ourchair
Well-Known Member
I think it's a little presumptuous to try to find one reason, and say that a good superhero movie is about 'staying slavishly faithful' or 'not trying to please everybody' or 'star cast'. There is no ONE way to make a good superhero movie. Hell, there isn't even ONE way to make a profitable superhero movie (good or bad).
With regards to Sin City and the involvement of Frank Miller... (though it's not a superhero movie, but that point is moot) Does anybody sincerely believe that superhero movies would be better if Stan Lee or John Byrne or Mark Waid was involved with Fantastic Four?
....
On a more future-oriented note, I'm actually feeling relatively optimistic about Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk. Downey and Norton are hardly my ideal picks for who should play these characters, but if you stop and think, choosing actors who have a very specific and cultivated approach to their careers, is a very good thing.
This was my problem with Fantastic Four: The actors attached to the film have little to no clout or negotiating power to shape the nature of the film. They aren't bad actors, they're just in a position where they can't deliberate with the rest of the crew to make a better film.
Downey and Norton are hardly the most internationally recognized or highest paid names in the business, but they have the reputation in Hollywood to fight to infuse their own performances with some kind of point or purpose, and in that sense I'm kind of glad that the scripts for both films weren't done when they signed on.
I mean, I'd say that the Spider-Man films aren't perfect, but you have to admit that for all the backlash that Maguire and Dunst get for their relatively open disinterest in meeting their contractual obligations, they've made it certain that the scripts have to carry some kind of acting meat in them to sustain their interest, and that puts Ziskin, Curtis & Raimi in a place where they can't just hire some idiot
, I mean hack, to cobble together garbage.
Actors like Alba and McMahon just don't seem visibly interested in arguing to improve the work they're given and although people like Norton and Downey aren't necessarily GUARANTEES that a film will be good, you can bet your money that they won't take scripts that include, "Do you know what happens when a toad gets struck by lightning?"
With regards to Sin City and the involvement of Frank Miller... (though it's not a superhero movie, but that point is moot) Does anybody sincerely believe that superhero movies would be better if Stan Lee or John Byrne or Mark Waid was involved with Fantastic Four?
....
On a more future-oriented note, I'm actually feeling relatively optimistic about Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk. Downey and Norton are hardly my ideal picks for who should play these characters, but if you stop and think, choosing actors who have a very specific and cultivated approach to their careers, is a very good thing.
This was my problem with Fantastic Four: The actors attached to the film have little to no clout or negotiating power to shape the nature of the film. They aren't bad actors, they're just in a position where they can't deliberate with the rest of the crew to make a better film.
Downey and Norton are hardly the most internationally recognized or highest paid names in the business, but they have the reputation in Hollywood to fight to infuse their own performances with some kind of point or purpose, and in that sense I'm kind of glad that the scripts for both films weren't done when they signed on.
I mean, I'd say that the Spider-Man films aren't perfect, but you have to admit that for all the backlash that Maguire and Dunst get for their relatively open disinterest in meeting their contractual obligations, they've made it certain that the scripts have to carry some kind of acting meat in them to sustain their interest, and that puts Ziskin, Curtis & Raimi in a place where they can't just hire some idiot
Don Payne
Actors like Alba and McMahon just don't seem visibly interested in arguing to improve the work they're given and although people like Norton and Downey aren't necessarily GUARANTEES that a film will be good, you can bet your money that they won't take scripts that include, "Do you know what happens when a toad gets struck by lightning?"
).
