period film (with laser eyes)
Feb. 17th, 2011 10:20 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
holliI am cautiously optimistic about the X-Men: First Class movie. This is surprising the hell out of me, but I think it's mostly because they made the decision to set the movie in the '60s, where it belongs. I have long had a theory that half the reason superhero movies frequently flop is that they are set in the wrong damn era. The right era, of course, being when the comics debuted.
Think about it. The upcoming Wonder Woman TV show looks dubious at best (although I am cheered by casting spoilers), but would you watch a Wonder Woman movie set in the '40s? I know I would, mostly because it would mean period fashion (making her costume semi-sensible) and lots of WW smashing the the shit out of Nazis. Wasn't one of the best things about Watchmen the attention to period detail, especially in that fantastic opening sequence? (Obviously, Watchmen had major issues. But they got a few things right.) The Fantastic Four movies just didn't work, in part because you cannot convince me that a couple of grown-ass 21st century men would willingly call themselves Mister Fantastic and Doctor Doom. In the 60s? Sure they would.
We have the technology now to make superpowers look convincing on screen, something we lacked when most of our favorite comics actually debuted. But that doesn't mean we have to make superhero movies look super-modern.
...okay, honestly? All of this is basically an excuse for how I desperately want a movie about Ralph and Sue Dibny, set in the '60s, done in the style of a Doris Day/Rock Hudson romantic comedy. Like Down With Love, but with superpowers! THINK ABOUT IT.
(eta: I am not touching the Batman movies because I do not want this post to turn into a giant rant about the invisibility of women in Christopher Nolan's movies, and also there is a lot I can say about how all superheroes apparently have to be bro-dudes now (Iron Man, Green Lantern, Green Hornet), but I am trying to stay on-topic.)
Think about it. The upcoming Wonder Woman TV show looks dubious at best (although I am cheered by casting spoilers), but would you watch a Wonder Woman movie set in the '40s? I know I would, mostly because it would mean period fashion (making her costume semi-sensible) and lots of WW smashing the the shit out of Nazis. Wasn't one of the best things about Watchmen the attention to period detail, especially in that fantastic opening sequence? (Obviously, Watchmen had major issues. But they got a few things right.) The Fantastic Four movies just didn't work, in part because you cannot convince me that a couple of grown-ass 21st century men would willingly call themselves Mister Fantastic and Doctor Doom. In the 60s? Sure they would.
We have the technology now to make superpowers look convincing on screen, something we lacked when most of our favorite comics actually debuted. But that doesn't mean we have to make superhero movies look super-modern.
...okay, honestly? All of this is basically an excuse for how I desperately want a movie about Ralph and Sue Dibny, set in the '60s, done in the style of a Doris Day/Rock Hudson romantic comedy. Like Down With Love, but with superpowers! THINK ABOUT IT.
(eta: I am not touching the Batman movies because I do not want this post to turn into a giant rant about the invisibility of women in Christopher Nolan's movies, and also there is a lot I can say about how all superheroes apparently have to be bro-dudes now (Iron Man, Green Lantern, Green Hornet), but I am trying to stay on-topic.)
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Date: 2011-02-17 04:42 pm (UTC)Also, it explains why some Super Hero movies seemed to work fairly well: Hellboy works, because Hellboy is essentially a modern SuperHero.
(Although I think Batman should be set in the 50s. 30s Batman is kinda silly.)
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Date: 2011-02-17 04:55 pm (UTC)Can we compromise on '40s Batman?
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Date: 2011-02-17 05:54 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-02-17 06:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-02-17 04:45 pm (UTC)One of the things that makes BTAS so nifty is the way it's got the '40's aesthetic going even with the computers. The cars, the dirigibles, the styling--that's my Batman.
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Date: 2011-02-17 04:56 pm (UTC)Yup, that is totally one of the things that makes BTAS great.