Is it just me? To those who enjoy these, what's the appeal? How have you not gotten tired of them? When, if ever, will you finally be satiated?
I find them boring. Mostly because they are. It seems to appeal to people who used the 'Everything Proof Shield' in first school.
Dunno. I kinda liked the original Superman, the one with Margot Kidder and Christopher Reeve. But that's it. I didn't like the second one. I've seen a couple of the Christian Bale Batman movies (against my will) ...both 'meh.' I, too, don't get it. Those are the only superhero movies I've seen. All forgettable, and ultimately not much fun.
The same argument can be said for any genre; romantic comedy, fantasy, British dramas. I like them because it is relaxing to turn off the ole brain switch and watch something meaningless and entertaining for a couple hours. I grew up with all of the superheroes in current movies as Saturday morning cartoons. My name is Garball and I like superhero movies. There I said it and now I feel better.
Exactly...I don't like foreign flicks, British comedy for the most part, or most black and white flicks. I wouldn't call the decade dull. Right now superhero flicks are popular because they reach the largest portion of our society. Most of the adults today grew up with comic books and superheroes, and they are taking their children so they can both enjoy something together.
Part of why I like them (the recent Marvel ones, especially) is because they are all set in universes. X-Men has its own universe, as does the other universe which started with Iron Man. In fact, Amazing Spiderman 2 practically pointed at a new universe being created, with a Sinister Six movie and a Venom movie in the works. This is one of the main reasons why I, personally, like them; I'm a sucker for series and connected stuff, and I love film, so it's great. How many other franchises can have totally stand alone films, yet say that they are loosely, sometimes even tightly, connected? I think that's pretty cool. Also, not everyone likes every single superhero film out there. The hype for The Avengers was ridiculous, and I thought it was a total letdown. Iron Man 2 and 3 were atrocious. The trailer for Man of Steel is the best trailer I've ever seen (no exaggeration), yet the film sucked massively, and I'm not happy with Ben Affleck as Batman. Just as rom-com fans don't like all rom-coms, so superhero fans don't like all the superhero movies out there at the moment. We just like to watch them, make our verdict, and move on. It's just a phase, and in my opinion I don't think it'll last beyond 2020, but I'm enjoying it while it lasts, because who knows what the next fad will be.
I agree with @Lewdog. I'm a Marvel girl myself...grew up with their comics and cartoons and it's plain nostalgic fun to see my favorite characters brought to life on the big screen. They happen to be my cup of tea just like I'm bored to tears by all of the romantic dramas courtesy of Nicholas Sparks.
Larger than life. Visually stunning, pulse-pounding action that stretches the imagination. What's not to like? At the same time, they explore character. All good stories are about people being extraordinary when they must. Superhero stories and movies are no exception. Without fail, these stories require the superhero to break new ground. Powers or not, they have challenges that cancan destroy them and others. They can't leave it to someone else; no one else can answer the challenge in the same way, if at all. But don't over-intellectualize it. Just enjoy it.
I've never been into superhero movies, so I'm not sure. Maybe it's the same thing like when I watch something like Supernatural and I know it's just fluff, but I want to give my brain a break, so people who like superhero movies use them to erase the hard drive. Kinda like getting drunk, but without the hangover and gaps in the memory. Hang on, I did like Sam Raimi's Spiderman movies, actually. I think there was something relatable about them. Haven't checked the newest Amazing Spiderman flicks.
I think there's something to be said for this. Love them or hate them, the ALIEN franchise became something rather similar and is (arguably) one of the first Science Fiction universes to do so on the big screen, even crossing paths with other universes (Predator), thus including them as a whole. Much as I love to pick apart the latter films in the ALIEN universe, I guess I do so as a devoted fan, someone who cares that the franchise be treated well and respected. I had a lot of hope for Prometheus, and though it sucked on several levels, if there's a second one as is the hype, I'll go and see it. I want to give the franchise the opportunity to deliver on what looks like an intriguing other direction within the ALIEN universe. The same held true for me for Herbert's DUNE series (to tie this in to books). The second and third books were a disappointment but he delivered with the fourth book, and in spades! Speaking of interconnected and related films within a universe that can also dish up the occasional stand-alone film still tied into and part of that universe, I'm amazed no one has taken any of Niven's Known Space books to the big screen...
I am so glad I am not the only one who enjoyed these. Though I absolutely hated the third one, I loved the first two and my friends will not forgive me for enjoying them.
I grew up on Donner's Superman (including the second film) and Burton's Batman (excluding the Schumacher attrocities)... But the rest of the genre... Raimi's Spiderman films were fun but very juvenile (I may have loved them if I've been 6years-old when they came out), and Nolan's Batmans, fanboyishness aside, were just too self-absorbed, too "serious" (I may have loved them if I've been 15 when they came out) The second X-Man was kinda cool...didn't and don't care for others, and they just keep coming... Fantastic Four was almost watchable... And I actually enjoyed Garfield in the first Amazing Spider-Man... The Avengers multi-film continuity megalomania? Bo-o-oring... Actually, I take that back - what I found extremely boring were the action scenes and the VFX and - to quote from RogerEbert.com - Things Crashing into Other Things. All very dull. And the overall narrative - overplotness or antiplotness? Can't make up my mind...
We can see here who grew up with super heroes, and who didn't. <quickly puts away his Goku action figure> No, he wasn't my childhood superhero. Not at all. <looks around not at all suspiciously> Though I always thought Batman was supposed to be super dark, gritty and serious. I mean, c'mon, it's a dark comic! It's no Spiderman, that's for sure.
I loved Marvel comics in the early 1970s. I was a kid then, and they were colorful, full of adventure, and full of fantasy. Pure escapism. I haven't read any comics in decades, but when I see a superhero movie, I'm transported back to my younger self, the kid who imagined those four-color panels in the pulp pages would move and amaze me. Now, the technology exists to make my childhood dreams happen in full-motion high-definition 3-D on screen right in front of me! The ten-year-old boy in me is dazzled by these movies. He's stunned and blown away. He's amazed and fascinated and I don't want to kill his dreams. So I love superhero movies. They bring me back to my boyhood, and I had a great boyhood, so I'd live those days again any time I can.
As someone who grew up watching shows such as Sailor Moon, Spider-Man: The Animated Series, Superman: TAS, Batman: TAS, and Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman as well as old Lynda Carter Wonder Woman reruns, I agree with several things said on how it's something I grew up with and enjoyed, so to see them on the big screen is a treasure. I'd also like to point out that comics are our Greek Heroes, the characters we talk about and who's stories we retell time and again, so it's like the old Greek stage plays featuring the heroes of the time.
