Marvel One-Shot: All Hail the King

Starring: Ben Kingsley, Scoot McNairy, Lester Speight, Sam Rockwell, Matt Gerald
Director: Drew Pearce
Rating: Not rated
Genre: Short, Action
Length: 14 minutes
2014

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Trevor Slattery (Ben Kingsley) conducts an interview in prison about his role as the Mandarin.

Review:

Tim: Marvel's fifth One-Shot might not be as good as Agent Carter, but I loved it all the same. I made no secret of my distaste for the awful Mandarin twist in Iron Man 3. Any real fan of Iron Man would feel the same way- how could they turn his greatest villain into a ridiculous joke? It felt completely off from what we've come to expect from Marvel. The backlash was apparent, and in a move that furthers my love for Marvel, they used this One-Shot to make things right.

Suspecting where this short film was going, I didn't mind seeing Ben Kinglsey as Trevor Slattery once again. Without guessing the conclusion, I would have hated the sight of him. Luckily, I was able to sit back and enjoy Kingsley in this role. He really is such a great actor, and it was fun to see him embrace this crazy role. He really is an annoying, absurd character. I liked seeing Scoot McNairy here, as a journalist conducting an interview for a documentary on Trevor. The set up was pretty interesting.

Where the film goes and what it suggests is what I truly loved. This was Marvel's way of making things right for those who were so upset with the stupid Iron Man 3 twist. While I wish we got a little more from this film, I loved the direction and the revelation at the end. It was really the right thing to do, and I applaud Marvel for making this move.

The other great thing about this film is it gave Marvel a chance to revist Sam Rockwell as Justin Hammer. It was very cool to see this character again, even if we only got a few brief moments with him. I was glad to see Marvel acknowledge this character and remind us that they haven't forgotten about him. That was cool.

As a whole, I thought this film was a bit average. Much of the 14 minute run time is squandered on moments that don't really mean much. However, the last few minutes is when the short pays off, and it's totally worth it. In that sense, I loved what this film delivered. While it might not be the best Marvel One-Shot, it served an incredibly important purpose. For that, I'm really grateful.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- N/A



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Marvel One-Shot: The Consultant, Marvel One-Shot: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor's Hammer, Marvel One-Shot: Item 47, Marvel One-Shot: Agent Carter