Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Watching Movies in a Post Avengers World

The Dark Knight Rises, the final movie in the Batman trilogy comes out this weekend.  I am hearing rumblings of how great it is.  I'm sure it is.  This franchise has done some really good things in creating a different kind of super hero movie.  In a way the super hero aspect of the franchise is secondary, and it is really a noir movie.  Which isn't bad.

I have to say though I am not really anticipating this movie.  There are a few issues that cause this for me. Villains I just don't care about is the first.  Also I didn't think the last two movies were all the rage that other people thought they were. But most importantly it's all down hill after the Avengers!

All summer long I have fought with being ruined by the Avengers. I mean really what can compare to that.  I tried to break it down and figure out what it was.  I finally figured it out.  A few weeks ago I went to see Spiderman.  It was a good movie but there was a problem.  It was a problem that permeates most super hero movies for me.  They can not set up a sense of a super heroic world.  There is no indication that this is normal.  That the citizens of this world is used to super powers.  I had the same problem with Green Lantern.  In that movie there was no indication. . . BUT people did not react as if seeing a flying man strange.  I want there to be a sense that this isn't to strange.  The Avengers franchise is the only super hero franchise that has really done this for me.

It is a shame that Marvel is not able to do some of it's other franchises so that they can combine them, and have the X-men exist in the avengers universe.  I think it would make the whole thing work much better.  Actually I think having that cohesion in the movies works even better than it does in the comics.

there is a limit, but I think just making the illusion that this stuff exists in the world is all you need.  for instance , a Daily Bugle being swept in the wind that says something about spiderman.  Or a reference to Sentanals tracking down mutants.  Creating that cohesion is important.  

I guess I have went the long way round as to saying why I am not all that interested in The Dark Knight Rises.  I hope the movie is great, I hope it does well, but I question its ability to be anywhere near as good of a super hero as the avengers.  But of course, as I said, It's not really about being a super hero movie!  I suppose that is the thing to remember.    

What do you guys think?  Will you be able to enjoy the Dark Knight Rises . . . OR any movie this summer in a post Avenger world?

6 comments:

  1. I guess this is your way of saying you don't wanna go see it with us...sniffle.

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    1. I'll still go! I'll still see it. It just won't be the avengers! :)

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  2. Keep in mind, too, that when you go back and watch BATMAN BEGINS, almost everyone reacts in a big way to seeing this man dressed like a bat. He was strange and scary. That effect was lessened by the second movie, as people were now aware of his existence. The only people who reacted in a big way were the villains (as they now feared him). By this third movie, people will/should react to Batman differently. They've built up a world around this Batman and it's completely different than The Avengers.

    The Avengers was terrific fun but it's not fair to compare it Nolan's Batverse. It's not fair to either franchise because they're such different beasts. If you look at The Avengers with Bat-standards, then the Avengers is a silly little popcorn flick. If you look at The Dark Knight with Avenger standards, then Nolan has completely missed the mark and made something overly dramatic and takes itself way too seriously.

    But they both work. They both work because their creators have tapped into what makes them so special. The Avengers are big and loud and fun. Batman is such a huge character right now largely due to people who don't read the comics and look at him as "just this normal guy who fights crime." Nolan embraced that and they made a (what I'm assuming will be) amazing trilogy.

    My bigger concern is, can DC make a superhero movie that doesn't star Batman? None of their other films (regardless of whether or not you or I liked them) clicked with audiences. Do they know how to sell Superman? Green Lantern? Wonder Woman? I hope they figure it out, because I want to see their movies.

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    1. Scott, I see your point and agree. It is an apples to oranges debate. For me it comes down to taste. I like movies with laser guns. that is pretty much ow I define my tastes. Nolan's batman franchise is superb for what it does. He has made some gloriously dark movies where morals are ambiguous and has created a vigilante landscape. I am ok with that.

      Personally I would find the universe more interesting if I knew that superman existed somewhere out there. I feel that comic universes work nest as just that. . . a universe.

      Now as you said the nolan movies are not shooting for that. It is set in a semi realistic world. I get that. But, for me, it suffers from the same problem that movies like "troy" suffers from. they are taking something that is based in fiction and taking all of the interesting things out of it. I want super powered stuff or at least the chance to have that.

      Like I said just my taste. the more outlandish something is the easier it is for me to escape.

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  3. Marvel movies > DC movies.

    I've never been a fan of Batman or his movies so I have no plan on seeing the Dark Knight Rises...at least in the theatre. I may watch it once it hits video/Netflix, but for now I'm enjoying re-watching the core Marvel movies while I wait in anticipation for next year's crop of Marvel movies! Guardians of the Galaxy FTW!!!

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  4. Am looking forward to seeing Dark Knight Rises and it will be good in it's own way much as Avengers was good in it's own way. Two different style of movies and characters as i regard the Bale/Batman movies as almost "Crime Dramas" to a degree where as Avengers was more "High Adventure/Action".

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