Superhero Movies

[Prince Atom]

I think Marvel has finally hit the big time. There have been movies of Captain America and the Punisher, but they weren't very high-budget and didn't go anywhere.

But then... there was Blade, and MIB, and then X-Men. They've just been using the money from one movie to bankroll the next. I guess they just hit a sort of critical mass and started producing several movies at once. If the market busts on them, I'm going to be disappointed.

I must admit, I love Spidey, but I'm far more interested in the X-Men movies merely because the Spider-Man movie was old hat. They chose the Green Goblin (one of his greatest foes) and had to follow him through to his apparent death, and had to squeeze a lot of story into two hours. I think they messed up both in choosing an old plotline and in showing Spidey's origin. They didn't waste time in X-Men with origins (because they don't have any), but why couldn't they have jumped right in with Spidey? They could have gotten 45 more minutes of plot in there.

Arg. Sorry to rant, but I was just dissatisfied with Spider-Movie. The effect came off like the Power Rangers (a problem with a full-face mask) and the plot was old and uninteresting. If they ever do something with Doc Ock, however, I think CGI is the perfect medium for that guy. Venom's another, but I don't think they'll do Venom; where's he gonna come from? You'd spend half the movie in the other dimension shredding Spidey's suit so he had to accept the symbiote....


/rant. Sorry, guys.

BTW, I swear that MIB says it's based on the Marvel comic, but MIB2 says it's based on the Malibu comic. I guess one of them is wrong, or the comic got sold. I certainly never heard of it.

TWK

 

[Chun-tzu]

I think Marvel has finally hit the big time. There have been movies of Captain America and the Punisher, but they weren't very high-budget and didn't go anywhere.

But then... there was Blade, and MIB, and then X-Men. They've just been using the money from one movie to bankroll the next.

Marvel's earlier movies suffered from far more serious problems than budget. For one thing, they had little to no control over the characters, and were simply licensing them out to movie guys who didn't really know what to do with them.

And about using profits from one movie to bankroll the others, I really don't think that's how it works. And Marvel has only gotten a small portion of the proceeds from those movies. It's the movie companies that get the money.

I think they messed up both in choosing an old plotline and in showing Spidey's origin. They didn't waste time in X-Men with origins (because they don't have any), but why couldn't they have jumped right in with Spidey? They could have gotten 45 more minutes of plot in there.

The fact that Spidey is one of the highest grossing movies of all time, which NO ONE expected from a super-hero movie, means that Sam Raimi REALLY did something right. He made a movie that appealed to all audiences, both comics fans and non-fans, both males and females (how many females are the least bit interested in super-hero movies?), both adults and children. The way he did things really, really worked. (And I doubt James Cameron would have done half as well, but we'll never know now.)

Arg. Sorry to rant, but I was just dissatisfied with Spider-Movie.

Yeah, I get it. My sister didn't like it, either, for similar reasons. I thought it was great.

BTW, I swear that MIB says it's based on the Marvel comic, but MIB2 says it's based on the Malibu comic. I guess one of them is wrong, or the comic got sold. I certainly never heard of it.

It was a Malibu comic. Marvel bought out Malibu comics because they wanted the extra market share, the color process technology that Malibu had developed, and the computer game division of Malibu, Inc. So Malibu is gone, completely absorbed by Marvel (and its Ultraverse heroes have now disappeared, although we may see a movie on Prime one of these days).

 

[Samnell]

They didn't waste time in X-Men with origins (because they don't have any), but why couldn't they have jumped right in with Spidey?

You can't be talking about the same X-Men I know about. Rogue's origin even makes the film.

 

[Crothian]

I really liked they showed the full Spiderman beginning. It's much more important to who he is then the beginnings of any of the X-Men.

 

[Sulimo]

Speaking of Superhero movies, I spotted the following snippet on the PULSE comic news site:

AND NOW, FOR SOME DC NEWS: Pulse Spy PULSAR reports some juicy speculation: "Darren Aronofsky is not working on the new BATMAN movie. The director had been tied to the project for over two years and was creating with Frank Miller's script, a Year One type story dealing with a younger, darker point in Batman's life. The powers that be did not like the dark Miller script and approach and are tossing both that script and Aronofsky from the picture. The company is looking now for a new fresh approach to make the Dark Knight a little less grim, but also find a balance between 'camp' and 'harsh reality.'"

Sad news indeed imo. And more evidence that WB dont know how to use DC properties in film.

 

[Mathew_Freeman]

Argh. Batman:Year One was something I would have been really interested in. That sounds like another Schumacher travesty in the making.

Repeat after me, Hollywood producers! Batman is not light hearted! Batman is not camp! Batman is a story about mental problems (a bit, anyway)!

Grrrr.

 

[Prince Atom]

The fact that Spidey is one of the highest grossing movies of all time, which NO ONE expected from a super-hero movie, means that Sam Raimi REALLY did something right. He made a movie that appealed to all audiences, both comics fans and non-fans, both males and females (how many females are the least bit interested in super-hero movies?), both adults and children. The way he did things really, really worked. (And I doubt James Cameron would have done half as well, but we'll never know now.)

I wasn't saying they messed up like that. I realize Spidey was the big ol' hit it was, and I realize that they must have something there to make it. What I meant by "messed up" was that they lost my interest shortly after I saw the movie. I realized that it wasn't anything new for me.

Now, tons of people don't know Jack about Spider-Man or the Green Goblin; that's all well and good. But, I think I'll like the sequels better. Especially since Marvel doesn't seem to be in the habit of killing its foes off like the Batman movies do. They only kill Norman Osborn because it's in the comic books that came before (and also in the comic books that came before, Norman Osborn returns!). One should never assume a supervillain is dead until you see the body (and even then, you have to be careful).


As for X-Men, Rogue's origin is the only one we see; we know why she's on the run. Of course, we know the motivations for both Prof. X and Magneto, but that doesn't mean we've seen their origins. Besides, all the rest of the mutants just show up. All of a sudden, there's a kid who can shoot rays out of his eyes, and a girl who can control weather. We don't even know their names when they first appear. That's what I meant by their not having origins.

TWK
Long-winded

 

[Ranger REG]

I don't know. I'm not all that happy with the casting on this one, especially Electra.

I don't know. Jennifer Garner of Alias seems to fit into that role. I just don't know about her costume, probably an earlier garb before she gets into the more well-known outfit.

Out of curiosity, who would you cast for the roles of Elektra and Daredevil (Matt Murdock)?

The colonel makes the most sense. He was always hunted by the military, and it worked well in the TV series.

Perhaps my memory isn't that fine-tuned but I thought the Bill Bixby version has a federal law enforcement officer (U.S. Marshal) after the Hulk and Bruce Banner, not the military.

 

[reapersaurus]

Out of curiosity, who would you cast for the roles of Elektra and Daredevil (Matt Murdock)?

As long as the actor takes control of the role similar to Hugh Jackman's performance as Wolverine, many actors could perhaps do it - not one stands out.

For Electra, I really don't see the Alias girl working.

Maybe Catherine Zeta-Jones, as many people on the ManWithoutFear.com poll mentioned?

Or maybe the girl from The Scorpion King? Kelly Hu

But really, it's too late - the movie's almost out, and I get the terible feeling it's going to suck.

 

[jasper]

Comics have changed and the people have not grown up.
In the 80's hollywood started NOT rewriting the comic for the big screen. Plus the FX now allows a better show.
In 70 we had wonder woman, and hulk every week.
In the 80 we had flash. spideman in the early years if not late 70's
But the Capt American flopped because of the script.
So did the punisher hey when I finally saw it I didn't think it was based on the comic.
Do forget the lame daredevil made for tv movie.

Hollywood has finally started to read the comic and NOT change