As most of you know, I am a geek. I wear my badge proudly. I have my Pikachu Limited Edition Nintendo 3DS, I have Superman and Batman tattooed on my body, I collect toys and comic books and own plenty of superhero video games and apparel. I have even went to countless "geek" conventions, most recently the Indy Toy and Comic Expo in Indianapolis, put on by my very good friend, Billy Cooper. I watched every episode of Smallville and have so far, watched every episode of Arrow. I love almost everything "superhero" and "comics" related. Almost. I have watched every comic book movie that is out there. Yes, I even tortured myself and watched Elektra and Catwoman.
We didn't have many comic book movies when I was growing up. There was the Batman television series, Wonder Woman series and Incredible Hulk series. There were the Christopher Reeve driven Superman films in a time before even VCRs. Back when going to the movies wasn't for every family. In 1989, Warner Bros and Tim Burton brought us Batman. A good flick despite its MANY flaws. Then the market went stale with only Batman trash being thrown at us occasionally. Those movies do not exist. Just don't argue with me about it. Then in 2000, an independent film direct named Bryan Singer and Fox Studios brought us X-Men, and comic book movies as we knew it, changed forever.
In the past 13 years, the market has become flooded with great, good and not so good comic book movies. The Avengers, Watchmen, V for Vendetta, Superman Returns, The Dark Knight, Thor, Green Lantern, X-Men Origins: Wolverine. The list goes on and on. There is no sign of this monster slowing down either. While we do get some great comic book films, we also get some giant bombs. Catwoman, Elektra, Green Lantern, Superman Returns, X-Men: The Last Stand, just to name a few. I have issues with movie studios making trash comic book movies for one simple reason, there is already source material and excellent story lines out there to use! How can you mess up that script?!?!
It really bothers me when Hollyweird takes a great property and completely messes it up. Fox and Warner Bros. seem to be the biggest culprits in this crime against geeks. Marvel has done a pretty good job of not screwing up too badly with the movies, with Elektra being the exception. I can even forgive them for Daredevil, simply because the script was written by Kevin Smith. Fox and Warner have definitely given us the motherload of stinkers over time. Catwoman, Green Lantern, Superman Returns, X-Men: The Last Stand, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Fantastic Four and Rise of the Silver Surfer. There have been so many great comics written over the past century and so few of those actually turned into movies. Sure, there are some elements from books sprinkled in here and there, but so very few that are straight from the pages. Watchmen is one of those that is pretty much shot frame for frame, so kudos to Warner and Zack Snyder for doing that. I really have no idea where I'm going with all of this, just to say that how can you make a giant turd of a movie when there are so many great stories already written? And who is the idiot sitting in their penthouse office who gives the go ahead for these atrocities? Take Green Lantern for example. Most people went to see it because of Ryan Reynolds, that's okay, I guess, but it was a horrible film. Green Lantern is such a GREAT character. The Green Lantern Corps. is such a wonderful idea that could have been used so much better than it was. Take for instance the planet Oa. It is barely seen in the film yet in the comics it is an eye popping landscape that would make even a blind person say "wow". Half of the movie takes place on Oa and you see none of it. Such a disappointment. Just another example of a bad comic book movie. And don't even get me started on X-Men 3 and Spiderman 3, because I will seriously go nuts. Those two movies are the biggest pieces of garbage on the planet.
Over the next few years we are going to get a lot of comic book movies tossed our way. Some will be good, some will be not so good and hopefully some will be great. Marvel Studios will be releasing 3 movies in the next year and a half. Thor, Captain America and Guardians of the Galaxy. Fox Studios will be releasing The Wolverine (HOPEFULLY a redemption film) and X-Men: Days of Future Past. Sony will be releasing the second Amazing Spider-Man soon as well. So there are quite a few movies coming out in the near future that feature our favorite comic book heroes. In case you didn't notice, I didn't mention anything about Warner Bros. releasing any DC Comics property any time soon. Well, okay, Man of Steel did just come out, but there are no plans at all for another DC film in the foreseeable future. Horrible comic book movies have got to stop folks. I'm not saying that the films have to be perfect, but just be good. Man of Steel wasn't a perfect movie, but it was good. The Dark Knight wasn't a perfect movie, but it was good. The Avengers was far from a perfect movie, but it was good. Just make our comic book movies good. Make them enjoyable, and please, for the love of everything holy, stop releasing garbage like Green Lantern.
I agree with you for the most part. I think they're trying to bring us the basic ideas from the original material but failing to hit the mark because they aren't taking advice from the creators, authors, or die-hard fans like yourself. The Hollywood execs are not interested with meeting the criteria of the "perfect" comic book movie because they're too busy trying to make a profit. I for one liked the Green Lantern and all of the rest of the "trash" you mentioned. Sure they're not perfect but they take me back to a time of Saturday morning cartoons and comics (which I have not read in 20+ years) where I first met these characters and developed a love for sci-fi, fantasy, and horror. I'd rather have the "trash" than not have the experience at all. Sure they could do better but they probably won't. Superman Returns, the non-Keaton Batmans of the 90's, and Elektra have my vote for the worst. I'm still glad I got to see them though. Plus I'm a huge fan of the show Heroes. I've been watching a few episodes a night for weeks now. It has some holes but I still like it. What do you think of that show?
ReplyDeleteWe really enjoyed that show. It was a lot of fun. Although I'm not sure that we finished the last season.
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