MCU Commentary Rewatch: Iron Man 3

(Cover art by Matt Ferguson, for the Blu Ray release. https://www.cakesandcomics.com/)

Phase 2 kicks off with my favorite of the Iron Man movies. Many people don’t like Shane Black’s vision of the character, and even I freely admit this movie has some serious flaws.

But none of them are RDJ dealing with Stark’s PTSD, and the give and take gives so very much in this last (for now) Iron Man solo film.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Man_3

TL:DR;

Running Ranking: #2 of 7

Commentary Takeaways:

Also, a reminder that what I’m doing here is rating the *commentary tracks*, not the movies themselves. There is some overlap, but we’re not weighing the relative merits of plot here, but how well the movies themselves are executed, and how well the creators of said pieces communicate them.

Plan your comments accordingly. For example, a comment on my INCREDIBLE HULK Facebook thread about Norton’s portrayal of Banner was exactly on point. The IRON MAN 2/AVENGERS thread about what Tony Stark should have done with his suits, and the subsequent “in the comics” posts was/were not. (Especially given the plot of the movie I’m about to watch.)

So to recap, an acceptable comment *on this post* would be on the lines of “do/did you like IRON MAN 3 (yes/no),” or “this mechanical aspect of the film speaks/does not speak to me in the following fashion.”

There was a good mix of narration and insight throughout, but nothing really remarkable. Having a writer analyze their own work brings the score down a bit, but it wasn’t fanboy giggling so it’s way ahead of some tracks yet to come in this cycle.

Shane Black and Drew Pearce were the screenwriters for this one, as well as the Director and Producer. They had a lot of smooth insights about constructing the movie, including tidbits about previous versions of the script and different ways it could have gone.

One of the neat things Black said was “Marvel…this thing is like a train. It’s just going to roll along. For two years I got to wear the hat, and on occasion I got to toot the horn a little.

My nap for this one came during the beginning of act three, during the AF1 rescue. It really is the most boring part of the movie for me–I’m much more invested in him talking to the kid (Harley), and knowing that he stayed in contact with him over the years (Harley was the mystery teen at his ENDGAME funeral).

I may add some more bits after I read the wiki page, but overall a decent track for what I consider to be a superior movie.

Commentary Ranking:

1. CAPTAIN AMERICA: TFA

2. IRON MAN 2

3. INCREDIBLE HULK

4. IRON MAN 3

5. MARVEL’S THE AVENGERS

6. IRON MAN

7. THOR