Despite being a big fan of the super hero genre as a whole, I have never really been attracted to live-action super hero movies the way that most of the public has (as evidenced by the dozens of block busters movies that have come out in the last decade).
The ubiquity of these movies is actually not my complaint; I simply choose not to watch them and smile politely while everyone else talks about The Avengers. Rather, the reason it is hard for me to enjoy live-action super hero movies is because I find that the closer the movies get to reality, the more difficult it is for me to suspend my disbelief. Conversely, the more imagination required by the medium, the easier I can suspend my disbelief, and the more I am able to enjoy the hero and his story.
Let me rank the various mediums, from with those that require the most imagination to those that require the least: Novelizations, Comic Books, Cartoons, Video Games, Live Action Movies. A well-written novel requires my mind’s eye to visualize Batman fleeting through the shadows virtually invisible. Comic Books force me to imagine the action that takes place between each still-frame. Even Cartoons and Video Games, if well made, can absorb my attention to the point that I lose myself in the action. However, once the hero is an actor in a costume, it is difficult for me to visualize him as anything but.
Perhaps the hardest thing for me to get past is that these movies are set in present day. I take no issue with Lord of the Rings and other fantastical movies that take place in their own unique realm. But to see a bunch of guys flying around downtown Manhattan in rubber suits? No thanks. I’ll stick with the comic books.
The ubiquity of these movies is actually not my complaint; I simply choose not to watch them and smile politely while everyone else talks about The Avengers. Rather, the reason it is hard for me to enjoy live-action super hero movies is because I find that the closer the movies get to reality, the more difficult it is for me to suspend my disbelief. Conversely, the more imagination required by the medium, the easier I can suspend my disbelief, and the more I am able to enjoy the hero and his story.
Let me rank the various mediums, from with those that require the most imagination to those that require the least: Novelizations, Comic Books, Cartoons, Video Games, Live Action Movies. A well-written novel requires my mind’s eye to visualize Batman fleeting through the shadows virtually invisible. Comic Books force me to imagine the action that takes place between each still-frame. Even Cartoons and Video Games, if well made, can absorb my attention to the point that I lose myself in the action. However, once the hero is an actor in a costume, it is difficult for me to visualize him as anything but.
Perhaps the hardest thing for me to get past is that these movies are set in present day. I take no issue with Lord of the Rings and other fantastical movies that take place in their own unique realm. But to see a bunch of guys flying around downtown Manhattan in rubber suits? No thanks. I’ll stick with the comic books.