Look! Up on the Silver Screen! It's Superheroes!

(Or: We're 10 Years into the Current Comic Book Movie Boom – What's the Future of Cinematic Superheroes?)

This is a great time to be alive if you’re a comic book fan (and by the way, yes, I am one). Never have there been more choices for us from the burgeoning superhero movie genre.

As a kid, pretty much all that my sisters and I had to enjoy of our caped and cowled heroes were the Christopher Reeve Superman movies and the Tim Burton Batman flicks. Which, more often than not, meant that the choices for superhero fare were few and far between. And the few flicks that there were out there were almost always bad. Very bad. I remember always wondering why there were so few superhero movies (where was Spider-Man? Where was The Flash? The Justice League? And when are we finally going to get a Wonder Woman movie?)

It's always seemed to me that superhero movies were maybe (and that's a BIG maybe) rated just a little higher than cartoons on the respectability totem pole. Such fare (along with animation, in American culture at least) was (and is) typically relegated to kids' stuff. Unfortunately, it's often with good reason. Most superhero stories outside of the comics themselves have been told through animation and aimed at kids. Whether it was the Super Friends or Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, most superhero antics have a history of being pretty juvenile.

And it hasn't really been any better for the live-action projects. While the old Incredible Hulk series was pretty good, nearly everything else wasn't. Most shows and movies suffered too much from bad writing and limited budgets to be taken seriously. And maybe those are the two biggest reasons why the genre has suffered so much over the years.

But that all changed back in the late 1970s and 1980s. A couple of really interesting things happened that I think forever changed filmed superheroes. One was the release of Richard Donner's Superman: The Movie (1978), starring Christopher Reeve as the titular hero. A modern retelling of the Superman mythology, the film was both a critical and commercial success, ushering in the age of the modern superhero movie - in much the same way that 2001: A Space Odyssey set the stage for the modern science fiction film (making later entries like Star Wars, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Alien, Blade Runner and others possible). In just the same way, Superman laid the groundwork for the Tim Burton Batman films, as well as other superhero films.

Another game changer for superheroes was that comics books themselves - and thus the superheroes they featured - changed. DC Comics gave itself a major reboot with Crisis on Infinite Earths and the revamping of some of its most iconic characters (namely Superman at the hands of writer John Byrne, and Batman through Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns). These reboots made the characters more adult, relatable and - oddly enough - more realistic.

About the same time, Hollywood, hoping to build upon the earlier successes of the Superman movies, delved deeper into the world of superheroes by producing Tim Burton's version of Batman, itself greatly influenced by Frank Miller's take on the Dark Knight. The movie was a runaway success and whetted the appetites of producers eager to make money off comic book characters.

The 1989 Batman movie was followed by three sequels. However, as with the Superman movies before them, each successive film decreased in quality following the second installments. Naturally, Hollywood wasn't deterred. If anything, it simply kept shoveling more entries of a genre it didn't understand or appreciate down our throats. Along with the Batman movies, other heroes featured in films included: Supergirl (1984), Dick Tracy (1990), The Rocketeer (1991), The Shadow (1994), and The Phantom (1996), among others. In some cases, the films attempted were so bad that they never even got a theatrical release, as was the case with the early 1990s attempts to bring Captain America and The Fantastic Four to the big screen, in 1991 and 1994, respectively.

Superhero movies flamed out quickly after early successes, and slipped back into the camp of, well, camp. (Batman & Robin, anyone?) Ironically, the early major successes with the superhero movie genre came from comic book powerhouse DC Comics (home of Superman, Batman, Green Lantern and Wonder Woman). And it was their major competitor, Marvel Comics (home to Spider-Man, the Hulk, Iron Man, Captain, America and the Fantastic Four) that couldn't get a decent comic book movie off the ground. That began to change, however, in the late 1990s, with the advent of the Blade movies, starring Wesley Snipes as the Marvel Comics vampire hunter who was himself half-vampire. These films came in the wake of successful comic book movies The Crow (1994) and Spawn (1997), both adapted from independent comic book labels.

The first movie in the franchise, Blade (1998), produced on a modest budget of $45,000,000, would go on to gross over $130,000,000 worldwide, and produce two sequels, Blade II (2002) and Blade: Trinity (2004). Marvel comics would strike gold again with the arrival of X-Men (2000), which was a surprise box office hit, also generating two sequels during the first decade of the century.

However, it was with the first Spider-Man film (2002), that Marvel proved that it had staying power. The film, well cast with Tobey Maguire as Spider-Man/Peter Parker, Kirsten Dunst as girl next door Mary Jane Watson, and Willem Dafoe as the villainous Green Goblin, captured the minds and hearts of audiences worldwide and eventually raked in more than $800,000,000 in total box office receipts, placing it among the top ten highest grossing films of all time.

What followed for the rest of the decade was an avalanche of Marvel Comics-based movies based upon heroes in capes and spandex, some celebrated, some decried. In addition to the X-Men and Spider-Man movies, new heroes to grace the silver screen included the Fantastic Four, the Hulk (not once, but twice, including the 2008 reboot The Incredible Hulk), The Punisher, Daredevil, Electra, and Iron Man.



Not to be outdone, the DC Comics camp rebooted Batman with the Christopher Nolan-directed Batman Begins (2005), a far superior vision of the Caped Crusader than the Tim Burton films. And following close behind came X-Men director Bryan Singer's reboot of the Man of Steel with Superman Returns (2006), an earnest, if flawed, vision grafted into the continuity of Richard Donner's first two Superman films, starring Christopher Reeve. Nolan's interpretation of Batman would go on to spawn an even more successful, and far superior, sequel, The Dark Knight (2008), which would gross more than a billion dollars worldwide, making it the most successful comic book movie of all time.

And there’s a lot more coming from both comic book publishing titans. Next year, we’ll be treated to a revamped (read: younger) version of the X-Men, as well as the initial offerings (or as the fanboys and girls out there know, the origin stories) for Thor, Green Lantern, and Captain America, the first films in what should be very lucrative franchises. And in 2012, we'll be treated to the long-promised superhero team up film The Avengers, featuring established screen superheroes Iron Man and the Hulk, along with Thor and Captain America.

Some critics decry the saturation of the movie market with all of this superhero fare. Isn't this enough, they say? Even some of the people bringing us these superhero movies are wondering that, as evidenced by statements in this article by the helmer of the upcoming X-Men reboot, X-Men: First Class, director Matthew Vaughn.

Seems to me, however, that the naysayers have it all wrong. For decades, the same thing has been said about the western, the musical, and film noir, none of which have disappeared from the your local multiplex. Sure, there aren't as many of them as there used to be, but people still line up to see them. Or maybe the makers of Chicago and Mamma Mia! or 3:10 to Yuma and True Grit are behind the times and don't realize that their genres are dead?

Or more likely, it's that people will always want choices in their nights out when they want to go to the movies and be entertained. And superhero movies are just one more choice for those of us who love movies. Which means that our caped friends aren't going anywhere anytime soon.

Which is fine by me. As far as I'm concerned, I say the more the merrier. At long last, comic book movies have finally achieved legitimate status in American pop culture, on par with romantic comedies, thrillers and traditional action movies.

Suffice it to say that superhero movies are here to stay, and it's about time.

That being said, now that we have a few superhero movies to choose from this year - and the next, and the next after that - my only question is this: just when ARE we going to finally get a Wonder Woman movie?!

The 2008 Summer Movie Season

They’re here…

The 2008 Summer Movies! And we all know what that means.

Crowded, air-conditioned theaters.

Buckets of popcorn…much of which you’ll be stepping on to get to your seat.

Crying babies, talking teens, and at least one person who never remembers to set their cell phone on vibrate!

Enough CGI to send you into a cartoon coma.

And enough heavy bass coming out of your local theater’s speakers to rattle the fillings in your teeth.

That being said, I’m actually looking forward to (most of) this summer’s crop of tentpole movies. Which isn’t usually the case, especially in recent years. Now don’t get me wrong. I love a good popcorn movie as much as anybody, but they’re just not like they used to be. I still long for the days back when I was a kid and had (at least) one good movie to look forward to over summer vacation to make me believe in the magic of the movies. Movies that instilled a sense of wonder in me and took me into amazing imaginative worlds. Movies that thrilled me or scared the yell out of me.

Movies that made me believe.

Movies like the original Star Wars. Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Superman: The Movie. Alien. Raiders of the Lost Ark. The Terminator. At the end of the 70s and for most of the 80s, it seemed like there was always a summer movie or two (or three) that took my breath away and amazed me with its originality and power.

These days…not so much.

Of course, there are still amazing summer movies being made that carry us off into a unique world we’ve never seen before (or maybe only once or twice, depending upon which sequel it is). But for the most part, they usually lack a genuine sense of wonder, or that certain “We’ve never seen anything quite like this before…” quality that I remember growing up.

And that’s why most summers I don’t really get that excited about what the studios are sending our way to drive up the weekend grosses.

But this year is different.

For the first time in a long time, I’m looking forward to more than a few films coming out between Memorial Day and Labor Day. (or more accurately, between the beginning of May and Labor Day – man, is it me, or is summer getting longer every year?)

In fact, the summer movie season kicks off with the arrival of Iron Man on May 2. Yes, it’s yet another superhero movie from the gang at Marvel Comics (who, incidentally, are so far ahead of the DC kids that at this point, it’s ridiculous. Come on Warner Brothers, let’s get it in gear!) However, I’ve always liked this particular character. I read Tony Stark/Iron Man’s adventures in the comics as a kid, and I always thought that he was pretty cool, especially since he had no powers and had to rely on his smarts to survive. That, and his ultra cool suit of armor that could fly (and shoot repulsor rays!). Plus, Stark was not a goodie two-shoes. He was a complex character who had problems and demons of his own to fight (like so many of the Marvel characters). The fact that director Jon Favreau chose an actor of Robert Downey, Jr.’s caliber speaks well for the project. I’m hoping it’s a good flick.

Along with Iron Man, there are quite a few other superheroes on their way to the big screen this summer, and it’ll be interesting to see how these movies fare:

- The Incredible Hulk, with Ed Norton as Bruce Banner. I’m really hoping this one is better than the last Hulk movie with Eric Bana. Nothing against director Ang Lee and the cast he put together with that one, but I really didn’t care for that story at all. My fingers are crossed that this one is a better script.

- Hellboy II: The Golden Army. I have to admit, I know nothing about this movie, except for the fact that I liked the first Hellboy. Ron Perlman's the man. Put him in prosthetic makeup, all the more so.

- Hancock, starring Will Smith. I know absolutely nothing about this movie, except for the trailer I saw online. I’ve never heard of this character before, so I’m assuming he’s not based upon a comic book. If I’m wrong, maybe somebody can correct me. Don’t know what to expect, and unless I hear it’s dreadful, I’ll give it a chance and judge the flick on its own merits.

I love my superhero movies, so I’m willing to give most Hollywood fare a chance. Which brings me to one other superhero movie that’s coming this summer, and it’s the one I’m most looking forward to…and that’s Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight. I have to admit, I was a little wary when I heard that they were bringing Batman back to the big screen with Batman Begins a few years back. While I enjoyed Tim Burton’s interpretation of Batman, I can’t describe how much I hated Joel Schumacher’s. Batman & Robin in particular convinced me that Hollywood had lost its way with the Dark Knight Detective, and I wasn’t in the mood to see my favorite superhero get trashed again anytime soon.

And then I saw Batman Begins. Nolan gave us a vision of Batman that suggests he could really exist, and not as some gothic cartoon world out of Tim Burton’s imagination. And as much as I liked Batman and Batman Returns, it’s the world of Batman Begins that I wanted to play in. Nolan and actor Christian Bale captured the essence of who Bruce Wayne and his terrifying alter ego are. They convinced me that Gotham City could be a real town, set somewhere not too far outside the realm of where I live in the real world. That movie just worked for me on so many levels, and it finally gave us a look at Batman as he always should’ve been portrayed. And that’s why I look forward to The Dark Knight. I want to see how Nolan will build upon the foundation of the first film, and I’m particularly curious to see how the late, great Heath Ledger interprets Batman’s greatest foe, the Joker.

But it isn’t just superheroes drawing me to the theater most weekends this summer. There are a number of other films coming our way in the weeks to come that have caught my eye. Films like:

- Speed Racer. I grew up on the cartoon and am very curious to see how the Wachowski Brothers adapt such an important part of my childhood to the big screen. At least they didn’t change the Mach 5, which honestly, I fully expected them to do. So there’s hope.

- The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. These films (and the books they’re based on) have a special place in my heart, so I’m looking forward to seeing another romp through Narnia with the Pevensie kids. Long live Aslan!

- Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Well, it certainly took them long enough to make another one of these movies, so I’m hoping it’s worth the wait. Everybody talks about how old Harrison Ford is, but that isn’t what’s really important. What matters is if this movie and its story are worthy successors to a film like Raiders of the Lost Ark. I liked the two earlier sequels, but in my opinion, they just never captured the full magic of Raiders for me. So while my expectations are a bit lowered for Crystal Skull, I have hope. And the fact that they were smart enough to bring Karen Allen back to reprise her role as Marion Ravenwood bodes well for the movie. So keep your fingers crossed.

- The Happening, from director M. Night Shyamalan. I have no idea what this movie is about, but I’m excited that M. Night is back with another movie. Some have criticized him for the inconsistency of his movies in the past (and frankly, I sometimes agree), but the man just has a way with telling stories. And he’s amazing with the ensemble casts he puts together. Even if the story doesn’t always engage me, I always enjoy watching his actors on screen. This was particularly true for me with The Village and Lady In The Water. So we’ll see what he does with his new flick next month.

- The X-Files movie. Okay, so yes, it’s been 10 years since the last X-Files feature film, and I didn’t exactly love it. It’s also been nearly 10 years since the TV show went off the air. Still, I loved that show, and especially the characters of Scully and Mulder, so yes, I DO want to know what they’ve been up to all these years. I’m hearing rumors that this film isn’t part of the show’s mythology, but is in fact a stand-alone story. That sounds intriguing, as many of the show’s stand-alone episodes were quite good, so I’m hoping that a Chris Carter story given the feature film treatment will be good.

- The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. Yes, I know. This movie series went way off course after the first Mummy remake back in 1999. I loved that film, starring Brendan Fraser and the lovely Rachel Weisz. The Mummy Returns was a movie I wanted to like as much as the first, but just couldn't. It was one of those CGI-fests that numbs my brain, and I wasn't impressed by the whole Scorpion King tie-in that was shoehorned into that film. Still, when I heard about this movie, yes, another CGI-spectacle like the other film in the series - I wondered if maybe, just maybe...

For one thing, they didn't get Rachel Weisz back, which is an argument against this movie. But in their defense, the producers got Maria Bello to take over the role of Evie (I hate re-casting, but there it is). And they got Michelle Yeoh. Both of these women are fine actresses and will undoubtedly bring something to the movie. One just hopes the movie itself isn't a stinker, but I'll give it the benefit of a doubt. And hope I don't come to regret it.

- Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Who would have thunk it, that three years after the last Star Wars movie, that there would be…another Star Wars movie? Especially one set during the prequel era we’ve been treated to for the last decade? Naturally, like many a Star Wars fan, I want a movie that begins with the words, “Episode VII”, but since that will never happen, I guess this will have to do. But that’s a blog for another time. Of course, this release sets up The Clone Wars TV show that’s coming our way soon, but what the heck. It’s one more chance to see tales from a galaxy far, far away, with lightsabers swinging and heroes doing good deeds. If it’s half as good as the 2-D animated Clone Wars cartoon from a few years back, this 3-D entry will be worth the trip.

Well, those are some of the highlights of the summer season that I’m looking forward to seeing. At summer’s end, I’ll do a recap to see if the reality of it all matched my expectations. In the meantime, every chance I get, I’ll be at the movies. Hope to see you there!