Iron Man 3 Review

'Iron Man 3' is the latest addition to Marvel's movie universe. An admirable undertaking which up until now has produced a mixed bag of movies culminating in 'The Avengers'. Robert Downey, Jr. was perfectly cast as the heroic millionaire Tony Stark. But even with all his charm, he couldn't save the first two 'Iron Man' films from being decidedly lackluster. 

For the third film Jon Favreau handed over his directorial duties to Shane Black. This veteran screenwriter turned director provides a fresh take on the characters, injecting the humanity and urgency that was absent from Favreau's attempts. The majority of the film feels not only like the best 'Iron Man' but also like the best of the Marvel movies. Were it not for one fatal mistake.   

'Iron Man 3' starts off strong. After the events of 'The Avengers' Tony Stark suffers from anxiety attacks. In his troubled state he turns to his talents for relief. To protect himself and his love Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) he constructs countless new Iron Man suits. Tony's gradual descend into madness is interrupted when his friend Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau) is wounded in an explosion. 

The explosion turns out to be an attack perpetrated by The Manderin, a media savvy terrorist played to perfection by Ben Kingsley. Shaken by the near loss of his friend, Stark vows to have his revenge. Words that by the end of the movie he'll be sorry for. At the same time a fellow businessman named Killian (Guy Pearce) is found to have shady connections to the mad terrorist.  

So far, so good. The film has great energy and Downey, Jr. has some great moments as he is pummeled into submission. There's a lot of humanity in his performance and for the first time he spends more time outside his suit. But just when you're sure this movie is going to pull it all off there's an amazingly regrettable twist. A choice that undermines the entire movie. I'd suggest all those who have yet to see the film to skip the next paragraph.

In a mind-boggling, but no less funny, scene The Mandarin is revealed to be a hoax. The terrorist is really a Shakespearian actor hired to strike fear in the hearts of the West. Shane Black throws away a wonderful antagonist and replaces him with the boring secondary villain Killian. Who's now a genetically enhanced superman. There's intelligence behind this reveal, but it's just so dissapointing. If Kingsley's character had been  handled differently his Mandarin would have been iconic. 

The rest of the film suffers from this turn of events. After the fateful reveal it never truly attains the level of entertainment present in the film's first half. I guess Shane Black thought his bad guy switcheroo was inspired but instead the audience is cheated out of a better film. It's especially painful since the rest of 'Iron Man 3' is so incredibly good. It reminds me of Roger Ebert's famous statement: ''Each film is only as good as its villain.''

Oblivion Review

Young director Joseph Kosinski based his latest film on a graphic novel he co-wrote with Arvid Nelson. He didn't expect the story to be adapted to the silver screen until Tom Cruise showed his interest. Typically, the production proved to be a lot easier to get off the ground with a major star attached. 

'Oblivion' is stuffed with ideas. Many of which would've made great movies on their own. It's characteristic of many storytellers making their start. The apparent inability to restrain themselves. They try to cram as much of their ideas into a single story as they can. This isn't always a bad thing but in the case of 'Oblivion' it does pose a challenge to the viewer. For every scene in the latter half of the film features at least one plot twist.

'Oblivion' starts off slow. It's 2077 and Cruise's character reveals the specifics of Earth's fate. Sixty years earlier Earth was attacked by an alien race known as the Scavengers, Scavs for short. Humanity fought back with its nuclear arsenal. It won the war but the world was left uninhabitable. The remaining humans decided to colonize Titan and harvest their home planet's natural resources. 

A team of technicians, Jack Harper and Victoria Olsen, are stationed on Earth to protect these operations from the remaining Scavs. Aiding them are a group of drones, overgrown flying iPhone's with guns. Anyone who's seen '2001: A Space Oddysey' will know that these red-eyed robots are up to no good. Everything appears to be going smoothly for Jack and Victoria until a spaceship crashes to the surface. The female survivor is of significant importance to Jack, who remembers her from his recurring dreams. 

To say more would spoil one of film's most enjoyable traits. For 'Oblivion' is a most unpredictable movie. Some twists are downright ridiculous and far fetched but curse me if they aren't entertaining. Another highlight is the look of the future technology. The vehicles and robots are fantastic in their design. The surface of our planet, once green and alive, is turned into a barren wasteland. Here and there we catch a glimpse of the past in the ruins of skyscrapers, football stadiums and libraries. 

Tom Cruise is credible as the level-headed technician Jack Harper. He's confident in his role as mankind's protector but at the same time he sees that not all is as it seems on planet Earth. Andrea Riseborough does a good job as Harper's partner and lover, willfully ignorant of the truth. The character of Olga Kurylenko isn't as well-developed. She drops into the second act of the film and doesn't seem to be much more than a plot device to get the story going. The ever enjoyable Morgan Freeman brings nobility to the leader of a bunch of cave-dwelling rebels. 

Your enjoyment of 'Oblivion' will depend on your tolerance for far fetched sci-fi ideas. Every few minutes a new idea is thrown at the audience without leaving much time for them to digest the implications. However if you don't mind the twists and like to see some top notch special-effects you'll have a good time with 'Oblivion'. It won't be remembered as a great science-fiction film but it's still a good one.