IRON MAN 3(2013)

IRON Man 3 is a marked improvement and the best Iron Man film of the trilogy. Iron Man 3 subverts the power fantasy and soft propaganda that permeate the first 2 Iron Man films and the MCU.

Iron Man 3 provides some of the richest material and a neat character arc for RDJ's Tony Stark. Iron Man 3 presents Tony Stark as a three-dimensional character, with his arrogance, ego, and flaws coming to the surface.

Consequently, the film frames Tony's Iron Man suits as a metaphor for addiction and violence, with Tony Stark essentially being a war veteran suffering from PTSD. Hence, the meaning of the Iron Man suit and what it represents hangs in every frame of Iron Man 3.

The Mandarin remains Iron Man 3's boldest and compelling idea in the whole trilogy. Updating a Fu-Manchu racist stereotype into a pawn for facilitating America's proxy war against the Middle East allows Iron Man 3 to critique the War on Terror and America's war-mongering ideology.

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Hence, the Mandarin twist is a timely idea and neatly ties into late Obama-era cinema with its anxieties and skepticism of institutions, violence, terrorism, and Islamophobia. Iron Man 3 certainly feels a piece with late Obama-era cinema.

Iron Man 3 plays with the ideas of toxic masculinity in a deft manner. Aldrich Killian reinvents himself in Tony's image and exploits war veterans, disenfranchised groups, and women for his own private supremacist agenda - Guy Pearce gives a great performance as Killian.

Hence, Iron Man 3 concludes with Tony giving up his weapons and making amends with Pepper(Gwyneth Paltrow). It's a satisfying and earned resolution that fits with the themes of accountability and redemption.

Overall, Iron Man 3 stands out as an introspective character study and is thematically resonant with the film engaged in ideas about the late Obama era cinema while being a satisfying action blockbuster. It's great.

Technically, Iron Man 3 shows inventiveness. The imagery employs insert shows, cold and muted lighting, and framing to establish a darker and mature story. The acting portrays trauma and loneliness, while contrasting with a diverse range of buddy-comedy quips and humor.

The uneven pacing, while frustrating, still provides meditative character beats amidst the action spectacle with inserts, split screens, and wipes. The generic score, while orchestral, is emotionally muted and adheres to genre conventions.

The bombastic sound design consists of rock needle drops, muffled hearing, distorted echoes, silence, and mechanical noise. Loneliness, lack of connection, distance, and trauma are emphasized in the production design.

The casting combines fame, fit, and blends A-list prestige and genre reliability, especially the daring decision to cast Ben Kingsley as the Mandarin(seemingly Orientalist villain). The visual effects consist of explosions and help accentuate the spectacle while maintaining a strong, grounded atmosphere.

Overall, Iron Man 3 is technically proficient, delivering on the action spectacle while presenting a subversive character study and criticizing the power fantasy present in the superhero genre. It's a great comic book movie.

Writing: 8/10

Direction: 8/10

Cinematography: 8/10

Acting: 9/10

Editing: 7/10

Score: 6/10

Sound: 8/10

Prod Design: 8/10

Casting: 9/10

Effects: 8/10

Overall Score: 7.9/10