Comments | corrinalaw: Live Action SuperHero Movies

corrinalaw

Live Action SuperHero Movies

Nov 19, 2009 09:49

I seem to be in the minority among comic book geeks but, as a whole, I either hate or am completely indifferent to live action superhero movies.

Why I Don't Like Live Action Superhero MoviesI thought when I posted that at Geek Dad, I'd get a lot of disagreements. But I have five comments already and all agreeing with me ( Read more... )

geekdad, comics

Comments 12

rbpropst November 19 2009, 19:57:15 UTC

I think a lot of it depends on the source material. For me Superman has never really been translated well into movie form. Both Reeve and Roth look like 98 lb. weaklings in the suit. For me the way Tim Sale drew him in For All Seasons is how Superman should look. But good luck finding an actor who looks like that. And I won't even get into the subject matter of the last movie. I think Thor might suffer from this too. The CGI Hulk has always looked ridiculous. The Thing too. But I'm not sure how you fix the problem for those 2.

But movies like Iron Man and The Rocketeer were great. Of course, maybe you don't consider the Rocketeer a traditional superhero. As you said I think the technology angle helps because outside the suit the guys are normal.

I still think if Warner Brothers wants to do a Justice League movie they need to go animated. They should cut a deal with Disney/Pixar and let them work their magic. And put Brad Bird in charge of it. It'd be a box office winner to rival The Dark Knight and Titanic.

corrinalaw November 20 2009, 00:08:50 UTC

The Rocketeer would have the advantage of being inspired by movies, yes? Or do I have that wrong? So a movie version would be close to the original version.

Also, superhero costumes just look silly in live action. They just do. It takes a lot of the suspension of my disbelief to get past that.

Brad Bird doing a JLA movie would be awesome.

rbpropst November 21 2009, 05:58:54 UTC

Well, the movie was based on comics by Dave Stevens that feature the Rocketeer. And I'd guess that movie serials from the 30's/40's played a role in his development and design of the character so I guess, in a round-about way, you're right. I do know the character of Jenny in the movie (played by Jennifer Connelly) is referred to as Betty in the comics and was based on Betty Page.

I can't wait for the complete Rocketeer collection TPB to come out from IDW. This is something I've wanted to read ever since I saw the movie when it was in theaters.

nick_soapdish November 20 2009, 00:55:26 UTC

Well, you eventually picked up a troll. Happy? ;)

I agree in principle that most superhero movies fall flat on the big screen. I usually look forward to them anyway (and am often disappointed). I still liked both of the recent Bat-movies, Iron Man and the first two Spidey movies. I don't think that the cinema's inability to mimic imagination wasn't the problem with most of the rest. It was just that they had lousy plots.

And Bats' cape does look stupid in comics sometime. Remember the ears with those Kelley Jones covers?

corrinalaw November 20 2009, 01:29:43 UTC

Not exactly happy, but the troll was likely expected.

Okay, yes, artwork can make Bats cape look stupid. But it never looks *good* in the movies. I tend to think Batman Begins is so good because it takes so long for Batman to appear....

jerrymcl89 November 20 2009, 01:58:03 UTC

In general, I think the more Super the Hero, the less well they are likely to work on screen. Batman does mostly work, despite the fact that live action tends to undermine his plausability (the cape is just part of this). And Iron Man is really just a sci-fi action adventure - there's nothing in the movie that isn't loosely within the bounds of potential technology.

But Superman and the X-Men, among others, do present issues that can't fully be captured on screen. I have low expectations for "Green Lantern" for similar reasons.

corrinalaw November 21 2009, 22:53:21 UTC

That's a good rule of thumb, the more super, the more difficult to translate to live action.

Awww- What the... namkyoung November 21 2009, 03:33:36 UTC

Frell? Really ( ... )

Re: Awww- What the... corrinalaw November 21 2009, 22:56:14 UTC

I didn't say other people can't like them. :)

I love George Reeves' Clark Kent. He's the perfect Clark. But I just happen to think the majesty of Superman flying and fighting giant alien beasts just works better in graphic form than live action.

Love the old Batman TV show. But, of course, that was meta commentary on how silly everything looked in live action.

Totally agree with you about story. All things being equal though, I'm all going to prefer the artwork of John Byrne with coloring by Terry Austin over the cinematography on the X-Men movies.

Re: Awww- What the... namkyoung November 21 2009, 23:36:46 UTC

Well, we ARE talking about X-Men. I like the Cinematography of Batman Begins and the Dark Knight. I also think, that a Wonder Woman movie would have beautiful Cinematography as well. Then again I think any DC Comic movie should have it. That's just me being a DC Loyalist.

I know not many artists, I like art as much as the next person. However, my brain has always functioned in creativity like a movie. Everything I write, I have visualized in my head as if it were on screen. Thus is how I write, for if I cannot see it making sense on screen, then why would it make sense in plain word.

I am glad to see we agree on story. For above all, if one cannot tell a story then it matters not the medium in which it is told.

[Sorry been playing Dragon Age, Origins all day]

Re: Awww- What the... corrinalaw November 22 2009, 02:36:36 UTC

If the story is wonderful, I'll put those special effects aside in a live action movie and enjoy it. But likely not as much as the story in sequential art form. Just me, I guess.

scottyquick November 25 2009, 05:23:14 UTC

how Green Arrow can take Green Lantern or at least Hal

Is this supposed to be a fortune cookie?