Iron Man 3 (2013)

1 Nomination, 0 Wins

Nomination: Best Achievement in Visual Effects - Christopher Townsend, Guy Williams, Erik Nash, and Daniel Sudick

Photo courtesy Marvel Studios

In nearly every superhero film of the past two decades, the filmmakers have struggled with the scenes of the hero's alter-ego.  Without the crutch of action-filled set pieces, most filmmakers have been unable to make the scenes that drive the plot and characters even remotely watchable.  The first two films in the Iron Man franchise were just the opposite, with the scenes of Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark sizzling with witty banter and humor while the big action scenes fell flat.  After the departure of director Jon Favreau from the franchise, Marvel Studios turned to Shane Black, the master of action-comedy screenplays, to direct and co-write the third film in the series.  Though Black doesn't quite match the two previous films in the quality of the non-action scenes or in the screenplay itself, Iron Man 3's action sequences are such an improvement over the first two efforts that it is more than worth the sacrifice.

When I saw the first Iron Man movie, I proclaimed that it was certainly the best superhero film since Tim Burton's first Batman film, and possibly since the first Superman film.  Though the action scenes were not great, Robert Downey Jr. was so perfectly cast as Tony Stark that all they had to do was give him a decent script and a competent director and the Tony Stark scenes would have worked.  Instead of mere competence, they paired Downey with Jon Favreau, a director with a few clunkers under his belt, but one who at his best is capable of smart, funny, and irreverent films.  Unlike the excruciating Daredevil (2003) or the first X-Men trilogy, Iron Man never took itself too seriously.  Downey's Stark never bemoaned his powers like Tobey Maguire in the Spider-Man films; he embraced them and had fun with them, and as a result Iron Man was fun as well.

Less than three months after the release of Iron Man, The Dark Knight was released, and there was no doubt in my mind (or most others' minds) that we had a new greatest superhero film, and other superhero efforts sought to follow the dark brooding style of the film.  The sequel to Iron Man still maintained much of its humor and verve, but did appear to pick up some of the moodiness of The Dark Knight.  Downey was still his wonderful, wisecracking self, but Iron Man 2 was a forgettable experience.

Shane Black and co-writer Drew Pearce went back to the basics for Iron Man 3.  The storyline is simpler and cleaner than the muddled mess of Iron Man 2's script, and Downey spends much of the film outside of his hero uniform, a decision that would send most studios into convulsions.  The decision was a good one, leaving Downey to be Downey.  When Downey does get into his suit, Black shows off some very strong action sequences.  Action scenes are always a challenge in the Iron Man films, since the hero's face can't be seen unless the shot is inside his mask; thus, the filmmaker must always choose between showing action with zero emotion, or showing emotion with zero action.  Black and editors Peter S. Elliot and Jeffrey Ford get the mix just about perfect. 

Of course, the action scenes in a film like Iron Man 3 would be nothing without visual effects, and Christopher Townsend, Guy Williams, Erik Nash, and Daniel Sudick earned their paychecks with their Oscar nominated effort.  There's nothing we haven't seen before, and the effects can't compare with the game-changing effects of Gravity, but the Iron Man 3 did a tremendous job and the nomination was well deserved.

Read my previous preview of Iron Man 2.

Iron Man 2 (2010)

1 Nomination, 0 Wins

In the superhero film genre, there seems to be the constant that every hero must spend part of the second or third film of a series questioning who they have become and the purpose of their powers. This idea extends back at least to the original run of Spider-Man comics, with the famed "Spidey No More" issue. While the idea makes sense from a structural perspective, it almost invariably leads to a boring, predictable sequence in which all the hero has built crumbles and his opponent builds his own power in the hero's place. In Iron Man 2, Tony Stark succumbs to one of the longest, most inexplicable, and most pointless of these periods yet scene in the past decade's resurgence of the superhero genre. The filmmakers briefly create a substance abuse problem, reminiscent of the great issues of the Iron Man comic series in which Tony Stark deals with alcohol abuse, without giving Stark much in the way of a

reason for his descent besides a vague sense of displeasure with his father. Unfortunately, this decision weighs down the whole film. The first Iron Man film succeeded due to the charisma of Robert Downey, Jr., the fun toys of Stark Industries, and the banter between Downey and Gwyneth Paltrow's Pepper Potts. When Downey is allowed to shine, his charisma is in full force, but since he spends so much of the film mired in self pity, the film loses its greatest asset.

In general, Iron Man 2 suffers from too much going on. We have Pepper Potts taking over Stark Industries, Don Cheadle's James Rhodes turning into War Machine, Mickey Rourke doing what he does as the big bad Whiplash, Samuel L. Jackson popping in and out as Nick Fury, Clark Gregg's Agent Coulson appearing with little justification, and Scarlett Johansson laying low until the final scenes when she can turn into Black Widow. Lost in all of this is Tony Stark himself. The keepers of the Marvel Universe are focusing so much on laying the necessary groundwork for the upcoming Avengers films that Iron Man 2 seems to be little more than a prequel, instead of a sequel to a very fun and highly successful film.

What Iron Man 2 had most in common with the original Iron Man is a lack of an inspired action climax. The film's first set action set piece at the Monaco Grand Prix is impressive and exciting, but the finale is dull and boring, much like the original film's finale. Perhaps it is because the audience cannot see the faces of the characters during the big fight, or perhaps it is because two men fighting in perceivably invincible suits does not make for great drama, but the staging of the scene is also at fault. Jon Favreau doesn't create any sense of motion or drama in the final battle scene, causing the film to fizzle out until the post-credits denouement.

Iron Man 2 received a single Academy Award nomination for Best Achievement in Visual Effects (Janek Sirrs, Ben Snow, Ged Wright, and Daniel Sudick). The film boasts outstanding visual effects, exactly what one would expect from the films of the Marvel Universe. The film was beaten by the effects of Inception, and though Iron Man 2 might have won in another year, the massive creativity behind the concept and execution of Inception allowed the visual effects team far more leeway to create truly awe-inspiring effects than did the team behind Iron Man 2.

Remaining: 3172 films, 882 Oscars, 5459 nominations