Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist

Tony Stark is all of those things listed above and so much more. In this post I want to talk about what is, in my opinion, one of the greatest superhero movies of all time: Iron Man 3. Most films of the genre end with the battle and the heroes saving the day and woohoo all is great and life is swell. What's interesting about IM3 is that the story takes place after the battle. Things happened to Tony during the battle of New York (The Avengers) that would seriously mess a person up mentally. What I love about this film is that the screenwriters didn't portray Tony as unscathed. He's scarred like anyone would be after flying through a wormhole into space thinking you were going to die and then falling back down to earth and your best friend, who happens to be a giant green rage monster, catches you and saves your life. IM3 shows the downsides of begin a superhero and also helps explain his actions in later films that led to the creation of Ultron who you know tried to kill everyone on earth. Tony Stark loses his suit and is shown for what he truly is: human.

Tony loses a bit of himself after the battle of New York. His wit and charm is still there but he has more of a darker tone when he says things or does things. He tries to hide it but slowly realizes he cant always do that. The first instance we see this in the film is when he's out to lunch and some kids ask for him to sign a drawing they did of him going through the wormhole. Upon seeing this something happens to him that makes him run out of the restaurant thinking he was poisoned; however, Jarvis informs him that he just had a panic attack. One of my favorite things about this movie is how it portrays mental disabilities, such as panic attacks, and doesn't try to sugar coat it. He has them multiple times throughout the film and they are always shown in their entirety. Here is this superhero, who millions of people look up too, suffering from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This subplot is all about Tony finding himself and reconciling with who he is as Iron Man. The entire middle part of the movie he spends out of the suit with a little kid named Harley and has to solve everything without his gadgets. Even without Jarvis. Tony goes completely on his own and has to figure out who he is and how to stop the villains with nothing but his brain.

The film doesn't have a lot of action sequences such as earlier films like The Avengers and Iron Man 2. What it lacks in action though, it makes up for with superb character development. Tony Stark is the control freak of all control freaks. He is a man of science who desperately needs to be in charge of the room and control everything that's happening in it; however, after New York that changes. He just fought off an alien invasion and flew a bomb through a wormhole into outer space. I don't think control is exactly what he's feeling right about now. So now that suddenly he can't explain what happened and the science behind it he has to go back and re-evaluate his entire life. Imagine tomorrow finding out that everything you ever though to be true was a lie. Anyone would struggle with that. That's one of my favorite things about the film is that it shows that even hero's suffer this way. And at the end of the movie, Tony isn't even the one who saves the day and beats the villain. It's his girlfriend Pepper that ends the fight against Killian (villain of the film).

One of the unsung heroes of the film is Harley, the young boy who Stark spends a lot of his time with in the film. Tony discovers that he wont be able to have the suit for his next attack and has another panic attack. Harley basically says okay you cant have what you're used to, so go make something else to help. Without Harley Tony never would've been able to help stop Killian and who knows if he would have reconciled with who is he and the problems he experiences. That moment is the last panic attack we witness Tony having, showing the importance of Harley's words.

The superhero genre is usually filled with lots of action and little character development; but, Iron Man 3 does the complete opposite, and it works. With so many films in the Marvel Universe non-stop action would get boring and repetitive and would sacrifice plot to add more action sequences so the plot makes no sense with the rest of the films *cough cough Age of Ultron cough cough*. Iron Man 3 is, in my opinion, what all superhero movies need in their sequels. Personally I'm not a fan of one or two dimensional characters. They're boring. Iron Man 3 expanded the characters and who they are and created some incredible three dimensional characters that were beautifully crafted. Only to have it all torn down and ripped to shreds up the monstrosity that was Age of Ultron... but we'll talk about that next week.


photo credit: http://www.comicsonline.com/2013/05/movie-review-iron-man-3/

No more rhyming now I mean it!

Its a movie everyone can quote, but almost no one has seen. Yes, Im talking about The Princess Bride.While it didn't do well at all at the box office, once it came out on VHS it became a hit. The entire script is both quote worthy, and cringe worthy. It's about as corny a movie as it gets. The first time you watch it you cant believe people actually like it; then, you watch it again and can quote the entire movie.

So what is it about this movie that keeps people coming back? The plot is standard: boy and girl fall in love. boy goes away and is presumed dead, girl has to marry another boy, 1st boy isn't dead and comes back to save her. Pretty straight forward. What is so significant about this movie though, is the script. While is gets awfully cringe worthy in some places ("But death cannot stop true love... All it can do is delay it for a little while") it is also insanely clever and frankly hilarious in others ("Surrender!"..."You mean you wish to surrender to me? Very well, I accept.") The script is very clever and hilariously quote worthy, which keeps people coming back for more.

Another reason the film has remained in people's minds, are the characters. While Westley is the main hero of the story, he's not the only one. Inigo and Fezzik are two incredibly caring and passionate characters who lead the subplot in all its glory. Inigo is trying desperately to avenge his father's death, and Fezzik does nothing but try and help him accomplish that. The sub plot is the one everyone whose heard of the film either knows about or can quote, and they may not even realize it. Inigo's mantra is "My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die." Everyone knows the line but not everyone truly knows the meaning behind it and why it's important. [SPOILERS AHEAD] Towards the end of the film when he is fighting his father's murderer he says that line over and over and over and over and over again to the point where it gets annoying; however, it was explained to me why he was doing that and now it makes complete sense. Inigo is injured and has already lost to this man once in his life. He does not want to let his father's death go unavenged, otherwise he will have wasted his entire life training and preparing for nothing. That is why he keeps saying that line over and over again. Not just to say it, but to inspire himself to keep going and not give up. He says it to remind himself that his father is gone because of this man, and the more he says it out loud, the more angry he gets which only refuels his energy though he is seriously injured. The audience loves his courage to keep going, and also people love the story of an underdog not only storming the castle, but tearing it down.

Buttercup, though the only woman in the film (and frankly quite annoying at times), is quite a strong character when you think about her. She's a woman of action (except in the fire swamp but I wont go there) and isnt afraid to step in and say no. She's strong willed and if she says shes going to do something, shes going to do it and that's the end of it. The film toes the line between fantasy and reality so well that all generations can relate to its story and its humor. The interesting characters, the hilariously witty script ("You seem a decent fellow. I hate to kill you."..."You seem a decent fellow. I hate to die."), and the plots of the century there's really no question as to why The Princess Bride has become the success it is.

photo credit: https://www.guthriegreen.com/event/638