Rag Doll (2019)

Rag Doll: Directed by Bailey Kobe. With Shannon Murray, Stephanie Erb, Dot-Marie Jones, Dante Basco. Nora is the one who works overtime, helps out her family by all means, and leaves little for herself. She takes out life’s hardships at the local mixed martial arts gym, but what happens when that violence extends outside of the gym?

“How will Marvelu0026#39;s universe ever be the same after u0026quot;The Avengersu0026quot;? Thereu0026#39;s bound to be a vocal percentage of viewers who walk out of u0026quot;Iron Man 3u0026quot; thinking, u0026quot;why didnu0026#39;t he just call his superfriends in the end?u0026quot; Itu0026#39;s a good question, one that Drew Pearce and Shane Blacku0026#39;s script doesnu0026#39;t ignore, but never satisfyingly answers. Yet that doesnu0026#39;t seem to matter. The bigger question that Marvel has addressed is whether it could effectively narrow the scope of its universe again after u0026quot;The Avengersu0026quot; blew it open—and the answer is yes.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eTony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) hasnu0026#39;t been the same since his near-death experience in a intergalactic wormhole at the end of u0026quot;The Avengers.u0026quot; In fact, the words u0026quot;New Yorku0026quot; have become a trigger for his newly discovered anxiety attacks. He has spent his funk by building an inordinate amount of Iron Man suits, and specifically a remotely operated suit that he can summon through a biological tracking system. When a terrorist named the Mandarin (Ben Kingsley) emerges, hacking U.S. airwaves to spread fear and causing thermal explosions, Tony calls him out on his cowardice, a move he immediately regrets.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAs the script continues to introduce all the players in this third iron-clad outing, from Guy Pearce as Aldrich Killian—a think tank manager Tony spurned 13 years ago—to Don Cheadleu0026#39;s Col. Rhodes who has a new gig as the stars-and-stripes-studded presidential bodyguard Iron Patriot, the film appears as a sloppy mess likely to meet the same fate as u0026quot;Iron Man 2.u0026quot; Only when Tony begins to pursue the mystery of the terrorist bombings do all these seemingly disparate pieces begin to come together into whatu0026#39;s actually a rather clever story.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eStory structure aside, the script does boast plenty of Stark quips in case you worried the directorial turnover from Jon Favreau to Shane Black would alter the tone of the franchise. Not even close. If anything, the u0026quot;Kiss Kiss Bang Bangu0026quot; director pushes the boundaries of political correctness with some of the dialogue, especially in the scenes in which Tony finds himself teamed up with a 12-year-old boy.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eu0026quot;Iron Man 3u0026quot; digs deeper into the psychology of Tony Stark, at least more than youu0026#39;d expect from a blockbuster. Rather than open with an action sequence to get the ball rolling, we get a flashback to when Stark met Pearceu0026#39;s Killian as well as a genetic engineer named Maya played by Rebecca Hall. Things donu0026#39;t really begin to pick up until Tony has his mansion blown into the ocean.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eNot unlike u0026quot;Iron Man 2,u0026quot; the filmu0026#39;s action is largely reserved for the grand finale. Still, the amount of special effects shots is probably tripled, and the action sequences when they do come were written to be as unique and memorable as possible, with a skydiving sequence taking the cake. u0026quot;Iron Man 3u0026quot; hits big whenever it makes the effort to do so, proving again how Marvel Studios holds a quality entertainment standard rivaled by few.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe u0026quot;Iron Manu0026quot; films (and this is partly fault of the comic) lack truly excellent villains. This film sets up Tony Starku0026#39;s greatest nemesis in the Mandarin, but complicates it in a way youu0026#39;ll never see coming considering how studios and writers have flocked toward villains in the mold of Heath Ledgeru0026#39;s Joker from u0026quot;The Dark Knight.u0026quot;u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe movie gambles in that way and in other ways not all audiences will recognize. Take the boy for example. If the film failed on the whole, it would forever be remembered as u0026quot;the u0026#39;Iron Manu0026#39; movie with Tony Stark and that kid.u0026quot; Thatu0026#39;s dangerous territory. If u0026quot;Spider-Man 3u0026quot; had worked, everyone wouldnu0026#39;t refer to it as u0026quot;the one with emo Peter Parker.u0026quot;u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eNothing gambles more than the script, which spends a lot of time setting up the premise for what it hopes will be an effective payoff. So much of the film seems anecdotal until you see how the pieces fit. Even then, thereu0026#39;s no guarantee the audiences will be compelled by the completed puzzle, but u0026quot;Iron Man 3u0026quot; goes bold enough to surprise in a good way.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe humor definitely misfires at times and the sense of danger doesnu0026#39;t pervade the film from start to finish, but considering how must third installments have sputtered (u0026quot;Spider-Man 3,u0026quot; u0026quot;X-Men: The Last Standu0026quot;), itu0026#39;s testament to a number of quality components at work behind the scenes, not excluding u0026quot;The Avengers,u0026quot; which clearly reenergized Iron Man as a solo character. Without it, no way u0026quot;Iron Man 3u0026quot; opens with nearly $175 million after the critical disappointment toward the second.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eFew actors have truly created and owned a character like Downey Jr. and Tony Stark. Without him, Iron Man is just a second-class superhero in Marvelu0026#39;s canon. He single-handedly launched Phase One of Marvel Studiosu0026#39; plan and gave audiences a multi-dimensional hero with both despicable and lovable qualities. If he powers down the suit after u0026quot;The Avengers 2,u0026quot; itu0026#39;ll be the end of an era.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003e~Steven Cu003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThanks for reading! Visit moviemusereviews.com for more”