Am I the only one who isn't a fan of Superhero blockbusters?

Bart The Lover

Bart The Lover

Santa's Little Helper
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Maybe its my inner pacifism, but I just don't like the current Superhero, or any other Summer blockbuster films in general that feature violence and lots of explosions.It's not that I'm against violence and lots of action, but maybe its just because those films are just not my type.

I tend to lean more on films that tend to develop its characters in a quieter and dramatic setting around 70% of its runtime then give it a memorable action setpiece as the icing of the cake. I like the LOTR series more because it spends most of its time trying to be quiet and more grounded at first then gives it a memorable action heavy climax as a payoff. Now you may be arguing that some films like Captain America also had that notion by spending time to develop its atmosphere and characters, but the difference is that in those films action scences don't just happen at the climax, they happen at any time. Everybody always says that you have to start your stories with an epic battle or something, but to me great stories start out as little tales that eventually evolve into something epic. But again, its not like blockbuster films are terrible, in fact I watch them with my friends and we agree that they're great films. It's just that while my friends tend to think more explosions=more better, I just cringe for a bit then wait for the next quiet scene. And it actually pains me how Hollywood is using this tactic in order to cash in, to the point that those said films becomes predictable.

I'm just saying this because I hope I'm not the only one on NHC who thinks like this, especially since critics keep worshipping these films recently.
 
While there are Superhero movies that I quite enjoy (Tim Burton's Batman being one of my all time favourites), I've definitely grown tired of this fad where every summer we see another adaptation of a comic book character. Mostly because they're usually just poorly made action films. Now I love the action genre but most of these recent superhero flicks do nothing for me. There's two kinds of action. There the kind that's grounded in some kind of reality, our hero is vulnerable and the reason we get excited is because we can relate to the them and fear for their lives (e.g. Die Hard, Lethal Weapon, Casino Royale). Then there's the other kind which are more fantastical, the heroes can do incredible things and the laws of physics are constantly broken. Most superhero films fall into this second category and our enjoyment comes from the spectacle of watching the choreography and effects, plus the stakes are usually quite high.

Now let's look at a film like Man of Steel. We have an invincible superhero who is tasked with saving the world from seemingly invincible super-villains. Now of course with a movie like this, we expect there's going to be some fighting but it has to have a purpose. You can't just have these invincible characters punch each other for several minutes and expect it to be exciting because its not. Neither side is in any real danger and neither side is doing anything smart in order to get the upper hand. They're just hitting each other over and over and over again. The movie is so reliant on the effects to sell the action, that it fails completely. It's basically just killing time until the movie decides its time to end. Compare it to the dumb action classic "Commando". Two muscle bound he-men are fighting, Arnold as Matrix vs. Freddy Mercury look-alike Bennett. At first it's just the two getting an even amount of hits on each other until eventually Bennett gets the upper hand through the power of being electrocuted. Arnold is getting beaten up and is on the verge of death but then, he fights back. Now Arnold has the upper hand, NO wait Bennett has a gun, he has the upper hand. Then Arnold has to think on his feet and use his environment to his advantage. Can you see the difference yet?

The last recent Superhero films I really liked was Iron Man 3 and that's because Tony Stark is a vulnerable character who needs to use his head in order to win. Why can't more superhero movies be like that?
 
man of steel is an ass movie and should not be used as an example of a good superhero flick
 
I don't watch all Superhero blockbusters but it really feels like they are throwing them out at a rapid speed, while most of the movies end up looking the same to me. And I see plenty of cases where they prefer special effects over a good story and characterisation. I've still enjoyed the new Batman, Captain America, Iron Man (despite the cheap Mandarin twist) and to some extend the new Spiderman and Superman.
 
you know we are hitting the bottom of the superhero barrel when an "Ant Man" movie, starring Paul Rudd of all people, is coming out.
 
While I am a fan of the genre, there are currently far too many superhero movies, especially Marvel ones
 
I like the older ones when there weren't that many coming out. With so many being released that I'll never watch, it makes me wish the bubble would burst already.
 
tormented said:
man of steel is an ass movie and should not be used as an example of a good superhero flick
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Agreed but movies like the Avengers also suffer from the same problems when it comes to action. I'll give the Avengers this, at least the heroes were shown saving and protecting people but still, the action scenes didn't need to be so excessive. How many times are we going to see a city get destroyed in these movies? Its just not exciting anymore.
 
The latest superhero movies I have seen are still X-Men: Days Of Future Passed and Guardians Of The Galaxy.
The first one was great because of the characters and the strong storyline. The second one had a basic story, but was saved by its fantastic humor.
Most of the new superhero movies coming out however, almost only seems to focus on action, action, action. Boring.
 
Guardians of the Galaxy is the exception since it's more of a space adventure film than your typical costumed hero flick. I wasn't blown away by the film like many others were but it was charming enough.
 
comeau said:
you know we are hitting the bottom of the superhero barrel when an "Ant Man" movie, starring Paul Rudd of all people, is coming out.
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I'm pretty sure people said the same about Guardians Of The Galaxy before it came out.

Like it, Ant-Man seems like an underdog superhero film that does things differently from the other entries in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and that makes it more interesting to me than, say, for example Avengers: Age Of Ultron which didn't really bring anything new to the table (and it doesn't feel like we'll see another big city battle in it, which would be a nice change of pace because that kind of stuff has indeed gotten old and boring).
 
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