Iron Man 3 (Spoiler Free)

Iron Man 3 was easily one of my most anticipated films to see in 2013, and I was lucky enough to see it 2 days before its actual release date. I could not have been more stoked to see where the third installment took us. Seems a bad taste from Iron Man 2 has been lingering for years with the general public, but that was never my stance. No Iron Man film will ever be as good as the origin story all those years ago, but for the second film to be dogged the way it was is just the evolution of how series like this tend to work. The fact that it was so despised opened an enormous window for success for a third film. People were so ready to forget about that film and to love Iron Man once again. It did up the ante coming off such a powerful Tony Stark presence in last year's Avengers, and for me, I was very curious how that film would tie into this film. It does a great job of using a few callbacks, while not relying on them to carry this film. Thor is mentioned. New York is mentioned, and The Avengers are mentioned. Shield only comes up once, and overall it is just done perfectly. Iron Man 3 is the first film to be released under the Marvel banner "Phase 2", which is their genius concept of tying the entire Marvel universe together through a series of films and characters so vast, it will take years. It is a bit risky, but it is paying out in dividends. I, for one, welcome a film company taking a risk like this. For one, it gives us tons of new material we may not have been privy to before. Characters are getting introduced in droves and with such an artistic elegance, it keeps us wanting more. I have titled this review as Spoiler Free, because I read very little about this film as to not spoil anything for myself. That being said, everything I write is common knowledge in my opinion. If you have a TV, none of the details about to be given should spoil anything. 

First off, I am going to start off with a bold statement. Iron Man 3 is way more of a comic book film than any I have seen to date. The reason these films have become so popular is the fact that the realm of possibility seems high in all the most recent comic book genre films. Other than the alien invasion in The Avengers, most of these films deal with humans being mean to other humans. Terrorist organizations, nothing out of the ordinary, blah blah blah. Other than the unlikely tech, the films have basically taken current World problems and inserted them into these films. Iron Man 3 goes a little bit of a different direction. First off, we have a completely different Tony Stark. We pick up with him right after The Avengers war with Loki's army, and the inner torment Stark is dealing with. He has always been the target, but he feels much more vulnerable now, and this plays very well to me. He is just as arrogant and cocky, but not. RDJ is such a good actor, he plays both sides of the spectrum perfectly. One way on the outside, different on the inside. He is a broken man looking for himself, and trying to figure out what to do.

Now we have the villains. We all know the villain is The Mandarin, but what we don't know is what His end game is. Sir Ben Kingsley is AWESOME. Absolutely nothing but mad applause for his portrayal of the middle eastern psychopath. Like all of these recent films, there usually is another villain that comes into play later in the film. I'm sure you will see who this other villain will be pretty early on, but since I do not remember very much trailer footage of him or his character, I will leave that to you to enjoy. He did very well, but The Mandarin is one of the best "Villains" I have ever seen. I was in a state of awe at the direction they took that baddie, and I LOVED it. Brilliant, but I will bet some will not be as enthusiastic as I am. I mentioned the "comic book" feel to it. Comics are great because they are reality (Real people) mixed with fantasy (Tech, powers, paranormal etc) and this film combines them perfectly. I will admit, I was a little on the fence about said "fantasy", but in the end, it played well, because it is a COMIC BOOK.

These movies always introduce new tech, which I love. Another great fantasy aspect to these films. The big one here is the Mark 42 concept armor. It uses nano technology to basically be self sufficient (Unmanned if you will). It can trace Tony's whereabouts through a series of triggers. It is very badass, and also adds a ton of humor to the overall dark subject matter. We also get the War Machine (Cheadle inside) freshly painted and rebranded as The Iron Patriot. Very cool suit, but not much character substance there. Rhodes (Cheadle) has always been an afterthought in these films. Never grabbing at the spotlight, but it works well. A little extra eye candy and a lot of humor. 

Lastly we have the action, and CG aspects to this film. This franchise has always been second to none when it comes to GREAT action sequences, and they always use the top CG firm which has delivered a flawless product 3 times in a row now. What action lacked in number 2, made up 10 fold in this installment. The big question is always, Was there enough action? Oh ya. Tons of it, and not all in the Iron Man suit. Tony is wide open at times and has to MacGyver his way out bad situations. Some scenes had so much going on, it seems like it could muddy the visual waters pretty easily, but that is not the case. It is aesthetically pleasing 100% of the time. It is by far the darkest film in the trilogy, and still not quite as good as the original, but this film is tons of fun, and if I had the time, I would see it again.

  

**Now a little story about my experience with the end credits and how it almost ruined my night. I have been reading for weeks that there was a scene at the end of the credits and even the guest character was revealed. I did not read who that character was going to be as I like to be surprised. While sitting through what seemed to be the longest credits of ALL time, all 9 of the other audience members left as it was 1 am and an employee screening. They did not feel like sticking around. To me, what's another 7 minutes at 1 in the morning? With what had to be about 2 minutes to pay dirt, the projectionist (not Mitchell) SHUT IT DOWN. I was appalled. Luckily this digital age we live in, this grave error was not so quickly amended. He fired it back up, which started the movie at the beginning and then proceeded to hit fast forward. I watched 2 hours and 15 minutes again over a 2 minute span. Pretty funny. Was it worth it? YES. Even my Brother, who doesn't care for Easter eggs the way I do, Laughed out loud at the one 30 second scene which has absolutely no bearing on the film itself, or the Phase 2 Marvel plan at all. It is merely one last comical scene for you all to enjoy.

NBM rates Iron Man 3 - Phenomenal

X2: X-Men United

I am going to end Marvel week with not only my favorite Marvel film, but also a film that is synonymous with being called "better than its predecessor." That is hard for a sequel to do in any franchise or genre. Bryan Singer is a master behind the camera and when you watch The Last Stand after watching X2 you will see what seperates him from ordinary movie makers. X2 also did something extremely tricky. It introduced us to new characters that help thicken the plot, but at the same time didn't take away from what we wanted to see. The plethera of characters in this film are vast and outstanding. Sometimes too many can be, well, too much. The sub plots can be watered down to make sure every one gets enough screen time. I don't speak for anyone but myself when I say, I am most interested in the body count Wolverine will rack up. He is my guy. There is no one more BA than him, and he accepts who he is. Some of the new characters we meet are Iceman (Cool), Pyro (Cool), Colossus (Cool though brief), Lady Deathstrike (Wolverine in a hot female body), and The Nightcrawler (Freakin amazing). The movie really is based around him and his actions. He attempts to kill the President, which leads directly into a mutant-human war. More directly it is based on William Stryker and his attempt to shut down Xaviers school for gifted youngsters. Stryker actually had a son that Xavier could not help and William holds him personally responsible. He has now made it his mission to abolish every mutant from the planet. When Stryker gets unlimited governmental authority against the mutant race he invades the school to take prisoners. Unfortunately for them Logan has recently come home. Essentially he is the babysitter. When the raid hits he unleashes hell and it is awesome. That is one of the best action sequences ever. From here it just gets awesome. Magneto is able to break out of his plastic prison in an absolutely brilliant fashion. He and Mystique team up with Xavier in order to stop the extermination of their race. Magneto actually has his own plan for Stryker. It is a pure movie that lacks nothing. The fight scene with Deathstrike and Wolverine is awesome. I watch this film several times a year. Pyro is pretty cool and he gets some good scenes where he gets to blow stuff up. I also like the Jean Gray story and how she is dealing with her dark phoenix. Pay attention to the shadow in the water before the credits roll. If you haven't seen this film I feel sorry for you.


***I would also like to add that my Spider-Man 3 review from 5/11/2011 has been removed by Blogger, but I have been told it will repost soon.***

NBM rates X2 - A Work of Cinematic Art

Ghost Rider

How many great movies has Sam Elliot done? I mean really. The Big Lebowski. Tombstone. Roadhouse.
Actor of the millenium I must say. - A Bomb's Facebook post yester night.

You pose a good question and you may be right, sir. Sam Elliot is quite the awesome actor. He's got the southern twang, the raspy voice, and the most gorgeous lip accessory known to man. Silver flowing hair, and a B. A. persona. When it comes to mustaches, there really is only two that need to be discussed. Sam and Magnum P.I. It's a close race. Anyway, Ghost Rider did really poorly compared to other Marvel films that have been released recently. This was Nicolas Cage's last resort at being a super hero in a film. He had Superman wrapped up, only to be replaced at the last minute. He is a bit of a Superman nut, and really took the snub personally, but he is also a comic book freak, so he was not going to be denied forever. Eventually Ghost Rider came along and he did get to be the super comic book hero he so longed for. Unfortunately due to poor numbers and extremely poor ratings, it's already up for an entire revamping, including the cast. Sorry Nic. Ghost Rider was not horrible. Actually I quite enjoyed it. It took a butter knife and lots of patience for me to get it out of a broken DVD player in order to watch it the first time. It was worth it. When Nic makes a deal with the devil to save his fathers life, he becomes the Ghost Rider, a flaming skeletal figure who rides a motorcycle and destroys the wicked. He only turns at night and people can see him. The CG on the Ghost Rider was surprisingly good. When he transforms in one fluid motion, it's kind of awesome. Nic, after a long night of snappin necks, ends up in a cemetery, where he meets "The caretaker" played by Sam Elliot. Sam understands where he is, mentally, and offers to help the confused man. It's definitely worth watching at least once. I do think the Ghost Rider is one of the coolest characters ever, and I hope to re-mix turns out really well.

Update!!!!  Nicolas Cage will be reprising the role of the Ghost Rider in the upcoming sequel. News to me. Earlier this year I had read this was not the case. My apologies

NBM rates Ghost Rider - Great

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