It seems that we’re still being bombarded with Super Hero movies. This week saw the release of Guardians of the Galaxy 2, and it’s apparently quite good – but it’s yet another in a long line of movies about comic book characters. It’s probably because these sorts of movies are safe for studios; great big blockbusters that are more likely than not to rake in the cash.
There’s still much more to come; in the next year or so we’ll see Wonder Woman, Spiderman: homecoming, Thor: Ragnarok, The Inhumans, Justice League, Deadpool 2, Black Panther, Bloodshot, Avengers: Infinity War and probably more that I’ve forgotten about.
Both Marvel and DC are building these great big cinematic universes, with movies and sequels planned right through to the next decade. It’s become an endless parade of tights and capes – and it’s getting a little damned boring.
We watch things anyway, of course, almost feeling like we’re sticking with things out of obligation rather than genuine interest. Can it be sustained? Steven Spielberg doesn’t think so – saying the blockbuster model that drives superhero flicks will go the way of the Western.
“I still feel that way. We were around when the Western died and there will be a time when the superhero movie goes the way of the Western. It doesn’t mean there won’t be another occasion where the Western comes back and the superhero movie someday returns. Of course, right now the superhero movie is alive and thriving. I’m only saying that these cycles have a finite time in popular culture. There will come a day when the mythological stories are supplanted by some other genre that possibly some young filmmaker is just thinking about discovering for all of us.”
Me? I can’t wait for the super hero cycle to complete. But am I wrong? Darryn says…maybe.
“Geoff’s got a point. There’s only so many times you can watch a highly-paid actor dress up in bright spandex and watch them close a space-anus in the sky. And yet, I’m still not tired of these flicks. It’s not the actual on-screen action and special effects that make these films special, but rather the lessons beneath the surface that are worth exploring.
An idea of being better, of being more than you currently are. I’m a big believer that we need heroes now more than ever, even if they’re fictional. Inspiration for the price of a movie ticket and dodgy popcorn? I can live with that. Maybe more than that, however, is the utter joy at seeing my favourite characters given the spotlight. Characters who deserve to be remembered beyond the printed page, and any of those other terrible adaptations that almost killed them.
Comic book movies are a reminder why I love the medium, the greatest American art form ever. Something that I’ll never get tired of.”
What say you? Done with it all, or happy to see more?
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Critical Hit as an organisation.
Last Updated: May 5, 2017
VampyreSquirrel
May 5, 2017 at 10:37
No I love superhero movies… I don’t want them to go away.
Purple_Dragon
May 5, 2017 at 10:38
I agree. It’s got to the point where superhero movies are all the same, same action, same one-liners, same same same.
Geoffrey Tim
May 5, 2017 at 10:53
SO BORING
Alien Emperor Trevor
May 5, 2017 at 10:44
There’s always room for good movies, no matter what the genre. What kills popular genres are a glut of bad movies.
Umar
May 5, 2017 at 10:46
It needs to stop. Enough with these movies……Move on to bad anime adaptations, arigato go sai masu
Alien Emperor Trevor
May 5, 2017 at 10:49
How could they make anime worse?
Umar
May 5, 2017 at 10:56
http://s2.quickmeme.com/img/96/962bcfb2b7d3aac52434ffde90e5f81f661bc1e8346892719b24d0f28b093e7b.jpg
RinceThis
May 5, 2017 at 11:09
HAHAHA!
Mark Treloar
May 5, 2017 at 13:15
Attack on Titan porn?
RinceThis
May 5, 2017 at 11:09
LOL!
Unavengedavo
May 5, 2017 at 10:55
I really enjoy the Superhero movies and some of them are really good, and some need a directors cut before they are good.
But it seems that the genre is starting to become watered down because every studio now wants to create a “shared universe”.
RinceThis
May 5, 2017 at 11:49
You can director’s’ cut, producer’s cut, and Magician’s neighbour’s cat’s cut BvS, it’s still a pile of garbage *runs
Unavengedavo
May 5, 2017 at 12:43
But that Batman fight scene though?
RinceThis
May 5, 2017 at 13:56
Oh yes. Snyder knows his fight stuff, and music. But Plot wise? He lost the plot a long time ago!
Captain JJ
May 5, 2017 at 10:57
It has a market. No one’s forcing me to watch it. So why stop it?
DragonSpirit009
May 5, 2017 at 10:59
I don’t mind the superhero movies.
But remakes of the same superhero’s are super annoying.
Captain JJ
May 5, 2017 at 11:00
https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TWRL_PE9HUo/U6sI9EHvg9I/AAAAAAAAEIM/JtHSPfIseQg/s1600/spidey29.png
miaau
May 5, 2017 at 11:42
What is truly sad is the Spiderman, remake of the remake of the remake thing.
Captain JJ
May 5, 2017 at 11:43
Spider-Man spent such a tiny amount of his “comic book life” in high school, but for some reason they have to keep putting him in there for the movies. I get it, it sells well for kids that way, and it’s one of the biggest licensed characters out there….but it’s getting old.
miaau
May 5, 2017 at 11:44
Indeed. Spiderman I read in the 80’s, my mother got me the anthologies every once in a while (Batman was regular comic) and that was all adult stuff and some of it very gripping.
Skittle
May 5, 2017 at 11:05
It will stop soon enough. A while ago zombie movies were the big thing but they are few and far between these days.
RinceThis
May 5, 2017 at 11:08
The guy is just bitter because people are doing what he did, only in 2017 The guy will be right of course, but not after 50 movies that people enjoy are made. Of course it will run its course, everything does, rather stupid thing to say. No genre lasts forever. I for one enjoy them, There are still plenty of other movies to watch out there. It’s not like they are ditched to put a cape on Shakespear.
Captain JJ
May 5, 2017 at 11:11
Yea. People go on like it’s ruining the industry. If anything they’re setting a new bar for special effects.
RinceThis
May 5, 2017 at 11:12
Actually they are ruining the special effects industry. They get them to do work worth millions of dollars, then don’t use the scene and don’t pay for it. There is actually a very big problem now. The CGI artists are getting paid fuck all compared to what the movies pull in.
Captain JJ
May 5, 2017 at 11:15
Yea, I’ve actually heard about that. I just meant in terms of quality.
Original Heretic
May 5, 2017 at 11:17
Huge issue, yeah. That’s why Academy Award winning companies go bankrupt.
RinceThis
May 5, 2017 at 11:17
ya. Look at Life of Pi…
Original Heretic
May 5, 2017 at 11:21
Exactly what I was thinking about.
Frans J Smit
May 5, 2017 at 11:11
All I have been waiting for was someone to say “Hey, let’s do SPAWN again – properly” Guess that will still be a long wait even with McFarlane saying a script is ready
RinceThis
May 5, 2017 at 11:11
I thought it was given the go ahead as an 18?
Frans J Smit
May 5, 2017 at 21:44
As did I. Then he did this …
https://youtu.be/Y6mBc781S9s
Lu
May 5, 2017 at 11:26
YESYESYESYESYESYESYES!
HairyEwok
May 5, 2017 at 11:11
This is what the majority of people wanted. Now that we have it we don’t want it anymore.
RinceThis
May 5, 2017 at 11:13
Give me more CoD! No, I don’t want it! Why no CoD!?
Original Heretic
May 5, 2017 at 11:12
I love Superhero movies. Even the ones that get bad reviews, I’ll watch them. I may not enjoy them as much as others, but I’ll watch them all.
This goes back to my child years, reading and re-reading comics, wishing and imagination what an awesome movie would look like.
Now, they finally have the technology to do these movies properly. Man, some of the dodgy movies we saw years back… *shudder*
But as much as I love them, the cycle of these is bound to end at some point. That’s what Hollywood does. Twenty years ago, look at the sheer numbers of Westerns that came out. These days, they are far and few between.
Until they stop making them, I’ll just enjoy the ride and the anticipation of the next spectacle.
miaau
May 5, 2017 at 11:41
Yeah, but these are the cycles for development of new IP / stories / entertainment / whatever. 30 to 80 years ago, it was very, very difficult to publish a new book that was not a romance or detective novel, for example. Read up on someone like Isaac Asmiov and how hard it was to get the money men, the publishers to take a chance on something new.
Now the money men are movie produces and the costs and risks are much, much higher than with books. So, like with games, sticking to a certain tried and “tested” formula and providing more of the same, with incremental changes, is the safer, moneywise, path to tread.
Kromas Ryder
May 5, 2017 at 12:15
Stop making DC movies …. I agree 100%
Also stop with prequels.
Also stop Adam Sandler movies.
Alien Emperor Trevor
May 5, 2017 at 12:42
An Adam Sandler DC movie – he’d be perfect as Plastic Man.
Unavengedavo
May 5, 2017 at 12:43
NO!
Jim of the Banana
May 6, 2017 at 01:13
I’m old enough to remember the police academy movies, which became progressively worse with each installment. You certainly can’t say the same for the Marvel movies (they’re just becoming better and better), and while I’m sure the trend won’t last forever, I’m glad to experience movies that have respected their source material.
Jim of the Banana
May 6, 2017 at 01:18
The world is ready for a Phantom movie…. Make it happen!