Why do you watch superhero movies?

[GordoSan]

Director John Landis on the Marvel movies...

"I’m just… truthfully, I’m bored s***less with the Marvel Universe now. All the superhero movies tend to be interchangeable, you always have these mass destruction of cities and huge computer-generated extravaganzas to the point where you could take a reel from any of the Marvel superhero movies and put it any of the others and nobody would notice. They’re very well-made, it’s just they’re the same thing over and over again. But, I don’t know, people are showing up. One of the reasons Wonder Woman has been received so well by the critics is that it doesn’t destroy cities! [Laughs] Even the superhero stuff is on a very human scale, it’s the gods! We’re not seeing skyscrapers tumbling! [Laughs]"


Director James Cameron...

"I'm hoping we'll start getting Avenger fatigue here pretty soon," he told IndieWire.

"Not that I don't love the movies. It's just, come on guys, there are other stories to tell besides hyper-gonadal males without families doing death-defying things for two hours and wrecking cities in the process.

"It's like, oy!"

...and I think Spielberg had said something about superhero fatigue a few years back.

I honestly USED to feel this way, but Marvel movies honestly got better, and better. They have taken lesser characters like Ant-man, and made sub-genre type off movies that feel very different than the last. Marvel has even taken the played out Spider-Man, and made him fresh again! To say they have put CGI first is a disservice to the challenges they have with ever single movie. On the contrary. They have put writing in the forefront. (I'm talking MCU there)

 

[GordoSan]

Movies like MIB and Independence Day are old timey version of popcorn flicks like today’s Pacific Rim and John Wick, just turn of your brain and enjoy the fireworks

I liked the first Pacific Rim. I guess that might fall into that category. I might just have a problem shutting my brain off, for the most part. I can't make myself watch anymore Transformers movies, but I did watch 1 and 3. I can't make myself watch a single Fast and Furious movie either, and I'm ok with that. In fact, the fact that these kinds of movies exist makes me angry that we're having a discussion about the validity of superhero movies.

 

[The Sunset Limited]

...and I think Spielberg had said something about superhero fatigue a few years back.

I honestly USED to feel this way, but Marvel movies honestly got better, and better. They have taken lesser characters like Ant-man, and made sub-genre type off movies that feel very different than the last. Marvel has even taken the played out Spider-Man, and made him fresh again! To say they have put CGI first is a disservice to the challenges they have with ever single movie. On the contrary. They have put writing in the forefront. (I'm talking MCU there)

I'm just not seeing what you see. As much as I dislike the movies, I tend to see a lot of them. The Last few I saw were Dr. Strange and Spiderman Homecoming. I just think they're awful kids movies.

Movies are like games now for me. The larger the budget, the more likely it's not going to appeal to me. I'd rather watch a film that goes for a specific audience than one that has to appeal to everybody.

It is interesting how there's such a parallel here between games and movies. Most people here are excited for Gears of War 6 and the next Star Wars movie.

 

[Videodrome]

What if part of it is commitment to a series.

What you say reminds me of how I felt getting through Stephen Kings THE DARK TOWER. Or worse, The Wheel Of Time.

At some point we're invested in a story and we want to see the ending.

Actually, the comments from James Cameron are funny considering what has become of The Terminator, especially with the films held back by PG-13 sequels. Only the last one Genesys tried to break the mold with mixed reactions, but mostly the blame for that is on marketing people spoiling the movie.

 

[Videodrome]

I think my issue is less with the idea of superhero movies, although that is part of it, and more to do with the fact that I find all the Marvel and DC outings to be uninspired and dull.

The dialogue is cookie cutter. It's like whoever is writing these movies thinks all the heroes should produce the same snarky/witty banter. It doesn't matter if it's Iron Man saying it or Ant Man. Why this isn't offensive to most adults baffles me. This just in...dialogue can add to the experience.



They all just follow the same basic formula. There's no suspense because these movies have no stakes. They're totally unable to deviate from the popcorn blockbuster script. Formulaic stories are fine if you're 9 years old because you've only recently been exposed to more complex stories. As a 29 year old though? Shouldn't getting beaten by the same formula over and over wear on You?

I don't know, The Matrix, Aliens, Saving Private Ryan are fantastic action movies. These are awful.

Maybe this will help explain it better...

Maybe the idea of these characters is bigger than the movies they appear in?

Also relating to Deadwood and modern mythology, any thoughts on AMERICAN GODS?

Not so much costumed adventurers here, but a collection of people with unique abilities and strange histories. Any mythology buff should workout who Ian McShane's Mr. Wednesday really is.

I think there is a general fascination with such characters, but you make an interesting point on how it's executed.

 

[menace-uk-]

It's not that you can't. You clearly do. It's more of a why or how can you watch movies that 9 year olds like. What allows your movie watching brain to do that?

No one really addressed my OP but I'll reiterate here. There isn't a TV show that 9 year olds love, that adult men also love. Why is it that people think "Well of course I'm not going to watch the same TV as 9 year old Billy." But people don't think that way regarding a longer narrative format?



Or were you a child in the 90's and have grown into an adult now? Maybe those movies we're targeting you back then. Maybe they don't anymore?

Billy likes all kinds of things that adults will also like. You also forget that a lot of people grew up with these characters. You also fail to realise that just because a 9 year old likes something doesn't that something is just for kids.

In the UK a lot of marvel films are rated 12A, so billy can't watch it anyway That is true, though.

 

[lowdru2k]

I'm just not seeing what you see. As much as I dislike the movies, I tend to see a lot of them. The Last few I saw were Dr. Strange and Spiderman Homecoming. I just think they're awful kids movies.

Movies are like games now for me. The larger the budget, the more likely it's not going to appeal to me. I'd rather watch a film that goes for a specific audience than one that has to appeal to everybody.

It is interesting how there's such a parallel here between games and movies. Most people here are excited for Gears of War 6 and the next Star Wars movie.

Wait, if you don’t like the movies then why do you keep wasting your time watching them? If something doesn’t interest me, I flat out don’t like it, and I question why others like it... why would I waste my time to continue with it? Makes no sense.

 

[The Sunset Limited]

Wait, if you don’t like the movies then why do you keep wasting your time watching them? If something doesn’t interest me, I flat out don’t like it, and I question why others like it... why would I waste my time to continue with it? Makes no sense.

- I go with family and friends.
- I'll rent/stream with family and friends.
- I'm relatively plugged into pop culture.
- I'm fascinated by people's attraction to these movies.
- I'm interested in understanding whether or not I think they're bad movies or just mediocre.
- I'm interested in understanding my relationship to nostalgia as when I was a child, I used to love Spiderman and XMen
- I like making fun of the movies.

Three things I will absolutely NOT do...

- Watch these movies without my phone or laptop in front of me.
- Watch these movies by myself.
- Stop being amazed that adults enjoy watching the same basic movies over and over and over again.

 

[yankeessuck]

I don't need to use my taste in movies to try and make myself seem superior to others.

 

[The Sunset Limited]

One thing that I'm learning from this very thread is the fact that, for the most part, no one actually addressed my original question.

Most of the responses were taken personally. People read it, interpretted it as a personal attack, and attempted to attack back.

My grandmother used to have a picture hanging up on her living room wall that read...

"Great minds discuss ideas. Average minds discuss events. Small minds discuss people."

- Eleanor Roosevelt

Let's try to keep the focus off of me, and on the idea present in the OP shall we? Let's be great.

 

[The Sunset Limited]

I don't need to use my taste in movies to try and make myself seem superior to others.

You and you alone is responsible for your interpretation of outside stimulus. If you're feeling "attacked" by the question, that's on you.

Do you think if I posed the same question to Neil Degrasse Tyson or Sam Harris, they would interpret it as a personal attack? Of course they wouldn't. They'd most likely try to answer the question.

 

[lowdru2k]

So you really just watch the films so you can have fuel to hate on them and the people that enjoy them. Interesting. Sounds like a lot of haters across the Internet with entertainment/properties. Got to have the fuel for the hate.

 

[The Sunset Limited]

So you really just watch the films so you can have fuel to hate on them and the people that enjoy them. Interesting. Sounds like a lot of haters across the Internet with entertainment/properties. Got to have the fuel for the hate.

No. There's a variety of reasons why I watch them. A few of which are listed if you scroll up just a bit.

 

[Hazard71]

One thing that I'm learning from this very thread is the fact that, for the most part, no one actually addressed my original question.

Most of the responses were taken personally. People read it, interpretted it as a personal attack, and attempted to attack back.

My grandmother used to have a picture hanging up on her living room wall that read...

"Great minds discuss ideas. Average minds discuss events. Small minds discuss people."

- Eleanor Roosevelt

Let's try to keep the focus off of me, and on the idea present in the OP shall we? Let's be great.

Probably because you come off condesending and arrogant or over the top quite often. That is not a personal attack but a observation.

 

[The Sunset Limited]

Probably because you come off condesending and arrogant or over the top quite often. That is not a personal attack but a observation.

 

[menace-uk-]

One thing that I'm learning from this very thread is the fact that, for the most part, no one actually addressed my original question.

Most of the responses were taken personally. People read it, interpretted it as a personal attack, and attempted to attack back.

My grandmother used to have a picture hanging up on her living room wall that read...

"Great minds discuss ideas. Average minds discuss events. Small minds discuss people."

- Eleanor Roosevelt

Let's try to keep the focus off of me, and on the idea present in the OP shall we? Let's be great.

She was just a dyk..and big ugly lesbian mule.

Nobody is really answering your question because it is a stupid question.

 

[lowdru2k]

No. There's a variety of reasons why I watch them. A few of which are listed if you scroll up just a bit.

You can give bs reasons all you want. Point is I don’t believe you and think you enjoy just being a troll.

 

[Videodrome]

One thing that I'm learning from this very thread is the fact that, for the most part, no one actually addressed my original question.

Most of the responses were taken personally. People read it, interpretted it as a personal attack, and attempted to attack back.

My grandmother used to have a picture hanging up on her living room wall that read...

"Great minds discuss ideas. Average minds discuss events. Small minds discuss people."

- Eleanor Roosevelt

Let's try to keep the focus off of me, and on the idea present in the OP shall we? Let's be great.

lol I think this is a great topic and I've enjoyed reading it.

Many of these films have a lot going for them. Just consider the strong cast many of them have. Even THOR somehow had Anthony Hopkins as Odin.

With an example of Dr. Strange, I think Benedict Cumberbatch was well cast. I was mostly sold on Mads Mikkelson being the villain after his amazing work on HANNIBAL. Also Chiwetel Ejiofor is a very good actor and played excellent villains in movies such as Serenity.

I was unsure about Tilda Swinton and I now think that was a bad call.

The Director Scott Derrickson also did SINISTER. I haven't seen that, but heard good things about it so it got me thinking it could serve up with somewhat of a horror edge.

I had high hopes from the trailers this movie would push something new and almost challenging to the audience with Spiritual / Psychedelic imagery. It did sort of do this, but mostly blew through this early on and very quickly as part of a vague means to break open Stephen Strange's perception of reality.



I don't know about you, but I thought most of that sequence was cool. Unfortunately, I wanted all those crazy ass dimensions to be par for the course in Dr. Strange, but that was only a tease for the movie's potential that wasn't realized. I was hoping for Evil with an Outer Darkness H.P. Lovecraft vibe. At least Guillermo Del Toro's Hellboy tried to go there.



Unfortunately, I'll admit after this whole Jack Kirby Art homage scene the movie gradually shifts down into mostly average Marvel fair and finishing with a horrible CGI Arch-Villain, though we did still get cool Mirror / Inception style FX fights. They did try to be edgy painting the Old One as hypocritical for using Dark Dimension energy, but failed to explain why she could do that and not have messed up eyes or why her doing it was ultimately good, but Kaecilius was bad. By this point though, I've already bought my ticket though so I'm along for the ride.

With that said, I'm not sure I fully agree that SuperHero idea is only for kids or if it just hasn't been done well. I think Will Smith's odd project Hancock tried to be a balance between the two or even satirize the genre. What if Dr. Strange could be a bit more like Indiana Jones who also bumped into the supernatural artifacts or used knowledge of them to his advantage when he was cornered or facing his own way over the top evil in Temple of Doom, yet use his own sorcery instead of a gun a bullwhip? Or a bit like Roddy McDowell from FRIGHT NIGHT swallowing his fear in the face of vampires?

When considering a freakish evil character like Mola Ram, it makes me wish Dr. Strange's villain was Mephisto and that they had the guts to push it at least as hard as Silent Hill or even ASH Vs. EVIL DEAD.

Just put a cape on Bruce Campbell for Dr. Strange with some spells and attitude.

 

[Videodrome]

Any thoughts on Edge of Tommorow? Not as flashy as IRON MAN, but features characters in high tech battlesuits fighting alien hordes. Also involved is a superpower to Reset the Day every time the Cage dies after absorbing this power from one of the alien mimics.

I will grant the plot can seem awfully simplistic, but I really enjoyed this and liked how Cage showed battle fatigue from shouldering such a burden between a unique ability andthe overwhelming enemy.

 

[TeKPhaN]

Now that there's a government mandate requiring a superhero movie to be released once a week for the rest of eternity, I thought I'd pose this question.

Meet Billy. Billy is 9 years old. Billy is a nice, normal, healthy 9 year old boy. Billy loooooves superhero movies. He buys the toys, blue rays, and even dresses in an Iron Man costume for Halloween. Billy is great!

However, Billy is just 9 years old.

I don't read the same books as Billy. I don't listen to the same music as Billy. I don't appreciate the same humor as Billy. I don't talk, dress, or act like Billy. Billy and I think very differently and we eat very differently.

Why do you people watch the same mother****ing movies as Billy?!?! Can anyone explain this to me?!

You liking fortnite is just like doing what 9 year olds do.

 

[Hazard71]

You liking fortnite is just like doing what 9 year olds do.

No because he is a man with a competitive nature therefore it isn't the same.

 

[Jay Mammoth]

Because most of them are awesome. Sure some of them like the 1st 2 Thor Flicks and most of the FOX ones were terrible, but most are good to great.

 

[The Wolf King]

- I go with family and friends.
- I'll rent/stream with family and friends.
- I'm relatively plugged into pop culture.
- I'm fascinated by people's attraction to these movies.
- I'm interested in understanding whether or not I think they're bad movies or just mediocre.
- I'm interested in understanding my relationship to nostalgia as when I was a child, I used to love Spiderman and XMen
- I like making fun of the movies.

Three things I will absolutely NOT do...

- Watch these movies without my phone or laptop in front of me.
- Watch these movies by myself.
- Stop being amazed that adults enjoy watching the same basic movies over and over and over again.

You say this and expect us to belive anyone would actually bring you along to watch these films?

 

[yankeessuck]

Too many superhero movies. Games aren't original. Can't wait for 87 Battle Royale games to be announced at E3.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[The Sunset Limited]

Any thoughts on Edge of Tommorow? Not as flashy as IRON MAN, but features characters in high tech battlesuits fighting alien hordes. Also involved is a superpower to Reset the Day every time the Cage dies after absorbing this power from one of the alien mimics.

I will grant the plot can seem awfully simplistic, but I really enjoyed this and liked how Cage showed battle fatigue from shouldering such a burden between a unique ability andthe overwhelming enemy.

I didn't love Edge of Tomorrow but in no way do I think it should be lumped in with the rest of the superhero movies. There was enough creativity in that one to earn my respect at least.

 

[TDbank24]

Same reason i watch wrestling and have been getting into anime. Life is supposed to be fun. Once you take things serious and put an age limit on what you enjoy then you have a problem. Actually just started watching superhero movies myself. Marvel in particular. I've seen a few superhero movies here and there but i don't go to the movies anymore so i'm playing catch up.

I've seen Batman, Superman, and others over the years but only a few of the MCU movies. Just watched Iron Man last night and tonight i'm going to watch The Incredible Hulk and continue on until i've seen them all. Only on phase one and i'm already fully entrenched in the universe. I'm going to get back into reading comics as well.