Iron Man trilogy

Special treat today everyone. Since I have seen "Iron Man 3" today, I would like to review the entire trilogy before I talk about the third installment. Like how Doug Walker does when he reviews a new sequel to a film, he would talk about the previous installments before he would review the new one. Here it goes, so sit back and enjoy the Iron Man trilogy review. Although I don't think it will stay a trilogy, but as of right now, let's call it "the Supposed Trilogy."

Now the first "Iron Man" film came out in 2008. It's one of the best superhero films ever made and another one of my all time favorite comic book adaptations. In my opinion, this is the third best Marvel movie. Robert Downey, Jr., who I have to say is one of the best actors out there, gets the snot-nosed, billionaire playboy philanthropist image of Tony Stark down pat. You just want to smack him right into his senses and say to him, "Hey man, what in the world do you think you are doing?" He is just one of those characters that you feel needs to learn about getting along with others and not be a complete jerk to them all the time. When he comes out of the casino, and charms reporter Christine Everheart, played by Leslie Bibb, into a one-night stand, you know Downey has the playboy side of Stark down. In the role of Stark's assistant, Pepper Pots, we have one of the most prettiest actresses of all time, Gwyneth Paltrow. She plays Pepper as a character that knows Tony from the inside out, and is a strong woman that even after all the stuff Tony does, sticks with him through it all. Tony's business partner, Obadiah Stane, is played by The Dude himself, Jeff Bridges. What a character, if I may say. I mean, what a character? You know that he is up to something every single time you see him. It's Pepper who is told about Stane's activities, thanks to "Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division" (S.H.I.E.L.D.) agent, Phil Coulson, played by Clark Gregg, who you might remember from such sitcoms like "The West Wing" and "Will & Grace." Now, Tony's friend, Lieutenant Commander James Rhodes, is played by Terence Howard. I do have to say, Jon Favreau doesn't really give Rhodes enough screen-time, doesn't he? He just leaves Rhodes on the edge, wanting us to have more of Rhodes, or Rhodey as they call him.

Now the stuff that Stark does in Afghanistan is just unbelievable. Whenever you see Stark making a new device, whether if it was in the cave in Afghanistan or in his lab at home, you get hooked immediately. You just love seeing him tinkering around with his computer or his gadgets, creating some sort of weapon or enhancement to his suit, which is just the best. Stark is also helped by his Artificial Intelligence (A.I.), JARVIS, voiced by Paul Bettany, whenever he asks JARVIS to power up the suit, take some stats, or anything else that is suit related. How can you not like someone who makes new stuff all the time for his combat? It's the same for Batman; he created new gadgets whenever he was in the Bat Cave. This was for a new villain that Batman would fight. Favreau really kept to the original idea of what made the Iron Man comics so great. Being helped by Dr. Yinsen, played by Shawn Toub, in the cave was like Stark was Bond, and Yinsen was Q. The action in this film is some of the best in a comic book film. After making such a big build-up by having Tony spend a lot of time digging out of the cave in Afghanistan, coming back home, enhancing his suit, and going up against a villain that is just as strong as he, it would come as no surprise that they would have Tony go up against the villain. Especially since he created a missile called "Jericho," a missile that the military wants. At the end, when he doesn't get Pepper, and going on Live TV announcing that he is Iron Man, is just the best. Spoiler Alert: after the credits, Agent Nick Fury, played by the king of saying mother****er, Samuel L. Jackson, gets into Tony's mansion and tells him that Fury wants Stark to be part of a team. This was the first film that led up to the much anticipated "The Avengers" film, which I will eventually get to.

Next was the 2010 sequel, "Iron Man 2." For some reason, people didn't like this one. Here's what I thought about it: even though a lot of the film doesn't really have much action, I thought it really delved deep into what happens to a celebrity. Since Stark is one of the most well-known celebrities, he shows that with the media attention and getting all of these girls, the fame can really get to a man. He doesn't want to let go of his gadgets, even though he is being pressured by the government, the press, and the public to share his inventions. This is where you see Stark going downhill, despite the fact that Pepper and Rhodey are trying to snap him out of it. Oh, I almost forgot, Howard doesn't reprise his role as Rhodey. According to a Yahoo user, Desk3Bound, who posted this answer for a Yahoo question: "There was some monetary problems as Terrence Howard ended up with a bigger paycheck than the stars or even the director. Some arguing and contract renegotiations and Howard was out" (Desk3Bound). Now in the role of Rhodey, we have one of the coolest actors out there, Don Cheadle, playing the role, who I have to say does the part really well.

Another thing I would like to mention is that Pepper is appointed CEO of Stark Industries, and Stark hires Natasha Romanoff, played by another very gorgeous actress, who started her film career at a young age, Scarlett Johansson, as his personal assistant. What Stark doesn't know, and he finds out half-way through the movie, is that she is Black Widow, who is part of the "Avengers Initiative" program, led by Agent Fury. Romanoff is an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., which is a counter-terrorism agency. Fury and Romanoff explain to him what is going on, and snap him out of it so he can get his head on straight, since the villain in this film is actually one of the best comic book villains on screen. He is none other than Russian physicist, Ivan Vanko aka Whiplash, who is played by one of the greatest actors who was popular in the 80s, but wasn't around in the 90s, but now is back and got his career started again with "The Wrestler," Mickey Rourke. Rourke is just great. He gets the Russian accent down pat, and he really portrays an evil Iron Man character just pitch perfect. Whiplash is being helped by weapons specialist, Justin Hammer, played by Sam Rockwell, who is a man that just wants to get rid of Stark. Also, Rhodey taking one of the Iron Man suits and turning it over to the military, and fighting alongside Stark when going up against Whiplash probably will remind you of the epic duo of Batman and Robin. Or you could compare them to Roger Murtaugh and Martin Riggs from the "Lethal Weapon" series. Another note, John Slattery from "Mad Men" is in here as a recording of Tony's father, Howard Stark, who Tony did not get along with as a child.

Another Spoiler Alert: at the end before the credits role, there is a debriefing about the incident with the Hulk (this came out after "The Incredible Hulk" film), and Fury tells Stark that even though Iron Man is a suitable candidate for the "Avengers Initiative," Stark is not. Stark says that he will instead be a "consultant" if Senator Stern, played by comedian Gary Shandling, is the one who awards him and Rhodey the Medal of Honor. Post-Credits show Agent Coulson reporting the finding of a giant hammer in the New Mexico desert. This hints at "Thor," which is another comic book film that I will get to eventually, before I do "The Avengers."

Now for the epic third installment, "Iron Man 3," which actually came out 8 days ago. Unlike the first two, which were directed by Favreau, this one is directed and written by Shane Black. Will people that didn't like the second one like this one? Yes they will. The film actually opens up in a flashback, when Stark was in Switzerland and he met scientist Maya Hansen, played by Rebecca Hall, who tells Tony about her latest invention. This is called the Extremis, an experimental regenerative treatment intended to allow recovery from crippling injuries. Stark rejects, even after being offered a place in the company by Aldrich Killian, played by Guy Pearce. Years later, little does Stark know that they will be hunting him down, with the help from The Mandarin, played by a very well-known actor, Ben Kingsley, in spreading the Extremis virus. That too, on Christmas Day, which is the day this entire film takes place on. They even get people like Eric Saven, played by James Badge Dale, and Ellen Brandt, played by Stephanie Szostak, exposed to the virus, and they are just unstoppable....well, sort of. Also, all of the people that are injected with the Extremis virus will remind you of the T-1000 from "Terminator 2." I will stop right here and say to everyone: if you want to know what happens, go out and watch the film.

Overall, this film is a really huge improvement for those who did not like the second film. It has great action, very good dialogue, and some nice comedic moments so that you don't feel this film is getting too dark. However, fans of the comic book series will be disappointed at the climax, which I will not spoil, but it has to do with The Mandarin. Also, Ty Simpkins is lucky to be the first kid casted in the Iron Man series as Harley, a person who is having parental issues. Ashley Hamilton portrays Jack Taggert, one of the Extremis soldiers, William Sadler plays President Ellis, and Miguel Ferrer plays Vice President Rodriguez. There are also reporter cameos made by Josh Elliott, Megan Henderson, Pat Kiernan, and Thomas Roberts, and other cameos made by comedian Bill Maher and Joan Rivers and Fashion Police co-host, George Kotsiopoulos. What is unbelievable about this film is that Stark does not learn. You just want to hurt him so much because he doesn't seem to stop acting like a complete self-absorbed jerk that you just want to strangle. The biggest mistake he makes is that after The Mandarin attacks Stark's former bodyguard and chauffeur, who is now head of Stark Industries security, Happy Hogan, played by Favreau, he gives away his home address on Live TV. What kind of an idiot does that? And later on, when he says, "Why are they all coming over here? I had issued a threat and I thought they would be scared." Hello, you just gave the enemy your home address you dweeb, why wouldn't they show up on your doorstep?

The last action sequence is just great, with Stark and Rhodey on the boat to take down The Mandarin and stop the spread of the Extremis, Stark actually has all of his Iron Man prototypes come in, being controlled by JARVIS, and help them both out with the number of henchmen The Mandarin has injected with the Extremis. Spoiler alter: post credits you see Stark speaking to Dr. Bruce Banner, played by Mark Ruffalo, who normally does romantic flicks, but was also Banner in "The Avengers." Stark is telling Dr. Banner about his life story, Dr. Banner falls asleep, when Stark wakes him up, Dr. Banner says that psychology is not his line of study, and that he cannot help him. This is probably either going to hint at a Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk crossover, or a build up to "The Avengers 2." We'll see, but in the meantime, go out and watch "Iron Man 3," you will be pleased to see it, especially if you hated the second one.