I saw Thor last night. I had low expectations. But it rocked my world. Although it lacks Mans Bat, Super and Spider, the 2011 blockbuster season is overflowing with superhero movies, and Thor has very much reinvigorated my enthusiasm for such films.
The superhero movie mania of the last few decades famously began with Tim Burton’s 1989 Batman film, which also ignited the inextricable trend for ‘event’ movie -making. But the modern glut of celluloid superheros is unquestionably defined by Sam Raimi’s 2002 Spider-Man adaptation. Digital effects advanced to the point where extravagant action previously only rendered in pen and ink came to vibrant, photo-real life, and suddenly a world of adaptation opportunities opened up.
Since Spider-Man the superhero genre has become more and more central to major studio ‘tentpole’ thinking. We’ve had plenty of stinkers (Daredevil; Fantastic Four; Wolverine, to name but a few), one modern classic (Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight) and some worthy films perceived as failures (Ang Lee’s Hulk; Superman Returns).
I have total respect for Nolan’s masterpiece, but my favourite superhero film of the modern era is 2008’s Iron Man, directed by Jon Favreau. It was sunny and funny; had a decent character arc; great actors and most importantly: rad action scenes. The sense of discovery Tony Stark projects in that film is something quite special. It’s crazy now to think of how many doubters questioned the then-bold casting of Robert Downey Jr.
Putting aside my considerable disappointment with Iron Man 2 (just how they messed that up so bad I don’t think I’ll ever understand), I consider Iron Man to be the best model of how to make a decent superhero movie. This occurred to me as I was watching Thor, and my smile just kept growing wider and wider.
Kenneth Branagh’s adaptation (which opens next week) of the Marvel Comics version of the Norse God strikes an amazing balance of tone, taking itself just seriously enough while leaving room for a touch of self-mockery. The deviations from the comic book (no helmet? Ye gods!) feel wholly justified, and former Home & Away star Chris Hemsworth gives a star-making lead performance. Also: rad action scenes and the most enthusiastic use of dutch angles since Battlefield Earth.
From Iron Man onwards, all the Marvel Comics properties that aren’t X-Men; Spider-Man or Fanastic Four have been and will be produced by Marvel Studios, which (along with Marvel Comics) is now owned by Disney.
I find it ceaselessly amusing that Marvel Studios are using the exact same method Stan Lee employed in the 1960s when Marvel Comics first came to prominence – they’re setting all their films in the same ‘universe’. When Nick Fury (as played by Samuel L Jackson) turned up after credits of Iron Man, I imagine the thrill it induced was akin to the joy of seeing the Fantastic Four show up in the first issue of The Amazing Spider-Man in 1963.
Lee’s notion of a consistent, contained world where all his various creations interracted, was innovative at the time, just as Marvel Studios connecting all their films feels fresh for the movies.
Of course, this is all leading up to next year’s Avengers movie, which will bring Iron Man; Hulk; Thor; Captain America and other secondary characters together for what will hopefully be an awesomely epic film.
My anticipation for The Avengers wavered slightly when I saw the underwhelming The Incredible Hulk, and further plummeted when I saw how much Iron Man 2 sucked. But Thor has me back on board big time, and I can’t wait for this year’s other Marvel Studios release: Captain America:The First Avenger.
The classic feel presented by this trailer gives me mild chills. I always liked the idea of a World War II-set superhero film, but seeing it come to life here shows just how potent the setting is. I love that this looks like it’ll be filled with good ol’ fashion daring-do, something noticably absent from the increasingly broody superhero genre.
The fact that it’s directed by Joe Johnston only makes me more excited, as even though he’s no guarantee of a great film (I HATED his Jurassic Park 3), he helmed one of my favourite action adventures ever – 1990’s The Rocketeer. This cheery, underappreciated flop makes magnificent use of its World War II era setting, and it’s optimistic tone would suit Captain America perfectly.
After many years of films featuring the ‘Big Two’ – Superman and Batman, Warner Bros. (which owns DC Comics) is taking a leaf out of Marvel Studios books by utilising a lesser known character for their big superhero film for 2011, Green Lantern, released in June.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnSicg5eRsI
Much more so than the slightly underwhelming initial trailer, the footage above shows the impressive scope of the Green Lantern mythology. The most exciting point of difference here appears to be all the outer space stuff, which looks awesome. Thor had much more space stuff than I’d anticipated, and my inner child (which frankly isn’t so inner) couldn’t get enough.
Having grown up reading way more Marvel than DC, I have less of an emotional investment in Green Lantern than I do with Captain America, but I like the look of the footage, and the surfeit of Kiwis involved (director Martin Campbell, who knows his way around an action set-piece; actors Tem Morrison and Taika Waititi) demands my loyalty.
After two decent X-Men films (X-Men 1 and 2) and two crappy ones (X-Men 3 and Wolverine), 20th Century Fox is further mining the property for their upcoming prequel X-Men: First Class, also coming out in June.
This trailer looks kinda cool I guess, but for some reason I am struggling to feel a huge amount of anticipation for this film. Maybe I’m letting it’s prequel status undermine any potential drama, or maybe I’m just pissed that founding X-Man Cyclops doesn’t appear to be in the film.
I should be more excited about the fact it’s set in the 1960s and involves the Cuban missile crisis, and I loved director Matthew Vaughn’s superhero pisstake Kick Ass, but something tells me a forward-looking X-Men movie would’ve been a more interesting idea.
In the next couple of weeks I’ll proffer some anticipatory thoughts on the big flicks of the American summer season that don’t involve about superheroes. In the mean time, what superhero movie are YOU most looking forward to? What are the worst ones? Comment below!
