" SUPERHEROES and movies that might not exist
Also, things that might not have happened.
So, we've seen a lot of superhero movies lately. From Daredevil to Batman to the Fantastic Four to more Hulk movies than seem necessary. Then there was X-Men First Class and Captain America. Green Lantern. Superman. Those other X-Men movies. Spider-man, Spider-man and oh god why that other Spider-man. That Wolverine movie. Thor. It isn't that we haven't had superhero movies before (all those other Batman movies, for example).
Now. I think in general the solo comic movies are better. It is, in a way, why a lot of American "ensemble" tv is really . . . not quite on point. Or maybe a lot of tv, I have to admit I don't have a lot of experience in tv outside of my own country. Actually, I should just say most ensemble storytelling falls short.
Superheroes. There is a lot of socio theory and so forth on superheroes reflecting public opinions and ~feelings~ etc. Like when Batman is friends with the police and when they are hunting him. In the Nolan film we see a relationship based on lies and corruption and heroic sacrifice, more or less. Distrust in the general authority, but belief in some individuals.
In my opinion, when I go to a superhero movie, I am not looking for a replication of the canon. Mostly because comics and movies are very different mediums and to be honest replication would get a bit dull. However, I do believe reboots and based-off-ofs need to capture a certain sense in the movie. I think V for Vendetta was a fine movie! I think it failed as a movie adaptation of the comic, however. I think Watchmen did a better job of approximating Alan Moore's hate into something closer to what I expected, but ymmv.
What I look for, in a comic movie, is an indication that someone has read the comics. Little throwbacks to different characters make me grin! Cameos can really show me you know something. (The Wolverine cameo in XMFC was great for me, for example). Useless cameos are a bit (unsure) but they can be used to expand a universe in easy ways, imo. I don't really care so much about item/power/etc coherence. However there does have to be some attempt. Emma Frost being diamond doesn't really bother me because it is a trait of hers and if you are rebooting her storyline you can reboot her mutation to some extent. If Bruce Wayne, however, had no money and was born poor I may question why you bothered to use Batman for your movie template instead of something else.
Hmm. I use this metaphor a lot when I RP but a character's "essence" is a flashlight. How you point it and what filters you put over it will change it, natch. Life experiences, blah blah. I guess -- even in a reboot, the flashlight should still be recognizable. The beam that comes out should allow comic fans to trace it back and be like yes, that is the character I love. There is no perfect formula, of course, and some are more successful than others! Someone will always be displeased! But there are times when you feel like the writers just didn't try hard enough and it is a bit annoying.
For example! The trio of X-Men movies. The first one isn't bad, the second isn't bad but the third is kind of an undignified sprawl. What was the point of that movie? X-Men, to me, is a series that breathes on a group dynamic. It's a series about unity and disharmony, about in-groups and out-groups and finding "your own" and trying to bridge gaps, etc. Despite the larger scale of X3, it was just weaker in these aspects. The "epic showdown" between Erik and Charles is, not, actually about cockwaving and power. It's about old friends who have drastically different standing ground and personal beliefs.
I guess that is what made XMFC a far more satisfying X-Men experience for me. It should have just been called "Charles and Erik" because that is what the movie was. The other characters were there -- but the movie itself rotated on that axis. Friends with different perspectives and different beliefs but are held together by that thing that is friendship (bromance and romance debatable ymmv, etc).
I do feel that XMFC captured the dynamic I look for in my X-Men comics more successfully than the other X-Men movies. The sense of "us" and "them" which is epitomized and attempted to be solved (unsuccessfully) by Charles and Erik. Though I will also be honest that I can't really see the X-Men series without Xavier and Magneto, even though I am well aware that the comics can and have moved without them. For me, growing up on the 90s cartoon and so forth, that is X-Men for me. A battle of beliefs and ideology sort of laid over this sense of the encroaching other, the similarities over differences and differences over similarities blah blah.
In a similar vein, I am strongly enamored with Nolan's Batman movies. That is the Bruce Wayne I expect and feel for. I think in some ways Batman might be an easier movie to make than X-Men. Actually, in a lot of ways. Batman's problems -- what I view as the central axis in his story and so forth -- are internal and individual. While there are societal things as well (crime, corruption, justice, etc) the pull for me in Batman has more to do with him. How he deals with crime, how he deals with justice, how he deals with being Batman and Bruce Wayne.
Hmm. In X-Men the question of "self" is a lot with "how others view me" and "how I view myself". In Batman, a lot of "self" is "how I've divided myself" and "what parts of my self can be prioritized". There is some "how others view me" in terms of how he deals with like, Rachel. And the existence of "Bruce Wayne" but the central question isn't "how do I pass/do I want to pass" so much as "I've chosen to be Batman and Bruce Wayne, [where do I go from here]" and in some lines "does this ever end"? I think, for me, esp in Nolan's Batman it is interesting because I see "Batman" as his central identity. Bruce Wayne is his artificial one. It isn't Bruce Wayne puts on a cowl and fights crime. Really, it's Batman has to force himself to crawl out of his cave and into a suit and play at being a playboy.
Hum drum. I haven't seen the hulk movies, or the superman movie or green lantern. I did see the Spider-Man movies. The third one embarrassed me so much I will never see it again. I guess I've also run out of steam for this post.
So, we've seen a lot of superhero movies lately. From Daredevil to Batman to the Fantastic Four to more Hulk movies than seem necessary. Then there was X-Men First Class and Captain America. Green Lantern. Superman. Those other X-Men movies. Spider-man, Spider-man and oh god why that other Spider-man. That Wolverine movie. Thor. It isn't that we haven't had superhero movies before (all those other Batman movies, for example).
Now. I think in general the solo comic movies are better. It is, in a way, why a lot of American "ensemble" tv is really . . . not quite on point. Or maybe a lot of tv, I have to admit I don't have a lot of experience in tv outside of my own country. Actually, I should just say most ensemble storytelling falls short.
Superheroes. There is a lot of socio theory and so forth on superheroes reflecting public opinions and ~feelings~ etc. Like when Batman is friends with the police and when they are hunting him. In the Nolan film we see a relationship based on lies and corruption and heroic sacrifice, more or less. Distrust in the general authority, but belief in some individuals.
In my opinion, when I go to a superhero movie, I am not looking for a replication of the canon. Mostly because comics and movies are very different mediums and to be honest replication would get a bit dull. However, I do believe reboots and based-off-ofs need to capture a certain sense in the movie. I think V for Vendetta was a fine movie! I think it failed as a movie adaptation of the comic, however. I think Watchmen did a better job of approximating Alan Moore's hate into something closer to what I expected, but ymmv.
What I look for, in a comic movie, is an indication that someone has read the comics. Little throwbacks to different characters make me grin! Cameos can really show me you know something. (The Wolverine cameo in XMFC was great for me, for example). Useless cameos are a bit (unsure) but they can be used to expand a universe in easy ways, imo. I don't really care so much about item/power/etc coherence. However there does have to be some attempt. Emma Frost being diamond doesn't really bother me because it is a trait of hers and if you are rebooting her storyline you can reboot her mutation to some extent. If Bruce Wayne, however, had no money and was born poor I may question why you bothered to use Batman for your movie template instead of something else.
Hmm. I use this metaphor a lot when I RP but a character's "essence" is a flashlight. How you point it and what filters you put over it will change it, natch. Life experiences, blah blah. I guess -- even in a reboot, the flashlight should still be recognizable. The beam that comes out should allow comic fans to trace it back and be like yes, that is the character I love. There is no perfect formula, of course, and some are more successful than others! Someone will always be displeased! But there are times when you feel like the writers just didn't try hard enough and it is a bit annoying.
For example! The trio of X-Men movies. The first one isn't bad, the second isn't bad but the third is kind of an undignified sprawl. What was the point of that movie? X-Men, to me, is a series that breathes on a group dynamic. It's a series about unity and disharmony, about in-groups and out-groups and finding "your own" and trying to bridge gaps, etc. Despite the larger scale of X3, it was just weaker in these aspects. The "epic showdown" between Erik and Charles is, not, actually about cockwaving and power. It's about old friends who have drastically different standing ground and personal beliefs.
I guess that is what made XMFC a far more satisfying X-Men experience for me. It should have just been called "Charles and Erik" because that is what the movie was. The other characters were there -- but the movie itself rotated on that axis. Friends with different perspectives and different beliefs but are held together by that thing that is friendship (bromance and romance debatable ymmv, etc).
I do feel that XMFC captured the dynamic I look for in my X-Men comics more successfully than the other X-Men movies. The sense of "us" and "them" which is epitomized and attempted to be solved (unsuccessfully) by Charles and Erik. Though I will also be honest that I can't really see the X-Men series without Xavier and Magneto, even though I am well aware that the comics can and have moved without them. For me, growing up on the 90s cartoon and so forth, that is X-Men for me. A battle of beliefs and ideology sort of laid over this sense of the encroaching other, the similarities over differences and differences over similarities blah blah.
In a similar vein, I am strongly enamored with Nolan's Batman movies. That is the Bruce Wayne I expect and feel for. I think in some ways Batman might be an easier movie to make than X-Men. Actually, in a lot of ways. Batman's problems -- what I view as the central axis in his story and so forth -- are internal and individual. While there are societal things as well (crime, corruption, justice, etc) the pull for me in Batman has more to do with him. How he deals with crime, how he deals with justice, how he deals with being Batman and Bruce Wayne.
Hmm. In X-Men the question of "self" is a lot with "how others view me" and "how I view myself". In Batman, a lot of "self" is "how I've divided myself" and "what parts of my self can be prioritized". There is some "how others view me" in terms of how he deals with like, Rachel. And the existence of "Bruce Wayne" but the central question isn't "how do I pass/do I want to pass" so much as "I've chosen to be Batman and Bruce Wayne, [where do I go from here]" and in some lines "does this ever end"? I think, for me, esp in Nolan's Batman it is interesting because I see "Batman" as his central identity. Bruce Wayne is his artificial one. It isn't Bruce Wayne puts on a cowl and fights crime. Really, it's Batman has to force himself to crawl out of his cave and into a suit and play at being a playboy.
Hum drum. I haven't seen the hulk movies, or the superman movie or green lantern. I did see the Spider-Man movies. The third one embarrassed me so much I will never see it again. I guess I've also run out of steam for this post.