children can relate to, although I know many adults who often feel the same way.

What makes the superhero story so compelling, though, is that in nearly every instance, once the character receives their great power, they ultimately use that power to improve, not only their situation in life, but the lives of their neighbors, their cities, or, in the most dramatic examples, the whole world.

It's basically the only reason a character like Superman exists at all. He's got so much power that, from a narrative perspective, there's almost no illusion of danger. Of course he's going to save the day. He's frickin' Superman.

So if we're not enjoying Superman stories for the action, there's got to be some other reason people keep going back to the man in the red-underpants, and I don't think the reason is hard to grasp. We so often see people in power abuse their position, it's reassuring to think that there could be someone who chooses to use his power for the benefit of others rather than himself. And if someone like Superman can use the strengths he has for good, then, maybe, so can we.

I won't lie. I read this panel in Silver Surfer: Parable and about cried. You can shut up.

Most of these characters are people thrown into situations beyond their control. Rather than just giving up and letting the world run its course, and rather than indulging in their basest cravings, the superhero stands up and fights for what is right. Often, that desire to do good is symbolized by a literal fight, but there are always those scenes of heroes rescuing children that tend to get an honest-to-goodness smile from most audience members. What we see on the screen isn't just the hero winning. It's the hero protecting the less-fortunate and passing on to the next generation the lesson that one person can make a positive difference.

That's the central metaphor behind the superhero. These stories acknowledge that we live in an imperfect world, beset on all sides by corruption and dischord. Those negative forces exist, but, as long as there are good men and women willing to do the right thing, those forces can not win.

And that is amazing.