“Heroes, Villains, and Me” is a periodic article on Geeky KOOL by Larry Litle about the world of comic books and my reaction to it. “Heroes, Villains, and Me” is not a comic book review article. I will write about current events, speculation and rumors, or my own wacky thoughts about the world of comic books.
A few weeks ago, mega director Steven Spielberg commented that superhero movies will soon fall out of popularity like Westerns from the 50s and 60s. (Yahoo). Spielberg wasn’t bad mouthing superhero based movies. His point was that over time what is popular changes.
Much has been made about these comments. Some are predicting end of popular superhero movies over the next year. Other prognosticators forecast the end coming in the next few years. Could this be the beginning of the end of the popularity of geeks?
I understand this view of Spielberg. The saturation of comic book based movies is at an all time high. Next year, there will be at least 7 superhero movies between Disney/Marvel, Warner Bros/DC, and Fox/Marvel. Is this too much of a good thing and will it end the age of comic book based movies?
I do think we are on the brink of a tipping point. But I don’t necessarily think it is the brink of the end of super hero movies. Past are the days of crowds seeing a superhero movie just because it is a superhero movie.
Over the last ten years, we have surge of fantastic comic book based movies. We are spoiled with how good things are. For an example, most people were disappointed at some level with Avengers: Age of Ultron (I gave it a solid B Grade). But if this movie had been made ten years ago, it would have been the greatest superhero movie ever. Yes, we are spoiled by how good things have been.
I believe the super hero genre films will continue to be popular if they continue to be made well. Just like any movie, these movies need be well written, well acted, and well directed. If we hit a time where the studios are pumping out super hero movies without worrying about how good they are, then the supers will go the way of the westerns. The audience has already become finicky. Just look at the poor box office return on Fantastic Four.
Marvel seems to understand this. They are making great movies based on superheroes. Some of these movies are a mixture of styles. Captain America: Winter Solider (my favorite Marvel movie) was a spy action movie set in the Super Hero world. Guardians of the Galaxy was a science fiction action movie (like Star Wars) masked in a super movie. Ant-Man was a father/daughter drama film with super powers.
A possible detriment to the genre is what the fans crave the most. The large group hero movies have the fan hype but are the hardest to pull off. After feeling rushed through all of the Avengers: Age of Ultron, I am worried how Captain America: Civil War, Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, Avengers: Infinity War part I & II, and Justice League Part I & II will handle this issue. The first Avengers movie allowed characters to develop and learn how to work together. This was missing from Avengers: Age of Ultron. With even more characters for the upcoming movies, this needs to be addressed or it will turn off the causal movie fans.
I am very hopeful for the future of comic book movies. It is a great time to be a fan. We finally get the opportunity to see our favorite super heroes on the big screen and interacting with others. This will only continue as long as studios make good movies with our favorite characters.
Stay Geeky My Friends!
