Now that a trailer has been released for Kenneth Branagh's screen version of Marvel's "Thor", rest assured that we here at Twitch have been discussing the film amongst ourselves no end. And Kenneth Branagh. And Marvel. And captain America. And superheroes in general, for that matter.
Thing is, I've always dug Thor as a valid comic-book character. As a part of the Norse Mythology, in my youth he was as real to me as, say, figures from a famous fairytale or indeed comic-book superheroes. To see him BE a comic-book superhero was therefore not strange at all. Both Marvel and DC were throwing the weirdest storylines around with only the most tenuous links to reality anyway, so The Mighty Thor wasn't the oddest character out there.
But movies are a different story of course, especially those which treat such a character as a standalone story instead of as being a part of a gloriously eclectic universe.
And this begs the question: just how ridiculous can the concept of a superhero get before it's impossible to make a halfway serious movie about him / her?
Has "Thor" already crossed that line in your opinion?
Are there superheroes out there which have been treated seriously by Marvel or DC but you'd consider impossible to make a serious film about because the end-result would be inherently ludicrous?
Have Your Say!
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"Now that a trailer has been released for Kenneth Branagh's screen version of Marvel's THOR" --what, a new one? today?
Two Words: Silver Surfer.
Marvel: the Zombie story line with all the superheroes.
I don't think that would work at all.
And I hear the Norwegians are sending Ninjas :-)
That line of ridiculousness has long passed by Superman.
For me the line got crossed with "Ghost Rider", as no matter how serious / dark / depressed they'd try to make that storyline, the visuals would always remain too silly.
But for future features, I'd like to see someone try and do a serious version of Erik Larson's "The Savage Dragon".
Seriously.
Just try and keep a straight face while thinking about it.
Wonder Woman sounds too absurd to me unless creative license are made. For instance, how do they explain the invisible plane and how she was created from clay?
The way Thor supposed to fly by twirling his hammer like a helicopter seems too silly.
I know that I'm just re-hashing my comment to the Captain America In Action shot, but I believe that if the filmmakers — the writers, producers, directors and actors — can take the material seriously enough, they may be able to convey that seriousness onscreen. They have the potential to deliver serious fun to us moviegoers, and maybe even give us the movies we want. For my money — which I laid down on two separate occasions to watch The Incredible Hulk — this can be done successfully.Despite its box-office take, Edward Norton's screenplay and portrayal worked for me; it had gravitas, as well as The Dark Knight, and Watchmen. But if the filmmakers feel silly about their product, and are condescending to the audience that will make up the core group they want to attract (comic book geeks) they will also convey that feeling of silliness to the audience and the movies will suffer, as will anyone who pays $10-12 per ticket to watch them. I didn't pay anything to watch the Fantastic Four movies, I saw them on cable, and I still felt ripped off. It's all about the GRAVITAS. It is there, or it isn't.
And yes, by serious I do mean "be faithful to the comic and not parody/mock the character".
You know, I think it all comes down to the writing. Superman CAN be a good movie. But if you are going to tap Lex Luthor again, tell the story right. Lex is our native "Super Man". His genius would have led us to a new age. He goes sour BECAUSE of Superman. He is the reaction. Earth's natural anti-body to the alien invader. Tell that story.
Green Lantern played by Jason Statham. (Guy Gardner) I think that would be a darker much more grounded movie.
Plastic Man isn't just silly, the world around him is silly. But you can tell that story by showing that silly cartoon world only when the story unfolds through his eyes. The process that made him so plastic also affected him psychologically...say.
It's all about the story, the hero journey and the writing. DC's Captain Carrot may be too far to be taken seriously...
A silly comic is not to blame, since Hollywood consistently makes the movies MORE silly than the comic books. What the hell was the "incredible hulk"? First he fights a monster poodle, and then a showdown with giant CG particle cloud?? The director tells us he doesn't read comic books (but from what he can gather they appear to be split screen, so he does that).
Too silly is not the problem! The problem is that Hollywood is too embarrassed doing it! Instead of sticking to a time tested mythology -they have to make everything serious, gritty, dark, and hollywood (by filmmakers who don't believe in the subject matter). It all just looks like "super mario brothers the movie" to me.