Craig Priddle
You don’t have to be a fan of superhero comics to enjoy the movies, but I ask one thing – don’t reject them out of hand because they are based on comic books, you may be a fan of the genre already, unwittingly…and you have absolutely no reason to be embarrassed.
Currently playing just about everywhere are comic book (superhero genre) movies; The Amazing Spider-Man 2, and Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Coming up in two weeks is X-Men: Days of Future Past. They are respectively…good, better, and I expect (from the cast, trailers, talk and forums) X-Men will be the best (of these three).
Full disclosure here. I have to admit I’m one of those who turn up at the screenings with my Marvel or DC comics’ tshirt on. I am a true believer. I love this stuff.
If you are a newcomer to the genre, you may be surprised at how dark superhero movies are getting. Death, corruption at the highest level and on the grandest scale, huge sacrifices and loss, are all, if not common, at least unsurprising in superhero movies. They handle big issues. Sure they often do it spandex with incredible abs and gorgeous hair, but they do handle big issues. This isn’t really a new thing to the stories, although it might be new to these movies.
Comic books aren’t just about superheroes, and don’t let anybody try to tell you otherwise. In Japan, Manga comics are read by everyone and cover every topic. You may think yourself a newcomer incorrectly in fact. The stories these superhero and comic book movies are based on span universes. You’ve possibly even found yourself enjoying the occasional comic book based movie without knowing it.
Something like Blue is The Warmest Colour (last year’s treat was a comic in 2010), Annie (the orphan redhead started life in the funny papers in 1924), Barbarella (Jane Fonda stripping in space was a comic in the early 60s….), Road to Perdition (Tom Hanks in hardass mode…was a 1998 comic based on a Japanese series from 1970), From Hell (Johnny Depp tracking down Jack The Ripper is based on a series started in 1989), or the ridiculously good fun RED (Helen Mirren in an evening gown and combat boots firing a huge gun…MUST SEE… a comic in 2003).
If you find yourself surprised at some of the above titles, you may find that you are secretly a huge fan of comic book based movies once you start reading around on the interwebs. There is a huge variety of genres and a large back catalog of films based on comic books.
If you do like the more traditional stories though and you missed Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen who just finished performing Samuel Beckett’s Waiting For Godot and Harold Pinter’s No Man’s Land on Broadway, don’t worry, they’ll soon be available to enjoy in X-Men: Days of Future Past.
It’ll be everywhere. See you there.
The Amazing Spider-Man 2: 7/10
Captain America: The Winter Soldier: 8/10
X-Men: Days of Future Past: let’s decide together….
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