Five reasons why I loved "Iron Man 3"

1. "Iron Man 3" brings a sense of realism back to the Marvel Universe while also raising the stakes.

 "The Avengers" ends with a cataclysmic battle between superheroes and alien invaders over, around and through the city of New York. Oh, and a nuclear missile thrown through an interstellar wormhole by a billionaire playboy wearing a flying robotic suit of armor.

"Iron Man 3" shows a hero still reeling from the effects of that experience, and pits against him (and the world) a very real, relatable threat. Americans were recently reacquainted with the spectre of terrorism on our home turf, so The Mandarin — with his slick propaganda videos, Bin Laden-esque visage and determination to kill innocent people — doesn't feel like a ludicrous supervillain. We know that real people are capable of such horrors.

Tony Stark's crusade against The Mandarin begins, sans suit, in a small town in Tennessee, where he sees the aftermath of one of the presumed attacks. Here we see Tony Stark stripped of his power, his allies and his enormous mansion, and for the first time in a long time the Marvel Universe feels like it exists in ours. Tony has to rediscover the ingenuity he once had in that cave in Afghanistan, resulting in two wonderful action scenes that dazzle us even though that iron mask is nowhere to be found.

Bringing this superhero back down to Earth could have worked against the film's third act, when the action rockets way over the top, but the story and characters build in such a way that the film's pyrotechnics feel like the natural outcome. This is no small feat for director Shane Black, who is as essential to this film as Joss Whedon was to "The Avengers."

2. The screenplay by Shane Black and Drew Pearce is truly funny.

"Thor" mostly didn't work for me because the jokes fell flat. (And Kat Dennings was interminable, and the product placement was really distracting, and Tom Hiddleston hadn't quite found his groove ... but enough about that.) "Iron Man 3" of course benefits from Robert Downey Jr.'s effortless charm and natural good humor, but the script seemingly goes out of its way to give us moments of levity amid a film full of pretty grim stuff.

Improbably, it works. The biggest mistake "Thor" made was to rely on pop culture references in telling fish-out-of-water jokes. "Iron Man 3" has its share of pop culture jokes, yes, but the bulk of the humor grows organically from the characters or informs us about them in some way.

And hey, Robert Downey Jr. doesn't even get the funniest line in the movie.  

3. S.H.I.E.L.D. is out of the picture.

My main problem with the Marvel Universe films prior to "The Avengers" was how concerned they were with selling "The Avengers." "Iron Man 2" was particularly guilty of this, handing large sections of the film over to Agent Coulson, Black Widow and Nick Fury instead of trying to make us care about Ivan Vanko and Justin Hammer. (I mean, did you ever care about those characters? I sure didn't.)

"Iron Man 3" puts the focus right where I wanted it, on Tony and those close to him. Those high stakes I mentioned before are also very personal — the way the film plays out, we feel like anything could happen to anyone. Everyone knew the superfriends would triumph in "The Avengers," but there are moments in "Iron Man 3" that test our confidence, and that's a very good thing.

I really can't think of a good reason why Tony didn't enlist S.H.I.E.L.D.'s help to fight The Mandarin, but I also can't think of a good reason why I should care, given how good the movie is without them.

4. I found myself humming the theme on the way out of the theater.

For years, I have bitched and moaned about the lack of rousing, recognizable musical themes in superhero movies. I was baffled by Danny Elfman's score for "Spider-Man" — the guy who gave us the iconic Tim Burton "Batman" theme couldn't give us anything to grasp? — and Hans Zimmer's "Dark Knight" scores, while effective, certainly aren't hummable. Alan Silvestri had a near-miss with "Captain America: The First Avenger," and his perfectly wonderful theme for "The Avengers" was woefully underused.

Then there's the music for the first two "Iron Man" flicks. John Debney gave us a score as bland as "Iron Man 2's" villains, but even that was light years better than Ramin Djawadi's downright offensive efforts in the first film. Crunching, tuneless rock guitars interspersed with AC/DC songs do not an effective score make.

But Brian Tyler, of all people, comes to the rescue in "Iron Man 3," giving Tony Stark the melodic and anthemic music he deserves. (And AC/DC? Nowhere to be heard. Unless I'm forgetting something.) Tyler's previous work had not impressed me, but he gets a tip of the cap for this one.

5. The movie isn't afraid to take risks. (This section contains A VERY BIG SPOILER.)

The fine web-based film critic @scottEweinberg tweeted this earlier today: "Congrats to @marvel, not for the opening weekend, but for making a good film despite knowing it would be a smash hit anyway."

Marvel and Jon Favreau made a risky bet in casting Robert Downey Jr. for "Iron Man," and it paid off handsomely. That spirit continues in "Iron Man 3," which enlisted the services of Shane Black, a writer/director not known for crowd-pleasing kiddie movies. The result is an unlikely success that is very much a Shane Black movie, but also very much an Iron Man movie.

But perhaps the biggest risk taken in "Iron Man 3" is the subversion of The Mandarin, Tony's biggest villain in the comic book world. The film's big twist reveals that The Mandarin is just an actor, and that the Extremis-producing scientist Aldrich Killian is pulling the strings.

Turning The Mandarin into a boogeyman played by a desperate addict is a crazy idea that works for a number of reasons: The ads never hinted at it, the casting of Ben Kingsley doesn't suggest it (and pays off in big laughs), and Aldrich Killian turns out to be a very formidable foe indeed. I'm sure hardcore fans of the Iron Man comics are upset with this twist; as someone who is strictly a fan of the films, I have no problem with it.

In conclusion

"Iron Man 3" is not a perfect film. I thought it was a bit dodgy until The Mandarin's assault on Tony's home, and that some of Black's more unsavory tics were on display. Rhodey gets marginalized again, and I found myself wishing that it had been a Downey/Cheadle buddy pic or that Cheadle had been cut altogether. And clearly, those infected with Extremis should have burned through all their clothes. (Right???)

But I don't demand perfection from my superhero movies. I do demand that, in this age of superhero saturation, they try to surprise and delight us. "Iron Man 3" certainly did that.

Three magical days

In July of 2011, I decided I'd had enough of being a sad, frustrated man who pined for women he couldn't have, and I created a profile on OK Cupid. Minutes after doing so, I got a DM from a young woman I hadn't heard from in a long while: "I know you from Twitter :)"

That woman used to go by a Twitter handle that used her full, real name; I knew she was a film student at Columbia College, and that she had a cute and kissable face. When she messaged me on OK Cupid, she went by the name @LostOnTheFringe, which explained why I hadn't seen her online in a while.

Soon after that message, we were IM'ing each other. Then calling each other. And then, on July 30, we were sitting next to each other in a D-BOX theater watching "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II" in 3D. The rest, as they say, is history.

I had always wanted to go to Disneyland for my birthday. In February 2012, that dream came true -- and @LostOnTheFringe was right alongside me. Here are some wonderful highlights from that trip, which happened to be her first to the Happiest Place on Earth:

 

We arrived in Anaheim on Jan. 31. We stayed at the Holiday Inn on Walnut Street, which is my favorite hotel in the area. It's quiet, it's clean, and it's a 15-minute walk away from the esplanade. We could have walked underneath the monorail tracks that run along the backside of Downtown Disney, but we opted to walk through the Disneyland Hotel campus every morning. On our last day, we had brunch at Tangaroa Terrace. Yum!

 

Here we are with our 3-day Park Hoppers. We look ridiculously happy, don't we?!?

 

We had breakfast at Riverbelle Terrace the first two days of our trip. The Mickey Mouse Pancakes are irresistible, mostly because they provide you with a photo-op :)

The Matterhorn was down for refurbishment for our entire trip; I dubbed it "The Sadderhorn."

In line for Toy Story Midway Mania. Aren't we sexy beasts?!?!?!?!

Lisa bought a pair a Pluto mouse ears at DCA, then we saw Pluto about an hour later after returning to Disneyland!

Oh, Toadie. How I love you. I wish you were still entertaining guests in Florida. That being said, I LOVE Fantasyland in Florida -- PhilharMagic is one of my favorites. We'll get to experience the new stuff in a few weeks :)
 

Here's my beauty pose on the Mad Tea Party!

 

Look who we ran into just outside of Star Traders! This seems like an awfully random place for these three characters to show up, eh? (Not that I'm complaining!)

Day 2, my 33rd birthday, began with a Monorail ride from Downtown Disney to Tomorrowland, where we defeated Emperor Zurg. @LostOnTheFringe absolutely LOVED Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters. (She also said this picture proves we were the happiest couple in Anaheim that day. I must agree!)

We really enjoyed the Pooh ride, which inexplicably has a bad reputation. @LostOnTheFringe wanted to take one of these Heffalumps home with her!

Yeah, we laughed our asses off at this. We are 12 years old, apparently. (But shouldn't everyone at Disneyland be 12 years old?)
 

 Cheers for Pooh!

You should have seen the look on her face when I told her Disneyland had a petting zoo! We met the goats on Day 2, and she was in heaven. I can't wait to take her to the Affection Section at Animal Kingdom!

@LostOnTheFringe is ready for Splash Mountain, or, as she called it, The Ride With The Stupid Hillbilly Animals.

We saw the ultimate showdown at Jedi Training Academy: Darth Vader vs. Superman! (The kid in the Superman get-up seemed to be totally unaware of what was happening to him, lol)

Yes, that's a real seagull next to the fake ones in the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage lagoon. How awesome is that?!?

@LostOnTheFringe's co-worker desperately wanted Goofy's autograph, and we obtained it after some waiting (or stalking) in Mickey's Toontown. Daisy totally photobombed them, though :)

 

This might have been the highlight of the trip: We stumbled onto a game of Red Rover conducted by Rowdy Hatter and starring Cinderella and her mice, the Fairy Godmother, Aurora and Ariel. At one point, a guest was asked to "come on over" while doing a Captain EO moonwalk. So, so awesome!

@LostOnTheFringe poses with her new friends!

 

Here I am making a "shady" pin trading deal with a CM on Main Street :)

As a superfan of both pinball and Indiana Jones, I was overjoyed to find this pinball machine in Adventureland.
 

 We had dinner here on our second night. @LostOnTheFringe had the filet, and I had the crabcakes. A wonderful dinner!

Aren't we just adorable?

 I cannot lie -- I LOVE the Ariel ride. @LostOnTheFringe loves it even more. We did this six times on our trip, the most of any attraction. It might seem like a C-ticket to you, but it's an E-ticket in our hearts.

And here's the parting shot of @LostOnTheFringe giving Pluto some love :) We had an incredible vacation, and hope to repeat it this year at Walt Disney World. Hopefully we'll have another great trip report for you in February!

RANK IT: My favorite attractions

"RANK IT" will be a regular feature, because every darn blog in the universe needs to have such a thing. (It's in the rulebook. What, you don't have a copy?)

I'm new to the parks blogosphere, so it's only natural that I introduce myself by telling you about my favorite Disney attractions. Mind you, I've never left this hemisphere, so you'll only see attractions from Anaheim and Orlando listed here.

So here we go!

1. Haunted Mansion (Magic Kingdom) -- The songs. The sounds. The smells. And of course the sights. This is Disney's masterpiece, a not-so-scary spookhouse whose old-fashioned visual tricks still impress. The Disneyland version is wonderful -- as is its controversial holiday overlay -- but the ghosts in Florida enjoy a grander facade, a grander queue, and an unparallelled experience in the realm of themed attractions.

2. Space Mountain (Disneyland) -- Every time I'm in line for this ride, I will inevitably at some point jump up and down like an excited child. I just can't help it. The idea behind Space Mountain is so simple, and executed so perfectly; how has it not been replicated by any other theme park company anywhere else in the world? The Magic Kingdom's queue is better, and the track layout is more exciting if you like your coasters to be a little rickety -- but the overall experience shines at Disneyland. (Big ups to Michael Giacchino's music. Is there anything he can't do?)

3. Jungle Cruise (Magic Kingdom) -- I love this ride because it looks like the coolest job in the world, even if the skippers keep insisting it's not. The MK version wins thanks to the dark temple scene, which, on one of my recent trips, gave one skipper a chance to "create some magic" for a young guest and let him man the wheel.

4. Horizons (Epcot) -- Yes, it really was that amazing. I would have been perfectly content to ride this over and over and over again every time I went to Epcot. I was very sad to see it go, but I also understand why it's not there anymore; it would have required a rather large refurbishment to keep up with our changing expectations of the future. All my favorite stuff, though, could have stayed put: the visions of the future by those living in the past. That cavernous display of neon signs, highways and cars; Jules Verne floating in his space capsule; the crazy kitchen robot ... that's Epcot at its best.

5. Pirates of the Caribbean (Disneyland) -- I feel like it's all been said about this attraction. I'll just add that nothing beats the atmosphere of the first five minutes as you float by the Blue Bayou and into the ominous blue caverns.

6. Star Tours: The Adventures Continue (Disneyland) --Hey, George Lucas got something right! I still haven't seen the pod racing sequence, but I hope to correct that in February. (I hope to be the Rebel Spy, too, but beggars can't be choosers.) I will never forget my first ride on the original incarnation: As Rex took us into the trench and exclaimed, "I've always wanted to do this," my then-41-year-old father yelled, "ME TOO!"

7. Journey Into Imagination (Epcot) -- Horizons aimed higher and was more impressive, but the original Journey Into Imagination left a bigger void. The current incarnation of the ride isn't the worst thing in the world, but it certainly suffers as a reminder of what once was.

8. Spaceship Earth (Epcot) -- We all know how great this ride is, but not all of us like the current ending. It may be tonally jarring, but I can't deny that every guest leaves that ride with a smile on his or her face because of it.

9. Indiana Jones Adventure (Disneyland) -- I did not see this until 2007, so happily I can't bore you with musings about how much better it was when it first opened. It seemed pretty darn perfect to me that first time. I honestly couldn't believe the size and scale of it, the details, the perfectly timed music, the breakneck pace ... it totally lived up to my wildest dreams of what an Indy ride could be. When that boulder came rolling toward us and our vehicle suddenly lurched underneath it, the whole EMV erupted in applause. Something tells me that happens a lot.

10. The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror (California Adventure) -- That's right, I prefer the shortened DCA version of this ride, mostly because it's the first one I experienced. I prefer the pop of that first drop, too, coming right after you see the ghostly elevator drop out of your view.

Those are my ten, and they're not very surprising, are they? (Some others I considered: The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Undersea Adventure; Mr. Toad's Wild Ride; Mickey's Philharmagic; Matterhorn Bobsleds; the original Test Track.) What are some offbeat or unloved attractions that you value more than any of these? Let's hear it.

TRON's last chance?

When The Hollywood Reporter broke the news last week of Disney moving forward on a "TRON: Legacy" sequel, I was honestly shocked. The 2010 film was a very big, very expensive gamble for Walt Disney Pictures. Though a $400 million worldwide gross seems to indicate a solid hit, there aren't too many people in the industry or the movie blogosphere who honestly believe the picture only cost $170 million to make. (Hah. Only.) Then you throw in the marketing costs, which were obviously substantial -- honestly, had you ever imagined the TRON brand being as visible, as all-encompassing as it was in the last few months before "Legacy" dropped?

Given TRON's potential value as a long-term franchise that would appeal to males, Disney was counting on this improbable sequel to be among the highest-grossing movies of 2010. Here in North America, it just barely squeaked past the Coen brothers' remake of "True Grit" for the No. 12 spot. (Thanks, 3D IMAX!) The critical reception was generally better than you probably think it was, and all of those positive reviews basically said the same thing: It looks great. It sounds great. But it's often dull and dumb, and the Clu head-replacement gag doesn't quite work. I love the movie and have seen it 15 times or more, and I generally agree with those statements.

"TRON: Legacy" didn't leave a huge impression on many people aside from the already-converted, but it did sell a lot of soundtrack CDs and downloads -- and it probably helped Best Buy sell some 60-inch 3D TV sets. The "TRON: Uprising" animated series elicited oohs and aahs from the hardcores, but has already been doomed to a midnight time-slot on Disney XD. Until last week's news broke, I assumed my dreams of a "TRON 3," a TRON attraction at Disneyland and another album of incredible music by Daft Punk had been dashed.

But Walt Disney Pictures' new chairman, Alan Horn, isn't ready to give up on Flynn and friends. "TRON 3" has a new writer named Jesse Wigutow and at least one star on board. The no-name writer of the Michael & Kirk Douglas weepy "It Runs in the Family" and the rather bland presence of Garrett Hedlund (Sam Flynn) don't exactly inspire confidence, but I'm not going to refuse a third TRON movie under any circumstances.

What can we expect from this new movie? One can reasonably assume that Disney doesn't want to spend quite as much on "TRON 3" as they did on "TRON: Legacy," which could put most of the movie's action in the real world (also known as a studio backlot). Lucky for them, Sam and Quorra (Olivia Wilde) escaped The Grid at the end of the second movie, and there's already a potential villain waiting for them in the form of Edward Dillinger Jr. (Cillian Murphy). Will Jeff Bridges return as Kevin Flynn? Probably, but I bet we won't see him until the last 10 minutes of the movie.

We can also expect the screenplay to stick to the current blockbuster playbook: Extravagant opening action scene. A villain out for revenge who gets captured halfway through the movie, only to escape and up the stakes. Lots of explosions. An ending that wraps things up but teases another sequel.

But forget expectations; what do we want? I can think of a few things:

• A TRON movie that actually gives TRON (Bruce Boxleitner) a big role would be nice.

• More focus on Quorra. Wilde did everything she could to inject life into a movie that needed it, and a more substantial role for her in "TRON 3" would definitely help the movie and would almost certainly vault her into the superstardom she deserves -- assuming the movie is well-received.

• The Grid bleeding into the real world. I want to see blue and orange trails taking out Priuses on the San Diego Freeway. I want to see a Recognizer floating over Graumann's Chinese Theater.

• A real sense of danger. Maybe you kill off a main character halfway through. (Like Sam!)

• Small parts for Cindy Morgan and Dan Shor.

• Better dialogue. (Is that asking too much?)

Hopefully "TRON 3" (or "TRON: Revenge," or "TRON: Clu Rises," or "TRON: Dark Grid" or whatever) is a huge success, and ten years from now we'll all be lining up to ride a lightcycle at Magic Kingdom. Until then, I guess Test Track 2.0 will do!

What do you want from a new TRON movie?

To all who come to this angry place...

Welcome!

If you're here, it's most likely because you follow me on Twitter, a place where I've had a lot of fun and met a lot of great people -- 673 so far, to be exact!

Most of you don't know why I call myself @AngryDisneyNerd, or who I am, or anything about me other than my love of the Disney parks, film music, and @LostOnTheFringe.

A little less than a year ago, I was a total pixie-duster -- the kind of Disney fan who thought The Mouse could do no wrong, and who couldn't stand to read any criticism of the parks and the way they are managed. The legion of critical MiceChatters and tweeters whipped me up into such a fury that I started @AngryDisneyNerd specifically to lampoon the people I deemed to be Disney haters. My entire Twitter persona was sarcastic, mean-spirited, and altogether unpleasant.

This got really old. Quickly.

I realized my shtick was tiresome around the time I called Michael Crawford (@ProgressCityUSA) a "Disney-hater" on Twitter. Anyone in this fan community with half a brain knows that's completely wrong. I decided it was time to stop being annoying and start being me -- a sometimes bitchy but always enthusiastic Disney fan who loves way bigger than he hates.

So the persona changed, but the name didn't. I thought about changing it to @HappyDisneyNerd, or @NotAngryDisneyNerd, but ultimately I decided that I should own up to my faults and keep the name. It reminds me of the annoying guy I can be and the even more annoying guy I used to be. I don't wanna be that guy, but I have to own up to it.

So who am I, anyway?

I'm Sean, a lifelong nerd who lives in the Chicago suburbs and works as a copy editor and designer. My Disney nerdery is hereditary -- my parents love the Disney parks even more than I do. This past October, they went on their 29th trip to Walt Disney World (their 36th Disney Parks trip overall). A family friend once joked that I was conceived on Pirates of the Caribbean, and I can't deny that it's a possibility. (I've never really asked them about that special night, you know?) Nearly every conversation with my family comes back to Disney somehow. One of my sisters worked at Epcot as part of the WDW College Program, and I was supposed to go myself -- on Sept. 12, 2001. The events of the previous day kept me home, and I wound up getting a full-time job with the company where I interned that summer.

My life was park-free from 1994-2007. In that period, I went to Las Vegas for the first time and thought, "Well, who needs Disney?!?!" But when I made my triumphant return to Disneyland in January 2007, the mania came rushing back, and it's been full-steam ahead ever since.

Why do I love the Disney parks so much? The sounds. The smells. The laughs. The anticipation. The people. The bad jokes on the Jungle Cruise. The realization that yes, you actually are going to ride Space Mountain today. The odor of the Harbor House's food when you exit Haunted Mansion. The finale of Hallowishes. The cream cheese-filled pretzels. The ghostly caves underneath New Orleans Square. The ferry ride to Magic Kingdom. The smiles of all those kids riding their first roller coaster. The cast members who say "Happy birthday, Sean" as I walk by. The guests at Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party who wore DHARMA Initiative jumpsuits while riding Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. The day my best friend got his "My First Visit" button. The day my girlfriend got her "My First Visit" button. The day I shared a kiss with that special lady during World of Color. The days I shared with my parents, my sister and my co-worker at the Food & Wine Festival. The day my sisters and I held hands as we walked out of the park as my mother took our picture. The first, perfect ride on Star Tours in 1988. And so on and so on.

I expect the best of Disney, and I want to believe they will deliver the best. I've been to Universal Orlando, and they do have some wonderful rides, but nothing touches the atmosphere that Disney can create. Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey may be the best theme park ride in the world, but only Space Mountain makes me jump up and down with the giddy energy of a 7-year-old.

Am I angry? Sometimes. But mostly I'm a smiling, laughing, hopelessly idealistic nerd. And this is my blog. Hopefully you'll like it.