Unique, Interesting and Entertaining to the MAX

Rating: Null/10 (26 April 2013)

I really love this movie because it's so unique. The "cool" factor is still there but there's a twist and depth I didn't see coming. How Tony deals with his form of post-traumatic stress after the events of Avengers is actually dealing with it in a way you've never seen from a superhero. Tony is motivated to do better when he realizes that he's not a god; just a genius in a suit, trying to up his game. He has always thought of himself as top dog and knew he was a narcissist. Now, the notion that he has encountered beings and situations that make him feel small plays big as the movie starts. He has been to space/another dimension, nearly gotten killed by crazed aliens, met a god that can throw lightning bolts and smash him across the forest with a hammer, has encountered a legend that his father used to talk about that lives up to the legend. His confidence is shaken and has diminished. He knows true fear and he feels like, unless he can build the perfect man through armor and technology, he's going to be outdone and overwhelmed. Fury perfectly pointed it out in Avengers when he said, "We are hilariously, hopelessly outgunned." This is where the movie gets really interesting. There's a reason why he's building armor and why he's much more comfortable when he's in the suit. Those suits are taken away from him. He's just a man and he can't possibly compete at the level the world and events in this movie now demand. That is the impetus for the entire story. Strip down the character, rip everything off him and leave him "naked" against these incredible forces. Without the armor, The Avengers or his resources, the man must find the strength from within himself, especially within his mind. A lot of this exceptional journey is Tony learning to become Tony Stark again outside the armor. It's an amazing and refreshing direction they choose to take. His emotional response is believable and is appropriate. Sure the action is as good as it gets but that character depth and grounded behavior is the heart of this film.