The Marvel Cinematic Universe has been dominating the box office and capturing people’s attention for over a decade now. The DC Cinematic Universe has had several successes but stumbled somewhat in trying to keep up with Marvel, prompting a reboot led by James Gunndirector guardians of the galaxy movies in the MCU.
However, in recent years, there has been a growing concern and criticism of the superhero film genre from legendary directors and fans alike. Martin Scorsese said it was not the type of cinema that inspired him to make films; Quentin Tarantino they said they killed a movie star; what was once a bright future for fans now looks hazy.
glut
Perhaps the biggest problem with superhero movies is the sheer amount of them in such a short period of time. Sequels are necessary to lay the groundwork for the movie universe, but when a few fail and don’t build the bigger picture, they feel unnecessary.
Recent films such as Thor: Love and Thunderwhich most fans felt was a huge step back for the Thor character (Chris Hemsworth) and upcoming sequels for Aquamanand Shazam!feel unwanted in a clustered universe that is set to reboot.
Too many computer graphics
VFX and CGI are a natural part of almost every big blockbuster that hits the big screen today. movies like Avatar revolutionized this and it has been a mainstay in superhero movies. However, this was not always the case.
A prime example of this is Robert Downey Jr.Iron Man. The movie that launched the MCU used practical effects and props: by the time The finaldeployed, RDJ’s Iron Man suit was entirely CGI. It made sense in terms of his character, but took away from the cool aesthetic of the original costume.
Underused minor characters
With every new superhero movie, there are usually new supporting characters. Unfortunately, most of these new characters seem very forgettable or have little to no effect on the plot. In the new DC black adam, the film boasts favorites such as Doctor Fate (Pierce Bronson), Hawk (Aldis Hodge) and atomic smasher (Noah Centineo).
They are all completely forgetful. Doctor Fate is arguably one of the most powerful sorcerers and characters in DC, and he dies. Other films suffer from the same problem: too many people to remember or even care about.
Spin-off show
In particular, with the advent of Disney+, the MCU doubled down on content production in hopes of introducing more characters and adding more context to the events of future films. However, some of these shows seem out of place because they are one-offs or just not up to par.
This exacerbates the problem of glut of superhero films. Of course, there are also such successes. WandaVisionand HBO Peacemakerbut with a growing list of shows to keep track of other than movies, it can get tedious.
Character distortion
Comic book fans go crazy when it comes to portraying their favorite characters. From the actor’s looks to their personality and dialogue, it’s important for the studio to get it right. The start of the MCU nailed it; even DC had the perfect casting choice.
However, in films such as Batman v SupermanBatman (Ben Affleck) kills people: this is a big taboo for most fans. Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) the character takes a huge step back in WW84; Thor has become a walking highlight of the MCU, with many fans complaining about the HulkMark Ruffalo) “nerf”. Changes are necessary to adapt any story, but these arcs are so different from the source material that there is nothing in them that makes their original depictions so charming.
Recurring storylines
What made movies like this? Infinity War and The final the risk factor was great. There were shocking deaths, and the anticipation of how the heroes would win added to that wow factor. Unfortunately, superhero movies have become more predictable.
There’s nothing wrong with following a story outline like the Hero’s Journey or a similar story structure, but when every plot development and scene gets too telegraphed, it becomes less enjoyable.
bad dialogue
Dialogue became on the verge of intolerability. Many spin-off shows have frivolous, goofy, predictable impromptu dialogue. Big budget blockbusters like Black Adam suffered the most from it. The dialogues are overloaded with clichés and also poorly choreographed.
It’s hard to come up with excellent, creative dialogue. If every superhero movie had this, they would be in the Best Screenplay category. Obviously, this is a difficult task, but there must be some kind of bar that needs to be overcome.
Little connection between characters
Aside from the soon-to-be-rebooted DCEU, the MCU is falling into the trend of adding characters but not making connections with others, new or old. Shang-Chi (Sim Liu) went with Wong (Benedict Wong) in the end ten rings: he (Shan-Chi) did not appear in Multiverse of Madness.
Characters in The final little to no connection to the other characters who are still around. It was like Iron Man, Thor and Captain America (Chris Evans) were linked even before the first Avengers the film precisely because other characters will appear in the scenes after the credits.
Bad planning
The DCU is in free fall as new studio head James Gunn tries to reboot the entire cinematic franchise; Needless to say, the DCEU won’t look complete for quite some time. However, many fans also have doubts about Marvel’s promotion plan.
Despite the announced two-part Kang dynastyand Secret Warsprojects (which have since been shelved), iconic characters like Doctor Doom are yet to be seen, let alone announced in casting. Let’s hope Kang’s (Jonathan Majors) performance inAnt-Man and the Wasp: Quantum Mania will give the MCU a clear villain to rally against and ease fan anxiety.
Unforgettable and one-time villains
The single biggest problem with superhero movies has to be the ease with which villains get rid of movies. Relatively minor villains such as The Iron Monger or Lunch Spot (Jeff Bridges) are fair game to take down. Getting rid of Ultron, one of the strongest villains in the Avengers, after one movie could create a problem in the future.
The same goes for other respected villains like Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan). Surely there is a workaround to keep these villains alive so they can be brought back or did they become a threat later on? Although the performances are great and memorable, it seems like a waste of time to get rid of them ahead of time.
Rotten Tomatoes Top 10 Superhero Movies of All Time
Source: Collider
