10 Unpopular Movie Opinions (And How To Justify Them)

7. Iron Man 3's Mandarin Twist Was Actually Awesome

Iron Man 3 is unquestionably one of the most controversial Marvel Cinematic Universe movies, largely due to its shocking mid-film reveal that the man the audience believed to be The Mandarin (Ben Kingsley) is in fact a hired actor named Trevor Slattery.

The "real" Mandarin is later revealed to be Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce), leaving many fans enormously dissatisfied that they were misled so blatantly by the movie's marketing.

Now, it's hardly unreasonable for fans to be upset here, but take a step back and think about the comic book conception of The Mandarin for a moment. In addition to being a bit too racist to be depicted accurately in 2013, the character isn't exactly one of Iron Man's more memorable or interesting comic foes.

By toying with expectations and throwing the old school Mandarin out with the dishwater, Marvel Studios cemented a tenor of unpredictability which continues to carry through as fans await the release of Avengers: Endgame. Plus, it gave Ben Kingsley one of the funniest roles of his career.

The CGI showdown against Killian is whatever, but conceptually it's an idea that really works, and that initial rug-pull moment is one of the most jaw-dropping reveals in the entire MCU.

Fans aren't unreasonable to be mad about it, but at the same time it doesn't mean Shane Black was wrong to do it.