CBC's Fresh Question #26. Summer Super Hero Flicks. Thumbs up, Thumbs Down.

[Emerald Archer]

Welcome back all.

Last question got a good response so that makes me feel like at least a few of you are reading my insane ramblings.

As always, the previous machinations of the semi conscience mind that sits here and ponders the imponderables can be found here. (http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?t=113532)

Now on to the Joel Schumacher school of film making!
________________________________________________________________

CBC's Fresh Question #26. Summer Super Hero Flicks. Thumbs up, Thumbs Down, and the Buzz!

Summer is upon us and yet again we are faced with myriad superhero fare to choose from.

The buzz is already other there. Some movies are already being touted as the best Super Hero flicks of all time, others are being labeled as franchise killers.

SO here is the question. What do you predict will be the hits and misses this summer. What have you already seen that was great. Did Hellboy meet you expectations? Are you waiting for the return of Frank Castle? Will you be in line for Van Helsing 2?

Is Spider-Man 2 going to be the best super hero flick of all time? What about Catwoman?

And what of the future, what are you looking forward to? Batman Begins? Iron Man with a possible staring role for Tom Cruise. The Fantastic Four? How about Elektra.

Time to become Ebert or whomever the sidekick is this week and TALK MOVIES!

EA

[Nick K.]

Great Question. Let me start off with movies that have passed, move into upcoming and then further upcoming.

X-Men was an okay movie, but not what I'd call good, in terms of its comic origins and keeping with it. They made it too different and it was kind of not the X-Men I had grown up liking. Then I saw X2: X-Men United and said wow! This movie was only 2 weeks after the first but it felt different, better, and I liked it. I'd say the best hero movie so far.

Moving on to Hellboy. It was allright, but I didn't like it much. Not a fan of the character or the comic. The ending was anticlimatic and boring. I was fidgeting the whole movie. Meh.

The Hulk was bad. The story was terrible. Didn't like it.

Daredevil was also bad. I liked it but why did he have to kill? It made no sense. Elektra looks like it will be like Daredevil. It could be better. Who knows?

Spider-Man # 1 was good. I think Spider-Man 2 will rule. It will rock. And Ebert says best hero movie of all time. Yey!

The Punisher was a good movie. I thought it was one of the better hero movies. However, it didn't get a good response, sadly. And it looks like tehre won't be a #2 now. :(

Van Helsing. Pure cheesy crap. I hated it. I laughed the whole time at how bad it was.

Catwoman is going to suck. "Nuff said.

Batman Begins will be better then Spider-Man 2.

And that's all I gotta say.

[Condiment King]

I personally don't like that Marvel is trying to make every one of their comic properties into a franchise. Considering the multitude of heroes they've sent to the bigscreen since 2000 (X-Men, Spider-Man, Daredevil, Hulk, Punisher) and the heroes that will or may be sent (Fantastic Four, Iron Man, and others), I don't find it logical to be making sequels and kickstarting franchises out of all of them. I had always hoped that Spider-Man and X-Men would remain the only Marvel franchises while movies like Daredevil and Hulk remained one-shots.

As for the movies themselves, I haven't seen any of the Marvel movies from 2004 yet but plan to see Spider-Man. X-Men 2 is my current favorite from Marvel.

DC is literally just horrible. There is no saving grace for the sinking ship that is Catwoman. Batman Begins has a few promising things but I don't expect it to be all that spellbinding either. Frankly, I have given up hope for a GOOD logical Warner Bros. DC movie long ago. All we have now are rumors and most of them are anything but promising.

[Icer]

I'll do mine like the first reply, little critique of the movie/what I think of potential sequel(s).

X-Men part 1 was a good movie especially being the first in a big line of Marvel franchises making it's way to film.
X-Men part 2 was exponentially better than part 1, and builded and improved everything that was wrong/lacking from the first one. As it stands now, it's my favorite comic book movie.

Spider-Man part 1 was great, I felt at the time it was the best comic book movie. It lived up to all my expectations.
Spider-Man part 2 looks like it's going to be amazing, June 30th cant get here soon enough. X2 might have to move over.

Daredevil gets alot of flack from people but I kind of liked it, the only parts I didnt like was the murder part & too much focus on Elektra.
Daredevil part 2 will probably never be a realization since it wasn't a huge success, and I heard Ben Affleck wants no part of starring in another action movie. Best part of the movie was Bullseye easily, the story could have worked better with just him. Hell part 2, could be just about him now that the Hand is no longer available because of...

Elektra, they are using the Hand for this movie. I didnt like the character in the DD movie, but I'll watch it regardless. Who knows, it may be good.

The Hulk was a good movie, but it was flawed. Ang Lee was the wrong director for this movie. It needed more focus on Banner hating Hulk, and it lacked punch which all super hero movies have. The final battle was a snoozer, but I did like the story and the actors portrayals.
The Hulk 2 would need a serious revamp, a new director is needed as well as a real villain (Abomination?). But it seems less likely as time goes by that Eric Bana/Jennifer Connely would reprise there roles to do what would be a completely different type of movie. With more focus on inner conflict and better fights.

Iron Man could be a really good story if the right actor is cast for Tony Stark and it's not too cheesy and over the top.

The Punisher was good, it's what I expected. Travolta should have been more menacing and posed a larger final threat, but what can you do.
The Punisher 2 wont happen since part 1 didnt do too well, unless it's like a DTV since it probably wont have Thomas Jane star in it again. Jigsaw (the rumored part 2 bad guy) would have been a good movie villain.

Catwoman is going to suck, that's all that needs to be said. It's an insult to comic book movies in general, and will bomb. (Not a very good character to make a movie about anyway)

Batman Begins has alot of promise, it could be a major hit. I have big hopes for it. Stupid name though, Batman Begins?

Superman is in bad shape, I dont think there will be a good movie made because they will probably rush it out and it would suck.

Hellboy was great, I didnt know too much about the story going in but it was a good movie, and I'm excited there is going to be a sequel.

[Eddie G.]

My Opinion on the Silverage of Comic Book (as in not just superhero movies, because Ghost World and American Splendor are better than X2) Movies
Blade
The first Blade was not a great movie and was hardly good, but it was enjoyable and was what it was. The film in my opinion should have been more dirty and not as stylized in direction. I also don't like Snipes very much, there are a lot of actors more suited for the role, I hope he doesn't get the role of Black Panther.

The second Blade was okay, I liked it in concept but felt it was a little much at times and just a tad predictable. Basically all my probblems with the original Blade were taken to a new extreme. Although I did enjoy Snipes just a little more in this one.

The X-men
The X-men was what it was and would have been a better film if it came after Spiderman, altough I sort of think that Spiderman was a better film because X-men lead the way for it. It is sort of tough to just throw yourself into a superhero movie like this, no one had done a true comic book movie since Superman II and the last real superhero film was Batman and Robin. Further more there has never been a super team movie besides the pilot to Justice League and the Fantastic Four movie, which both sucked. But despite the leather and what I still say should have been navy blue replaced by black it was a good film that stayed true to the comics. This is very noble when going into untested waters. However I felt that this film needed another half hour or forty five minutes, I really wish I could have seen some more time spent on Rogue and the x-kids, connections between Logan and Creed, more time on Scott and Storm. It is a good film but a very flawed one.

X2 is the standard of superhero films which will shortly be out done by Spiderman 2. The film was realistic, dealt with many characters and was able to give all of them as much screen time as each needed. There were some great moments for the fanboys but the film never pandered. The writing could have been better but it was still a good film. It was the sup-opera a X-men should be.

Ghost World
Many of the true blue Ghost World fans had problems with the film which wasn't the most pure adaptation. But on the standard of movies it is one of the greatest films I've ever seen, one of my favorites. All the actors are excellent, especially Mr. Buscemi.

Road to Pedition
I've never read the work that inspired this film nor the work that inspired the work that inspired this film. However I liked this movie a lot, the acting was top notch, direction was excellent- I would have loved to see some storyboards for this film. Not much of a Hanks fan but really enjoyed this movie.

American Splendor
Is it a comic book movie? Questionable, it's part biography, part autobiography, part documentry, and if it truly adpats the source it takes its name from- I can't say. I'll say it gets the feel of what it was adapting. Either way this is an original film that doesn't play around, the characters are real and loveable, the writing is smart, the acting top notch, and sense of storytelling wonderful.

Spiderman
The movie is not as great as some will make it out to be. I liked it a lot mind you, but felt many flaws existed. For example I can never watch a yellow school bus with high school kids going through Queens something I except. WE TAKE THE DAMN CITY BUS, DO YOUR DAMN HOMEWORK! Beyond that I felt while the Green Goblin was played wonderfully by Dafoe and even the Power Ranger suit was acceptable (I wish the glider was a little more rusty though) I thought his character was poorly written. Some of the CGI was bad, and I think that Gwen-Jay could have been pulled of better. Good film, not that great.

As for the sequel, I'm seeing it on my birthday, got my tickets this afternoon. This movie looks amazing, the special effects seem awesome, the drama is there, and I like the acting samples that we've been getting. The film should by great.

Daredevil
It is like someone ate Frank Miller and then threw him up, but for some reason none of Miller's talent came out. The movie felt uber dark, pandered to comic book fans in all the wrong places and didn't spend enough time on its characters. This is a poor exuse for a movie that was pumped out with the idea that it will make money. I did like Ben as Matt though, I really wish he had some support on the side of writing and directing.

Hulk
I took this girl and her friend to see this and never saw them again. It was to far from the source material for a comic book fan to enjoy and it was to arrogant and artsy in how it was presented for the general public to enjoy. Threre are some really great moments in this film, really. But at the end of the day it just doesn't add up to much. The very ending in the Amazon kicks as though.

Hellboy
This was a fun movie, not great but fun and very interesting. I liked the directing and special effects.

Fantastic Four
I like how this is working out, can't really comment, haven't heard enough.

Y the Last Man
I really wish they would wait for the series to end before they even start making the movie.

Batman Begins
Solid script, great actors, excellent director. Can't wait.

I know I haven't commented on every movie that has came out, but I haven't seen a few and I haven't heard enough about some.

[Mynd Hed]

While the current wave of comic book movies beginning with Blade and soon to include Spidey 2 has carried with it its share of stinkers and at least one upcoming potential stinker (you know the ones I mean), it's also come with more genuinely entertaining films than most similar film trends (disaster movies post-ID4, hip teen slasher flicks post-Scream, etc.). Thumbs up.

[Parallax]

I'm not one to talk, but if some of us started going to these movies looking for a good movie and not a good adaptation, alot more of us would be pleased.

Except for Hulk. No excuse for that peace of crap.

[Emerald Archer]

News in this week is that the long awaited Superman film has been given the green light to film this fall. More information can be found at the Super Hero Hype Web Site. (http://www.superherohype.com/superman/index.php?id=1700)