My Review of Iron Man 3 (and why I hate spoilers)

My wife Taliya and I enjoyed a screening of Iron Man 3. It was an interesting and tiny bit frustrating experience, so I thought I'd share it.

First, know that I will not discuss the story in-depth because I hate spoilers. You know M. Knight Shamalawnmower's movie The Village? Somebody blabbed the ending of that movie and ruined it for me. So the whole time I was watching, I was waiting for the end I knew was coming. Totally ruined it.

And one night a couple years ago, I was listening to Coast to Coast A.M. and some dingleberry guest blabbed the premise/conclusion/twist on Eagle Eye, that thriller with Shia Labuffalo. Oh, I was pissed.

If you've seen a movie (or read a book!) and others haven't but intend to, keep your trap shut! Why is that so difficult?

Are people SO miserable that their only means of making themselves feel better is by ruining an experience for someone else?

Get a life. Seriously.

Anyway, I'm supposed to be talking about Iron Man Trois.

We get a complimentary 1+1 free movie ticket from our credit card company every month. We went online and booked a 9 p.m. show for Iron Man 3 (in 2D). When we got there, it was one of those newer choose-your-seat type of theaters, and the only seats were in the first three rows. No, thank you.

So we chose the 10 pm show, which was in 3D for about $5 more. Cool.

Now, the caveat: when Avatar came out, we saw it in 2D first. I don't remember why, but we did. Liked it a lot. Then, we went and saw it in 3D. We were able to enjoy it on a new level, already knowing the story and therefore being able to really enjoy the visuals.

So that is why we didn't purchase tickets for Iron Man 3 in 3D in the first place.

At 10:00 pm, the movie began. We were enjoying it. But the picture was rather dark. Several times I lifted up my 3D glasses in order to compare the brightness. Without the glasses, it looked like a regular movie, albeit a bit blurry, especially during an action sequence. With the glasses, it was dark. Like watching a movie with your sunglasses on. And it became annoying. I lifted my glasses up 10-15 times because of it. During one particular action sequence, I was trying to figure out who was flying where and bouncing off of what.

It had something to do with the 3D glasses.



The ones we had didn't look like any of these. Here's an article about them from BusinessInsider.com about Disney's marketing stratgey.

So, the presentation of the film left something to be desired. The 3D was cool, but the dimness of the screen was not. I would have preferred that we saw it in 2D.

Something I found particularly interesting, and which I did not know, is that Iron Man 3 was directed by Shane Black. He rose to prominence in the late 80s for having written Lethal Weapon, and was also part of the trio of writers who penned Iron Man 3.

All in all, I would recommend the film. Particularly to fans of the series.

One thing I would advise is that you see The Avengers before seeing Iron Man 3. These films all come from the Marvel universe, as anyone who has seen the first two Iron Man movies knows, as well as The Hulk or Thor, etc. So there are references to The Avengers in Iron Man 3. I've been trying to watch The Avengers for a few months and can't seem to make the time. But I shall make the time for certain now that it was referenced in Iron Man 3.

As for the 2D vs. 3D, that's up to you. But I wish we'd seen it in 2D. It would've been a more enjoyable experience overall.

Oh, one final thing. Make sure you sit through the entire credits. Again, if you're a fan of the series and of other Marvel projects, you know why.

Cheers.

Comments

  1. Most will be pissed by what happens at the end, but for me, I was just happy to get ready and fired-up for this summer. Good review Ryan.

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  2. We sat through the credits, because I figured there would be a surprise at the end of the film. And there was. And then the projector had sound problems, so I couldn't even understand what exactly was happening. The timing was friggin uncanny. Sheesh.

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  3. I haven't seen IM3 yet, but big IM fan so will see it in some way, shape or form before long. Someone told me IMAX is the way to go...though I am sure that costs a pretty penny.

    I always sit through MARVEL movie credits now because you KNOW they show something. I did see a movie poster for a new THOR movie. And I know what they showed at end o' credits at the first AVENGERS movie so...hmmmmm...

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  4. In my experience, the IMAX versions are usually a couple bucks more. But the sheer SIZE is impressive. I saw INCEPTION in IMAX.

    The 3D vs 2D is another story; maybe worth it, maybe not... It was nice seeing AVATAR in 2D first and then seeing it again in 3D to enjoy the visuals while revisiting the story.

    But like I said above, the IRON MAN 3 3D sucked. Hopefully other people don't have the same experience.

    Thanks for sharing, Peter. Let me know what you think of IM3 when you see it.

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