Today Patrick asks the
question most of Fandom would rather not ask themselves: Are Fandom’s standards
too high?
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| Movies: A Fan's home |
One thing that has always bugged me as a member of fandom is how there
are people out there that are never happy. Fan power has never been as power as
it is now and it’s down to the internet (ironically the medium I’m using). The question
I think we need to ask and ask the trolls too: Are our standards too high?
Casting
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| Affleck as Batman |
This is the most controversial of all the calls that can be made in the
movie business. Most people have an idea of who Batman should be, who should
play Superman, who should play Mary Jane (that you has been played out aggressively
on the internet), but can you please everyone. For me casting is important but
that I think the majority of the time directors get it right. I thought
Shailene Woodley was a good choice for MJ Watson and for me it’s a pity that
she has been left in the dark about the Amazing Spider-Man series. Ben Affleck
is another controversial casting choice but again I think he will be a good fit
for Batman/Bruce Wayne. I think he will bring something different to the
characters from Christian Bale’s interpretation, which I think is needed. When looking
back at casting decisions there have been more success stories then there have
been flops, the obvious ones being Heath Ledger as The Joker, Hugh Jackman as
Wolverine, and Daniel Craig as James Bond etc. I think the script, tone and
direction of the film has a great more deal to do with whether the movie is
good or not.
Oversaturation
Other the last few years the amount out there for Fandom has been
immense. One thing isn’t over when we are onto the next. Does the
oversaturation of the market make it harder for us to distinguish the good from
the bad? To a degree yes would be my answer. For instance I liked Iron Man 3, Man of Steel and Star Trek:
Into Darkness but a great deal of fans were disappointed by them. Why? The
anticipation was at fever pitch for both, which is a new feature as trailers
and publicity for both were huge features to the build up. Again, the appetite
to know about the films and not just wait to see what they were like meant that
many had ruined the films for themselves before going to see them. This meant
that the best part waiting for the movie was gone. The oversaturation of the
market meant that people are eventually going to be picking and choosing and
nitpicking about the movies. At the end of the day the overall standard of
these movies in terms of acting, production etc. are amazing. To be giving them
such overbearing meaning is wrong; enjoy them for what they are; fun, popcorn
movies.
Direction
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| Nolan vision grounded in reality. |
The more I read and view or research Fandom, the more negativity I come
across. Lots of movies in the past year have been criticised for the direction
they took. All the movies I mentioned earlier are bearer of this. Fans have
been over critical for artistic choices made for the movies. In all those
movies I wasn’t too upset with any of the points most fans had points of
contention with. Sure I’ve watched movies that have had things that bugged me
but in the end I watched them again and they didn’t bother me as much. It’s
funny how casting is related to this. Ben Affleck in Daredevil was blamed as being the problem for it being a poor
movie. He was only a small part of the movie. In the end it was with the
direction of the movie that most people were upset with. For most people were
happy with Nolan’s take on the Batman series but not everyone. Again, it’s direction.
Nolan chose to ground it in a sense of reality. I think that for many it worked
but for those who don’t like it, it’s up to taste. What I don’t like is that
people blame him for taking “Comic book movies to a gritty, realistic place”. To
those people I say don’t be silly, all innovators have imitators.
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| Iron Man 3 disappointed some |
I Want Something Originally
Classic
With most of Fandom having an original mediums in books or comics etc,
fans want to see classic stories on the screen. Again direction and script has
a bearing on this. Others want original stories portrayed on screen because
they have already seen the classic stories. It’s impossible to win. Especially when
details have to be changed to make it more compatible for the screen (character
of Bane being one, loved Tom Hardy by the way). I think a good story is all we
need to see. When it’s well executed then that’s good enough for me. I don’t
get bogged down on this sort of thing and I believe others shouldn’t either.
Comparing movies
(especially Marvel and DC!)
Don’t do it and it’s silly to do so. They’re different and that’s a good
thing. No flame wars please! (No matter how entertaining they are).
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| Marvel vs DC: Enough already. |
The main problem is, as you've already pointed out, that of oversaturation. The Superhero market in all its various incarnations, from comics to movies to tv shows, is massive. Bigger than it's ever been.
ReplyDeleteI believe this is largely down to two factors, namely sfx and the internet. Hollywood has been able to deliver authentic on-screen heroes for over a decade now, in part largely because of improvements in directing and sfx post-Matrix. Super-heroes have found mainstream appeal and have therefore become hot property, bringing in billions of dollars every year.
The internet has also contributed in a major way to the popularity of super-heroes. News site, fan-sites, message boards, online trailers, you name it it exists and can be used for promotion, tapping into a global audience.
Both of these factors combine to hype-up super-hero franchises to the extent that people expect too much from them. Look back at the marketing for The Dark Knight or Man of Steel. These films are promoted as if they're the ultimate cinematic experience. They gain mythic, cult-like status months before they hit the screens.
This hype inevitably leads to dissapointment when the films don't match up to the market campaigns and the hopes of fanboys.
Although I believe that The Dark Knight and Spiderman 1 and 2 were great films. This is down to the reasons you list above, namely those of great script, direction and casting. As you've already said yourself, if all of these work together then they can often deliver a film befitting of the hype.