Earlier this year women all over the world got to know what super rich playboy philanthropists do with their life in the stirring action of Christian Grey and now it's payback time for guys. Refreshingly, this Spring rich playboy philanthropists are doing shiny armour, beautiful women and breathtaking adventures, all packed into the new Iron Man 3 movie, coming to the UK cinemas on 25th April.
Film blogs and fan sites have been going wild for months now with speculations as to what Tony Stark has been doing since the Avengers, what suit is he going to wear this time and what would the role of Pepper Potts be. And now Disney has revealed a big piece of action that fans can get right into ahead of the film.
Tony Stark's latest suit for Iron Man 3 has been revealed and is going on tour in UK as a kick-ass virtual reality experience. The Mark 42 suit is state of the art. Since his last appearance in Avengers, Tony Stark has been busy creating a whole collection of armour and his choice for Iron Man 3 is the subtle beige and shiny red. The Mark 42 armour has a spirit of luxury, intelligence and a seasoned hero about it. Trying it out is the best way to get into the action mood and to step into playboy Stark's shoes (suit in this case).
Disney have partnered up with Apache, the retail augmented reality specialist, to create a virtual experience, which seems very real indeed. The suit assembles on top of your virtual body, that appears on the Kinect powered plasma screen once scanning is complete. Pieces of armour get attached automatically or, if you come better prepared, you can actually 'call in' the various parts of the suit, which fly in as they do in the actual movie.
By building on the capacity of Kinect and enhancing existing technologies in the augmented reality space that are used for virtual fitting rooms, Apache and Disney have created something really special - a totally responsive, intelligent suit that repeats all body movements and provides a unique, personal experience, ideal to get part of the film's action and become Iron Man.
Apache says that they are extremely proud of the achievement and it is something which hasn't been done before neither in retail or entertainment. Fans would be glad to know that the suit also improves body shape dramatically.
Having seen the excited faces of every film and tech blogger from Love Film to Gizmodo at the presentation of the suit at Dolby Studios, it's clear, this film will be a disruptive legend to this Spring's macho awakening. Once calibration is complete, your virtual self, aka Iron Man will take a series of tests like shooting targets with the repulsors, and flying around to test the flight power - each controlled by film-accurate gestures. You will even get an opportunity to test out Iron Man's dance moves. Be prepared.
The Mark 42 armour suit goes on tour in UK:
Birmingham Bullring -- April 6 and 7
Manchester Trafford Centre -- April 13 and 14
Sheffield Meadowhall -- April 20 and 21
Dundrum Town Centre, Ireland -- April 24
London Westfield Shepherds Bush -- April 27 and 28
You will be biting your nails if you don't go to try it, albeit even virtually, and don't 'Become Iron Man' if even briefly. More than that your kids will look at you in total dismay: 'He didn't want to be Iron Man??' Disney and Apache mention that the suit will resize to fit even the smallest of fans and the experience also handily provides snapshot photos of the key stages of the suit being assembled - a memory for life, especially for those who still believe in Peter Pan and virtual reality being the only real thing there is.
So be a cool dude, Become Iron Man, test your flight power and get yourself ready for when the movie hits the screens on 25th of April.