Genre Essay: Iron Man 3.

Film Genre

The film 'Iron Man Three' is stereotypical of the fantasy adventure/superhero genre. 'Iron Man Three' follows the main character Tony Stark when his world becomes torn apart by a formidable terrorist called The Mandarin, he therefore starts an odyssey of rebuilding and retribution.

By using mise-en-scene we can see that the film is stereotypical of the superhero genre as the location, visual imagery, lighting, costume, props, colours and everything that is seen on the screen is typical. We can also label 'Iron Man Three' as a stereotypical example of the genre by using binary opposition. The trailer begins with a long shot of the sun rising, and helicopters flying in, this presents the idea that this is the day that the action begins and you immediately know the genre of film you are watching. Also the setting of the film is stereotypical of the genre as it is set in a modern day city, this adds a sense of realism to the film for the audience. The image is then changed to the lead character Tony Stark walking as his voice over is playing, this is then clear that this character will be the superhero of the film as this is the first character to be shown. It is also shown that Tony Stark is living two lives, we see this by him firstly introducing himself as Tony Stark and not 'Iron Man', this is a stereotypical battle between the main characters identity that is shown in many films of this genre. There are many things to associate with the superhero genre, for example in every film of this genre there is a leading love interest for the main character, this is shown in the trailer by Tony saying in the voice over "I don't need stuff, I've got a great girl" . There is also advanced technology in the trailer that support the idea of fantasy and professionalism which are all key aspects of a superhero film. There is always a villain who tries and fails to take power. A sidekick who will always be at the superhero's demand, and will stand by them throughout it all, this character also creates humour in the movie between themselves and the main character.

Within the trailer there are problems that arise and have the audience anticipating the end result. In the first 20 seconds of the trailer we are presented with a personal problem that Iron Man is having "so why can't I sleep?" and straight away we question what has happen that has caused this for our superhero. Then we are faced with another problem, The Mandarin. To chose a villain that relates to relevant topics within society is typical of this genre. By using a terrorist, The Mandarin, as the overall villain of the film the audience immediately go against him, this is because in society we have become paranoid over terrorism due to the 9/11 after effect.We are first shown The Mandarin as a back shot and are being left to question his identity. Then by creating a montage of The Mandarin features preparing for war and the US Government identifying the problems that have been caused, we as an audience know that Iron Man will be the only person to save the country from a terrorist attack and therefore we want him to be successful.

The fast pace music mixed with the fast montage of action from the film is typical of this genre as it gives the audience a taster of the rush of action that will take place. The actor starring as the iconic character 'Iron Man' is Robert Downing Jr, who represent success, deserved respect and determination that the character has been presented as. Throughout the trailer there are many binary oppositions stereotypical of this genre that occur, for example the battle for Tony Stark of wanting normality and being destined to do the unthinkable. There is the typical hero vs villain, war vs peace and right vs wrong. The most important opposition in my opinion is love vs duty, this is shown through the debate between living a normal life with the girl he loves or fighting a ongoing battle for his county.