Iron Man 3 Review

Since the first Iron Man in 2008, Marvel Studios has been churning out almost annually interconnected superhero films based on their property that culminated in the groundbreaking success of The Avengers last year. It's no brainer for them to continue this journey with a direct sequel to their most popular superhero. But instead of expanding the universe of past Marvel films further, it's interesting to see Iron Man 3 taking a counterintuitive approach by focusing solely on the character instead. Perhaps it's to address the criticisms of Iron Man 2 or just a shrewd move to bring the character back to basics after all the epic adventures. But while Marvel certainly has the right intent, the film unfortunately suffers from some questionable choices, same script problems that plagued Iron Man 2, and a leading man who look tired of his starring role - all of which is ultimately the result of Marvel's assembly line filmmaking process that with strict deadlines that leaves little room for development and talent retention that better superhero films usually have. As expectations get higher film by film and peaked with The Avengers, Iron Man 3's failings should warn Marvel to have a less rushed development process.

Some time has passed since the events of The Avengers, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) has been suffering from unknown anxiety issues caused by the final battle in New York and he spends most of his time in his private mansion tinkering and upgrading his Iron Man suits, much to the dismay of his girlfriend/CEO Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow). While Tony hides from the spotlight, a mysterious terrorist mastermind known as The Mandarin (Ben Kingsley) has appeared in public and started a campaign of terror against the United States government by executing mysteriously large and deadly explosions worldwide. When one explosion nearly killed Tony's former bodyguard Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau, returning only in acting capacity), Tony decides to come out and publicly challenge him. He is then visited by a former lover and brilliant scientist Maya Hansen (Rebecca Hall) who tried to tell him about a powerful serum called Extremis: which can turn its host into nearly invincible superhuman being with the ability of overheating or burning everything they touch; and that her boss Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce) has been working with The Mandarin. Unfortunately, before Maya could reveal all these, Tony's mansion are suddenly attacked by The Mandarin's forces which destroyed almost all his Iron Man suits. Left with a barely functioning prototype suit and lost somewhere far from home after barely escaping the attack, Tony has to rebuild himself again in order to investigate the conspiracy behind The Mandarin and Killian and stop them from bringing down the country.

The biggest problem for Iron Man to overcome since day one has been how to get the audience to side with a protagonist who's essentially an unlikeable individual who can solve any problem too easily with unparalleled wealth and genius (but mostly with his metal suit). The past films have dealt with it, with varying success, by a mixture of surrounding Tony with bigger obstacles or equally unlikable rivals (his company boss, government, Justin Hammer) and turn him to rock star who sticks it to the system, or showing that Tony has a good, sensitive soul beneath the showman when disaster strikes, or relying on the charms of Robert Downey Jr when all else fails. This time, the film did a good job of bringing Tony to rock bottom and have him start again from zero, from the silent, somber opening scene of Iron Man suits destruction to his near death escape. Unlike the first film, sadly, Tony doesn't undergo a redeeming character transformation and instead remains his usual obnoxious, narcissistic self as he and the film focus more on solving the plot instead; which is bad news because the script has serious problems that destroy whatever goodwill the downfall of Tony has built. The script is filled with huge plot holes, poorly organized subplots, simply unbelievable, inconsistent things such as villains that appear invincible in many scenes but get destroyed easily in the next and a major character that gets a shocking plot development that gets too easily solved later. Finally, just to show how far the story has strayed from redeeming Tony,  Tony made many Iron Man suits that can operate autonomously and be remote controlled by him, therefore enabling him to do battle out of harm's way and these suits do the final battle for him which ironically doesn't help his character growth at all.

 






These are script problems that can be fixed by having more development time which doesn't exist due to Marvel's strict release schedules that leave little time for development and discouraging talents to stick around - between 3 Iron Man films and The Avengers, there's already 8 different credited writers who have handled the character, compared to all Chris Nolan's Batman films which has always had the same writers. It doesn't matter if they can hire good talents every film if they can't keep it consistent. Speaking of talent, hiring Shane Black as writer/director seems like an inspired choice because he's famous for having written the best action films (Lethal Weapon) and having an irreverent dark sense of humor - something that wouldn't be out of place with Tony; on the other hand, he's also has never shown interest in redeemable characters and oddly more obnoxious Tony is partially his fault and his action directing skill does not live up to his action script reputation and the final battle disappoint - it's a battle scene that has become sadly too standard in blockbusters now where the fighters have a go at each other but nobody knows what's happening or care. The final disappointment is with Robert Downey Jr himself, it seems that these past few years of only portraying Tony Stark and Sherlock Holmes have given him franchise fatigue and he looks to be on autopilot here, giving Tony the requisite obnoxious asshole quality but without the likability.

It's such a shame that the film fail in its focused approach to humanize Tony Stark especially when exploring the bigger universe approach could have made the film more enjoyable. A post-Avengers Marvel cinematic universe offers some intriguing questions and promises such as what does it mean to the world that has gone through an alien attack and defended by superheroes who no longer need to hide now? What does it mean to be normal in a post-Avengers world? When the superhuman Extremis soldiers were revealed without eliciting much surprise by other characters, I am thrilled by the implication that the extraordinary has now become to be expected by the people occupying that universe and perhaps the film will head to this direction. Alas, just like it drops the ball on humanizing Tony, the film doesn't even realize this potential. This is reflected in the treatment of Mandarin - the villain whose significance in comic book is like The  Joker to Iron Man's Batman. He's a difficult villain to portray because of his oriental sterotype look and mystical power and was understandably absent in the last films, but a post-Avengers world offer a possibility of a creative and fulfilling interpretation of The Mandarin but sadly his incarnation here is simply shameful. In fact, further references to The Avengers or its bigger universe are either lamely dismissed or treated by contempt by Tony (and Jim Rhodes in a scene) throughout the movie. Even the now expected post-credits scene is more of a joke than another continuing attempt at a bigger journey. This make the film so disheartening because even when it fails there's nothing else to geek about.

At the end of the day, the Iron Man 3's failure has to serve as a wakeup call to Marvel on how to treat their property. Their past disciplined, factory approach may have paid off with the success of The Avengers, but Iron Man 3 has shown that the rushed approach doesn't always produce good movies. In The Avengers, Steve Rogers asked Tony Stark who he is if he takes away the suit and armor. Marvel's gotta ask the same question to their superhero movies too: are they properties that deserve the best treatment possible or just a moneymaking machine like this film.

Rating: 1.5 out of 5

Iron Man 3

Directed by Shane Black
Written by Drew Pearce & Shane Black

Produced by Kevin Feige

Cast: Robert Downey Jr, Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Ben Kingsley, Rebecca Hall, James Badge Dale, Jon Favreau.

Silver Linings Playbook review

There's some thematic spoilers below. Consider yourself warned.

Who would have known that David O'Russell, better known for making films with dark edges, could make such a great romantic comedy. Granted, calling Silver Linings Playbook a romantic comedy is perhaps a broad misnomer given that the film deals with characters suffering from mental illness and doesn't treat them lightly. But it's rare to see a movie that make you root for the main characters to be together these days, something that many mainstream hollywood romantic comedy just simply doesn't even try to anymore. Perhaps this is due to the flawless chemistry between leads Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence and/or the excellent script that keeps everything mostly grounded in somber reality but the romance and laughter in this film is truly heartfelt and which makes this the best hollywood romantic comedy since, in my opinion, "Definitely, Maybe".

Pat Solitano Jr (Bradley Cooper) just got released early from a mental institution. He was originally committed due to a violent assault on his ex-wife's lover - triggered by bipolar disorder - upon the discovery of their affair. Pat's newfound overly focused, optimistic and no bullshit attitude to combat his bipolar disorder can hardly disguise the fact that he's trying to get his ex-wife back. It was an impossible, thankless task because she has filed a restraining order against him and nearly everyone he knows including his friends, doctor and parents (Robert De Niro and Jacki Weaver) don't support him and would prefer him to move on. Undeterred, Pat seeks the help of Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence), a friend's sister in-law who's still in touch with his ex-wife. Tiffany also happens to have her own mental issues: since her husband's death she's been sleeping with as many people as possible. After a serendipitious first meeting in which both exchanged witty spars over mental drugs and each other's mental problems, they made a deal where Tiffany would deliver Pat's letter to his ex-wife in exchange with Pat becoming her dance partner in an upcoming dance competition. While both are working to keep their end of bargain, they would have to face some unanswered questions: will Tiffany admit that Pat is the first real love she had since her husband's death and the whole dance training is just an excuse to spend more time with him? Will Pat realize that beneath the focused determination to get his ex-wife back, he too has developed  feelings for Tiffany? Will the struggle with their respective mental problems greatly hinder their goals and even prevent them from admitting their feelings to each other? Meanwhile, Pat Sr, who has an unhealthy fan worship of the local Philadelphia Eagles himself, wonders why his son is not spending more time with him to watch the Eagles on TV together.

Silver Linings works so well because David O'Russell script (based on the novel by Matthew Quick) is smart and balanced enough to know when to be funny and romantic while everything else is grounded at dark, hard reality. Because of this, we can both laugh with the protagonists without losing empathy and respect for them. This is particularly shown by how Pat braves his mental disorder with spirited snark and disbelief and the aforementioned first meeting scene where Pat and Tiffany verbally spar over who's crazier. What the script does even better is to elevate the romance by developing their relationship naturally in a gradual, believable manner. While Pat's romantic trajectory is typical of a character who's in denial of his feelings to the match until it's too late; it's Tiffany's romantic trajectory that's interesting and truly brings life the romance because it is strongly tied to her recovery from her problems. After their first meeting, Tiffany casually offered to sleep with Pat as she always did to other people but his unexpected rejection forced her to wake up. Later on, when Pat (who still needs her to pass his letter to his ex-wife) chased away another guy who was trying to sleep with her and said he thinks she's better person than that while being unaware that she was secretly listening, she realized that for the first time since her husband's death, there's someone who, even if done with ulterior motive, sees her as a better person than what her shameful reputation suggest  and this may have triggered a transformation in her to stop running away from her demons by sleeping around and start fighting them. Subtle developments like this that work make you root for them to be together in the end.

At times, Silver Linings Playbook remind me of a classic film set in Philadelphia: Rocky. Both films are set in lower middle class neighborhood (O'Russell has brought with him the similar tough, gritty, handheld filming style that worked so well in his previous film, The Fighter that's set in blue collar Boston). Both films have their main character(s) truly struggling with deep unhappy personal issues set in a tough neighbourhood. While Rocky is a sports drama with some romance thrown in and Silver Lining Playbook is a romantic drama with a little sports thrown in, both are in a way cinderella story where their protagonist(s) overcome their struggles in the end to a rousing climax. The best part about both is of course both have audience rooting for them and cheering for them all the way in the end. In a way, Silver Lining Playbook has become another Philadelphia classic too.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Silver Linings Playbook

Directed by David O'Russell

Written by David O'Russell based on the novel of the same name by Matthew Quick

Produced by Bruce Cohen, Donna Gigliotti, Jonathan Gordon

Cast: Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro, Jacki Weaver, Chris Tucker, Anupham Kher, John Ortiz, Julia Stiles

Argo Review

Just like the six diplomats who were miraculously rescued in the film, Ben Affleck may have just rescued his film career that bombed in early/mid 2000s. Not only is Argo the third great film in a row that he directed, it is also his best directorial work yet, proving that the success of Gone Baby Gone and The Town is no fluke. In his third film, not only does Affleck reaffirm his existing directing chops and even show that he has one crucial skill that not many directors possess, he also shows that he'll let nothing get in the way of delivering good story and good characters, including himself.

Argo tells the implausibly true story of how 6 American diplomats were rescued by a ludicrous scheme during the 1979 Iran hostage crisis. On November 4, 1979 the US embassy in Tehran was attacked by Iranian revolutionaries and 6 American staffs managed to flee and eventually hide themselves in the Canadian ambassador's house. As months go by, their situation becomes more precarious as the Iranians start to crack down on foreign residences. Meanwhile, the CIA, lead by extraction specialist Tony Mendez (Ben Affleck) managed to concoct an unlikely scheme to rescue them: by creating a cover story of a fake Hollywood movie production and the 6 Americans would pose as the Canadian film crews who are in Iran for location scouting. To help with the mission, Tony enlisted the help of the real makeup artist John Chambers (John Goodman), who won Oscars for Planet of the Apes, and fictional producer Lester Siegel (Alan Arkin) to create the necessary publicity in Hollywood to make it look real. Their scheme was so convincing that it fooled the entire Iranian authorities and the 6 Americans escaped easily (read the article that inspired the movie here). Of course, being a suspense thriller, the movie doesn't make the hostages to escape as easily as they did in real life.

The best thing that Ben Affleck has done in Argo is exercising restraint on himself from hogging the spotlight and in return, allows him to focus on what really matters: letting the great characters ensemble and story speaks for themselves and navigating the tricky maze of tonal shifts that this unbelievable story requires. As good as "The Town" was, it sometime felt like it was made to be his star comeback vehicle because he got the lead role with the best ending but his limited acting was bettered by his costars like Jeremy Renner. Here, Affleck portrays Tony Mendez in a mostly subdued and low key manner, giving his most effective performance yet. But Ben Affleck doesn't forget that the real story lies in the real characters of the trapped 6 americans, the CIA and white house staffs, and the movie producers and the Iranian guards and he gives them all (the actors) fair share of screen time to shine. Affleck also chooses to film the story almost in as much as a docu-drama style by employing as much live footage from the period and having the highest quality production values that have both authentic 70s setting and great 70s films look and feel. No doubt this is perhaps helped by producer George Clooney who used similar nostalgic styles for his stellar directing debut, Good Night and Good Luck. But Ben affleck's most amazing skill as a director here is how he manages to juggle the tonal shifts that the story requires: the tension and danger in Iran that pervades the hostages, the ineffectiveness of government bureaucracy in Washington and Virginia and the sardonic cynicism of Hollywood without missing a beat. This is shown in a small scene where producer Lester complains to Tony that he can't communicate with his children about what he really does in Hollywood because it's all bullshit and Tony just silently nods in agreement, implying the work in CIA is similar too.

Eventually, the movie reaches to its suspenseful, highly tense conclusion and no contrived and forced tricks were spared to take the audience for a ride even though they never happened in real life. But then again, you're probably already rooting for the Americans to escape so much that you simply don't care and that's when Ben Affleck has done his job wonderfully.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Argo
Directed by Ben Affleck
Written by Chris Terrio based on the book "The Master of Disguise" by Antonio J. Mendez and "Escape from Tehran" by Joshuah Bearman
Produced by Grant Heslov, Ben Affleck, George Clooney
Cast: Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, John Goodman, Alan Arkin, Kyle Chandler, Tate Donovan, Clea Duvall, Kerry Bishé, Christopher Denham, Scoot McNairy, Rory Cochrane, Victor Garber, Chris Messina