The Flux Capacitor 11.02.07: Week 7 - Capes, Costumes and Comedy
Posted by Owain J. Brimfield on 11.02.2007
The past, present and future of science fiction - this week we look at superheroes. Plus, all the latest from the world of SF, including the best news of the year!
Welcome to "The Flux Capacitor", the column that examines the past, present and future of the science fiction genre. I'm your host, Owain J. Brimfield, and each week I'll be taking a look at films, TV shows and a whole lot more that exemplify a particular theme within SF. We'll see how the sci-fi of yesteryear influenced what we see on our screens today, and take a look ahead to see what may be in store in the months and years to come. Later on I'll also discuss some of the latest SF news and see how it impacts on the genre. For now though, let's get the DeLorean on the road - this week's theme is:
SUPERHEROES
The Past
OK, I'm pretty sure that given this week's subject matter I'm going to have to put this disclaimer at the top of the article: I'm talking about comic book superheroes here. Other cinematic superheroes have their place, certainly - I'm a huge fan of Unbreakable - but it's not here. Unfortunately, I'm not a huge fan of comic books or graphic novels, and I don't know a huge amount about them. I'm quite confident in my movie knowledge, though, and that's what this column is all about. So if I make any factual errors here, then please feel free to correct me. After all, it's a touchy subject. Anyway, let's get to it…
You can't really begin a discussion of superhero movie adaptations anywhere other than 1978's Superman: The Movie; in fact some might argue that the discussion ends there as well, or at least with its sequel, but that would make for a disappointingly short column. While Batman had tasted the big screen before Supes courtesy of Adam F'n West and his comic hijinks, and Superman himself had been serialized as early as the late 1940s, it was Richard Donner's masterpiece that first gave flight to the world's premier superhero, and turned the faucet on for a slew of movie adaptations of a hitherto untouched realm of source material. The campaigner for truth, justice and the American Way (a concept unsurprisingly absent from the recent sequel Superman Returns, given the current world climate) was DC Comics' flagship hero, and it seemed only fitting that he should be the first to be given the silver screen treatment.
Thankfully, Donner and Warner Bros. pulled out all the stops to make Superman one of the biggest motion picture experiences of the year, and by golly did they succeed. The emphasis was entirely on spectacle and scale - yes, so the love triangle between Supes, Clark Kent and Lois Lane was a major aspect of it, but goddamn it, it took second fiddle to Superman turning time backwards. The opening John Williams score was all you needed to hear to convince you that this was going to be one hell of a big experience (incidentally, I can't think of any other film score off the top of my head that has not one but two instantly memorable and famous motifs in the opening credits alone). While comics may previously have only dominated the page, the newsstand at best, here came evidence that they could be writ large across the big screen and hold their own. Everything seemed larger than life, from Chris Reeve's square-jawed hero (in a surprisingly under-rated performance) and Gene Hackman's lilly-livered Lex Luthor [mmm... alliteration], to Marlon Brando's imperious voice, to the set pieces themselves. And yes, despite the effects now looking horrendously dated, at the time people truly did believe a man could fly. Superman was the first real superhero movie, and more importantly the first superhero movie. It may, arguably, have come too early to have any real kickstart effect on the genre, but there's no denying that the big-budget feel the film possesses pretty much set the standard for cinema's superheroes to hold themselves up against - bold, brassy, and above all, simply spectacular.
The Present
Unexpectedly though, despite superhero movies as a genre in themselves having taken off exponentially in the past few years (and with even more juicy adaptations on the horizon), the sheer spectacle of the movies has come to take a back seat to a more important component - the human heart. Now, don't get me wrong, action and visual awesomeness are still a major part of these sorts of movies - just take a look at Transformers, which although not technically a superhero movie certainly nails the overall vibe, and which got the balance completely wrong. The result? A fun blast, sure, but it's not exactly going to go down in movie lore. The point is, there is a fine line on which the balance must be... er, balanced. Perhaps the best illustration of this is the X-Men trilogy. The first, by necessity, leant a long way towards establishing the characters as just that - characters, and not cardboard cutouts. As a result, the movie was good, but a little sedate for many tastes. The second took these established characters, introduced some new ones, amped up the action tenfold, but most importantly introduced concepts such as 'character development' and story arcs. The outcome? Best film of the trilogy. Of course, the third one went way too far down the line courtesy of Brett Ratner (apparently it was his fault, although I'm just bowing to peer pressure with that accusation), containing some fantastic sequences and effects but eliminating much of the emotive heart. Naturally, the result was the most mediocre X-Men film yet.
It's the heart of the superhero that really grabs us, though, and lifts the characters from the screen (or page). Sam Raimi is the director who has the best hold of this theory, and uses it wisely in the first two Spiderman movies before, for some reason, jettisoning it in favor of an all-out comic book clusterfuck in the third of the trilogy. Thrilling as the sight of Spidey swinging through the streets and buildings of the city undoubtedly is, the real meat of the story is Peter Parker's grapple with his identity, his powers, and yes, his responsibility (god, that line got old really quickly, didn't it?). The reason we want to see Spidey kicking Green Goblin's ass and beating the stuffing out of Doc Ock is, deep down, the same reason we want to see him get together with Mary Jane, and to a lesser extent tell Aunt May to quit her damn meddling - it's because we care about Peter Parker as a character. It's thanks in part to Tobey Maguire's strong performance, but more due to the storytelling nous of Raimi and his scribe David Koepp. You have to wonder, given that argument, why Superman Returns, a superhero flick of equal emotive punch that was simultaneously one of the most convincing love story and one of the best big-budget actioners of 2006, didn't do equally as well at the box office.
The Future
Given that we live in a time when a movie studio can decree a film that makes a shade under $400,000,000 to be a flop, the flop of Returns may well have directly contributed to the next growing trend in superhero movies - the rise of comedy. Don't believe me? Well, in that case you must not have seen the trailer for Iron Man.
All done? Right, now answer me this - how is it that the trailer for a movie about a man who wears a giant metal suit and flies around kicking the shit out of stuff be more amusing than trailers for the vast majority of this year's comedies? Maybe it's the sheer cocky charisma of Robert Downey as Tony Stark, or maybe it's a sign that the modern superheroes of cinema have grown tired of introspection an want to take on a more light-hearted role. Now, there's light-hearted in the sense of Transformers, and then there's light-hearted in the sense of something that actually has substance. Why should our heroes spend their ninety minutes on screen moping around when they can, y'know, have some fun! It's especially surprising given the presence of Children of Men's scriptwriters, a bleak and reflective movie if ever there was one.
It's not just Iron Man getting in on the fun - we also have the upcoming Ant Man directed by Edgar Wright, and the screen debut of the Green Hornet, courtesy of Seth Rogen. Both men are premier comedy names du jour, and it while it would probably be a stretch of the imagination too far to envision both movies as outright funnies, it's certain that both adventures will incorporate a significant number of comedic elements. Whether or not this is a good thing is up for debate - on the one hand, it smacks a little of cashing in on the success of current comedies, especially in the case of Rogen. I'm sure both men are fans of the source material, but you have to question the motives of their assignment to the projects. On the other hand, if there are going to be superheroes who take themselves a little less seriously, then you've got the right ones. Both are relatively obscure enough to avoid any damage to their reputations, and Ant Man is pretty much an inherently amusing concept. Plus, with Stephen Chow's mooted involvement in the Hornet project, there should be some decent star power in action to bring these guys to life.
How long will this trend continue? Until we're fed up of heroes not taking matters seriously enough, or until we yearn for a return to the days of bombast and spectacle defining our cinematic superheroes. Either way, it may all change with >Watchmen on the horizon - a movie with enough potential to kickstart a superhero revolution. Until then though, there's no harm in taking our heroes with a degree of salt, or in just flicking back a few years and dialling up the action a peg or two.
The Infosphere
Bloody-Disgusting.com reports that plans have started for a remake of Blade with hopes that the new film reboots the entire franchise. Word is that Marvel is pushing for the remake.
Really? After the disappointments of Blade Trinity and the failed House of Chthon? This isn't a great idea, as I doubt they can find someone with the charisma of Wesley Snipes to fill the title role. The franchise isn't so far gone that it needs rebooting anyway. God, that's fast becoming my most-loathed movie term of the moment.
Greg Berlanti has been hired to co-write and direct Green Lantern for Warner Bros. The film will be based on the DC Comics series.
Who? Exactly. Wait, he was an executive on Dawson's Creek? That's just... words fail me. Still, good luck to him.
David Dobkin (Wedding Crashers) is now set to direct The Flash. Dobkin told MTV that the film "will exist in the same universe as the upcoming (Justice League of America) as a direct spin-off."
It's good that they're going for continuity here, especially as several key roles and characters will likely be carried over. I think they should wait to see just how successful JLA is or isn't first, though.
Irish director Ruari Robinson has been hired to helm a big screen live-action version of Akira. The film will be a crazy tale of bikers, psychics and giant teddybears crying milk, all set in futuristic, dystopian Tokyo. Warner Bros. may fast track the project to shoot before the impending writers strike.
No, no, no. This is horrendous news. Akira does NOT need to be remade, and frankly, even with CGI coming out of the ears, I doubt they could pull it off. Here's hoping this gets canned, and soon.
20th Century Fox has officially announced that July 25th, 2008 will be the release date for the new X-Files movie. David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson will star in the film while series creator Chris Carter will direct. Carter is also co-writing the screenplay with Frank Spotnitz.
Hey, you know, this could be good. The first X-Files movie was pretty decent, the stars are always good value and providing Carter gets the screenplay on the nose, this should be pretty successful.
NBC has shelved plans for Heroes: Origins, a spinoff series of its hit show, and the possibility of a writers' strike contributed to the decision.
Didn't see that one coming, really. I'm not sure how Heroes' second season is doing over in the US, but here it's (undeservedly) getting criticized for dragging events out for too long. Screw that, my housemates and I are loving it, and this was a spinoff that really could have worked. Word is it's not completely dead, so it may yet see the light of day.
James Vanderbilt (Zodiac) has been hired to write Spiderman 4, another indication that Sony will go ahead with the film regardless of who from the original cast doesn't return.
He's also scripting the upcoming Wolverine flick. This guy has a LOT of fanboys to appease.
And, wait for it, wait for it...
Futurama returns on the 27th of November in a feature-length straight-to-DVD movie, Futurama: Bender's Big Score, the first of four films planned for release by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment through 2008. (courtesy of Sci Fi Wire)
FUCKIN' A!
And finally…
As always, reader feedback and suggestions are welcome, I respond to everything so just drop me a line. You can also check out my column "The Wonder Years" over at 411 Games. Next week in "The Flux Capacitor" - well, pretty much the polar opposite of this work's theme. Until then - keep watching the skies.
