Reviewed - 'All Hail the King' One-Shot...

If anyone has NOT seen Iron Man 3, they'd be well-advised to stop reading now.  Go away. Come back later...

... but for most of the action-film fanbase, the fact that Sir Ben Kingsley's role in Iron Man 3 was not actually The Mandarin but a hammy actor being well-paid to impersonate the infamous terrorist overlord, is now a known factor. But what happened to 'Trevor Slattery' next? The 'All Hail the King' One-Shot finds Slaterry in jail, in a nice (mandarin?) orange jump-sut. meandering a fine-line between those who respect his performance and those who would like to grind him into small pieces. He's managed to secure some protection, but there's only so far that can stretch...

A journalist is on the last day of making a documentary about Slattery's predicament, talking to him about his role in the terrorist enterprise, but also exploring what brought Slattery to this point. As their conversation begins, including some rare footage of Slattery's previous performances...some surprises and revelations are about to be forthcoming...

The Marvel One-Shots started out as what largely amounts to opportunistic DVD filler - competent little extras, a small, additional buying incentive to those purchasing the DVD of one of the big superhero movies, providing a scene that added to something just seen or hinted at something to come. They were a variation on  'deleted scenes'  and the after-credits sequences for which Marvel has now become famous.

In some ways all that remains true - the release of the Thor: The Dark World Blu-ray this week boasts another 'One-Shot' that offers a nod and bow to last year's Iron Man 3. The difference is that these One-Shots have started to evolve into something that feels less like a blatant marketing tool and more like a short created with all the care, wit and fun of the original feature.  The quite splendid  'Agent Carter' bonus on the Iron Man 3 DVD release was a sign of things to come. While the length precludes any other venue for the release - and certainly won't hinder the sales of the main blu-ray -  the likes of All Hail the King feel as if they have as much right to exist as the main feature. Perhaps they are not essential, but they do join some interesting dots or answer some questions that makes searching them out all the more worthwhile. hence the fact that an 'extra' seems to warrant a review of is own...

In the case of All Hail the King, there's an even more distinct tongue-in-cheek flavour,  but it's edged with just a hint of darkness. Sir Ben Kingsley continues his Trevor Slattery persona with relish, salad and a soupcon of choccy-milk...eating up the scenery in a way that can only be done by someone who knows they're doing exactly that. Slattery gives Kingsley and Marvel the opportunity to have serious fun. It may not always be clear what is tightly-scripted and what may be ad-libbed, but Sir Ben/Slattery's patter feels organic, a character with just enough intelligence and concentration-span to appreciate the short-term benefits of the reputation he has, but without enough to understand the long-term consequences as well.

At fourteen minutes, the One-Off never outstays its welcome - it is paced well, offering some nice dialogue, a string of memorable one-liners, a sense of growing menace and an added, unapologetic pastiche of  both prison flicks and seventies television.

Of course, living in the meta-textual world we now do, watch for a mid-credits sequence in this actual spin-off. It wouldn't be a Marvel production without one...

Yes, this might have been better suited to appear on the actual Iron Man 3 DVD than a largely unconnected Thor release, but it's further proof of Marvel's big canvas and this one was painted nicely...