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Hasbro- Marvel Legends: Bulldozer
Rating of worst to best of the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies continued; see review 207 & 210 for the previous instalments:
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Marvel Cinematic Universe Rating- #18: Iron Man 3
While it’s not nearly as bad as other ‘Marvel branded’ 3rd movies (looking at you X-Men: The Last Stand and Spider-Man 3; I actually didn’t mind Age of Apocalypse) it’s certainly the worst of the standalone Iron Man movies, but I think it has less to do with the overall story and more to do where it stands within the MCU as a whole. I suppose it doesn’t help that there were 3 Iron Man releases within the initial 7 released and that the trajectory of the character likely evolved when Disney took over, seemingly circling back to make Stark the godfather of the franchise. For instance, consider where Tony was at the finale of this movie: He seaming had mentally sorted out the space invasion with the help of the whiny kid from Jurassic World, he destroyed pretty well of the suits that he made since first becoming Iron Man and he was miraculously saved from the injury that lead him to become Iron Man in the first place; All of this to just be thrown back into action in Avengers: Age of Ultron and beyond, but it’s not like I’m complaining; in fact I think I would be upset if he did move on considering his added impact in the universe as a whole, for now anyways.
Overall this is actually a decent movie that does a good job in developing Tony’s character into more of a mentor rather than a lead character, which is important given the role that he plays in following phases of the MCU. Additionally the plane scene is overlooked as possibly one of the top 5 legitimate exciting sequences in all of the MCU. When you consider all the CG heavy scenes in most of the movies, it’s nice to see some practical stunts mixed in. Plus the reveal of the drone suit was a nice touch.
Unfortunately, for me anyways, there are some things that really don’t work. Firstly, I love Rodey and War Machine, but the whole Iron Patriot thing fell flat for me; maybe if they somehow intertwined Iron Patriot with the history of Captain America (garish propaganda symbol), but they just kinda through him together with a limited story about how War Machine didn’t track too well. Secondly the whole Mandarin miss-direct was a wasted opportunity to work in one of Iron Man’s most well know foes. Instead we get a Ben Kingsley acting his ass off and a few throw away moments with another major glossed over villian group: AIM. Thirdly, and this just dawned on me so if it is a common criticism i’m not aware, but the storyline has the same basic beats from The Batman Forever movie. Awkward scientist is brushed off by good looking hero. Then somehow becomes equally good looking (somehow) and vows some type of revenge. Add in a young ward type character and it’s basically the same story.
Bulldozer
Pros: I have no absolutely no idea who Bulldozer is, but I love this figure. I’m sure I have mentioned it before, but I love big bulky figures and BD really fits that bill. The helmet head sculpt is also really well done and the figure has a decent amount of articulation for a figure this size. It’s also always nice when a lesser know figure has a good figure produced.
Cons: It’s a bit of an older figure and has the articulation to prove it with wingle jointed elbows, those terrible hip joints and even predates ankle tilts in favor of those toe joints.. I suppose it becomes a form over function as multiple joints can look terrible (LIke Toy Biz Marvel) but still would have been nice.I’m also not sure if Bulldozer has a Rhino thing going where he cannot take off his helmet, but an extra head would have been nice as no other accessories were included.
