A Spoiler Free Look At Iron Man 3

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As you know from my podcast the Disney Film Project Podcast, that I’m quite a geek when it comes to anything comic books, superheroes, Star Wars, etc. Just 5 short years ago, superhero movies, while popular, were considered by general audiences to be below the bar.  Sufficient in making money for studios, few great successes, and many outright failures.  Then in 2008 everything changed, because the bar was raised when the first Iron Man movie came out.  For many years, even before the movie project was announced, fans had asked for actor Robert Downey Jr. (RDJ) to take on the role of Tony Stark.  Fans saw his own addiction to narcotics and recovery as a strong bond between him and the character whose own past includes an addiction to alcohol.  The industry listened to the fans.  The actor was completely on board.  And the movie was a huge success.

Now, almost 5 years to the day, many people are going to be heading out to their local movie theater to go see the movie Iron Man 3.  It’s hard to think that this may be one of the last times that RDJ might be playing the character though there’s a good chance that he’ll renegotiate his contract as long as the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) continues to be the blockbuster success that it has been.  Which would be good news for fans like myself, the thought of anyone else playing the role is almost painful.

The first Iron Man movie was about how Tony Stark becomes Iron Man, whereas the second one was about the price of having that power, and the mortality of the man inside the armor.  Iron Man 3 carries this theme that is very common in the Iron Man comic books forward quite a bit.  Now Tony Stark isn’t just a guy in a suit of high tech armor doing his own thing, he’s a hero the world over.  He’s a survivor of the “Battle of Manhattan” from The Avengers, he’s had his shawarma, and he’s at a loss of what to do next.

And he wanders through much of this movie in the same way many other victims of war do.  Wrought with regret and anxiety for what he experienced, and how it changes his future.  He can’t sleep, he’s angry, and he’s having anxiety attacks.  And this has been going on for some time.  The only real indication we have about how much time has passed is that at the end of The Avengers, Tony dons his Mark VII (7) armor.  In Iron Man 3 he’s wearing a prototype suit of armor dubbed Mark XLII (42) – making this as little as 6 weeks later.

I’ll be honest, I loved this movie, but as you can see from everything above, I’m a bit biased.  It has a feeling about it that is just the right way to go for what is essentially a downtime piece between Avengers movies more than it is the third part of a trilogy.  It missed the mark for me on exactly one point where I thought to myself that I don’t care how riddled with crazy Tony’s head is, at this point I want to see him do *this* and he didn’t.  But there is just an amazing amount of both heart and humor that will endear people to this character even more than he was before.

It paves the way for some of my MCU predictions like the now ever popular Coulson Lives in a way that is really going to prove more interesting than such a thing was ever depicted in comic books.  But we’re talking about a series of movies that made the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier believable – a movie moment that I’d wanted to see my entire life and literally made me cry tears of joy.  That said, this movie didn’t have a moment like that for me.  But that didn’t lessen it for me – as I said, it’s a downtime piece.  And I very much enjoyed seeing Tony be more than just a man outside the armor, yet still need the armor to be the whole set piece of the character.

Be forewarned, once you see this movie you will realize that you have been played.  I won’t say how or why, but know that this movie does something that I feel that no one could have foreseen or predicted from any of the advertising material (posters, trailers, etc.).  And it’s totally awesome on so many levels.  To the point where I feel it changes movie advertising quite a bit.

As has been the case with all of the previous MCU movies, it’s important for the viewer to stay past the credits for the “bonus scene”.  This one is cute and clever and is more like a “bookend” for the movie as a whole then an “extra moment”.  The end credits are simply amazing.  They will have you leaving Iron Man 3 and wanting to go watch old television shows like Magnum P.I., Charlies Angels, and the original Hawaii Five-0.

Overall every fan of Iron Man will definitely want to rush out to see this movie as planned.  Non-fans may not like it so much, mostly because they’ll be watching for it to be a typical action/adventure movie, which it clearly is not.  If you’re somewhere in between the two, then YMMV (your mileage may vary).

In addition to doing the web design and programming for the On the Go in MCO website, Todd Perlmutter is a host for the Disney Film Project Podcast.  You can join him and his fellow hosts for a Live Review of Iron Man 3 on Thursday, May 9, 2013.

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New tokidoki MARVEL Items Available At Downtown Disney Westside DStreet

Close up tokidoki MARVEL logo

When I wandered into DStreet, at Downtown Disney’s Westside, I was really excited to see that they had new tokidoki MARVEL T-shirts, sweatshirts, hats, and merchandise available…and this time in Women’s styles!

I excitedly walked over (maybe even a little bit of a run to be honest) to check out the new Women’s shirts. The last time that DStreet had tokidoki MARVEL items, they only carried men’s items so the addition of women’s items is amazing! My favorite (and MUST purchase item) was Thor riding a unicorn! The shirts are cut on the smaller side, but are printed on a very high quality shirt.

And then, of course, I had to check out the Women’s Sweatshirts. Much like the shirts, these are cut on the smaller side and are also on the heavier side of sweatshirts. The colors are great and vibrant, and the cartoon detail of the hood is a great touch!

But I couldn’t not look at the Men’s T-shirts and Sweatshirts.These, unlike the ladies, are cut on the larger side, and are printed on heaver shirt and sweatshirt material. The images on these are on the larger side this time, but they aren’t overwhelming.

And then I spied a really fun 59Fifty Spider-Man hat! I love the look of these hats, but they really aren’t my style…but if they are your’s you should take a peek at them!

Then, as we were at the register I looked to my left and found the tokidoki MARVEL Frenzies! These are about the same size that Vinylmation Jrs, and also come in blind boxes. There are 20 different Frenzies figurines to collect (Captain America, Cyclops, Doctor Doom, Doctor Octopus, Hulk, Human Torch, Invisible Woman, Iron Man, Magneto, Mister Fantastic, Punisher, Red Skull, Rogue, Silver Surfer, Spider-Man, Storm, Thing, Thor, Vision, Wolverine), and I want them all! They are designed as phone charms, but they could be easily attached to anything! These cute figures have only added to my tokidoki MARVEL obsession!!!

I was super proud of myself for not buying one of everything, but I can’t make that promise about my next visit!

I hope you enjoy this look at the new tokidoki MARVEL items at DStreet!

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AVENGERS Prize Pack Giveaway!!!

While THE AVENGERS doesn’t hit theaters until May 4th, you can win a pretty awesome AVENGERS prize pack today!!!

“Marvel’s The Avengers” stars Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner and Tom Hiddleston, with Stellan Skarsgård and Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury. Directed by Joss Whedon, the epic action-adventure film is based on the ever-popular Marvel comic book series “The Avengers,” first published in 1963 and a comics institution ever since.

 

In the Super Hero team up of a lifetime, Iconic Marvel Super Heroes Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Hawkeye and Black Widow are called to duty when an unexpected enemy emerges that threatens global safety and security. Nick Fury, Director of the international peacekeeping agency known as S.H.I.E.L.D., must assemble the Super Heroes to pull the world back from the brink of disaster.

 

“Marvel’s The Avengers” is presented by Marvel Studios in association with Paramount Pictures. The film is being produced by Marvel Studios’ President Kevin Feige and executive produced by Alan Fine, Jon Favreau, Stan Lee, Louis D’Esposito, Patricia Whitcher, Victoria Alonso and Jeremy Latcham.  The story is by Zak Penn and Joss Whedon, and the screenplay is by Joss Whedon.

 

The contest will be open until May 5, 2012, and the prize pack includes an adult sized AVENGERS  t-shirt, set of 6 buttons and your choice of one pair of limited edition 3D glasses!

Good luck!!!

 

 

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Marvel Coming Soon to Epcot

When ‘Don’t Waste It’ presented by Waste Management left Innoventions East I was bummed! It was a game that the while family enjoyed!

But since the game’s departure, there has been a large amount of activity in it’s place.

‘Habit Heroes’ presented by Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield & Blue Cross Blue Shield is slated to open in very early 2012.

This highly interactive experience centering around Health & Wellness will also mark Marvel’s formal entrance into the Walt Disney World Parks.

You can really tell from the art work posted on the surrounding walls that their influence into the design of the space will be amazing.

I know that it may just be an area in Innoventions, but I am excited to see what Marvel can add to the Walt Disney World park experiences.

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