Riding high off last year’s mega-blockbuster The Avengers, Marvel starts off the summer again with Iron Man 3, this time though back to one superhero leading the way instead of seven. While Tony Stark and Iron Man are no strangers to the summer blockbuster season (they’ve kicked them off before in 2008 and 2010), this time things are different. We are now in a post-Avengers Phase 2 type of world. The stakes are bigger and so are the bad guys. And what bigger foe for Tony and Iron Man to face than his comic book nemesis, The Mandarin!
The Mandarin . . . I know this will be a sticking point to a lot of fans of the comic books or fans who know the history of The Mandarin, and I’m going to address this right off the bat. I thought what they did with the Mandarin was actually okay. One of the things I was most worried about going in was how his character was going to come across onscreen. Even though I wasn’t blown away by the character in the film, I was satisfied with his storyline and how Ben Kingsley played him. That is all I have to say about The Mandarin.
Don’t call him Mandy. You wouldn’t like it when you call him Mandy.
There were a couple of things in the film that just didn’t quite do it for me though, first and foremost being the heavy use of visual effects and CGI. From the Mark 42 armor components to Tony’s different suits of armor to human beings hopped up on Extremis, there was a lot of CGI work going on here. Realistically speaking, anytime we don’t see Robert Downey, Jr.‘s face the Iron Man suit is most likely a CGI representation. While it’s okay since it has been like this since the first Iron Man, the piling on of even more CGI characters was a bit much for me. In a world where nothing “feels” real, it was really hard to get into these epic action sequences when you know what you’re seeing on screen were all pixels. Beautifully done pixels, but still pixels nonetheless. The stakes just didn’t feel the same when you don’t believe a character or a representation of a character isn’t a bit more tangible. Other than pretty stuff happening onscreen, there wasn’t as much for me to latch on to, and I found myself just a little bit less invested in what was going on.
Then there was the story. We all know that from the trailer, Iron Man takes on The Mandarin. What bothered me though was the resolution of a secondary storyline where Tony is suffering anxiety from what happened to him in New York with the Avengers. It’s beautifully set up, but I didn’t think it was resolved in a way that was totally satisfying. Tony has been struggling with this post-traumatic stress, and he’s been trying to find ways to overcome it, save seeing a doctor. His friends are worried, and all the elements seemed to be there for him to rise from the ashes like the phoenix that we all know he can be. Exactly how he has his “breakthrough” though seemed contrived and not at all authentic to what was going on in the story. I can’t really say more without getting into spoilers, but yeah, there was just something about Tony’s journey to overcome his post-Avengers anxiety that I just didn’t buy into.
Iron Patriot = War Machine Extreme Makeover: Marketing Edition
Not to sound too negative though, there are a lot of fun things about Iron Man 3. Front and center would have to be humor that director Shane Black brings to the film. While Joss Whedon brought an off-the-wall geeky comedic vibe to The Avengers, Black brings his dark and awkwardly funny humor that fans will recognize from Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. Just some of the banter that Tony has with other characters in the film and a ton of really embarrassing and awkward moments that happen throughout the film, some in life and death situations… I thought all of it was really fun and made the movie almost an action comedy.
And what kind of an Iron Man movie would this be without the addition of new Iron Man armor? Tony’s latest armor, the Mark 42, has two things that make it unique: 1) the suit can be controlled remotely by Tony, and 2) its components can operate and travel separate from one another. While you wouldn’t think this second trait is that impressive, it comes in quite handy as the armor does not have to be put on as a whole unit. In one scene Tony calls for the entire Mark 42, but only one of its hands and a single boot piece show up. With just these two parts of his suit, Tony still manages to utilize them to great effect to take out a couple of henchmen till the rest of the suit shows up. With Tony being able to control the suit and its components remotely, it made for some fun action sequences.
Tony Stark totally pwns on X-Box.
Finally, probably the best sequence in the entire film is the one that was teased during the Super Bowl where Air Force One is going down, requiring Iron Man to save a bunch of people that have fallen out of the plane. It’s one of those conundrums where the hero has a decision to make about who he should save, a decision usually where it seems someone will still have to be sacrificed in order for someone else to be saved. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time as the gears in Tony’s head were working up a plan, the ground is getting closer, and he and Jarvis are trying to save everyone. Definitely the highlight of the film.
At the end of the night Iron Man 3 sends Tony Stark, Iron Man, and Marvel’s Phase 2 off on a good foot. It integrates the fallout from The Avengers without seeming as ham-fisted as the S.H.I.E.L.D. storyline was in Iron Man 2 and also gives us a pretty decent Iron Man standalone movie as well. With great action and visuals, Iron Man 3 kicks off summer with a (repulsor) blast.
Iron Man 3 is now playing in theaters everywhere.
Rating 3.5/5 stars // PG-13 // 2h 10m
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Disney’s Acquisition of Star Wars
Tags: Disney, George Lucas, LucasFIlm, Marvel, Marvel Entertainment, Pixar, Star Wars, Walt Disney Company
Wise is Yoda.
The Walt Disney Company sent the collective movie world on tilt today with the news that Disney will be purchasing LucasFilm Ltd for approximately $4 billion. The sale includes everything under the LucasFilm Ltd umbrella including the LucasFilm film unit, LucasArts video game unit, effects house Industrial Light and Magic, Skywalker Sound, and most prominent among them–the rights to the entire Star Wars universe. Perhaps the biggest news to come out of the whole deal is that Disney is kicking the tires on Star Wars: Episode 7 and is targeting a 2015 release with potentially more episodes to come.
Needless to say, this is some huge news that is already prompting a lot talk, buzz, and speculation about everything under the collective sun at Disney and especially the future of the Star Wars franchise.
Disney: Buying vs Creating
From a financial and business standpoint the purchase of LucasFilm makes perfect sense for Disney. They get to add another recognizable and family friendly name brand to their already large stable of family friendly name brand characters. The tactic of acquiring other name brands has served Disney well in the past 6 years. After a ten year relationship with Pixar dating back to the first Toy Story, Disney acquired Pixar Animation Studios in 2006 for $7.4 billion in stocks. Then in 2009 Disney announced that they would be acquiring Marvel Entertainment in a deal for $4.24 billion which would bring Marvel’s character’s into the Disney fold and gave birth to this year’s mega-blockbuster The Avengers. Now, three years later Disney has done it yet again and on similar terms with their acquisition of LucasFilm.
Over the past six years Disney has positioned themselves as THE center for lucrative family entertainment. In this time there definitely has been a shift at Disney from content creation to acquisition and becoming a repository for similar properties. Yes at the end of the day all these decisions are about how these properties will make the company money, but what does this say about the company itself?
Walt Disney was long gone by the time I was born, but I grew up watching the classics like Bambi, Dumbo, Cinderella and then experienced the second golden age of Disney animation with great films like Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, and Lion King. After that last run though, things definitely take a different turn. As I got older it seemed as though every Disney movie was getting direct to video sequels and you could start to tell that they weren’t coming out with as much quality original content as they had in the past.
I guess you could say that the company is just changing with the times and their acquisitions over the past six years only reflect this change. In fact, if you look at the current trends in Hollywood right now where sequels, adaptions, remakes, and reboots are all the norm . . . acquiring the rights to Star Wars (ie: acquiring familiarity) totally makes sense. My biggest fear is that the next generation of kids/movie fans may not have anything to call their own if this current trend of rehashing and retelling stories from their parents’ past continues. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m down to see another Star Wars movie as much as the next person, but I’ve grown up in a world where the Original Trilogy meant something. I don’t think that could be said of those who grew up in a world where Jar Jar and angsty Anakin could have been their first introduction to the Star Wars universe.
What Comes Next For Disney, Star Wars, and Everything Else?
The Force is with Disney when you combine Star Wars with the collective power of the mouse house.
With today’s news comes a ton of questions, not just about the proposed film, but about how all of Disney’s properties could potentially intermingle with one another and the partnerships and creative projects that could be created.
First and foremost is Episode 7 itself. With a projected target date of 2015 (assume a summer release), production would have to start towards the end of next year (at the latest) in order to make this date. Is there anything currently in development right now? Is there a script or even a screenplay at this point? What would it be about? From a production standpoint who would be involved?
One of the most interesting nuggets from today’s news announcement is that George Lucas will serve as “creative consultant” on Episode 7 which means that he most likely will not be directing and only give creative input into the film. With that said who will screen write the story if there already isn’t one? Who will direct the film? And gulp . . . who will star in it? These are all questions that are currently circulating, answers for which I don’t think we’ll get for at least another year. However, that’s not stopping the movie blogosphere from already suggesting recommendations.
I know many Star Wars fans were disenfranchised when the new trilogy came out and continuously still when Lucas again altered the Original Trilogy when they were released on blu-ray. With today’s news that Lucas will be relegated to a supportive role rather than grand master on upcoming films I think is the reason why there is a lot of renewed interest and hope that Star Wars can be good again. Our first recommendation . . . friend of the blog and local screenwriter Brian Watanabe should be in the writer’s room on Episode 7, 8, or 9. After all, he did give some pretty good ways to remake the the prequels that made for some pretty good drama. With new Star Wars films a certainty, the question now will be: Will they be better than the prequels?
Sort of the next tier I guess is how this latest Star Wars film and the franchise itself will affect Hollywood. Star Wars has influenced so many filmmakers working today that who knows how many will jump at the chance to not just work on this film or any of the future films in the pipeline, or how many will make pitches to Disney for potential projects now that George Lucas is not controlling the reigns. Who knows, maybe Indiana Jones could come back for another tour. Granted, some of this this is all pie in the sky at this point, but when you live in a world where creative access to Star Wars and other Lucas related properties maybe viable, you can’t help but be excited by the possibilities.
Then comes the potential across the Disney landscape and the potential for cross collaboration, crossovers, and synergy between these Disney properties and creative units. Probably the first thing that jumps out with fanboys is that theoretically Pixar Animation could do an animated movie set within the Star Wars universe. With their track record for great storytelling and a focus on characters this could be a great project. However, this is what everyone said three years ago when Disney acquired Marvel . . . a Marvel movie done by Pixar, that’d be great! Three years later though we’re no closer to seeing the beginnings of this than when we were back then. And don’t even get me started on Marvel or Star Wars characters crossing over. I don’t think the universes should mix at all. However, the long talked about Star Wars TV show could get some life breathed into it seeing as how Disney owns ABC as well as a slew of other different TV channels. Only time will tell if any of this comes to fruition.
My (New) Hope . . .
In the grand scheme of things, I think Disney could possibly be the right place for the Star Wars franchise. There are some circumstantial numbers out there to prove it. If there is one thing Disney is smart about these days, they know how to foster success; you only have to take a look at their previous two high profile acquisitions to see that. With both Pixar and Marvel, both of those divisions have retained their internal structure and autonomy from when they were acquired. I mean, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it right? With the internal development process that goes on at Pixar, it could have been a disaster if Disney chose to fully integrate them into the Disney brand. Same goes with Marvel. They seem to have a pretty good formula going as they craft and produce the Avengers line of films. The way Marvel vets stories and personnel seems genius in this post-Avengers world.
And I hope the same goes for LucasFilm and Star Wars. I hope that Disney takes what they’ve learned and gained from their previous acquisitions and applies that same management style to their latest. If they can do that, then I think that galaxy far far away will be just fine.