MovieChat Forums > Captain Marvel (2019) Discussion > My Humble Opinion

My Humble Opinion

posted 5 years ago by [deleted]
11 replies | jump to latest

Being a fan of comic book movies (ALL comic book movies - DC, Marvel, etc.), I have, for the most part, been happy with the movies made since 1978's glorious Christopher Reeve Superman, because when I was younger, superheroes were not treated with the respect they deserved. Most movies and TV shows (i.e. 1960's Batman) never treated them as anything other than campy exercises.
2000's X-Men changed all that, so I like them most of them (even the ones with questionable ideas behind them).
There have been a few I didn't care for (Howard The Duck, TMNT (never was a big fan of the comics), Transformers, but for the most part, I have liked (and in some cases, LOVED) all the superhero films from 2000 on.
My point is...I am not a nitpicker when it comes to continuity in superhero films, after all, I have always considered superhero films to be a subgenre of science fiction and you can do anything in scifi.
Know that film makers have to adapt stories to the screen, I have been okay with almost everything that they have put on the screen, and will continue to do so. After all, film makers could still be treating superheroes as campy, unsophisticated kiddie fare, but they haven't since 2000's "X-Men", In some instances, they have given us intelligent, thought provoking cinema.

[–] NorrinRad (5022) 5 years ago

After all, film makers could still be treating superheroes as campy, unsophisticated kiddie fare, but they haven't since 2000's "X-Men", In some instances, they have given us intelligent, thought provoking cinema.

I'd like to think that Blade (1998) was the stepping off point but I totally agree with you that Marvel/Fox's the X-MEN was an excellent step and FOX didn't shy away from the social theme that was important to Marvel's actual X-Men origin in the print canon.

The Malcom X vs MLK dynamic is not too hard to pick up on but most decide to dismiss it by not being really aware that primarily the series was about "Civil Rights" from the very beginning and Stan Lee/Jack Kirby did not shy away from including social themes and a search for meaning and inclusiveness in so many of their stories in a very direct way.

Marvel continues to be very much true to form each step of the way in print canon and now in the movies that they control to produce.

The Blade movie never tackled directly any social themes but they just happen to cast one of the darkest skinned, coolest actors to play a character on any block to make a movie out of, which was a departure in and of itself. Most men of color that Dark don't get leading roles.

[–] [deleted] 5 years ago

I agree. Now with all the "social justice" out there, with black people saying things like "At last we have a black superhero!" (Black Panther). They seem to have forgotten black superheroes like Blade, Storm, Falcon, Luke Cage, etc.
Being a white man, I do not have any true knowledge of what it is like to be black, and I personally believe that the black oppression that happened in this country (and other countries as well) was horrible. But, I also feel that it seems with all the racial tension that is still present, I fear we could be taking a step back, instead of forward, due to the militant extremists on both sides of the color issue who want the racial issue to continue, due to some hidden benefit they get out of it. I sometimes think that Martin Luther King would not be happy with some of the things going on in this country now that he worked so hard to change.

[–] TandyMan (10367) 5 years ago

One of my good friends is black. We've worked together for years. We watch football. I go to his daughter's birthday parties. He's a total bro. But the minute other black people come around, he immediately turns into some bizarre hood rat character. Starts dissing me. And in my experience, that's pretty common. Racial friction, it's just a thing, man. It just is. You can't fix human nature.

[–] FilmBuff (6692) 5 years ago

I'm sure the reverse happens when he's around you and all your white friends. Suddenly you all start talking like southern plantation owners reminiscing about the good ol' days, and you call him your slave. That's just how it is anymore.

[–] Wuchak (8116) 5 years ago

I'm sure the reverse happens when he's around you and all your white friends. Suddenly you all start talking like southern plantation owners reminiscing about the good ol' days, and you call him your slave.

That's some good fantasy there; let's keep it real, shall we?

I've never heard Caucasians talk in the manner you speak; and have only met a couple white racists in my life (that I can remember). The only time they might talk vaguely negatively about blacks is in regard to the high crime rates, drug problems, welfare dependency and breakdown of the family for which black sections are too often known (and, even then, they're VERY careful because they don't want to be branded a "racist" for speaking the obvious). I'm not saying these kinds of issues don't take place in other areas, but they're off the charts in black communities.

I'm also not saying this in a derogatory, condemning manner. It's a legit problem and black people need to police their own, so to speak, and not blame others.

[–] DracTarashV2 (4475) 5 years ago

Oh brother....

FN
🤦‍♂️

[–] TandyMan (10367) 5 years ago

did your post raise a topic? I'm lost to your point. i wanna chime in but i don't know what we're talking about.

[–] DarthRoger (867) 5 years ago

I agree with you about 2000's X-Men changing the genre and creating movies with solid stories and real stakes. They got away from the Joel Schumacher days - THANK GOD - and started giving fans what we'd always wanted, serious comic book movies. I believe that first X-Men movie though has to share the stage with Rami's Spider-man of 2002. Those two movies began and completed the transition to real comic book feel on the big screen.

[–] Otter (24464) 5 years ago

"They got away from the Joel Schumacher days - THANK GOD - and started giving fans what we'd always wanted, serious comic book movies"

I'm going to partially agree with you, and say they gave fans what they always wanted... GOOD comic book movies!

Because not all good comic book movies are serious, some of the best can include a lot of humor, like the "Superman" movies of the 80s or "Guardians of the Galaxy", although of course even the funniest CMBs have a finale where the laughing stops and shit gets real. Even "Thor: Ragnarok" actually had a Ragnarok. But the Schumacher movies were the worst of both worlds, in that they were as goofy and unrealistic as an exaggerated comedy film, but weren't actually funny. Okay, occasionally "Batman Forever" was funny, but I give the credit for that to Jim Carrey, as Joel Schumacher has no sense of humor.

[–] DarthRoger (867) 5 years ago

Yeah, I agree. What I meant by the phrase "serious comic book movies" was that we had studios and directors getting "serious" about making comic book movies, whereas before they had treated such projects as being just for kids, failing to realize that's not the majority of the market for these movies.
I just did not arrange that sentence very well.

[–] Otter (24464) 5 years ago

Well put! Because yeah, the good comic book movies all have something in common - the filmmakers treat the material like it really matters.

Which is certainly not true of the Schumacher films, where the intent seems to have been to create a camp spectacle rather than an involving story. Okay, it sort of worked in "Batman Forever" (a big guilty pleasure of mine), at least when Jim Carrey was putting it over... or rather, shoving it over with undue force.

As to when the good CMBs started... I think the progenitor of the entire genre was "Superman" in 1978. Which is still an excellent movie, and marks the first time that a comic book hero was given a big budget and a script that was aimed at adults. It's just that there was such a long gap between "Superman" and the rise of the CBM genre that it gets no credit.