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Comic Con?!

The document discusses comic book movies and their adaptations from source material. It notes that while some films like The Dark Knight and 300 have been very successful adaptations, many other comic book movies have failed to fully capture the complexity, depth and excitement of the original comics. However, when directors and writers put more care and effort into faithfully adapting the source material, high quality comic book movies can be achieved. The author argues that many comic book movies have instead been "low risk, lazy money-spinners" but hopes that audiences will start demanding better adaptations of the rich stories and characters from comics.

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Francesca Jarvis
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96 views1 page

Comic Con?!

The document discusses comic book movies and their adaptations from source material. It notes that while some films like The Dark Knight and 300 have been very successful adaptations, many other comic book movies have failed to fully capture the complexity, depth and excitement of the original comics. However, when directors and writers put more care and effort into faithfully adapting the source material, high quality comic book movies can be achieved. The author argues that many comic book movies have instead been "low risk, lazy money-spinners" but hopes that audiences will start demanding better adaptations of the rich stories and characters from comics.

Uploaded by

Francesca Jarvis
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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COMIC CON?!
omic books and graphic novels have provided the basis for a whole host of movies over the last decade or so. From Superman to Batman, Sin City to Blade, these cinematic reincarnations of beloved animation and beautiful artwork have never been so relevant. There are a few notable exceptions, of course, that perhaps aren't so noteworthy, but that's not my fight. 'Comic-book movies' are extremely difficult to produce: for the most part, there is often an army of dedicated comic-yielding fans to please, and that in itself ain't an easy task. I know plenty of these crazed yielders, and expectations are sky bloody high when it boils down to these films. Perhaps the best place to start to prove my 'thumbs-up-to-comicbook-films' theory is the recently reinvigorated Batman franchise. Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins took comic book material and made it into a proper film, without gimmicks or a suitably vivid and colourful superhero fantasy world to fall back on. Three years later, Nolan did it all over again with The Dark Knight, drawing upon relevant themes of terrorism, fear and paranoia, all of which exist at the heart of our own contemporary society and applying them to Wayne's own make-believe universe. It worked on a magnificent scale. In a similar vein, Frank Miller's graphic novels, 300 and Sin City, were both

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"iron-fran vs. the simcredible hulk"


adapted for the screen in bold and daring ways, particularly considering the technological innovations employed by both directors. The exceptional use of computer-generated imagery and blue-screen methods ensured both films never strayed from their roots within the graphic novel, and instead stayed firmly implanted within the world of fantasy created on paper. It is arguably the darker, grittier films that work better both aesthetically and thematically in comparison to the cartoonish gimmicks of some others; Blade, X-Men 2 and Hellboy all fall into this edgier, stylised category of film-making and all three are brilliantly executed takes on their source material. Even Spiderman 2, in all of its 12A certification glory, was the saving grace of the trilogy: Alfred Molina's Dr Octopus, some fucking awesome special effects and that niggling Peter ParkerMary-Jane love story made for an entertaining sequel and a maturer follow up to its predecessor. Plus, you can't complain when the Wizard Stan Lee himself, cameos, a neat reoccurrence of every Marvel movie. That's not to say there haven't been some ruddy awful comicbook movies made for the purpose of a quick big-wig buck, but for the most part, these films are awe-inspiring feats of character construction, story-telling and CGI. With plenty more in the pipeline, ranging from Thor to The Watchmen, the comicbook genre is nowhere near it's untimely and catastrophic demise just yet. And deep down, aren't you all pretty glad. Pow! Shazam! Take that, The Simcredible Jerkoff. n the post 9/11 era its been difficult to shake the feeling that we are allwell, not really super enough to be honest. The sudden explosion of public interest in our humble underwear sporting champions, and the huge box office of 2002s Spiderman has resulted in Hollywood thrusting a veritable smorgasbord of caped crusaders down our retinas at every given opportunity. Before we continue though, let me set out my position. I like comic books. Not as much as some, but I like them nevertheless. Ive read a selection of both Marvel and DCs offerings and enjoyed and understood them (theyre about girls right?....just kidding). Hell, Watchmen is one of my all time favourite novels. I am, in other words, no snobbish prig who wants to run down comic book movies because theyre based on texts that aren't culturally valued yet. Indeed, it is because I respect comic books as a rich and important visual and verbal medium that I have donned my purple pants to write this very article. Comic book movies have been, to-date, almost universally disappointing. From the not too bad, but I still want to weep quietly into my marvel collection for a while adventures of Superman, Iron Man and Hellboy, to the terrifying oh God, my eyes, my eyesis that Nick Cage? experience of Ghost Rider, Daredevil, Electra, Catwoman and The Fantastic 4 they have nearly all managed to fall short of their printed source material (notice, out of an over developed sense of fair play, I have yet to mention the steaming pile of shite that masqueraded as The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen). No man, woman, child, or supernatural being from the planet Krypton

52 /film@gairrhydd.com

(take note Obama) could possibly deny that, with the exception of perhaps Batman (please remember the monstrosities that were Batman Forever and Batman and Robin), comic book films have failed to replicate the plot complexity, character depth, emotional development, subtlety or sense of sheer sodding excitement of the comics they are based on. Perhaps its in some ways understandable considering that comic books have hundreds of issues at their disposal when creating their characters mythologies. However, that isnt really an excuse. As The Dark Knight so wonderfully demonstrated this summer, it can be done when directors and writers start to do their ruddy jobs and cease to simply use the comics as storyboards (here's looking at you Frank MIller). When you consider how much money has been ploughed into these movies, it is hard not to wonder what original blockbusters havent been made as a result. But that isnt really the point. These movies are being churned out at such a rate because they are low risk, lazy money-spinners - even Catwoman took $82 million. As we stand we have a mere handful of worthy comic book movies and more are due this coming year. What we need to decide is whether well start demanding better from these films, or keep on buying into this comic con regardless. SMASH! How's that for a Simcredible sign off Iron-Fran? You're going to go down, down like a lead balloon...I mean Iron. Balloon that is. Shit.

film@gairrhydd.com / 53

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