At this point I'd be surprised if anyone even reads my take on Iron Man 3. We've all read the reviews. Some critics have gone on to say this is the worst movie Marvel has produced thus far and further that, not only does Shane butcher the character, but certainly the villain, and the entire Extremis story as well. Others have said this is the best of the three. There doesn't seem to be a lot of middle ground on this film; critics either hate it or love it, and die hard fans of the comicbook Iron Man are almost unanimous in their dislike for Shane's take.
However, as a consumer, I have to disgress from the loyal comicbook fan's detailed dressdown of Shane's Lethal Weapon part 26. I remember last year's TDKR's buildup, and I also remember how terrible it turned out to be. TDKR was not anything at all like it's predeccessors. It was clunky, drawn out, and in almost every scene, the events that took place were just too convenient to tolerate. To this day I try to sit through an entire night of TDKR and find it impossible; it has actually become my "go to sleep" film of late.
The difference between these two films is that Iron Man 3 actually accomplishes what TDKR wanted to do; conclusion of a trilogy.
Granted, I agree with some critics as it relates to Tony's suit time. There was much, much less of it. There was a point in the film where I started to think that I may have just had enough of RDJ's Tony Stark, and that maybe, I actually liked the suit more. But in my opinion that was the point. Truthfully, I left the theatre thinking that RDJ had less negotiating power for any future films than he had before this installment. Not to say RDJ didn't deliver, because he was absolutely as entertaining and arrogant as ever, zipping one liners and comebacks for each situation.
What Shane accomplished with this movie directors of three-quels can only hope to achieve; resolution and conclusion. If RDJ walked away from this film, or on the other hand, if Marvel decided that RDJ was too expensive for future films, Shane showed us that what we really love about Iron Man is "Iron Man", and not RDJ. Sure, we like RDJ, and it is hard to imagine anyone else playing Stark, but somehow Shane opens this door for us. I don't see Lethal Weapon with a suit, I see a director with the genius and forsight to recognize that actors age, and comicbook movies will always have the problem of replacing actors; he did Marvel a huge favor with this film.
With all that said, it would be a shame if RDJ left the series. After Tony's trip back to the mansion in Malibu, my daughter actually spoke out loud immediately asking me "what does that mean daddy?-he's not quitting is he?" And she's a monster high doll fan, not your typical superhero geek. So to say RDJ leaving would be rough would be an understatement; but at least Shane made it possible for Marvel to move on without damaging the brand. To drive the point further, for me, I found after this movie that I am actually excited about Thor's new movie; Shane made it possible with this film for me to move on to another hero, in a good way.
The film is certainly entertaining, but unllke almost every critic I have read, I for one could care less about Ben Kingsley's twist. In fact, I found Ben Kingsley's Mandarin to be one of the weaker elements of the film. His videos were rough cut, made to look like 8MM terrorist shorts, but instead they were just annoying and ridiculous; don't think Ledger's Joker short "kill the Bat" homemade video, think "Bin Laden as a white guy" somewhere in the west (out of place), with horrible props and a terrible accent. I couldn't help but think that Kingsley was given the role just because of his name, seriously, I'm glad he won't be appearing again as the Mandarin.
The film was very enjoyable, though I will agree with most about the end credits scene (a slap in the face to the precedent Marvel has set thus far for those eggs). I also now know why Paltrow admitted she watched the film as she has probably never done that much action in a movie. Cheadle was great, Pearce was awesome (though his part of the story could have been better developed a bit), and the kid was great. Shane is the Ying to Favereu's Yang. The excitment that Favereu created with the first Iron Man was finally met in a consclusion with the same amount of detail and care in story, and it worked terrifically.
At the end of the day, I felt good about Tony's journey, and the conclusion of his character (which is, again, more than I can say about TDKR). In fact, I can't remember ever seeing a three-quel that has accomplished this feat. If RDJ returns for more, I say "bravo." But if he didn't, I can't wait to see who they put in the suit next. And that's saying a lot considering only five hours ago I would have been highly upset had RDJ not signed for at least one movie.