Iron Man 3 SPOILER Thread

[actjac01]

I didn't know that that was Mandarian in the first Ironman film. It makes sense, especially with the '10 rings' reference in both films, I just never put that together.
I liked the Kinglsey portrail, partically in the first part of the movie, before the 'big reveal', as it were. Not really knowing that character too well, I didn't mind where they went with it.
I'm sure if I were a closer follower of Ironman as chronicled, I probably would've had issues. I still enjoyed the movie. Heck, I've liked the whole franchise so far.

[hedrap]

M, (a Chinese version) could still turn out to be the man pulling the strings behind the strings, if you know what i mean.

Yeah, I've read a few people making that argument, but that means they lied to Ben Kinglsey. So a "real Mandarin" would have to be a fallback idea if they get enough tepid response to this one.

I really don't see it, though. I know Favreau wanted to use the Mandarin from the first film, so I think what we got was the original intepretation of that idea, the Ten Rings terrorist Mandarian, and then once the Chinese money got involved, they went looking for a quick gimmick out.

It's like I said in another thread about Marvel's "Phase 1" approach; the ideas are very fluid and the only thing locked in are release dates. Look at what Feige just said about Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver being in A2. They're in the current draft, but that doesn't mean they'll make it to the final. Or for Thanos, he's no longer sure which film he'll appear in. That's a sign that this appraoch is really not as fleshed out as they've sold in the past, which would explain this Mandarin to me.

[clemso]

M, (a Chinese version) could still turn out to be the man pulling the strings behind the strings, if you know what i mean.

[Bruce Banner]

I would have certainly preferred a version of the Mandarin more akin to the source material, complete with his power rings.

But I guess the studio was never planning on going down that route, as the cinematic IM universe references the "Ten Rings" simply as being the name of the terrorist organization.

[madmarva]

Pepper's super powers was an easy fix after the screenwriters boxed themselves into a corner. They spent over 2 hours making us believe iron man couldn't defeat Extremis (for the lack of a better super hero name for Guy Pearce's character), so the only resort was to create something more powerful than Iron Man. So yeah, it looked cool but made Iron Man out to be weak.

The rings are still the thing for Mandarian, or at least a major part of his powers in the comics.

[phil]

I am most familiar with the version of The Mandarian from the '60s and '70s. Does the current incarnation still use the special powered rings? I can see why the film makers wouldn't use the original concept of the character but I have mixed feelings about what they did do. I thought Kingsley was very good in both aspects of the character but I would have prefered him as an outright villain. Then again didn't see the twist coming so it was a nice surprise. If Marvel was trying to appease Chinese censors why did they include a baddie called The Mandarian to begin with? I did like the movie quite a bit.
Probley more than the first two because the villain seemed more threatening than those in the previous films. I basically went to be entertained and the movie definetly succeeded on that level. That said I could have done without Pepper and her
superpowers. Thankfully that was nipped in the bud.

[madmarva]

I kinda liked the twist with the Mandarain. Kingsley channels Ringo Starr in the part. To me it's the most original aspect of the film. But I'm not a dyed in the wool Iron Man fan, either, so I have no attachment to the Mandarian or his portrayal in the comic. As others have stated it was clearly an act of appeasement to make a buck, but the movie didn't hinge on the twist, so why pay Kingsley and waste the screen time in the first place.

I liked the film, but the franchise truly hinges on RDJ. Take him out of the equation and the film would have been a huge, good-looking fx bore. Some will call it that anyway. RDJ made it watchableable. Recasting IM, to me would be like recasting Superman while Reeve was still capable to play the part.

I liked the post-credit scene with Ruffalo, but much like schwarma joke at the end of the Avengers, it's a one off and does not tease anything or advance the overall Marvel Storyline.

It was a fun afternoon at the movies, but not nearly as exciting to me as the original film or the Avengers. It's a notch or two more fun than IM2. Definitely liked the Spidey reboot, Thor and CAp films better.

Now, there is a lot of cool action, and if I were a teenager, I'd probably see it a couple of more times before Man of Steel opens, but it did get a bit tedious, to me.

The Thor trailer looked promising to me.

[The Toyroom]

Just read the plot on Wikipedia. Sucks about the Mandarin. Very lame...

[Goblin19]

Yeah, to tease fans with the Mandarin, only to literally make him a joke is inexplicable. It didn't alone ruin the movie but it was a contributing factor. The movie lingered way too long on certain parts: the kid, Happy Hogan in the beginning, and just became a bit tedious for me. Also, Pepper becoming super Pepper was too cliched and predictable. There were good parts, too, just not enough of them. I still love RDJ in this part and the action was good, but just like the second one (which I slightly prefer), I want more of the character stuff between Stark and Pepper, Rhodey, etc.

[hedrap]

Someone said the Mandarin is not the real Mandarin. What does that mean?
Out of all the bad reads I am seeing online I think I will pass until it comes out on bluRay.

Mandarin is an actor who's a puppet for Guy Pearce's guy who runs AIM.

It's the same military-industrial complex villain from the first two Iron Man films, plus a ripoff of Ra's Al Ghul/Ducard from Batman Begins, because Marvel wanted appease Chinese film board "regulators" so they could open same day in China, which is very rare.

Chinese regulatory board is the censorship arm of the state and does not allow for the denigration of the Chinese culture in any way they see fit.

A more famous recent example, is they pulled MIB3 because it showed Asian actors being killed by aliens.

It's about controlling propaganda.

I'm disgusted Marvel went along with, especially when you read that the "Chinese edit" is actually just a five-minute blah with some informercial tie-ins.

http://kotaku.com/why-many-in-china-hate-iron-man-3s-chinese-version-486840429

And this is without debating the subtle political messages with Iron Patriot.

All to get an extra 15% of the Chinese ticket cut.

Disney and Feige sold Marvel's soul on this one.

Mortified to think what Cap2 is going to be about.

[drquest]

I saw it last night with my two kids and two of their friends. They all liked it, I had plenty of unanswered questions.

The Mandarin story line was unexpected, and not at all what I thought was going to happen, and I didn't care for that too much.

There was a lot of different build up stuff in the beginning, but not enough payoff at the end. I would have liked to have seen much more of the AIM details, and less of the random kid that was stuck in the story. That whole "crashing" in Tennessee thing was a waste of time and rather silly. He's still Tony Stark, he has a lot of resources that aren't in his Malibu home, he couldn't pick up the phone? Also Jarvis isn't stuck in the suit, I've always pictured him as being in the cloud, that's was weird too....

I liked it, but was hoping for a better Iron Man 3.

[Cosmicman]

Someone said the Mandarin is not the real Mandarin. What does that mean?
Out of all the bad reads I am seeing online I think I will pass until it comes out on bluRay.

[hedrap]

http://kotaku.com/why-many-in-china-hate-iron-man-3s-chinese-version-486840429

Marvel can burn for all I care.

What they did with The Mandarin is pathetic.

[MEMEGO]

The first half of the movie is so boring. Action picks up when his house is attacted. MORE TO COME LATER

[Operation:Mego]

I'm busy with work for the next few weeks, so I won't be able to see it until the 20th at minimum, maybe later. Which means I will be avoiding this thread until I actually do see it, but you guys can go nuts posting what you liked, didn't like, etc. without the fear of spoiling for someone, because it clearly says 'SPOILER' in the title. Just to reiterate: MAJOR SPOILERS WILL FOLLOW THIS POST!!!!! Anyway... What'd you guys think of it?

See you in a few weeks.