The year: 2002. I was thirteen years old, the perfect age to get swept up in the hype surrounding the release of Sam Raimi's first Spider-Man film. Said hype got me to buy my first graphic novel: a Marvel Masterworks collection of the first ten issues of The Amazing Spider-Man. I read it to pieces; I have lots of fond memories of hanging out in my room, reading the book while sipping Sprite and listening to '60s pop music. Needless to say, I was really excited to see the movie.
For some forgotten reason, I missed seeing Spider-Man in theaters, but my dad brought the DVD home soon after it was released. I vividly remember seeing the film for the first time, nestled in my usual spot on our couch, with a bowl of popcorn in my lap. I was amazed by the film; every second, I was seeing things I had never seen before, and my teenage mind was blown by the action sequences and the humor. Seeing the film now, I can also see that the movie stays more true to the tone of the comic books than any other Spider-Man film. I loved Spider-Man then, and I still do; it's one of my top ten superhero films of all time.
Predictably, Hollywood looked at the success of Spider-Man and decided that what we wanted was more superhero films, and lots of them. The first few were really good; I liked Spider-Man 2, I absolutely LOVED The Incredibles, and I think I'm one of the two people in the world who will actually defend the first Fantastic Four film. Unfortunately, as superhero films have been falling ever thicker and ever faster, I've grown bored with the flicks. This illness is commonly known as superhero fatigue.
Don't get me wrong; some really great superhero flicks have come out over the past few years. Unfortunately, I can think of only two that I unreservedly love: Chronicle and Big Hero 6. How many superhero films have come out since 2010? I haven't been counting, but it must be up there in the double digits. Of course, I'm talking about my own personal taste, but two out of (at least) ten is not a good ratio of greatness.
What went wrong with the superhero flick? Every superhero flick feels the same. Occasionally, a flash of originality will shine through, but, for the most part, superhero films feel like slick movies that roll off the assembly line, each exactly the same as the others. Personally, I'm tired of seeing the same old stuff in superhero movies.
What's the solution? It's simple: the filmmakers need to bring their own personal flair to the films. Take, for instance, another of my favorite superhero flicks: Richard Donner's 1978 masterpiece Superman: The Movie. Each of the movie's three acts has its own distinct style: epic & almost Biblical in the opening scenes on Krypton; sepia-toned Americana (composed in beautiful widescreen shots) in the Smallville section, and jokey, fast-paced, urban style in the Metropolis portion. Some directors, like Shane Black (Iron Man 3) and James Gunn (Guardians Of The Galaxy), have learned this lesson and applied it, leaving their individual touch on their films. Now, it's time that other directors did the same.
I mentioned Black & Gunn to specifically prove one thing: that doing distinctive, unique work is possible, even in a huge corporation like Marvel. I think that a lot of filmmakers think that directors like Brad Bird (The Incredibles), M. Night Shyamalan (Unbreakable, a movie I will defend to my grave), and Josh Trank (Chronicle) can do clever, creative stuff, since they're working with original stories. However, some directors who work for the big companies, like Marvel or DC, feel hamstrung by us fans and our expectations.
What do do about fans? Here's my answer to the directors: in the words of Fleetwood Mac, "go your own way." Comic books are a different medium than movies, and comic book stories will inevitably need to be tweaked to make them work on film. On top of that, if a director doesn't feel like filming a story exactly as it unfolds in the comic books, he should feel free to change it! Personally, I applaud Shane Black for making his controversial Mandarin decision in Iron Man 3. I know it annoyed a lot of fans, but I admire Black's ballsiness in taking the comic-book story and changing it to suit his own sensibilities. If a director is going to make a superhero film that's going to stand out, he or she needs to have that kind of courage.
I know that my opinions on this issue aren't widely held, and I know I'm going to catch a lot of heat for this post. I anticipate it, and I look forward to the good discussions (NOT arguments) we're going to have. So, have at it!
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