Forbes have conducted a lengthy interview with the man of the hour, Avengers director/writer Joss Whedon. As his superhero ensemble continues to bust blocks and thrill fans the world over, he reveals what CBMs he feels are great examples of the genre and why. He also praises Christopher Nolan's Batman movies, stating that while he loves The Dark Knight, he prefers Nolan's first take on The Caped Crusader..
What, in your view, have been the great superhero movies?
I still think the first two “Spideys” were unmatched. I think they captured the comic and found some cinematic extensions of that that were purely cinematic. Again, I think “Watchmen” was slavishly adherent to the comic, and that sometimes is almost as bad as completely ignoring the comic and just using the title. I think “Batman Begins” is certainly my favorite Batman movie I’ve seen.
Huh, not “The Dark Knight”? Most people would say “The Dark Knight.”
“The Dark Knight,” for me, has the same problem that every other “Batman” movie has. It’s not about Batman. I think Heath Ledger is just phenomenal and the character of the Joker is beautifully written. He has a particular philosophy that he carries throughout the movie. He has one of the best bad guy schemes. Bad guy schemes are actually very hard to come up with. I love his movie, but I always feel like Batman gets short shrift. In “Batman Begins,” the pathological, unbalanced, needy, scary person in the movie is Batman. That’s what every “Batman” movie should be.
I think there are quite a few CBMers that would agree with his assessment. As I said, the full interview is VERY in depth, with Whedon discussing his feelings on
Buffy The Vampire Slayer possibly being rebooted under a new creative team, his "failed" tv shows, and his future plans - including the return of
Dr Horribles' Sing Along Blog. So be sure to click the link below to check it out.