The Mandarin's Notoriety Pillaged (Spoilers Galore)
As mentioned previously in a post, The Mandarin is Iron
Man’s greatest rival in comic book history. His superhuman physical strength,
harnessed through alien technology and his genius intellect outclass and
belittle Iron Man immeasurably.
The 3rd Iron Man movie was set to deliver comic book fans with a deserving on-screen persona as the movie began. While the physical attributes had to be downplayed (largely due to Ben Kingsley’s age I suppose), his machinations were indeed devious. His terrorist infomercials in the movie were realistic and gave him a haunting presence.
The 3rd Iron Man movie was set to deliver comic book fans with a deserving on-screen persona as the movie began. While the physical attributes had to be downplayed (largely due to Ben Kingsley’s age I suppose), his machinations were indeed devious. His terrorist infomercials in the movie were realistic and gave him a haunting presence.
It seemed that expectations were being met. To the
disappointment of fans, though, as Tony Stark gets closer to finding the
Mandarin, he discovers the super villain straddled in a Miami mansion, keeping
two women company in bed. It turns out that he was a hired actor named Trevor
Slattery, fulfilling the wishes of Aldrich Killian. The scientist created a
terrorist ploy to divert attention from his Extremis project, a project that enhances
human strength on successful applicants. On the few occasions that the project
fails, human test subjects inadvertently explode, so a terrorist guise for the
bombings provided protection for his program.
So you could say that the plot was handled deftly, to tie up
the Extremis plot line and The Mandarin together. It was indeed hilarious to
see The Mandarin pimping it out with 2 women. The unanticipated plot twist and
Kingsley’s quirky acting after being caught as a proxy provided decent
entertainment value. But it was at the expense of the Mandarin’s reputation.
The super villain was ranked as IGN’s 81st Greatest Comic
Book Villain of All Time. This is an adversary that thwarts Iron Man as much as
Lex Luthor frustrates Superman. The Mandarin’s notorious status was simmered
down to nothing in a couple of minutes, his legacy forever tainted in the eyes
of the public audiences. I was surprised to see high approval ratings on IMDB
and Rotten Tomatoes by the audience. I guess it’s safe to say that most movie
goers were oblivious to the villain’s comic book origins.
A feeble attempt was made to rectify this crime at the end,
where Killian proclaims himself to be the true Mandarin. As if a few words can
right this wrong. Aldrich Killian and The Mandarin are two separate characters that
are not to be infused. They are mutually exclusive. Killian is a scientist and
Mandarin is a super villain. The Mandarin can’t be reduced to a ruse or a cover
up. He can stand on his own and should have. Marvel’s dire irrational need to
include both Extremis and Mandarin has besmirched the character beyond repair.
He does dabble with Extremis in the comics later on when he wishes to release
it globally and reshape the human race, but the movie had a completely
different take. The Mandarin was just a decoy, just a chess piece in Killian’s
plans and he was not the mastermind he deserved to be portrayed as.
I sound like a disgruntled fan completely dissatisfied with
the movie. The film was good. It had the traditional Iron Man wit and humor and
two impressive action sequences (one was overtly paraded on the trailer). But
it left the Mandarin soiled. The movie just pissed all over him. Maybe 10, 20
years from now a reboot can alter this injustice, but that is still a long time
from now.
 |
| This swag is lost half way through the movie. |
No comments:
Post a Comment