IM3 hoy!

[tsukinofaerii]

Saw IM3 and I am so incredibly happy with it. There are no words for how much glee this movie gives me. Stuff I was worried about? Not a concern, handled with aplomb and even humor in some cases.

Pepper! Pepper Pepper Pepppppppeeeeeeeer omg. I'm crossing my fingers that she still has the Extremis and Tony fixing it was just stopping the little explosion problem. That would be a significant move away from comics canon, and one I would adore seeing. She was badass and in control and I just asfdjlj ♥♥♥♥♥.

I also love that, in a way, Killian was her villain, too. He wasn't using her to get to Tony; that was Maya's idea. Killian wanted Pepper because he wanted Pepper. I definitely got the feeling that even if Tony had been out of the picture, he still would have gone for her. Which just makes it that much better that she got in her own licks.

Speaking of the Extremis, can I just say that I'm wallowing in the fact that Tony didn't get it? Don't get me wrong, I love the Extremis storyline, but it does change him in such huge ways that I feel like it wouldn't have worked well for MCU Tony. Actually, I kind of loved Tony's entire arc and how they pulled it together. He's definitely matured as a character, and it shows.

I also spotted Papa Stilinski and made gleeful clappyhands. If you don't follow Teen Wolf, feel free to ignore that.

TL;DR: I love how much it deviated from the comics. As great as they were, MCU needs to be its own universe, and taking that step aside was beautiful. (Especially for the Mandarin; fuck was I worried about that!) I love how they tied up this arc of Tony's life, which I feel was a mix of recovery/maturing, but left it open for a continuation. I love that Rhodey and Pepper both got serious play, were badass in their own right and tied directly into the plot in wonderful ways.

And I love love love that they took Tony back to his roots. The Mechanic, a guy who makes stuff, not just a guy in armor. It felt more true to the character than a lot of stuff has lately.

All of that being said: go see it.

Comments

[feikoi]

Oh my god, it's finally releasing in the US! (I've been holding in my glee.) Pretty much had the exact same reaction as you (except I missed the Sheriff, shame on me :P I had worried about the bots, going in, on top of the above. I had religiously avoided trailers and spoilers leading up o it, though, and did not realize AIM was such a large part ^^;; but all the plotlines were very delicately and well intertwined, and I appreciated that.

Please let Pepper keep Extremis indeed! It also seemed rather openended as to whether Tony gave himself the fixed version later, but that might be just my pet theory. I see it again for a third time tomorrow, and may be taking notes. (For cosplay purposes. >.>)

[tsukinofaerii]

omfg I was terrified for Dummy and Jarvis. I went in expecting an AU of the 616 Extremis storyline, and if Tony had technopathy, what would he need Jarvis for? So when Jarvis went to "sleep", I swear I thought they killed him as a way of forcing Tony to take the Extremis.

And Dummy? Dummy was just a low blow. D: I spent basically the whole movie in a state of you killed Dummy! YOU BASTARDS! When I saw him at the end, I cheered.

I didn't see any suggestion that Tony had given himself Extremis, but I've only seen it once (so far). I think that if he had, the shrapnel wouldn't necessarily have needed to be surgically removed? But that giant hole in his breastbone that would be required for the arc reactor to work was never really dealt with or acknowledged.

The Sheriff has only a minor part—he shows up about in the middle as Generic Military Dude. I'm quietly constructing headcanon that he was a retired soldier who got called in to active duty for Reasons (maybe because aliens attacked fucking New York; that tends to have effects) and Stiles is off somewhere being scared stiff because ALIENS ATTACKED NEW YORK MY DAD IS IN DANGER D: D: D: and trying to keep his mind off it with endless HALO tournaments. (2013, he'd be a high school senior, I think? So old enough to be left home alone. Unless they moved to base housing.)

/teen wolf sidetrack

[cursor_mundi]

I am so very glad that they've let Tony mature. The raging man-child is funny, but it's really one-note and it has a nasty habit of dominating all his characterization even when he's being a Real Grown-Up, and you know what? No. A person who is that dedicated and obsessive with his research, with his building, with his science...is gonna change. The weight of it changes you, and the burden of documentation (articulation of what you're doing, why, how, what you hope to find, etc.). I find it stretches belief that it lasts as long as The Cave, but whatever, casting more than makes up for it; anyway, sorry, TANGENT!

Tony as grown-up with genuine issues after the battle in New York, without the training that Rhodey has (and I love that Rhodey gets to be better at some things without negating that Tony's pretty good too, well done there with the light!), oh, man. That's catnip for me. It's competence porn, and that's what I like about this film: everyone is pretty damned good at their jobs, no one is holding the idiot ball, and even when there's characterization I don't agree with I at least see how the narrative is trying to justify it.

*happy burble*