Iron Man 3 reaction post
Jun. 4th, 2013 10:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
silverflight8SO I just got back from Iron Man 3, oh my god--
Pepper gets to wear the suit. The movie was made, right there. And she kills Killian! When she did that it suddenly made sense that it'd take someone with the Extremis virus to actually destroy another one. I'm so glad Pepper got to do her own fighting--that was so fun. And now the trailer makes sense!
I'd already been spoiled for the twist about the Mandarin and the arc reactor being removed (though ;_; at the removal--I definitely think it was a really big part of him.)
The pan down of the vice-president's daughter shocked me completely. At first when he said to the security guard 'everything is fine' I thought that the vice-president was afraid his security had been breached, but then that shot--oh wow.
I love all the role reversals, including Rhodey saving the president and having Tony be his backup. Also the aforementioned Pepper wearing the suit. And Pepper yelling 'Tony' as he falls into the water, and then Tony just staring in to the fire that Pepper fell into--symmetry!
The guy that James Badge Dale plays--thank you Wikipedia, it's Eric, he freaks me out. There's something off, something way too square.
Literal dunce cap on Dummy! Awww.
That kid was a perfect foil for Tony. He's like a little Tony himself, talks back just the same. There were so many little comedic touches that really helped balance out all the explosions--there were a lot of explosions. Tony dragging his suit through the snow, the suit sitting all forlorn outside the phone box, Rhodey & Tony banter, the little boy trying to guilt Tony into all sorts of things, Tony trying to summon the suit.
Thought about processing power and algorithms when JARVIS controlled all the suits that Tony'd made at the end--so useful, JARVIS.
Maya died :( I was so hoping she'd make it. I don't really understand her threat? Was she threatening to inject herself and reject it and blow them all up? Didn't catch what she was saying.
I thought that the parts about Pepper & Tony were really well done. Like when she wakes up because Tony's having nightmares, and then freaking out when the autonomous suit bends over her--oh my god, I'd want to get out of the house, not just go downstairs! And the whole "Who's the hot mess now?" exchange, hearts everywhere. I also liked that Tony had PTSD--it's an excellent nod to continuity and the fact that humans don't just up and walk away from catastrophic events fine always.
I notice Tony got bloodier and bloodier every scene we got with him, post destruction of his Malibu house, but then it went away? And Maya only got a couple scrapes across her forehead--they landed pretty hard! At least Pepper has an excuse, she's injected with Extremis.
I was predisposed to like this movie and it definitely didn't disappoint me!
Pepper gets to wear the suit. The movie was made, right there. And she kills Killian! When she did that it suddenly made sense that it'd take someone with the Extremis virus to actually destroy another one. I'm so glad Pepper got to do her own fighting--that was so fun. And now the trailer makes sense!
I'd already been spoiled for the twist about the Mandarin and the arc reactor being removed (though ;_; at the removal--I definitely think it was a really big part of him.)
The pan down of the vice-president's daughter shocked me completely. At first when he said to the security guard 'everything is fine' I thought that the vice-president was afraid his security had been breached, but then that shot--oh wow.
I love all the role reversals, including Rhodey saving the president and having Tony be his backup. Also the aforementioned Pepper wearing the suit. And Pepper yelling 'Tony' as he falls into the water, and then Tony just staring in to the fire that Pepper fell into--symmetry!
The guy that James Badge Dale plays--thank you Wikipedia, it's Eric, he freaks me out. There's something off, something way too square.
Literal dunce cap on Dummy! Awww.
That kid was a perfect foil for Tony. He's like a little Tony himself, talks back just the same. There were so many little comedic touches that really helped balance out all the explosions--there were a lot of explosions. Tony dragging his suit through the snow, the suit sitting all forlorn outside the phone box, Rhodey & Tony banter, the little boy trying to guilt Tony into all sorts of things, Tony trying to summon the suit.
Thought about processing power and algorithms when JARVIS controlled all the suits that Tony'd made at the end--so useful, JARVIS.
Maya died :( I was so hoping she'd make it. I don't really understand her threat? Was she threatening to inject herself and reject it and blow them all up? Didn't catch what she was saying.
I thought that the parts about Pepper & Tony were really well done. Like when she wakes up because Tony's having nightmares, and then freaking out when the autonomous suit bends over her--oh my god, I'd want to get out of the house, not just go downstairs! And the whole "Who's the hot mess now?" exchange, hearts everywhere. I also liked that Tony had PTSD--it's an excellent nod to continuity and the fact that humans don't just up and walk away from catastrophic events fine always.
I notice Tony got bloodier and bloodier every scene we got with him, post destruction of his Malibu house, but then it went away? And Maya only got a couple scrapes across her forehead--they landed pretty hard! At least Pepper has an excuse, she's injected with Extremis.
I was predisposed to like this movie and it definitely didn't disappoint me!
no subject
Date: Jun. 5th, 2013 05:09 am (UTC)In Syne's comments or somewhere, someone came out with the concept that um hey, she's a mad scientist, and at some point every mad scientist experiments on themselves, and who's the logical test subject for the stable variant of Extremis? So the fixit idea is that she already had the stable version, so getting shot like that is totally survivable and she will return to light a fire under someone's ass in a future movie.
no subject
Date: Jun. 6th, 2013 02:31 am (UTC)Yeah! Exactly--the first test subject is yourself :) I would love to see a lot more Tony & Pepper (<3) and hopefully they can also squeeze Maya in.
no subject
Date: Jun. 7th, 2013 02:12 am (UTC)I also liked that Tony had PTSD
THIS ALSO MY FAVORITE. (well, okay, maybe tony tied to the bedframe was my favorite part, but THAT ASIDE. i've already had that conversation and am satiated.) it's like, hey, this actually happened, we're not just going to ignore it, also you can totally have mental illness and still be a superhero (just in case someone thought he was perfectly mentally healthy before).
also the kid omg <3<3<3
the suit sitting all forlorn outside the phone box
as I was watching I was like "omg omg omg NEED ICON NOWWWWWWW" best.
and the, the, I mean to say. JARVIS controlling suits v awesome but
let me talk about TONY STARK'S BRAIN and how much i am in love with it, because:
he is wildly talented. and exceedingly mentally disciplined. and it's like. we knew he is a genius who can think very complicated thoughts. and also carry on a conversation at the same time, or do body things at the same time, or whatever. but then. we see this suit, he is controlling this suit with his mind (very accurately, very fluidly and realistically and humanly) and then we see his body - which is also moving very fluidly and realistically and humanly - doing something completely different! he is essentially controlling two bodies at the same time, very different things (it's not like a dance line of suits doing the same thing (though now i kind of want to see that?)), both together as well as just one body at a time.
and then HE GOES AND DOES IT IN A BATTLE SITUATION TOO and omg. and i liked that we saw that he was a little more physically involved in that controlling, that he wasn't doing something else with his body (other than not-flying), that his hands were moving to help with that control, because that had to have required more concentration. it's not like temporarily tricking your girlfriend into thinking you're in the suit (because she'll figure that out sooner or later anyway, and nobody'll die if you get it wrong). it's so much more involved to save a million people barrel-of-monkeys-style* while flying while also not accidentally flinging yourself off a boat (i imagine that he is in that closet there on purpose, so if he got too caught up in the suit he wouldn't fuck himself over). but he can still do it! and it's amazing.
and i also like the suit/bus crash immediately following. because it was a kind of comedic release after the tension of the monkey-saving, but it was also so real. like, he's all relieved that he did it and relaxing just a bit because he fucking did it and then - bam! oops. good thing he wasn't in there. and it is funny, but it's also so real. because bad things happening after the endorphin rush fades is so real and so common and even though he's brilliant and amazing-brained (and pretty), he's still human and still prone to stupid mistakes and brain chemistry. in more than just the ptsd way. (and idk how hooked in he is to the suit when that's happening, but it has to be a lot - see also "hands involved" and "in a closet" - and so: the shock of being shattered into pieces by a bus you didn't see coming, and then you're kind of magically okay? how would that not contribute to pre-existing ptsd?)
and that JARVIS's controlling of All The Suits was so awesome. and taking rhodey for a ride. and the president thing. (also, he reminded me of nixon? sort of everybody reminds me of nixon sometimes though.) even more awesome: when JARVIS was all "okay, i'm'a just take the hand off his suit to pull his sorry ass out of the water." that made, like, no sense, but it was SO GOOD. i was pretty worried about him drowning with the lack of seal there, but then i was like "how good of a seal is the suit anyway?" and "pressure" and "it's probably easier to recover from a partial drowning than it is to recover from a full squishing followed by a full drowning."
*lovely mental images of child!Tony playing barrel of monkeys. lovelier mental image of adult!Tony being like "fuck fuck fuck how to sav--OH I GOT THIS. AND YOU SAID THERE WAS NO PRACTICAL APPLICATION, DAD."
though ;_; at the removal--I definitely think it was a really big part of him
this looks like a tangent but it is how my brain works: I have been reading a lot of ftm!Tony lately (in which "did it hurt?" "which one?" of reactor/mastectomy) and ... basically yes. that has been such a big part of him! it is literally his life. can you imagine. he is going to have a nightmare about it being taken out and wake up gasping from breath in a panic attack but not realize it's a panic attack, think he's actually dying because it's gone, and reach to check, and it will be gone.
and somehow the way that i deal with TPTB removing such a vital piece of What Makes Tony Stark Who He Is is to read stories about him fighting even more to be Who He Is. you don't fight so hard for a gender if it isn't really important to you, and you don't fight so hard to keep a reactor (that is, not get this surgery before) if it isn't a part of your self-identity.
that whole ending. it looked to me like Bad News Bears (and i mean this as someone who likes to just step on into the universe and treat them all as people and not give a crap about The Franchise or whatever). it's all, Oh Pepper I Love You So Much That. that i will destroy all these suits, which are literally my only safety. (i mean that as "the only things that make me feel safe" although maybe he is getting better of that, but since Genesis Story they have been his only safety.) that i will promise not to build more toys to help save the world even though that's kind of the only way i can let myself believe i'm an okay person. that i will leave that whole life behind for you. that i will get this life-thing removed from me to "be" normal.
and that looks to me like "i want so badly to be accepted by you that i will do whatever you tell me i need to do, even though if you were worth me you would accept me the way i am."
and after he sent the suit to her even if it would have meant his dying. and delayed getting it back from her to save himself until it was very nearly too late. (opinion: she & maya would have been okay sooner, if not as okay. opinion: tony stark v low self-esteem to save someone else completely entirely before saving himself even a little bit.)
(pls tell me if you have different thoughts from this!)
(how do you feel about other people being pointed at this entry to see someone else's thoughts about movie? wish to draw friend whiz into your last-few-paragraphs thoughts but only if you okay it.)
there was some meta on
no subject
Date: Jun. 7th, 2013 02:52 am (UTC)it's not like a dance line of suits doing the same thing (though now i kind of want to see that?
He had all those suits sitting pretty in his storage locker or whatever. I'm sure at some point he made them do absurd things! He dances too!
Yeah, the barrel of monkeys thing actually was a little too much for me at first. Wait let me explain. To be a real, Real Hero often you have to do your battle or confrontation or quest without damaging bystanders/civilians, or with minimal casualties. And when I saw people being flung out of the plane I thought "uh oh this is turning into a darker story" and then TONY SAVES THEM and I thought "hm, a little overly Hero-y" and then of course they add the collision of the semi and pulled back the saccharine perfectness back, which I really liked. What a way to end the scene! +100 to your observation on adrenaline spikes and coming off them.
I thought the guy cast for the president was pitch perfect. In the same way that Herbert Hoover was allegedly voted in as president because he looked like a president (source unknown, I forgot where I read this). I did have a moment of realization that MCU almost, but not quite, follows real USA; there was some dissonance as I thought Ellis was supposed to be president from some earlier time, because if it was 2013 present day I expected Obama.
"it's probably easier to recover from a partial drowning than it is to recover from a full squishing followed by a full drowning."
I AGREE. And Tony survived for quite awhile underwater once his Malibu house got trashed.
;_; what a pretty house.
I love that Rhodey got to sort of have Tony as his sidekick. "Aim high and don't shoot me in the back", hahaha.
After this I went and read more meta (and clicked on the unclicked spoiler cuts which I had missed, see above about having spoiled myself on the twists knowingly) and there was some discussion about the arc reactor--mainly that Tony was in some ways using it as a crutch. Like I haven't seen IM2 (it's been "in transit" for dayyyys) but I think there's merit in the idea that Tony was hiding himself behind his suit and his reactor and maybe also his identity as Iron Man. In this film he ended up spending a lot of time outside his suit, which made me really conscious of the danger around him (omg! do you have enough training to deal with this, Tony? Look around!) but also proved he could and did operate outside his Iron Man identity. He says at the end "I am Iron Man" but in the movie he stresses that he's a mechanic--he's the one who's making the suit, not just the guy in it, you know?
that i will promise not to build more toys to help save the world even though that's kind of the only way i can let myself believe i'm an okay person.
I think the movie did show he was moving past that--that he could survive without the suit (and with the suit being a liability, too.) Having to haul it around, having it not respond and using his own words instead, teaming up with Rhodey to act, that kind of thing. He doesn't need the suit any more--it's a really important tool but he can work without it.
And re: Pepper & sending suit, #1 omg PEPPER WORE THE SUIT I AM SO HAPPY (in the theatre, I was kind of quivering with joy.) OK your actual point: I think it's the kind of mentality that takes over when you're afraid you and others are going to die--you want to save your loved ones first. It's kind of like how they say on airplanes "Always secure your oxygen mask before assisting others" (this is what all the Air Canada instructions say, I've flown too much). In that panicked moment maybe you're thinking that you have to save them, because if they die then what will you have done? And will it have been worth it? And Tony's done things like this before--flying the nuke into the portal was definitely saving others before himself, saving others at the expense of himself.
I was disappointed by the blowing up of suits also because the suits are REALLY COOL, oh Tony, nooo! But I'm sure he won't be able to stop doing it.
One more thing--so do you think that the Extremis in Pepper was removed or just stabilized? People seem divided. Personally I thought it was completely removed, when I left the theatre, and then I read some fic. If Pepper keeps the Extremis she could be an Avenger! Or something like. http://archiveofourown.org/works/803347 is one of them. How neat would that be? It'd add an interesting component to their relationship too--Pepper worries about Tony throughout as he dives off to his next rescue attempt, but there's the potential to go the other way.
Public posts are always okay to link! I'll look into the month of meta post.
no subject
Date: Jun. 7th, 2013 04:25 am (UTC)You have brilliant thoughts! I like it here! \o/
First of all, can I just say RHODEY!!!! yeah, I needed to get that out of the way before I was more coherent. (I love him, as pip! and I have discussed at length)
Anyway, yes, I love that they gave Tony PTSD, because omg how could he not have had it after all the shit he's been through? And the way they dealt with him was just...it was really well done. And him denying having it the whole time was kinda awesome, because that's totally how I see how he'd handle shit like that (and honestly, how I'd handle it too..."nope, I don't have a problem, fuck everyone, nope, I'm good! ...panic attack? nah, that wasn't a thing, what are you talking about!...fine, whatever, something's probably off.") Seriously, like I love that he's so...human. Mostly the other Avengers really never get to seem so human, and he's flawed and arrogant (in the best way ever) and yet also down to earth and sorta scared of shit. It's perfect. That's why I like him so much.
I totally went in expecting to be wowed and blown away and loving every second, and yes, like you, I got my expectations met. I love it when movies do that for me.
And how amazing was it that the whole movie was Tony talking his shit out to Bruce? That's like probably as close to counseling as he'll ever get, and it works for him, and it's awesome. (plus, I kinda love their dorky science bros relationship)
Not at all sure I like the idea of Tony having the arc reactor removed. It doesn't sit well with me for reasons I can't quite articulate. *wrinkles nose* Well. Can't have everything thought out perfectly, I suppose.
Okay, very silly, but the fact that William Sadler played the president breaks my brain a little because I'm a huge Star Trek fan, and he was a bad guy on Deep Space Nine for a while, and so my brain will always see him as said bad guy. So I'm just like "...Sloane?! You can't be the president! You're evil!" But, whatever. That's just me.
But anyway, that's all I have.
no subject
Date: Jun. 7th, 2013 05:00 am (UTC)How cool was it that Rhodey got to do all sorts of action with Tony as his backup? I loved that, and their camaraderie.
Exactly, he gets to be human! There's a person inside the Iron Man suit, and he's a little squishy in the same way that all people are. I actually quite like how MCU is dealing with stuff like this--like how Steve doesn't just wake up happy with 21st century America, how he hesitates and decides he doesn't want to call Peggy, how he's obviously carrying around his past. I like how their fights aren't just temporary bumps in the road--they have actual lasting effects on the people who go through them, even someone who emits the aura of untouchable (brilliance, money, snark, you name it).
HAHAHA YES to the Bruce thing. I have terrible face recognition so I didn't realize it at the time, but I got home and Googled (>.>) and then all the pieces fell together. Tony! I thought you liked Bruce for his physics and science! And it totally explains Bruce's resigned expression--aww! Incidentally I also really liked how the scene capped off the movie. Protagonists narrating their adventures on voice-over isn't new, but I like how it's given an in-universe explanation--he's telling Bruce, so it totally makes sense that Tony starts off the movie going "it started in this year, oh wait no, 1999", casually.
I already blathered to pip about how Tony might've been sort of hiding behind the arc reactor, maybe, and how it might be a bit like moving on. But on the other hand, I don't like it when fundamental pieces of characters get removed >:( I want to have my cake and eat it too! Same with the suits, partly because of the flashy tech, because c'mon, the suits are cool. But the wording of "Clean Slate" seems to suggest that the slate's just being cleared, it's not being destroyed so no more suits can be made. I hope anyway.
Hahaha, oh no about Sadler! I don't watch a lot of movies so just about everybody is an unknown face to me (plus slap a wig on and presto, new person to me!) but that must've been disorienting! He looks so much like a president to me. Mind you, I can't look at Senator Palpatine in TPM as a harmless old man anymore, so yeah.