Favorite Scene Friday! Iron Man 3: Barrel of Monkeys

I don't know what it is about scenes involving mid-air action and/or rescues, but I love 'em. Whether it's from X2: X-Men United, the Star Trek reboot, Quantum of Solace, or Superman Returns (which I've written about for FSF here), there's something about hurtling about in the emptiness of the atmosphere that really speaks to me as an action fan. If your movie has a scene like this, I'll like it by default.

Take Iron Man 3 for example. Leading up to today's scene, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) has endured the destruction of his home and attacks on his loved ones by a terrorist known as The Mandarin. In dealing with the villain and his thugs, Tony finds himself handling an attack on Air Force One and must come to the aid of its staff after they're jettisoned from the plane:


Iron Man 3 had a lot to live up to, not so much because of the first two Iron Man films, but because of The Avengers. It had its flaws, but decent action in the movie overall is bolstered by this week's scene, which is crazy fun. It's unique, even as these types of scenes go, and undoubtedly entertaining. Part of that has to be due do the work that went into this scene. While the filmmakers could have taken some shortcuts here, they opted to film this scene as practically as possible:



Side note - this FSF is a companion piece of sorts to today's Iron Man 3 post over at Nerd Lunch. Our sites - along with Cavalcade of Awesome - are doing a countdown to this year's Avengers: Age of Ultron, much like we did for the first Avengers film. So get ready for monthly posts leading up to the release of what looks like a truly great sequel to The Avengers.

Mondo

What's your favorite scene from Iron Man 3?

And what future Marvel Cinematic Universe film are you most looking forward to?