We took Thor to see Iron Man 3 last night. Now y’all know I am all about the Iron Man. I loved the first, didn’t hate the second, and flipped my wig over The Avengers. I am 100% into all these Marvel character movies because they are good. Iron Man 3 did not disappoint.
I’ll tell you that it didn’t thrill me like The Avengers did, and I’d have cut about 45 minutes out of it–including everything with the kid, which the real critics are raving over as having been some of the best parts of the movie–but I had a solid good time, a lot of laugh-out-loud moments, and found myself rooting for hard and loudly for [I can’t tell you this because it’s a spoiler.]
This is a classic tale of the hero being stripped down to the skin, and forced to rebuild himself to face a new reality. Who is Iron Man without his suit? Who is Iron Man after he’s saved the world from things he didn’t think existed? What happens to Tony Stark’s god complex after he’s met gods? I loved that these were the questions both asked, and answered by the movie. I loved that they actually dealt with what happened in The Avengers and how it affected Tony Stark. It was a lot more than just explosions and quips, and only RDJ could have made it happen. Only the kid who made Less Than Zero could have made this movie work because Tony Stark is what Julian wanted to be.
There is a lot I won’t tell you because it would spoil all the fun, but I will say this: I felt good as a mom and as a girl, watching this movie. I felt like the relationship between Tony and Pepper was a healthy representation of equality in partnership, give and take in partnership, and even though I wouldn’t date a superhero (or live in Gotham City, hello?) I could see why Pepper Potts stuck around long enough to go from suffering Admin, to what really lights up Iron Man’s electro magnet. This wasn’t a movie I walked out of thinking, “Well that was great! If you’re a boy…” I walked out of this movie thinking it was smart, funny, and dead-on when it came to gender equality.
Yes, I know it’s weird to walk out of a superhero movie thinking about things like gender equality, but I always wanted to be a good superhero, and there weren’t a lot of good girl ones. Wonder Woman was awesome, but her costume… Batgirl and Supergirl were sidekicks. And those were the only Underoos available! Boys don’t get it, but it is painful, truly painful to want to be more than just a pair of jiggly boobs, or buttocks, but to be relegated to a star-spangled girdle and go-go boots. No matter how cool Wonder Woman was, she still didn’t have any good weapons because she had nowhere to put them.
Iron Man 3 made me fall in love with the idea of a girl being a superhero again, and the last ten minutes felt like the action-adventure version of the last two minutes of Pretty Woman. I wish I had a little girl to take to this movie. I wish I could take 7 year old ME to see this movie. It would totally make up for how lame Lois Lane was in the Superman movies, and about half the Bond girls ever.
While I was feeling bolstered and delighted by the turns of the story, Thor was howling with delight over the fight scenes. His face was one big ! for the last ten minutes.
4 out of 5 stars for worthwhile watching
5 out of 5 stars for entertainment value
The Outside Lane 