Iron Man 3 Review

The Dork Knight’s Iron Man 3 Review

Good morning Internet! The Dork Knight has returned for another comic book movie review. This time, your dorky do-gooder got to see Iron Man 3 thanks to the awesome folks at Cosmic Comics! I was even fortunate enough to take Number One (my oldest son) with me too, but before I get into this Iron Man 3 review, let’s get warmed up with a cool little Iron Man 3 featurette from Marvel that does a really good job of selling the movie as “THE” Iron Man movie.

All the marketing for this movie looks awesome. It gives away far too much in my opinion, but it all looks great just like that featurette above. The movie looks awesome too. There was so much buildup and hype over this movie with reviews out there calling it the best comic book superhero “threequel” ever and even speculation that, based off the international opening weekend gross, Iron Man 3 will surpass The Avengers. I’m not sure about that.

If you follow me on Twitter, then you already know my overall feeling about this movie:

My one word review for #IronMan3: #DISAPPOINTED My full review will be on the @cosmiccomicslv website by morning.

— The Dork Knight (@DorkKnightLV) May 1, 2013

I say this not because the movie sucked (it didn’t), but because of the way The Mandarin was used in this film. I don’t want to spoil anything so I’ll just say this movie completely botched The Mandarin. Now don’t get me wrong, Ben Kingsley was very good in the movie and highly entertaining, but he could have easily been a new character made up for the Marvel Movie Universe. When what I will simply refer to as “The Mandarin reveal” took place in Iron Man 3, I did one of these:

The Mandarin, who made his first appearance in Tales of Suspense #50, was one of Iron Man’s main archenemies and one of Earth’s greatest scientific minds who possessed mystical powers that emanated from the ten rings he wore on each finger. These rings came from an alien technology that The Mandarin recovered in the Valley of Spirits and he could control the power of the rings with his mind.

That said, this movie takes place not after Iron Man 2, but The Avengers and in The Avengers, our armor clad hero faced off against aliens from another world and inexplicable mystical powers before, so the thought of The Mandarin in Iron Man 3 was very exciting for me. Again, I don’t want to spoil anything so I’ll just have to stop there.

There were things I did like about Iron Man 3 and I’m sure it will make a ton of money (probably not more than The Avengers), but The Mandarin Reveal killed a lot of those things for me. One thing I like for sure was the use of the Extremis story-line and much of Iron Man 3 comes from the pages of that trade (which you can win for FREE this FCBD at Cosmic Comics). In fact, I think the Extremis story-line was solid enough that there really was no need to use a bastardized version of The Mandarin in the movie at all.

If you can’t tell already, I’m basically saying that fans of the Marvel Comics villain, The Mandarin, are in for some serious disappointment while everyone else is bound to love it.

Movie Description from Disney

“Marvel’s Iron Man 3 pits brash-but-brilliant industrialist Tony Stark/Iron Man against an enemy whose reach knows no bounds. When Stark finds his personal world destroyed at his enemy’s hands, he embarks on a harrowing quest to find those responsible. This journey, at every turn, will test his mettle. With his back against the wall, Stark is left to survive by his own devices, relying on his ingenuity and instincts to protect those closest to him. As he fights his way back, Stark discovers the answer to the question that has secretly haunted him: does the man make the suit or does the suit make the man?”

Marvel Studios presents Shane Black‘s Iron Man 3 starring Robert Downey, Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hall with Jon Favreau and Ben Kingsley opens in theaters on Friday, May 3rd (the day before Free Comic Book Day) in 3D, RealD 3D, and IMAX 3D. Iron Man 3 is rated PG-13 and runs 2 hours and 15 minutes.

Don’t forget that this Saturday is Free Comic Book Day and it kicks off at 9AM and runs until 8PM at Cosmic Comics in Las Vegas. If you’re in the Las Vegas area this Saturday, May 4, 2013 go to Cosmic Comics dressed as one of your favorite superheroes for a chance to win Iron Man #1 from 1968 and Tales of Suspense #50 from 1964 (The Mandarin’s first appearance), enjoy some good food, and take advantage of  their huge store-wide sale. In the meantime, RSVP at Free Comic Book Day 2013 Facebook Event Page and as always, be sure to #getyourfix at Cosmic Comics in Las Vegas!