Film Review: Iron Man 3 – All That is Missing is a Cowl.

I saw Iron Man 3 at the Genesis Deluxe Cinemas at The Palms in Lekki. To say I had to force myself to buy the ticket would not be far from the truth because as a general rule I do not see 3D films at the cinema. Why? Because I have never experienced the “oh-so-great” cinematic 3D experience in all the other 3D films I have watched. I pencil this lack of the 3D effect to my prescription glasses over which I don the 3D glasses, resulting in no real difference with or without the 3D glasses. However, for the sake of my date and the desire to see Iron Man 3 I put aside all fears of “wasted” money and went to see the film.

Iron Man 3 in so many ways was waaaaaaaaaaay better than Iron Man 2 which to me was a huge disappointment! Gone was the watery plot as well as the weak villains! Enter a believable post-The Avengers story which dwelt more on Tony Stark the man, than Iron Man the super hero/Avenger, and two hugely believable villains in the Mandarin (Ben Kingsley) and Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce). With Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) in mortal danger, Tony Stark had to step out from behind the iron suit to rescue her leaving Col. James Rhodes/Iron Patriot (Don Cheadle) to save POTUS and the nation (read as world).

I am sure the fan boys were very happy with Iron Man 3. War Machine, now Iron Patriot had loads of screen time and we saw almost every Iron Man suit in the books. We also saw the Mandarin, Iron Man’s primary nemesis in the 1990's cartoon TV series wreak havoc on the world. Even though I could see that happening a mile off, the final scenes where Tony pretty much hops from suit to suit were quite good. Fellow film aficionado Kal, remarked that it was also a tad ridiculous; perhaps this was why those of us watching were not as wowed as we should have been – there was no applause as is associated with the Lagos cinema crowd!

The story line like I pointed out earlier was believable and also very familiar. Maybe this was because in this installment Tony Stark had a few similarities with another comic genius, billionaire, playboy, and philanthropist – Bruce Wayne. The scriptwriters, Drew Pearce and Shane Black (who is also the director) must have taken it upon themselves to try and show us that Mr. Stark is almost as bad-ass as Mr. Wayne. Iron Man 3 tries to show us the “great detective” side of Tony Stark where he pieces the puzzle of AIM, Mandarin and Aldrich Killian together in much the same way the original great detective Bruce Wayne would! In addition, Mr. Stark’s snobbery of Mr. Killian in the opening scenes is very reminiscent of Mr. Wayne’s snobbery of Mr. E. Nygma in 1995’s Batman Forever. Likewise, both Mr. Killian and Mr. Nygma, later blessed with superhuman powers, return to exact vengeance on Mr. Stark and Mr. Wayne respectively! And oh yes, their love interests – Ms. Potts and Dr. Meridian – are also both held captive. Also noticeable was the fact that in these two films the sidekick goes on to rescue the president/city while our superheroes rescue the damsels in distress. However, the similarity that takes the cake is where we find that the Mandarin is not the “actual or main” villain, just like Bane was not the “actual or main” villain in 2012's The Dark Knight Rises!!!

Ok, undoubtedly no idea is original, but let us tag Mr. Pearce and Mr. Shane as Batman fan boys.

As always, Guy Pearce’s acting was sublime. He was quite the scary villain with a point to prove (I think). Ben Kinglsey was a hoot and it no longer mattered that he is not Asian. It was good to see Ms. Paltrow on the big screen again. Robert Downey, Jr. was his effective Tony Stark, but with the swag toned down, as it should be since his character is experiencing some form of PTSD. It was great seeing Iron Man and Iron Man 2 director Jon Favreau again on the other side of the lens reprising his role as Happy Hogan, Tony Stark’s PA/bodyguard and head of security.

I found the Christmas setting a bit anachronistic, a more release-date backdrop would have been preferred.

Iron Man 3 is OK fun but the humour and wit is lacking and we get the sense that this was a rush job. The scriptwriters wanted us to see a more human Tony Stark with a few laughs thrown in. His destruction of the remaining suits signalling his retirement from tinkering is also not convincing for we know Iron Man will return. Indeed, Tony Stark gets no realer than the first Iron Man film. Thus, I still regard Iron Man as the best by far of the three. With respect to the Marvel Universe films it also nosedives out of the sky just like Iron Man did in The Avengers for Iron Man 3 does not and cannot keep up with the blast that The Avengers is.

PS: Iron Man 3 has passed the one billion dollar mark at the global Box Office, earning $1,073,861,977 as at May 21, 2013.

PSS: Jon Favreau was an Assistant Director for Batman Forever! Ah! Enlightenment!

Full disclosure: I am an unapologetic Batman fan! And oh yeah, for the first time, I “felt” the 3D effect. J

Image credits: Marvel Studios, Marvel screencap 

“M” is for “Mother” – My Review of Skyfall

Finally! I got to see the 23^rd James Bond movie, Skyfall and I was not disappointed. Directed by Academy Award winner, Sam Mendes (American Beauty) and written by the usual suspects Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, together with John Logan, Skyfall marks a half century of Bond movies, and quite naturally my expectations were high, especially following the debacle that was Quantum of Solace.

Once again, just like Licence to Kill and Die Another Day, it was personal. Bond was not out to just save the world but was also on a mission of a personal nature, made personal by the real threat to his surrogate mother, M and her MI6 family.  And just like in The World Is Not Enough he has to rescue and protect M from a villain who blames her for his suffering at the hands of Britain’s enemies. We get to see Daniel Craig grow into the role of Bond; he is less cocky and made more aware of his mortality. Bond seems tired yet determined as he comes back from retirement to serve his queen (read as mother) and country.

A flawed agent, Bond has to do battle with another flawed agent and former but elder brother-at-arms (Alec Trevelyan in Goldeneye, anyone?) who was also nursed at M’s breast, a former MI6 agent, Raoul Silva. Silva played excellently well by Javier Bardem at long last gives us a villain worthy of facing Bond. The previous three (not counting Le Chiffre) were poor poor villains. Raoul Silva – bleached blonde hair and all – very quickly reminds you of The Joker, Max Zorin and Jaws in one particular scene, but where they appear almost comical and crazy like, Silva is not. He is a very intelligent man and like a son betrayed unto death by his mother, he sets out to exact his vengeance. His Spanish-flavoured English lends a certain appeal but also has a dangerous edge to it. Indeed, Raoul Silva is a man to be fearful of.

But why doesn’t Bond ever crack or betray M? In Die Another Day he was left at the hands of the North Koreans and was tortured for over a year; in Casino Royale, Le Chiffre almost emasculated him. Where most agents would have held a grudge against the Empire, Bond never ever does even when his wife was killed by Blofeld. So what makes James Bond so faithful and loyal? I daresay he is a mama’s boy. Bond is M’s favourite who sees his mother as imperfect but in the end she knows best.

Truth be told, Skyfall is rather formulaic and borrows plot lines from previous Bond movies. Revenge. Betrayal. And the villain practically giving himself up to gain access to the new MI6 headquarters (hmm.... reminds me of a certain superhero movie). Initially hampered by budget constraints ($200mm), Skyfall still ekes a beautiful production. It boasts great cinematography and visual effects. The cityscapes of Shanghai, the rooftops of Istanbul and London are eye catching and lovely to behold. The action scenes are done just right with just the right amount of intensity for they never go over the top.  

The acting is quite good by everyone and a special mention goes to Javier Bardem. However, the chemistry between Bond and Eve (Naomie Harris) is not quite there but perhaps this was deliberate as this relationship is one that is never meant to be “quite there”. I also noticed that this time the focus was a lot less on Daniel Craig as Bond but it was rather on Bond as Bond. After the first 30 minutes I stopped trying to second guess myself as to whether Daniel Craig was still a good Bond.

Skyfall very successfully reintroduces Bond to us by providing more details into his past, what is must have been like for him growing up at Skyfall, the almost Bruce Waynesque loss of his parents, and his coming of age in the tunnels of his boyhood home. Both the audience and Bond himself are reintroduced to a new quartermaster, Q (Ben Whishaw) who promises to be one for the new millennium, nerdy, techie but cool.  

Another reintroduction is that of the iconic Aston Martin DB5 used in Goldfinger; and Moneypenny, M’s secretary and James’ almost-girlfriend and lover in a brilliant twist at the end of the film. Quite naturally, I expected Ralph Fiennes to have a bigger role and the man once touted to be the “next Bond” does. *wink*

So as the curtain falls on Dame Judi Dench’s M, we applaud and say goodbye to a strong woman, an efficient leader who faced danger with every step, and took the hardest and toughest decisions; the only woman to perhaps match Bond himself, and chronology notwithstanding, the first Bond girl, his mother “M”.

PS: Skyfall has grossed $321mm worldwide since its October 29, 2012 premiere.

Vote for your favourite Bond actor below.

I also added a brief history of James Bond via the guys at CableTV.com, click on the graphic to hyperlink/maximise:

Via: CableTV.com