Honest Trailers Team Skewers 'Iron Man 3'

This Honest Trailer for Iron Man 3 is harsh, but it’s pretty spot-on if we’re being honest with ourselves. Also, the name “Osama bin Kingsley” made me shoot pineapple juice out of my nose, which is worrisome from a medical perspective since I haven’t had pineapple juice in four years. And my week was going so well …

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'Iron Man 3' Scores Massive Opening Weekend

Debuting in 4,253 North American theaters, Iron Man 3 raked in $175.3 million this weekend, earning the No. 2 biggest domestic opening of all time behind Marvel’s The Avengers, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Worldwide, the Shane Black-helmed threequel has grossed more than $680 million thus far and continues to shatter records from Southeast Asia to the Netherlands. It’s definitely putting up “Iron Man numbers” despite some mixed reviews from fans and critics alike.

What does this mean for the franchise? One could assume that Disney executives are rethinking any and all plans they might have had to end the Iron Man series of solo films and, if they haven’t already, will begin courting Robert Downey Jr. to reprise the role of the series’ titular billionaire industrialist-turned-superhero for Iron Man 4. Meanwhile, the pressure’s on Thor: The Dark World and Captain America: The Winter Soldier to keep the monetary momentum going over the next year until Guardians of the Galaxy blasts into theaters next summer.

For more on Iron Man 3’s international box office success, head over to HollywoodReporter.com.

‘Iron Man 3’ Reviewed

“It could have been worse.”

Seeing as how I’ve been eagerly anticipating Shane Black’s Iron Man 3 since the credits rolled during my first viewing of Marvel’s The Avengers, this was not how I expected to feel when I walked out of the theater in the early hours of May 3, 2013. Yet, in the aftermath of a film that seemingly wraps up the Iron Man story at least in terms of solo outings, I couldn’t help but experience a tinge of disappointment, marking the very first time I’ve been let down by a Marvel Studios film.

Now, Iron Man 3 isn’t a bad film by any means. Black (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang) took some calculated risks in crafting a film that had zero chance of providing the visceral crowd-pleasing thrills of Joss Whedon’s Avengers flick, and actually gave us the most ambitious Marvel Studios film to date at least from a storytelling perspective. Yet, in taking so many bold steps away from the comfortable conventions of the superhero genre, Iron Man 3 trips and stumbles more than once during its 130-minute running time.

So what’s Iron Man 3 about? Without giving too much away (I’ll let the rest of the Internet ruin the twists for you), Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is a mess after the events of The Avengers, which is pretty understandable. After all, saving New York City from thousands of invading aliens isn’t something you shrug off over time, even if you happen to be a billionaire industrialist/superhero. On top of his post-traumatic stress and frequent anxiety attacks, Tony must grapple with new threats, namely a terrorist calling himself The Mandarin (Ben Kingsley) and a series of bombings linked to a body-hacking technology called Extremis.

Iron Man 3 borrows heavily from Matt Fraction’s early run on The Invincible Iron Man and is loosely based on Warren Ellis’ acclaimed Extremis mini-series, but the film is seldom interested in honoring the source material. In fact, there are points at which Iron Man 3 actively trolls the core audience, resulting in the fan outrage typically reserved for Michael Bay films. Again, I won’t spoil any surprises, but at least one major Marvel villain is criminally marginalized.

One of Iron Man 3’s worst transgressions is the treatment of Stark as a character. Anxiety attacks aside, Tony has transformed from well-meaning but self-absorbed genius to absent-minded douchebag. At one key point in the film, Tony bafflingly puts his girlfriend Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) at risk by revealing his home address to the worldwide media and goading The Mandarin into a showdown at his cliffside mansion in Malibu. When the bad guys send your house tumbling into the Pacific Ocean and nearly murder your girlfriend with a barrage of missiles, that’s on you, pal.

Downey is great as always, as are series regulars Paltrow and Don Cheadle, who gets a lot more to do this time around as Tony’s armored ally War Machine, rebranded by the government as "The Iron Patriot.” Kingsley shares villaining duties with Guy Pearce as Tony’s professional rival Aldrich Killian, while the lovely Rebecca Hall joins Paltrow in the mostly-male cast as Maya Hansen, creator of the Extremis technology and one of Tony’s former flings. Another standout in the cast is Ty Simpkin, who becomes Tony’s unexpected pre-teen sidekick for a sizable portion of the film. It takes some acting chops to trade sarcastic barbs with Downey while somehow sidestepping the whole “annoying kid sidekick” issue.

However, not even a strong cast and impressive performances all around could save Iron Man 3 from being an exoskeletal shell of a blockbuster — a schizophrenic and sometimes ponderous piece of popcorn cinema that doesn’t realize its true calling as an Iron Man sequel until the rousing CGI-fueled third act. For all the risks Black and writer Drew Pearce take, the end result just doesn’t come close to matching the passion or the energy that former Iron Man helmer Jon Favreau brought to the series in the previous installments.

Also noticeable are the massive plot holes in Iron Man 3, mostly because the previous films in this continuity seemed to go out of their way to acknowledge the other Marvel heavy hitters inhabiting the world. Where is S.H.I.E.L.D. when the U.S. president is in danger? Wouldn’t Captain America be working alongside The Iron Patriot to take down The Mandarin? Save for a few mentions of the other Avengers team members and a post-credits cameo by one of them, Iron Man 3 largely ignores the interconnectivity that makes the Marvel Cinematic Universe so unique. Also, anyone looking for hints about future Marvel Studios flicks — namely next summer’s Guardians of the Galaxy — will have to wait until Thor: The Dark World hits theaters this fall. There are none to be found in this movie.

Will you like Iron Man 3? You might, assuming you forget how much fun the groundbreaking 2008 original film and its and the flawed-but-enjoyable 2010 sequel were. However, if this is the final film in the Iron Man series, Tony Stark deserved a much better denouement than this.

And We’re Back!

In the aftermath of a move to a new apartment and a massive work-related event revolving around fisticuffs and the mental state associated with said fisticuffs, I’m happy to say that The Wort Report has officially returned!

We’re just one week away from the opening of Iron Man 3, and who could ignore the impending releases of Star Trek Into Darkness and The Man of Steel? And didja get a load of that Thor: The Dark World trailer? All things worthy of your geeking out in the weeks and months ahead.

But before all that, I’d like to address news that Microsoft is planning on unveiling a brand-spanking new Xbox on May 21st at 10 a.m. PDT. Although I’ve gotten giddy about such tantalizing reveals in the past, I’m wary this time around. It might be because I’ve grown very attached to the Xbox 360 over the past seven years (I’ve gone through three of them in that time), and the thought of building up a new game library for an entirely new piece of hardware just doesn’t seem that thrilling to me. Moreover, my time for gaming has shrunk to near-nothingness recently, so I’m not all that confident I’ll be making the plunge into the next generation of consoles ... at least not right now.

 What do you guys think? Are you excited about a “Next Gen” Xbox? Tweet your thoughts using the hashtag #XboxReveal, and check back here this weekend for more emblogginations.

Mo’ Armor, Mo’ Problems

Man, that headline sounded a lot cooler in my head, just like the time I tried to name my nonexistent wrestling finishing maneuver the “Wortmandible Claw.” It just … nevermind. I’m over it. Let’s talk about Marvel’s Iron Man 3.

So the latest trailer for Iron Man 3 came out this past week, and judging by the new footage in the 2:31 spot, things are not going well for Tony Stark in the aftermath of The Avengers. The dude’s not sleeping, The Mandarin (Ben Kingsley) is trying to kill him, and his house gets kinda explodey thanks to some missile-equipped helicopters. That’ll ruin your weekend.

It’s a good thing that Tony’s got an army of Iron Men at his disposal this time around and … is that the Hulkbuster? Watch the trailer and overanalyze at will.

‘Iron Man 3’ Trailer Hints at Dark Third Chapter for Tony Stark and Co.

Looks like shawarma doesn’t cure all ills. Still reeling from this battle alongside Earth’s Mightiest Heroes against an invading alien force in the conclusion of The Avengers, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) faces new enemies and his own demons in Iron Man 3. The debut trailer for the Shane Black-helmed sequel has hit the web, giving fans their first look at Ben Kingsley as iconic Iron Man villain Mandarin and some hints at the perils that Ol’ Shellhead must overcome this time around.

There’s certainly a lot riding on Iron Man 3, as it is the first post-Avengers film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. After Stark joined forces with such fantastical characters as Thor, Captain America and Hulk to take on a maniacal demigod and hordes of snarling aliens, the onus was on Black to rein in the narrative and tell a grounded, more human story. Will he succeed? Watch the trailer and judge for yourself.

Iron Man 3 blasts into theaters in April 2013.

Robert Downey Jr. Talks ‘Iron Man 3’ and Reuniting with Director Shane Black

For whatever reason, it’s seemingly impossible for a film studio to churn out a compelling third installment in a superhero franchise. From Superman 3 to Batman Forever to Spider-Man 3, comic book fans typically acknowledge the third installment in a previously successful series as the point at which a combination of studio meddling and creative fatigue reduces formerly compelling protagonists into broad caricatures and, in some cases, even parodies.

Keeping that unfortunate reality in mind, many fans are looking ahead to Iron Man 3 with some trepidation. After all, original director Jon Favreau left the series after the second installment, and many Marvel enthusiasts doubt that new writer/director Shane Black will be able to keep the character of Tony Stark interesting on his own after he teams up with Captain America, Thor, Hulk and the rest of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes in next summer’s The Avengers.

Speaking with the Los Angeles Times’ Hero Complex blog, series star Robert Downey Jr. allayed many fans’ concerns with the future of his character and the series that kick-started the cinematic Marvel Universe back in 2008.

“My sense of it is that we need to leave it all on the field—whatever that means in the end,” Downey said of the film, due out in May 2013. “You can pick several different points of departure for that.”

Downey previously teamed with Black in 2005 for Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, a tongue-in-cheek take on the film noir genre. Black’s other writing credits include Lethal Weapon, Lethal Weapon 2 and The Last Boy Scout.

“He’s more than the sum of his parts and he’s also kind of been a sleeper for a long time,” Downey said of Black. “We’re not talking much about [the script] right now because Shane is off writing and we talked before that and when we are talking again the talking is going to be over pretty quick [because we're on the same page]. It’s kind of like we’re fighting on the same side and at the same time we’re circling each other, so it’s all great. It should be great.”

For the full story, head over to Hero Complex by clicking here.