THE INDUSTRY CONTINUES TO RISE B-list characters getting big dollars. The general audience wasn’t clamoring for “Deadpool,” a rated-R film starring Ryan Reynolds who has had his fair share of flops. However, Fox gave it a chance, and did it pay off! The humor, action and small scale of this character was a mega hit, earning over $782 million globally on a $52 million budget, making it the second highest grossing rated-R film of all time. More importantly? Audiences loved it. It was fresh, funny, and surprising. Even moderate comic fans know little about Doctor Strange. But Marvel is on a roll, so the company figured why not? It got Benedict Cumberbatch to star in the role that mixes magic with “The Matrix” and “Inception,” and you have yourself a very different comic movie that expands upon its audience. It’s doing wonders in the box office, and gives Disney and Marvel another character to bank on and add to its crossover roster. Then there’s “Guardians of the Galaxy,” the film that took the country by storm. The trailers looked silly, the characters were unknown, and it took place in space. Not a great combination. However, it had a lot going for it once audiences gave it a chance. Chris Pratt, a rising star, is charming in his role. They had a talking tree and a raccoon with an attitude and they were all outcasts. The cast of five antiheroes had amazing chemistry. It feels like a modern day “Star Wars” with attitude. It will make you laugh and give you the feels. And that soundtrack is unbelievable. Martin Scorsese, but handing the reins to rather unknown or young filmmakers has been a great move. Joss Whedon directed the “Avengers” films, and say what you will about the sequel, the original is classic and will go down as one of the greatest comic movies. James Gunn took the helm on “Guardians of the Galaxy,” and what a great choice the horror director was. Anthony and Joe Russo were given the opportunity to make the “Captain” sequels and Marvel was so impressed, they gave them the keys to the all-important Avengers franchise. And coming up, Ryan Coogler who directed the hit “Creed” will direct “Black Panther.” Coogler is a rising talent who will be a household name. Conclusion There will be missteps like in any genre. But the idea that superhero movies will go the way of cowboy movies as legendary director Steven Spielberg predicts is greatly exaggerated. There may be peaks and valleys, but it has been nearly 15 years since the first “Spider-Man” was a huge hit and studios are still banking on heroes, with lots of it paying off. Like it or not, they are here to stay. SUPERIOR SEQUELS Although underwhelming sequels were mentioned, there has also been a positive trend of superior ones. “The Dark Knight,” known by many as the greatest comic book film of all time, built upon its predecessor, a crime film inside a comic book featuring the greatest performance as a superhero villain, Heath Ledger’s the Joker, which earned him an Oscar. Captain America’s sequels “The Winter Soldier” and “Civil War” were vastly superior to the original and it showed in reception and reviews. They turned what could’ve been a dated character and put him into a spy thriller, which works incredibly well. “Spider-Man 2” (the first sequel) was also a shining example of how one can improve upon the original, as did the X-Men movies where four of six of them were pretty great films. The point is, there are lots of stories to be told with these characters, and with the right directors and writers, the possibilities for fresh stories are vast. TERRIFIC YOUNG FILMMAKERS For the most part, these studios take finding the right director for the right film seriously. They may not be the big names, such as James Cameron or QNS.com WINTER 2016 29
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