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Iron Man 3
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray ALL - America - Buena Vista Home Entertainment Review written by and copyright: Noor Razzak (20th October 2013). |
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The Film
 For many "Iron Man 2" (2010) was somewhat of a disappointment considering the awesomeness of "Iron Man" (2008), the story felt muddled and misguided. It certainly made a ton of money, but the general consensus was that it wasn't nearly as good (the first film scored 93% on Rottentomatoes, the second film scored a lower 73%). Both films featured breathtaking action sequences and of course the wonderfully cast Robert Downey Jr. the one and only person that could play this role, two reasons why the second film didn't get a lower rating. Despite this, fans were still feverish for a third instalment (this reviewer included). Marvel Studios had taken a second-tier character and turned it into a successful franchise that anchored their "Phase One" of films that would eventually lead into "The Avengers" (2012) and now that his "Phase" has been completed it's time for "Phase Two" and the first film to launch this phase is "Iron Man 3", a production that gained incredibly positive press and fan approval regarding the involvement of director Shane Black, who directed Downey Jr. in the much regarded "Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang" (2005), further anticipation was generated by the casting of Sir Ben Kingsley and the fanboys started going crazy. Marvel certainly knows how to keep their fans frothing at the mouth and "Iron Man 3" had all the right pieces in place to tempt our hard earned cash for a ticket on opening day. "Iron Man 3" is certainly a better film than the previous instalment, hands down. Taking place after the events in New York seen in "The Avengers", Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is a broken man, suffering from panic attacks and restlessness, having built an entire army of Iron Man suits, Stark is now being threatened by a new foe. The Mandarin (Sir Ben Kingsley), a terrorist that has left Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau) injured in a recent bombing, Stark goes on the offensive only to have his home attacked and his many suits destroyed. His life in ruins, his girlfriend Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) in danger, Stark embarks on an investigation to discover who The Mandarin truly is and to stop him. Like every sequel, the film follows a predicable trend. It's bigger and broader that's for sure, there is more action, more explosions and many more suits, all of which get some screen time. First impressions are the stunning visual effects, Digital Domain and Weta Digital (taking over duties from ILM) have upped the ante here delivering some groundbreaking and fantastic work. The film's action sequences are easily the best in the series, combined with Shane Black's trademark wit and dark comedy style thrown in make for an idea parring with Tony Stark's character. As a result "Iron Man 3" is much more fun than the last two instalments. The film's story is adequate, nothing especially earth shattering, however the twist involving The Mandarin was a nice surprise and provided a brief interlude of humour amid a more serious/dark plot line, I won't spoil the surprise, but it was a nice touch - even though it veers away from comic-lore. Some of my hardcore purists friends didn't appreciate the twist and thought it was unnecessary, but not every comic adaptation can't be 100% faithful. The change works for this script, it doesn't harm the film in anyway and the filmmakers handled it well and Sir Ben Kingsley is just a joy to watch. It's so hard to imagine anyone else playing the role of Tony Stark, Downey Jr. is so perfectly cast I hope he continues to play the role for as long as Marvel produces movies featuring Iron Man. He maintains all the hallmarks that make the character such a joy to watch, he nails the narcissism, the ego and trademark whip-lash dialogue, charm and charisma and I look forward to seeing him return in the next "Avengers" instalment. There are some flaws with "Iron Man 3", first is the inclusion of a new character, the annoying kid sidekick, thankfully some jokes were thrown in, but no superhero movie needs a know-it-all kid, in fact no movie needs a know-it-all-kid. I'm not sure why they included one here... the story could have moved forward without the character. I also hated almost everything involving Pepper Potts, I know they tried to expand on her character and develop her into a stronger second lead by making her more a hero than a damsel in distress but she's just obnoxious and could have trimmed her character down. Overall "Iron Man 3" is a good popcorn film, it ticks all the boxes for a blockbuster and offers an improvement over the last film in the series. Shane Black brings his brand of humor to the series and it works, the action is exciting and the characters are fun to watch (the kid and Pepper obvious exceptions), it's certainly worth checking out.
Video
Presented in the film's original theatrical ratio of 2.40:1 mastered in HD 1080p 24/fps using AVC MPEG-4 codec. The resulting image is fantastic, it's incredibly detailed right down to minute elements of the character's suits (you can truly appreciate the digital effects created). Depth is excellent, colors are rich and vibrant, textures look great and the image is clean and crisp. Skin tones appear natural and black levels are equally solid. Overall the image could easily be considered reference quality worthy of any home theater.
Audio
Three audio tracks are included in English DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 surround mixed at 48kHz/24-bit, French DTS-HD High Resolution 7.1 surround also mixed at 48kHz/24-bit and a Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 surround track. For the purposes of this review I chose to view the film with its English DTS-HD audio track. Much like the image this audio track can easily be considered reference quality. The film is an all-out action extravaganza and the sound is complex, rich and incredibly immersive. The dialogue is clean and clear, ambient and environmental effects sound natural and make excellent use of the surround channels. Action scenes are robust and impacting, explosions rumble, gun shots whiz by and the activity of the surround channels make this a terrific audio experience. Optional subtitles are included in English for the hearing impaired, French, and Spanish.
Extras
Much like previous instalments this disc is packed with supplements, included is an audio commentary, an interactive feature, a one-shot >b>short film, two featurettes, deleted and extended scenes, a gag reel, a sneak peek at "Thor: The Dark World", some bonus trailers and a second disc featuring a DVD version and a code for a digital copy version of the film. Below is a closer look at these extras. DISC ONE: BLU-RAY The film features a screen-specific audio commentary with writer/director Shane Black and co-writer Drew Pearce. There's a problem with recent commentary tracks, a lot of them feature superfluous information, tedious trivia, are often dull or feature people talking up a movie that's failed either at the box office or critically as if it's a piece of art (these tracks are commonly recorded before the release so the participants don't know how the film was received). This track is the opposite of all those things, Black and Pearce offer some interesting production trivia on the genesis of the story, developing the characters further, on jumping in on the third instalment, the challenges of shooting the film, working with old friends and new cast members. It's often humorous and delves into much deeper discussions about the themes and ideas. Next up is "Restore the Database" a second screen experience (1080p) interactive feature, in order to access this feature you'll need to download the Jarvis App for your smart phone or tablet, strike one. Then you have to locate hidden files so it makes you work to access the features, strike two. Finally the content isn't that interesting, strike three. It's time consuming and not that interesting, if you like that sort of stuff then go ahead, enjoy. A "Marvel One-Shot: Agent Carter" short film (1080p) is next and runs for 15 minutes 29 seconds, This is a cool little film featuring Agent Carter (Hayley Atwell) on a dangerous mission to prove herself to her colleagues. "Iron Man 3 Unmasked" is a featurette (1080p) which runs for 10 minutes 59 seconds, is the usual type of EPK clips, features behind-the-scenes footage and interviews from the key cast and crew on the making of the film. "Deconstructing the Scene: Attack on Air Force One" is the second featurette (1080p) which runs for 8 minutes 43 seconds, takes an in-depth look at the filming of this thrilling sequence from the film. It's interesting to learn how much of it was done practically. It also looks at the stunts and effects used to complete the scene. Following that are a collection of deleted and extended scenes (1080p) runs for a total of 16 minutes 20 seconds. Ten scenes are includes, some good stuff here to check out, some scenes are indeed unnecessary and easy to see why they were omitted. The film's original run time was over three hours, so I wonder if these are all the excised scenes? A gag reel (1080p) is next up and runs for 5 minutes 7 seconds, it's the usual type of reel, cast members having fun, flubbing lines, etc. The disc also includes an "Exclusive Look at Thor: The Dark World" sneak peek (1080p) which runs for 1 minutes 53 seconds, and is basically a glorified trailer for the "Thor" sequel. Rounding out the extras are a collection of bonus trailers (1080p) for: - "Thor: The Dark World" - "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." - "Lego Marvel: Super Heroes" - "The Lone Ranger" - "Iron Man Meets Hulk: Heroes United" - "Audi Iron Man 3" promo - "Avengers Assemble" - "Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H." DISC TWO: DVD This is a DVD version of the film, also included is a promo code to access a digital copy version of the film for portable media devices.
Packaging
Packaged in a 2-disc Blu-ray case housed in a cardboard slip-case.
Overall
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