3 ms·

To throw things in a greek setting, Marvel is traditionally comedy and DC is tragedy. Iron Man is a drunken, womanizing asshole. Robert Downey Jr was is brillia

by jfoutz 10y ago

To throw things in a greek setting, Marvel is traditionally comedy and DC is tragedy. Iron Man is a drunken, womanizing asshole. Robert Downey Jr was is brilliant because he's still likeable. Sure, he's rich, but his life is a mess. You can look down on him. He's a fun guy, you want him to make it, but he's still kind of a scumbag. Christopher Nolan's Batman is the opposite. Sure, he's rich, but he's facing some big demons. There's a note of sadness, because in spite of his advantages, he faces some terrible challenges. You feel for the guy, because he suffers so much. Marvel is relatable, at least i'm handling my life better than that guy. DC is aspirational, i wish i was strong enough to handle what they handle. This is a sweeping generalization, but i think it's generally true. I've seen most of the movies the author called out, and i enjoyed them. I can't say i enjoyed them enough to see in a theater, but they're fun. I think of them as Saturday afternoon matinee movies. I like movies. I don't mind flaws, but those popcorn movies are something i'll wait to watch on a Tuesday night with a couple of beers. I think warner's big problem is they're spending 100+ million dollars to produce something that's in the 20-60 million range. I'll watch them, independent of production value, because i like movies. But i'm going to get the $2.99 SD itunes version, i'm not going to spend the 12 bucks to see that in the theater. (i did see suicide squad opening night, but the ticket was free) I hope they figure it out. WB made some great stuff, and some fun stuff. They're just not quite calibrated right. If you're going to blow 100M+ on a movie, you really need the details right. Calling back to Suicide squad, it was fun. I really enjoyed it, and i'd be happy to pay 3-5 dollars on a weeknight to watch it. If i had to pay $12 for the ticket, and another $10 for the popcorn and soda (how can you not get popcorn and soda?!? it completes the experience!) I'd be annoyed.

sandworm101 10y ago
Iron man is a jerk. He is the embodiment of all that is wrong with our economy. But that is why the Marvel movies work. That's what I like about them. The characters are human enough for me to actually care. Superman? He is too flat for me to have any opinion. For all the bluster, the MCU is full of metaphor and leveled humor. My favorite is the 1-minute WWII skit in Avengers (The old jewish man about to be killed by the german, saved by the soldier who then needs the scientist to force a surrender ... that's the american story of WWII.) It isn't historically accurate, but it's fun. You don't see stuff like that in the DC movies. They have no metaphor, no depth. That requires writers and crews who both care about the work and aren't afraid for their jobs.
- jfoutz 10y ago
  > Superman? He is too flat for me to have any opinion. IMHO, Superman is ethical. He'll stop a nuclear launch and get a cat out of a tree, because he's the ultimate boy scout. Every problem is important to solve, and he has the power to, at least try, to solve them all. Violate ethics for the greater good? Never. I don't think the Superman point has really come across since Christopher Reeve. I really liked the Nolan Batman movies. He was able to really capture the spirit of that character. It's a shame WB couldn't put that together for Superman.
  - sandworm101 10y ago
    That he is ethical is part of the problem. He is the perpetual rescuer. He doesn't initiate action, only reacts to situations forced upon him. IronMan does things because he wants to. He has an internal personality. Thor has an internal life. Even Hulk makes decisions on his own occasionally. Superman's role, like Captain America, is to apply ethics to a situation created by someone else. They are perpetually innocent, perpetually perfect, and therefore perpetually boring. My favorite characters are probably Colson and Fury, both dynamic people who take action on their own. The make mistakes because they make mistakes, not because they are forced or tricked into doing so by evil guy. We don't always know what they are thinking, or by which ethical rules they operate. That's interesting. That's worth watching. Batman and Superman are empty shells in comparison.
    - deleted 10y ago
      [deleted]
- maxerickson 10y ago
  One of my favorite Iron Man scenes is after he almost kills the US pilot and then giggles with his best friend about the new thing he just used to murder a bunch of terrorists. It makes it so clear that you aren't really supposed to think about what is happening. Killing multiple terrorists to escape probably isn't murder. An individual spending vast amounts of money to build a weapon, flying half way across the world and killing a bunch of people is obviously murder.

by jfoutz 10y ago

sandworm101 10y ago

Iron man is a jerk. He is the embodiment of all that is wrong with our economy. But that is why the Marvel movies work. That's what I like about them. The characters are human enough for me to actually care. Superman? He is too flat for me to have any opinion. For all the bluster, the MCU is full of metaphor and leveled humor. My favorite is the 1-minute WWII skit in Avengers (The old jewish man about to be killed by the german, saved by the soldier who then needs the scientist to force a surrender ... that's the american story of WWII.) It isn't historically accurate, but it's fun. You don't see stuff like that in the DC movies. They have no metaphor, no depth. That requires writers and crews who both care about the work and aren't afraid for their jobs.

jfoutz 10y ago
> Superman? He is too flat for me to have any opinion. IMHO, Superman is ethical. He'll stop a nuclear launch and get a cat out of a tree, because he's the ultimate boy scout. Every problem is important to solve, and he has the power to, at least try, to solve them all. Violate ethics for the greater good? Never. I don't think the Superman point has really come across since Christopher Reeve. I really liked the Nolan Batman movies. He was able to really capture the spirit of that character. It's a shame WB couldn't put that together for Superman.
- sandworm101 10y ago
  That he is ethical is part of the problem. He is the perpetual rescuer. He doesn't initiate action, only reacts to situations forced upon him. IronMan does things because he wants to. He has an internal personality. Thor has an internal life. Even Hulk makes decisions on his own occasionally. Superman's role, like Captain America, is to apply ethics to a situation created by someone else. They are perpetually innocent, perpetually perfect, and therefore perpetually boring. My favorite characters are probably Colson and Fury, both dynamic people who take action on their own. The make mistakes because they make mistakes, not because they are forced or tricked into doing so by evil guy. We don't always know what they are thinking, or by which ethical rules they operate. That's interesting. That's worth watching. Batman and Superman are empty shells in comparison.
  - deleted 10y ago
    [deleted]
maxerickson 10y ago
One of my favorite Iron Man scenes is after he almost kills the US pilot and then giggles with his best friend about the new thing he just used to murder a bunch of terrorists. It makes it so clear that you aren't really supposed to think about what is happening. Killing multiple terrorists to escape probably isn't murder. An individual spending vast amounts of money to build a weapon, flying half way across the world and killing a bunch of people is obviously murder.