Up up and away Part 1

Sean over at the Film Junk has written an article about the Five Reasons Why Comic Book Movies are Bad for the Movie Industry. Now, I can see his angle, but I disagree with most of his points. Now I don’t want to completely rip apart his post.

Problem #1: Tying Up Big Name Filmmakers for Extended Periods of Time

((Essentially we’ve got some of the most creative and visionary directors dedicating all their time to making popcorn movies… perhaps this sounds snobby, but isn’t it a waste of talent? I mean, there’s no question they’ve upped the bar for these comic book flicks, in some cases made them more than mere fluff, but what else are we missing out on?))

Popcorn movie? I generally feel that Superman I and II, X2 and Spiderman 2 are not popcorn movies. The marketing folks might want them to be, but they’re telling a bigger story with characters we care about. Popcorn movies are not this. I personally want the best and the brightest directors making superhero movies not the Ratners of the world. I want a director that understands the character and is there because he loves the comic book stories. Yes, there’s art in these types of movies, despite the studio wanting to sell millions of goofy toys. It all comes down to the director’s decision.

Problem #2: Studios Are Only Interested in Franchises Right Now

((Since the series name can carry itself in a lot of cases, they don’t even need to maintain the same creative team from movie to movie. And now a lot of studios are starting to evaluate all of their projects using the same mentality. They’re not interested in one-off stories, they want something that they can become a franchise to guarantee them a limitless pool of money down the road. Sequels are fine, but in the movie world, stories need to be self-contained. Not every story is (or should be) continuable.))

Again, I have to disagree. I think we can have both a stand-alone story and plot threads that carry over from the one movie to the next. I find it for more interesting when certain threads aren’t completed in the first movie, but dealt with over time. I think it gives the movies a richer connection than say Die Hard. I don’t think they should be like the Lord of the Rings, but remember Superman I did this carry over with the three villains. And, I thought it was brilliant. I’d much rather a character thread or subplot carried throughout the franchise. Think X1-X3.

Problem #3: Studios Are Concentrating All Their Efforts on a Few Blockbusters

Okay, I can see his point here. However, this has to do with Studio managers not being able to see past a few movies that make money. This has been going on way before superhero movies became big. This is a problem with the way studios think.