Iron Man 3 – 2013
Here we are again with Iron Man. I sometimes wonder why Iron Man is getting so much attention for its special effects, when other MCU solo movies are receiving so little. I mean, all three of the Iron Man movies were nominated for Best Visual Effects, but so far, the only other MCU movie to have the same nomination has been Marvel’s The Avengers, which prominently featured Iron Man. What gives? What did this third installment have that made the metal man stand out to the Academy yet again?
Well, like most action movies, it had to find ways to make the visuals bigger and more epic than the preceding films. Also, the quality of the action sequences had to be flawless. Yeah, I think they accomplished that. There were more awesome stunts, more explosions, and more fast-paced, high-intensity action! Just look at the climactic battle from the first and second Iron Man movies to this one, and there is no comparison. This one is bigger and better! Here, over thirty differently designed Iron Man suits arrive to battle the small army of Extremis soldiers, each of whom have enhanced strength and endurance, and a variety of heat-based abilities, generated from within their genetically altered bodies. It was very exciting to watch! Even Pepper Pots got to use her super dangerous heat powers.
One of the best action sequences was the attack on Tony Stark’s house. The home is situated on the top of a cliff overlooking the Pacific. Three helicopters over the water begin firing missiles at it. The three characters inside the house only survive because Stark designed armor that could be remotely summoned in pieces that fly in and attach themselves to a wearer. The design was even a one-up from the Avengers movie, and it looked fantastic! The exploding house had to have been mostly, if not all, CGI, but the sheer scale of the destruction looked incredible, and very realistic. At one point, half of the building fell off the cliff and plunged into the Ocean, burying Iron Man in rubble and debris under the water. It looked very cool!
One of the best action sequences in the film was the one where Iron Man rescues thirteen people who are sucked out of Airforce One over the Atlantic, near Miami. One of the things that made it so incredible was that it was not filmed against a green-screen! They actually got the Red Bull skydiving team to dress in costumes that contained hidden parachutes. Those actors were actually falling towards the water! Per Wikipedia, “Computer graphics were only employed to add clouds, the destroyed plane, and the matte paintings of the Florida coastline in the background, replace a stand-in with the Iron Man armor, and some digital compositing to combine the different takes of the skydivers together.”
And lest I forget, there was one more small visual effects sequence that I enjoyed, in which Extremis soldiers try to kill an un-armored Stark. One of them melts the structural support of a water tower, making it fall on our hero! Yes, when it comes to action movies, in general, the action doesn’t get much more exciting than this!