Superhero movies are a global phenomenon right now thanks to The Dark Knight trilogy and most Marvel films. But, for ever Dark Knight or Avengers we get there is also a Batman & Robin and Howard the Duck. Here, I will look at five superhero films that rank from enjoyable to flat out sucking but deep down, is a great movie that was fully realized one way or another.
5: X-Men: The Last Stand
X-Men: The Last Stand is a film that was set up to have an epic finale for the X-Men trilogy. Bryan Singer left to go do Superman Returns, Matthew Vaugn left the project for personal reasons and that's when they got, Brett Ratner. Deep down, there is a great movie in here. They have a great story concept in the cure and they have a brillaint story in the Phoenix saga. The problem lies in the fact that the film is under two hours and focuses more on the cure story and pushes the Phoenix story as a subplot. Again, this isn't a good film more than just it's choosing to push the big story to a subplot. But, the film has greatness hidden within. Production problems and Ratner's direction just really screwed over audiences and the project.
4: Spider-Man 3
Yes, I'm starting with the two most obvious ones. X-Men and Spider-Man are the two franchises that rejuvinated the superhero film genre and have fantastic first and second installments. The problem for Spider-Man 3 is studio meddling in. Sam Rami had it set in his mind for New Goblin and Sandman to be the villains of the piece. Which, I don't agree with but, who knows how that film would've turned out. The studio pushed for Venom for obvious reasons and ultimately, led to Raimi not putting his heart and soul into the film and it really shows. While I still enjoy the film despite it's glaring problems and it's easily the weakest in the franchise, the greatness could've been there. But that's a combination of the studio and Raimi. I love Sam's work but, Venom is a better choice villain than Sandman and if they would've given Harry a more interesting story in the film, the combination of the two would've made for a compelling, dark and brutal story. But, the studio forced Raimi and it was Raimi's job to make the film work and he didn't succeed. So, who knows what could've been.
3: Batman Forever
Studio is fully to blame on this one. Campiness is the way they deicded to go because somehow the Tim Burton Batman films were too dark and the studio asked him to back down as a producer. Batman Forever was too campy and over the top for it's own good but, the over the top performance of Carrey as Riddler is no doubt enjoyable and fun to watch. There's a great film in this somewhere especially when you had The Riddler as the villain and have him deduce Batman's identity. The Riddler is a fantastic villain to have a dark interpretation of as well as Two-Face (this was later proven in The Dark Knight). But, it all goes back to making it more family friendly and selling toys. We could've had a fantastic trilogy here but sadly, it wasn't meant to be. Then again, all those deleted scenes didn't help either.
2: Man of Steel
I'm about to get a lot of flack for this, I just know it. Putting my feelings towards Zack Snyder and David Goyer aside, this could've actually been a really great film. You can see it in the film that the potential of the film was just there. What holds the film back is excessive and repetitive fight sequences, lack of character development and the fact that it was Batman Begins but a Superman take on it with an alien invasion. Essentially, a generic blockbuster. The potential for greatness was there. If the fight scenes would've been a bit unique and different from each other, better cgi and a hell of a lot more character development. Maybe it would've been better. Not to mention that films like the first Iron Man, The Dark Knight and The Amazing Spider-Man films proved that you can truly focus on relationships and characters but still have the awe of a superhero film to blend in with the action an character development. Zack Snyder's style fits Superman. When Snyder was attached to Man of Steel, I pictured the visual style similar to that of Watchmen. That would've been breathtaking. But, as I said it doesn't become this great film due to lack of development, generic story, the same structure as Batman Begins and the excessive and repetitive action. What could have been...
1: The Amazing Spider-Man 2
I've been saying this since I saw the film opening day, this film had so much potential and you can see greatness in the film. It could've surpassed The Amazing Spider-Man for the best Spider-Man film (I grew up on the Raimi trilogy and love them but, The Amazing Spider-Man 1 does the property better overall). The problem is once again, the studio. The film suffers from what Iron Man 2 suffered from and what I feel Batman V. Superman is going to suffer from. Too many unnecesary characters and plot points that could've easily been dropped but instead focused too much on establishing a larger universe. Take out Electro and Rhino. Focus on the relationships that Peter has with Aunt May, Gwen and Harry as well as Harry's relationship with Norman. Keep the parents subplot as well as Peter dealing with Gwen going to college. Then for a post credit scene, use the scene where the man in the shadows visits Harry in Ravencroft and they hint at Sinister Six. Carry over the realistic, fun tone of the first film that still had an overall sense of darkness to it. This would've made the film that much tighter, compelling and more emotional. Although the emotion in the film works, particularly that of Gwen's death that really showcased Garfield's range as an actor and it was so powerful, you as an audience member felt the emotion and possibly like me, actually have tears. This film is the biggest example of a superhero movie that clearly had greatness within it but ultimately didn't show it simply cause of a Studio wanting this and that and ultimately giving the director so much to do that it collapses on itself because it's so uneven.
What do you guys think? Agree? Disagree? Did I miss any films that are enjoyable or flat out bad that clearly had greatness in them but ultimately wasn't for one reason or another? Comment below with your thoughts.
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