Due to my being busy
with other projects during the two weeks in which Iron Man 3 and Star Trek: Into Dankness came out consecutively, I am
forced to do a joint review of the two films.
Iron Man 3 Review:
The
third installment in the Iron
Man film series has a lot to accomplish. The film has to stand on
its own merits as well as introduce Marvel
Studios’ Phase 2 (the series of films leading up to The Avengers 2).
Finally, the film must also deliver a satisfying conclusion to the Iron Man film trilogy.
Having seen this film, I believe that Iron
Man 3 is a great conclusion to the trilogy. However, I believe that as a whole, it falls
just short of expectations.
Iron Man 3 is directed by Shane Black
(Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, his only previous directing credit), and not directed by Jon
Favreau, (the director of the first two Iron
Man films). Black does a fine job and the action is well shot. The
film is at its heart, a character piece. Robert Downey Jr. returns as Tony
Stark/Iron Man, and he is as witty and entertaining in the role as ever. In
this film, Tony is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after
the events of The
Avengers, when he met gods and aliens and almost died. Tony’s PTSD
is mainly given a comedic spin, with frequent panic attacks. While Tony’s PTSD
could have been developed more, and his character arc is not quite as
believable as it was in the original Iron
Man, he is still a well-rounded and likeable character. All the side
characters are also back and given expanded roles: Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper
Potts, Jon Favreau as Tony’s guard Happy, and Don Cheadle as Colonel Rhodes,
aka War Machine. In this film however, the War Machine armor has been given a
new function and paint job by the US government, this time as Iron Patriot.
This is because of the threat of super-terrorist, The Mandarin (Ben Kingsley)
as well as the terrorist group AIM, headed by Aldrich Killian (Guy Pierce).
These treats push Tony to his limits, and make him question himself as both a
person and a crime fighter.
Star Trek: Into Darkness Review
This
is the second film in a new series of Star
Trek films. While I enjoyed the first film in the new series, Star Trek (2009), I feel
that this film is even better than the first. So far, it looks like this new
franchise is off to a good start; however, it is clear that old, classic
series’ of shows and films still looms over this one, both for good and for
ill. Into Darkness picks
up where the first film left off: Jim Kirk (Chris Pine) and the Enterprise crew
are on a routine mission getting acclimated to their new responsibilities.
However, they don’t have much time to get settled before Admiral Marcus (Peter
Weller) sends them into Klingon space to capture Starfleet fugitive John
Harrison (Benedict Cumberbatch). As always, things are not as they seem, and
Kirk, Spock (Zachary Quinto), Bones (Karl Urban), and the rest of the crew are
pushed to their limits. Beaming into the cast is Dr. Carol Marcus, (the
Admiral's daughter), whom Star Trek fans may remember from Star Trek II: the Wrath of Khan. As previously
mentioned, there are additional references to Classic Trek in the film. These
references are fine up to a point, but they eventually become gratuitous and
kind of lame. At the risk of spoilers, that’s pretty much all I have to say on
that subject.
Both Iron Man
3 and Star
Trek: Into Darkness, are great popcorn action films. I personally
enjoyed Star Trek a
little more than Iron Man.
Still, both films were very good and served their franchises well. I
recommend both of these films.
