If you continue to follow this blog you will learn that I am obsessed with Marvel movies. This summer we will be seeing the sequels to Thor and Captain America, so watch out!
First of all, if you've yet to see the latest installment in the Iron Man franchise, Iron Man 3, leave your computer and run to the nearest movie theater ASAP.
Usually, the second or third movie in a movie franchise is never as good as the first. But Iron Man 3 was action packed with an amazing story line. What I loved about this movie was that it focused more on Tony Stark, rather than Iron Man. I can't think of anyone else besides the incredible Robert Downey Jr (RDJ) to play Tony Stark/Iron Man. RDJ has to be one of the best things Marvel has ever done. But anyways, lets get back to the task at hand.
Why do I love this movie?
- Action packed
- The Story line
- The focus on Tony's internal struggle
- Character relationships
It's no surprise that Marvel would produce an action packed thrill ride, but Iron Man 3 has been the best one yet. Through most of the movie my heart was in my throat because the action scenes were so stressful and kept me at the edge of my seat. It was crazy and unpredictable, just pure perfection.
The story line was great. I loved the cameo by Yinsen (the other captive in the first movie), I remember Yinsen saying that they'd met before but of course Tony didn't remember. Seeing him for that brief moment really brought a smile to my face. But the most important aspect of the story was the New Years eve party in 1999. That, in essence, was the origin of all the obstacles faced throughout the movie. If Tony had met with the disabled scientist, Aldrich Killian (who later becomes a flaming bad guy with swagger), Tony Stark could have avoided all the drama. Killian comes back with a vengeance setting everything a flame; but he gets the Mandarin to be the face of all the chaos. Making the connections as a viewer and watching Tony Stark figure them out for himself is a great experience to have while watching a movie.
The last two movies were focused on Iron Man the hero, rather than Tony Stark the person. In Iron Man 3, we see his obsession with his suits in a negative light. It also seemed that he suffered from what looked like PTSD from the events we saw in the Avengers. For the first time, Tony Stark was weak, and not like when he let Pepper run Stark Industries in Iron Man 2, he was scared. Pathos, or provoking sympathy for the character, was definitely achieved. And finally, when he saved Pepper, he destroyed all the suits, which means that he can now move on and the suits aren't going to anchor him down any longer.
I love Pepper Potts and Tony Stark's relationship, even though it is quite unorthodox. Tony has the type of personality that makes it hard to adequately display his affection for Pepper, even though we all know he loves her more than life itself. He gave her the suit to protect her when their home was attacked and risked his life just to save her. Gwyneth Paltrow and RDJ have this wonderful chemistry that translates well onto the big screen.
And who doesn't love JARVIS, an artificial intelligence with sarcasm, it doesn't get any better than that. When JARVIS "dies" as a result of their crash landing in Tennessee, the audience is distraught, as if an actual person has died. Especially since Jarvis is basically Tony Stark's best friend. And the new little addition, Harley, whom Tony meets in Tennessee is so cute and funny, and really contributes to the comic relief in the film.
Iron Man 3 was a phenomenal movie, and the fifth highest grossing film of all time; Avatar holds the number one spot. Overall, Iron Man 3 was a major success and I can't wait to see what else Marvel has to offer.
Definitely worth watching in the theater.
FYI, I read the book and thoroughly analyzed it prior to watching Baz Luhrmann's adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgeralds classic novel: The Great Gatsby.
Frankly, I absolutely hated this movie. Of course the book was better, but I felt that the 1974 adaptation of The Great Gatsby, directed by Jack Clayton, did a far better job of going by the book.
There are three main reasons why I felt like I wasted $11 after watching the newest adaptation of the Great Gatsby:
- The portrayal of Gatsby and Daisy's relationship was all wrong
- Nick was suddenly an alcoholic
- The reason for George killing Gatsby was unclear
If someone had never read the novel, they would've left the theater thinking that Gatsby actually loved Daisy. But, those who did knew better. In the book, Gatsby became wealthy and threw these lavish parties only to attract Daisy. It can be argued, with evidence, that Gatsby only wanted to obtain Daisy as an object, for what she represented; She represents wealth, which was clear in the popular quote "Her voice is full of money," one of the most important quotes in the novel, WHICH WAS NOT INCLUDED IN THE MOVIE. Unfortunately for us, the movie portrayed a Hollywood romance, leaving the audience thinking "Damn, I wish someone loved me like Gatsby loved Daisy." By the way, if anyone ever says that, please smack some sense into them because that relationship was very unhealthy.
The film opens with Nick in a sanitarium extremely troubled, who then decides to write a novel about Gatsby. I know that Luhrmann said in an interview that he decided to change up how the story was narrated and hope it would sit well with the audience; it DID NOT sit well with me. The whole scene where Nick gets ridiculously drunk was completely unnecessary and him turning into an alcoholic was made up and not in anyway significant.
In the novel and in the 1974 adaptation, they showed how George Wilson, Myrtles poor husband, decided to kill Gatsby and created great sympathy for his character. In the 2013 adaptation, George suddenly decides to kill Gatsby causing the audience to hate him, but what they didn't know was that he was extremely distressed because of Myrtle's promiscuous actions with Daisy's husband, Tom. George was one of my favorite characters, in my opinion he deserved a better background story in this movie.
The list goes on and on. Gatsby's mansion looked way too fake, Gatsby's father never came to the funeral (which humanized Gatsby in the novel), etc etc. The acting was good, nothing phenomenal. Thank god the film had a good soundtrack, that's probably what saved it.
Right after I watched the movie, a few friends and I went on a rant about how awful the movie was. I've read books before watching their film adaptations, but never have I left the movie theater angry and disappointed. Ugh, $11 dollars is a lot of money for a teenager, enough to eat at least. So I highly recommend to watch the 1974 adaptation of The Great Gatsby to get a more accurate representation of the classic novel.
Wait for it to come out on Redbox people.
