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| Iron Man 3 opens Friday |
Whether or not fans want to see the truth, but Hollywood has set a template for a Comic Book Movies. It's fairly simple. Part 1 is the origin. Part 2 is the obstacle. Part 3 is the catharsis that's larger than life and over-cluttered. Several series took this method and ALL have put out disappointing films compared to their predecessor. Look at the original Spider-Man series. Spider-Man 2 dealt with the obstacles of being Spider-Man so well that Roger Ebert called it "the best Superhero movie ever made". Then Spider-Man 3 wedged three villains in and a two dance scenes... check please. The Dark Knight Rises was good, but again saw too many villains and several plot holes just to make a sensational ending. Both films were received well at the box office- each breaking box office records- but if you're honest each film was extremely flawed and betrayed their adaptations. Iron Man 3 will get it's shot to avoid this pattern Friday.
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| The Iron Patriot is WarMachine reinvented. |
Several fans weren't too happy with Iron Man 2, but it was still a good second piece of a series that extended it's story into The Avengers. In Iron Man 2, the obstacle of being Iron Man were obvious. Fame for being a public hero led to a public attack when he wasn't expecting it and a rival tycoon (Sam Rockwell) that hires his attacker to put Stark out of business. It also dealt with the government involvement in the Iron Man project and the creation of War Machine by his friend Colonel James Rhodes (Don Cheadle). Tony falls into depression as he pushes Pepper away and fears he's dying, but finds a new energy source and staves off an attack of drones. Tony (Robert Downey Jr.) and Pepper (Gwyneth Paltrow) debate about their relationship and S.H.I.E.L.D. introduced Tony to the Black Widow before saying they didn't want him for the Avengers. Iron Man 2 also introduced Thor's hammer in "credits scene".
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| Is there anyone who could pull off the Mandarin like Ben Kingsley will? |
Iron Man 3 will continue the story from The Avengers and that's where it may change from the other series. Tony is dealing with new obstacles and new feelings like warping into a parallel world and is really feeling his mortality. It will also introduce the Mandarin (Ben Kingsley), a terrorist that baffles intelligence agencies and destroys Tony Stark's home. It will also be the first time we see Aldrich Killian (Guy Pierce) - the founder of the Advanced Idea Mechanics. It's also one of the rare times a director has switched out of directing the franchise, but still appeared in the film. Jon Favreau directed the first two and Shane Black (Predator actor and Lethal Weapon writer) directs this edition.
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| Contrary to other Comic Stars, Downey's career has skyrocketed since becoming Iron Man. |
Iron Man 3 will expand the Iron Man/Avengers universe, but will it be Downey's swan song as Tony Stark. Arguably, you can say this is the greatest portrayal of a Comic Book Hero. "I don't want to overstay my welcome," Downey maybe correct, but please overstay your welcome. Downey has been able to expand his career since donning the Iron Man costume. He has been nominated for an Oscar (Tropic Thunder) and was even able to star in smaller films like The Soloist. He has also starred in a new franchise (the Sherlock Holmes series). Downey has successfully avoided the type-casting that some superhero actors have gone through during their tenure.
As early reviews come say that Iron Man 3 is better than The Avengers and that's saying something. Then again, critic overlooked little things like how Bruce Wayne got from the middle of nowhere to a quarantined Gotham city with no money or no magic knee brace. Hopefully, this film will fulfill it's promises and get the Superhero genre it's best third part.
