Post by crazy_asian_man on Aug 24, 2015 0:20:10 GMT -5
Arguably- superhero films are the equivalent of junk food for Hollywood. They make them, they're devoured, and move on to the next one.
What stands the test of time as something 'special' and apart from the rest is subjective, of course.
As of 2015: these superhero films/set of films I think will stand the test of time.
1. Superman I/II/Superman Returns
Well, of course I'm putting this first. ((*Arguably the last one was not an event to many, but I'll always put out there how underrated the attempt was to mimic the spirit of an older sequel and continue from there successfully.))
Still- the first Superman was promoted with all the giant bells and whistles even before the first frame was shot- so the Salkinds should get credit for that, and all the buzz they generated prior to.
To have it deliver as something fresh and groundbreaking in terms of being the first superhero film to have gigantic production values and have (thanks to Donner) the ambition to be treated as a serious epic made it special.
I'm lucky to be old enough to have seen it with an audience who gasped at the special effects credits and remember the cheers and excitement in the long lines for the show.
2. Avengers/ Marvel Phase 1
The anticipation for the Avengers was amazing- another first with high expectations that delivered. While some of the pieces weren't perfect (Thor, Iron Man 2, Incredible Hulk)- the idea of doing a connected universe with the same cast over
different films was unprecedented. I look at the Avengers as a final chapter of a mega-sized movie. Definitely it was one for the history books.
3. Batman Begins/ The Dark Knight
I don't know if this was unprecedented, but saving a major villain for a second movie that may never have happened was a giant risk. The moment at the end of Batman Begins when the Joker card is shown always got gigantic cheers of a promise of a magnificent conflict to come.
Thank goodness Nolan, Ledger, Bale, and company delivered arguably the best version of the Joker ever. Sadly, Ledger's death may have affected what could have been a better story for the third Nolan Batman film. Still, incredibly lucky to have gotten what we got.
4. X-men First Class/Days of Future Past
The prequel was shockingly (and suprising to me) good.... better written than even the source material imo!
But to add to that, having a great sequel that would serve well to mix and match both the original and 'new' cast couldn't be easy- but I was again suprised that- although it strayed far from the original story- it was amazing as it was, from both a cast-scheduling point of view (those suprise cameos at the end almost had me in tears) and that the story itself was powerful enough to 'undo' any negative feelings that have/had come up on the bad and misguided sequels and spinoff movies in its franchise.
5. Spiderman I/Spiderman II
Timing-wise, the box office clout of Raimi's Spiderman + never having an 'accurate' version of Spiderman in live action + all the time a Spiderman movie had been teased under Cameron and other folks--- made the behind the scenes of it even getting MADE special, let alone that the movies were really, really good! No small wonder that Raimi adored the Donner Superman movie.
While there are other 'good/great' superhero films out there- I think these mentioned are 'special' event films in part due to the public anticipation and reaction, in part due to the ambitions of the creative folks involved.
(Note: I suppose Burton's Batman is groundbreaking for its time, but I personally wasn't crazy about the movie, particularly the middle and the last act. STM may have had its flaws, but far more magical scenes I thought than Burton's Batman had).
What stands the test of time as something 'special' and apart from the rest is subjective, of course.
As of 2015: these superhero films/set of films I think will stand the test of time.
1. Superman I/II/Superman Returns
Well, of course I'm putting this first. ((*Arguably the last one was not an event to many, but I'll always put out there how underrated the attempt was to mimic the spirit of an older sequel and continue from there successfully.))
Still- the first Superman was promoted with all the giant bells and whistles even before the first frame was shot- so the Salkinds should get credit for that, and all the buzz they generated prior to.
To have it deliver as something fresh and groundbreaking in terms of being the first superhero film to have gigantic production values and have (thanks to Donner) the ambition to be treated as a serious epic made it special.
I'm lucky to be old enough to have seen it with an audience who gasped at the special effects credits and remember the cheers and excitement in the long lines for the show.
2. Avengers/ Marvel Phase 1
The anticipation for the Avengers was amazing- another first with high expectations that delivered. While some of the pieces weren't perfect (Thor, Iron Man 2, Incredible Hulk)- the idea of doing a connected universe with the same cast over
different films was unprecedented. I look at the Avengers as a final chapter of a mega-sized movie. Definitely it was one for the history books.
3. Batman Begins/ The Dark Knight
I don't know if this was unprecedented, but saving a major villain for a second movie that may never have happened was a giant risk. The moment at the end of Batman Begins when the Joker card is shown always got gigantic cheers of a promise of a magnificent conflict to come.
Thank goodness Nolan, Ledger, Bale, and company delivered arguably the best version of the Joker ever. Sadly, Ledger's death may have affected what could have been a better story for the third Nolan Batman film. Still, incredibly lucky to have gotten what we got.
4. X-men First Class/Days of Future Past
The prequel was shockingly (and suprising to me) good.... better written than even the source material imo!
But to add to that, having a great sequel that would serve well to mix and match both the original and 'new' cast couldn't be easy- but I was again suprised that- although it strayed far from the original story- it was amazing as it was, from both a cast-scheduling point of view (those suprise cameos at the end almost had me in tears) and that the story itself was powerful enough to 'undo' any negative feelings that have/had come up on the bad and misguided sequels and spinoff movies in its franchise.
5. Spiderman I/Spiderman II
Timing-wise, the box office clout of Raimi's Spiderman + never having an 'accurate' version of Spiderman in live action + all the time a Spiderman movie had been teased under Cameron and other folks--- made the behind the scenes of it even getting MADE special, let alone that the movies were really, really good! No small wonder that Raimi adored the Donner Superman movie.
While there are other 'good/great' superhero films out there- I think these mentioned are 'special' event films in part due to the public anticipation and reaction, in part due to the ambitions of the creative folks involved.
(Note: I suppose Burton's Batman is groundbreaking for its time, but I personally wasn't crazy about the movie, particularly the middle and the last act. STM may have had its flaws, but far more magical scenes I thought than Burton's Batman had).