(written- April 24-25, 11pm-2.30am; edited & posted
somewhat later for fear of being labeled a spoiler :p)
I can’t sleep.
Aside from the
stimulants that I took today—Café Latte, Caramel Macchiato, 3-in-1 coffee, and
black tea (in separate cups of course, during different times of the day, and
not the kind that costs more than fifty pesos, really), one concoction is
keeping me awake.
Iron Man 3.
So now I have
decided to just open MS Word to fizz all these off. My adrenaline pumps up
hyperactively after watching a movie, show, or concert that I tremendously like.
I remember watching The Repertory Philippines production of The Wiz as a
5-year-old, and I was so in awe that I thought about it all night and slept in
kindergarten class the next day. I woke up to the sound of our teacher’s voice,
Mrs. De Oro, discussing the different modes of transportation (“Ivannee, what
is a tuk-tuk?”, I think she asked me that as punishment).
My friends Kay,
Shamee, and I were able to catch the 7.30pm showing of Iron Man 3. Kay, who is
one of the most energetic and endorphin-filled people I know, helped elevate
the excitement of every action-packed scene throughout the movie. We were
giving each other high-fives during epic superhero or cheesy romantic scenes,
and she made me belt out “Oh My Gosh!”, complete with hand-covering-the-mouth-wide-eyed
reaction. Meanwhile, Shamee agreed that the Lupang Hinirang in the beginning of
the trailers had a handful of boo-boo’s and was irresponsibly outdated (Aetas
were pictured in random “indigenous” garb. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was the last
president featured, with the caption “A Strong Republic” under her name. That
made us say “Whattt?” 90s-rapper-style while mouthing the National Anthem.
Arrest us now for breaking the law). We also agreed that the image of a
terrorist with a long beard and a Middle-Eastern persona was so passé and
stereotypical (more of this later).
Overall, there
were no dull moments in the movie. Much more, along with the edge-of-your-seat
action, Iron Man 3 is also thought-provoking and relevant. Now I am no movie
critic whatsoever; the closest I’ve gotten to doing a movie review was when I
said “Titanic is so long and boring!” when I was nine, “Titanic is so long, but
I just realized, Leo de Caprio is cute” when I was fourteen, “Titanic made me
cry” when I was seventeen, and “The character of Winslet, Rose, is projecting
an image of a/an ‘insert-nerdy-Psychology-book-neurotic-term-here’ “ when I was
nineteen and taking up Psychology, thereby over-analyzing everything (I still do
up to now).
It greatly helps
that I have not read a single review of Iron Man 3. You see, I’m one of those
gullible loons who believe movie and music writers more than I believe
journalists from CNN or the Philippine Daily Inquirer. Among my favorite
writers throughout my adolescence and up to now are Igan D’ Bayan and Ms. Regina
Belmonte, who write about the Philippine art scene, mainstream and alternative
music and films, popular culture, and all kinds of reviews. As a teenager, I believed
everything they wrote, cut out their
column illustrations and pasted them on my scrapbook, and got up early in the
morning every Friday to read their stuff. I trusted them much more than I trusted
the front page news, because I knew they were authentic in their writing. They
wrote what they believed in, filtered nothing, and they didn’t care if the
readers agreed or not. Mr. D’ Bayan’s writing influenced me a lot and he reinforced
much insight and contributed to a wider worldview, which I personally could not
extract from the front page news, in most academic textbooks, or in chick-literature.
This review, however, could end up turning into a fan girl review, so brace yourselves.
How was Iron Man 3? Below are three things that I liked (and a few things I did
not like) about the movie:
1. Pepper Potts
It is refreshing
that every now and then, the image of “damsel in distress” is deleted and
replaced with “strong, smart woman with the abs”. Though the abs part is totally
irrelevant, it’s still a breather from the big-boobs, skimpy/girly outfit, and
far-away stare that dot the image of women in movies. Though Ms. Potts was used
as bait for Tony Stark, which is typical in superhero movies I suppose, she
played a huge role in saving his life and his essence. My favorite part was
when she wore the Iron Man suit. Ms. Potts also is, corny and hazardously
cheesy as it may sound, Tony/Iron Man’s anchor. (There, I said it! It’s so
cheesy you can’t take it that you’re almost lactose-intolerant!) Instead of
girl-needs-guy-to-redeem-herself ala all horrendous Nicolas Sparks movies, it
is the reverse. Well actually, NO. That’s not the case, really.
They don’t need each other. They live for a higher
purpose, something beyond themselves, and their relationship is just there to fuel that, not to complete themselves or
their lives. Unlike Spiderman where Peter is totally smitten with Mary Jane (though
I like spidey, but that’s another story).
“I wake up every
day with a woman beside me who still has her soul,” Tony says in the movie. (or
something like that)
Are you
vomiting yet due to the cheesiness?
2. The Image of a Terrorist, Cleared
In the
earlier-to-middle part of Iron Man 3, I had raised eyebrows about the villain,
Mandarin (played by Sir Ben Kingsley, a severely talented actor). Typically, he
seemed so... typical. He’s like every terrorist we know (as portrayed by media
that is)- Osama Bin Laden-ish with the long beard, the Middle-Eastern accent. I
was murmuring in disagreement, I was almost disgusted. Hollywood was boxing in
stereotypes once again. And what’s with long beards? In the movie, Mandarin
appears on tv, arousing a big scare throughout the entire United States of
America. There were also scenes
picturing women in burqa (attire of women in some Islamic traditions) and men
in taqiyah (caps worn by Muslim men) being interrogated.
And then, it
happened. The clearing.
In the latter
part of the movie, Iron Man finds the headquarters of this terrorist (in
Florida, not in Istanbul or Kabul), only to discover that this
Middle-Eastern-looking guy is actually a British marijuana enthusiast from
Liverpool who is also a convincing stage actor. All along, he was simply
playing a role; he was a mere representative, someone to promote fear. His
image, after all, is what the world thinks a terrorist should be.
In truth, the real mastermind terrorist is a white guy
in a suit (Yes! Now we’re talking!), who holds both science and sad beginnings
in his hands. For me, this earns the movie plus points. It is made clear that
“terrorist” doesn’t necessarily have to be the “terrorist” that we think.
After all, how
many people do we know have overt/covert pre-conceived biases against groups of
people wearing burqas or taqiyahs? Okay I’ll say it- Muslims? I personally know
a guy who hates Muslims, all of them.
And this guy is educated (complete with a Masters degree), but his hate overpowers
him that not even his brilliant mind can fathom the concepts of peace and diversity.
You might be asking: what does this have to do with terrorism? Well, I think it
all starts from there. Hollywood, media—these biggies reinforce the hate or
ignorance that is kept within us. Remember the Philippine Daily Inquirer
controversy of a woman in a burqa shaking hands with PNoy? No? Well, click here
(but finish reading this first, darling).
Interestingly, in
the comic book, the Mandarin is Chinese (obvious ba?). Why did they not portray
him as Chinese then? Is it because the image of an Asian terrorist is less threatening than a Middle-Eastern?
Oh, and I personally
did not like the portrayal of Persons with Disabilities as angry and sad people
seeking for revenge and redemption by succumbing to a mad science experiment (of
the sad smart terrorist) which turns them into monsters. That is a little unempowering.
3. Tony Stark’s Process
We know Tony
Stark as a suave braggart who has every reason to swank. After all, he is Iron Man, swoon-worthy, intelligent,
good-looking, innovative. He gets the girls. The world is in love/in hate with
him.
In the past two
Iron Man movies, we witnessed his transition from materialistic corporate guy
who sleeps with every hot woman to socially-responsible person who shifts from
creating weapons of mass destruction to armors of national security. He’s had
his issues with his father re-surfaced, which provided an empathic view for us
to understand his psyche.
In Iron Man 3,
he experiences anxiety attacks and insomnia. His
billion-dollar house blows up along with his fancy cars, his laboratory,
everything that he materially has. He lands in a small town, all-cold, stealing
a parka from a Native American statue. His anxiety attacks worsen. Thanks
to a kid who helps him (not only by allowing Tony to use his house as a
laboratory, or giving him a tuna sandwich, but also therapist-style) and says
“Okay just breathe. You’re the mechanic right? Then build something”, Tony
realizes his essence—he builds and fixes things.
There is
something very human about this. It is that cliché that I know you’re expecting
from me (I’m a cliché fan, yes)- Iron Man is only iron from the outside, but
deep down he is also flesh, hormones, nerves, trauma, and everything that makes
up any human being. Be-ing.
In the end, his
mechanical heart is removed and he is back to functioning with all his arteries
and ventricles intact. What a simple yet endearing way to cap the story.
And I guess I
should make a conclusion now. It is almost 3am and I have work tomorrow, people
at work will notice my eye bags and attribute my spaced-out state to my lack
of sleep.
Spaced-out is
always my state anyway, but right now, I’m still gushing over Iron Man 3 and
Robert Downey Jr. like a cheesy fan girl.
