IRON MAN 3 — Strange Christmas Movies #4 (of 24)

For the days leading up to Christmas, Strangers and Aliens presents 24 Christmas movies that aren’t Christmas movies, but really kind of are, for various reasons.

iron man 3#4 — Iron Man 3

What it’s supposed to be: the third in the Iron Man series, the seventh in the Marvel Cinematic Universe series, the first in Marvel’s post-Avengers movies — it was supposed to be the follow up to one of the biggest franchises in history.

Why it’s a Christmas movie: For some reason, it takes place at Christmas time. Why? Because. (Funny, because the opening of the movie is actually twelve years earlier, it allows the movie to START at New Years and then go to Christmas for the main story.)

Thoughts: I like this movie more than most people. I like the vibe. I like the twists. I like the character moments (mostly).

It feels like an 80s movie. And part of that? Because of the Christmas setting.

Now, it could be argued that setting it at Christmas is a great metaphor for Tony Stark continuing to learn to be more giving. One character beat for him and Pepper is a Christmas gift he gets for her. Remember in the first movie, he got her a present she really wanted because she went ahead and got it for herself? Here, he tried to buy her a gift and it doesn’t go over well. Because it’s a dumb gift.

But all the 80’s style storytelling comes to a head when Tony sneaks into the bad guys’ mansion with some homemade weaponry. (Seriously, this is 80’s action. There is no denying it.) And he uses a Christmas ornament as a distraction.

Oh, and don’t forget the Christmas fireworks.

Anyway, to me, this movie is about Tony Stark allowing himself to become a “man” without the iron shell. It takes the character in a new direction, and it does so with all the explosiveness of an 80’s action movie, AND it has the best end credits sequences I’ve seen all year.

Is It Naughty or Nice? Is this movie worth watching?

I say yes.

No one else I know really does.

But I’m not letting that change my verdict . . .

Santa Ben’s Verdict: Nice.

Your verdict? Let me know below in the comments!

Next: Batman Returns

Previous: Gremlins

You can follow this series of posts by clicking here: Strange Christmas Movies

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4 responses to “IRON MAN 3 — Strange Christmas Movies #4 (of 24)”

  1. cleireac Avatar

    You’re not only one; I’d watch it.

    1. Ben Avatar

      Thanks, Hank! 🙂

  2. […] it’s a Christmas movie: It’s a movie that Shane Black wrote (or initially wrote), therefore it will feature Christmas. (In a Den of Geek interview, he explained why: […]

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