Iron Man 3: Lacking a Couple Heavy Hitters

Iron Man opens with tanks rolling in, Tony is in the tank second from the front, holding a glass of scotch, and A.C.D.C.'s "Back in Black" is blasting from a boom box- thus the beginning of the badass theme we know and love that carries through the Iron Man movies.. at least until the third. The "badass theme" I'm referring to doesn't just pertain to the rock music used, although it is mostly comprised of songs by heavy hitters such as A.C.D.C., Black Sabbath, Queen, The Clash, and many more, but also includes that Ghostface Killah song in the first Iron Man, the one that plays in the airplane scene when Tony and Rhodey drunkenly clank their drinks as they watch the flight attendants dance; or Tupac's "California Love" which plays at Tony's party in Iron Man 2. While these songs aren't in the same genre, all of these songs are "heavy hitters." 

Unfortunately, Iron Man 3 doesn't follow this same, successful pattern, and personally, I believe it made Iron Man 3 sub-par. While I loved watching Tony dance to the modern version of "Jingle Bells," it wasn't enough to keep the movie at the same level as the first two. The opening and ending scene's music made it feel foreign as well. I do understand the use of "Blue (da ba dee)" because of the time period in the opening scene, but I can't forgive the ending credits' music. It sounds like it could double as the theme of a 70's cop show and it almost left a bad taste in my mouth. All I wanted as I walked out of the movie theater was some A.C.D.C. or Led Zeppelin to seal the deal, but I walked out disappointed and unsatisfied. I'm all for innovation or improvement, but you don't mess with perfection, and the first two movies were, in fact, perfection. 

While I didn't truly enjoy any of the music in the third Iron Man movie, I do truly believe it could've been saved by a kick-ass closing credits song. The first Iron Man ends with "Iron Man," by Black Sabbath- an easy but effective move that did the job. The second Iron Man ends with "Highway to Hell," by A.C.D.C.- a badass ending as well. Personally, the whole movie felt out of place, probably because the first two movies were directed by Jon Favreau, who also plays Happy, Tony's security detail in the trilogy, and the third was directed by some other guy, who apparently had a different vision. Also, the "Iron Man Theme" gets tied into the first Avengers movie when Tony flies in to help Cap' fight Loki in Germany, and "Shoot to Thrill" is playing in the helicopter because Tony hacked their system; even though the song plays before he is even visible, you know who is about to fly in. This makes the viewer, if they're a fan like me, think back to Iron Man 2, when Tony flies into the opening night of the Expo, while, you guessed it, "Shoot to Thrill" is blaring. It only solidifies the fact that Iron Man 3 doesn't belong, or that at least the music could have been done MUCH better. 

P.S. Jon Favreau never would've let a continuity error such as Tony's leg getting cut off in the final battle scene slip through- that I know for sure.