EDITORIAL: CBMs Issues with a Cinematic Universe

EDITORIAL: CBMs Issues with a Cinematic Universe

We all love the existence of the Cinematic Universes from Marvel, WB, Sony and Fox, but what issues must they face with this strategy? Have we already been faced with these issues and how we as fans have to handle these? More just a click away!

Editorial Opinion
By TheArchivist - Jan 03, 2014 05:01 PM EST
Filed Under: Other





Comic Book Movie's
Issues with a Cinematic Universe

Introduction

Once again rumors have been piling up on what direction Phase 2 of Marvel Studios might be heading. While I have my own opinion on what exactly might be heading our way in the future I have come to take a little look back at the older entries in the franchise. With so many films being part of quite a grand cinematic universe there have been some growing issues with the last few entries. Iron Man 3 ended up being the most successful film of the year financially yet it seems to have scared a few from the fan base. Furthermore, some accused the film of creating a plethora of plot holes due to the nature of a Cinematic Universe, especially when one considers the existence of the S.H.I.E.L.D. organization. While many hoped for the show Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. would fix those holes, it managed to open up even more questions that seek solving. While I will not focus on how exactly all the films are linked, hoping to keep that for another day, I will though take a look at what issues come with creating a cinematic universe.

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Limitation of the Medium

What is the biggest issue with any film? We are completely limited in how much one can actually put into a two-hour movie. While there are exceptions to this rule, for example The Hobbit has around a 3-hour runtime, it is mainly used as a guideline. Now, considering that each film must now tell its own story while also expanding upon the universe around it, you already have your first issue. Take Iron Man 2 as a great example where there is a lack of balance between these elements. Yes, it does tell the story of Tony Stark growing to accept the fact that he might die due to the arc reactor incompatibility with his body, but S.H.I.E.L.D. completely takes over the film in the middle. A common complaint was that this film became Avengers 0.5, focusing more on building up towards that film while leaving less room for the actual story to fully unfold. In the end, even though it lasts two hours your film ends up feeling rushed. On the other hand, there is also the issue of padding out your film to alienate your audience. Probably the most common complaint is towards The Hobbit Trilogy, which does not necessarily require that length. The Lord of the Rings consisted of three separate books of considerable length, while the Hobbit is a much smaller tale. Yes, they are expanding the universe by adding additional scenes from other books focusing on this world, but it has no true purpose to the plot. In the end, the film feels artificially prolonged while you could have kept it to a minimum.

Would it be smarter to expand it through Television? While you could fill in the blanks between each other you are faced with entire different problems. Television and theater work with very different budgets so with very effects-heavy shows you will never be able to bring them to the same level of quality. Especially if you take into consideration that there are some aspects that you cannot truly influence. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has the issue that it is a spin-off from the movie franchise, so most of those actors are too expensive to have appear in a film for longer periods of time. While yes it would be incredible to have a cameo from Thor or Iron Man on the show, it simply isn’t always possible. I was actually surprised that we had a cameo from Nick Fury in the second episode, which not only solidified the show in that universe, but also proved its own limitation. Why is the entire cast even stuck on the bus? Can’t we have them in the Triskellion? While I share that sentiment, I do understand the necessity of the bus. It limits the budget to one specific location that is smaller and allows mobility for the characters. We get to visit various locations while still having a central hub for our main cast. Arrow on the other hand might have the bigger advantage as it was here first. While there is no true connection to Man of Steel, we still have the possibility. Considering that all main players are being introduced in this show you not only have the smaller characters taking on bigger roles, but also giving young actors the possibility to expand into film. Yes, in this sense Arrow has a better starting point, but Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is a great first attempt to expand an already established world.

Avoiding Complications and Keeping Consistency

Here is the next issue, when does a world become too complicated? Marvel Comics have so many aspects that already make it difficult to bring every single type of character to the big screen. Not only do we have the God-like Vikings from a different dimension, but we also have regular aliens from various worlds. On our planet we have the scientific aspect as well as magic with characters like Doctor Strange, or the Scarlet Witch. In a way, Marvel Studios can simplify certain aspects, as they do not own the license to the Mutant race. In a way that helps them avoid explaining the difference between Mutants and Inhumans, which would probably throw any viewer off. Still, when publishing two films per year and one TV series it isn’t easy to keep a complete overview of every single detail. Some aspects might make no sense in the bigger picture or are even left behind because a new idea was brought to the forefront. This was quite an issue at the beginning of Phase 1 as the story for Avengers wasn’t set in stone so many different storylines were thrown out, but we as an audience were missing a few details that linked them together. Even though the Marvel One-Shots turned into a way to get TV shows running, I believed them to be more effective to fill in the blanks between films while also giving us a nice little extra when purchasing a film.

Another problematic aspect of complication is the casting. Many wished that Idris Elba wasn’t wasted on a side character, but could be used as another hero. Even the number one choice for Black Panther has been given a completely different role within this universe. Casting various actors for roles is easy enough, but keeping consistency isn’t. Until now only two actors had to be replaced, Bruce Banner and War Machine. I do have to say that Marvel handled this aspect quite interestingly. The way Don Cheadle enters the room simply stating he is here now and we have to move on was quite a meta joke at the audience. Bruce Banner on the other hand was simply introduced as Mark Rufalo after the disputes between the Studios and Edward Norton ended their contract. While I wish they had one line stating that he gradually changes due to the transformations to keep a consistency it still is unavoidable. This aspect will haunt any Cinematic Universe and I have to say that it is understandable why Kevin Feige stated that Iron Man is like James Bond. By allowing various actors to expand on the roles of the characters we have the possibility to see them sustain for much longer.

Conclusion

In a way I only truly touched upon the topic and there are many more aspects one can consider. Still, there will always be issues when one tries to expand into another medium or simply by creating something bigger. Franchises have changed and aren’t simply a series of films, but actually a connection between standalone stories. This concept proves how much work is behind creating such a world and how every puzzle piece fits together. We complain about various films being expanded through prequels while those that expand sometimes end up losing quality. One could argue that some of the most recent CBMs weren’t up to par with the greats, but we have to ask ourselves if that is truly necessary. Not every film can be an Avengers or a The Dark Knight, but they certainly can keep us entertained while expanding on a world that is slowly unfolding above us. Yet as everything else in life there will always be a limit to how far you can go.

So, what do you think? Did I maybe end up missing an aspect? Do you share my opinion or think I am completely wrong? Whatever it is leave comment below and discuss! While your at it why not like this article and share it with your friends to join the discussion! Until we meet again!

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McNyagano
McNyagano - 1/3/2014, 5:45 PM
Great write-up. I agree and disagree with some of your points though.
MoonDoggyX
MoonDoggyX - 1/3/2014, 7:12 PM
Nice read. The only thing I didn't agree with was the casting the issue. That really didn't effect things that much.
MoonDoggyX
MoonDoggyX - 1/3/2014, 7:33 PM
@gliderman - a lot of casual viewers were asking where shield was during IM3. Think about it, they were at every majore even in phase 1 except TIH. Shield played a big part in the first 2 iron man films. It like pepper just not showing up in the film with no explanation.

Not to pick on marvel. Any company will face the same challenges. The studios can't use a shared universe to draw us in and the expect us to just throw it aside when its convenient for them. That's why fans are so disappointed with agents of shield. the show is not baed at all. Throwing in our faces that the show is in the same universe as the MCU just makes it all the more disappointed when there is no mcu, or marvel characters at all on the show.
Kurne
Kurne - 1/3/2014, 7:41 PM
Fox's imaginary "Cinematic Universe" is the perfect example of inconsistentcies/screw-ups. It shouldn't even be called a cinematic universe. I hate how Fox thinks they've joined the ranks of Marvel and WB.
Kurne
Kurne - 1/3/2014, 7:56 PM
@MoonDoggyX

Well for starters I think that Tony didn't go to SHIELD to begin with because his motives on finding the Mandarin or the bombings in general were through Happy getting hurt... Then of course, immediately after that his house was attacked and Jarvis coordinated him to Tennessee - when he got there, he was backed against a wall with no communication, so it makes sense why he didn't/couldn't reach out to Cap or Fury then. What doesn't make sense is when he actually tracked down The Mandarin in Miami or whatever - he had a cell, so why didn't he call SHIELD THEN? There was no real-personal reason to pursue The Mandarin anymore so I don't know why he didn't call for back-up at that point...

The only explanations I have at the moment is that SHIELD simply thought it was too dangerous going after Killian and Extremis - there's no doubt that SHIELD knew everything that was going on, but they simply just stayed away from the case. What people should also take note of is that... In a sense, you could think of Killian or The Mandarin as Bin Laden. If Bin Laden existed in the MCU, would SHIELD deal with him? They could, but they wouldn't. I'm sure its been mentioned in the comics beforehand, but I do remember during a Secret Invasion tie-in Nick Fury mentioned that there are certain boundaries that SHIELD has too (terrorist acts, etc)...
Pedrito
Pedrito - 1/3/2014, 8:02 PM
We have to get over the "where was so and so duting such and such" nagging questions.
What's going to happen in solo outings of the DCCU?
Supes and Flash can get anywhere in literally seconds, so will we expect them to show up everytime to help WW or Batman in their movies?
Wallymelon
Wallymelon - 1/3/2014, 8:24 PM
I feel a lot of viewers are forgetting shield is compromised right now. Cap wasn't in iron man 3 because he was on another mission. The mandarin attacks weren't attacks they were accidents and cover ups. The film takes place in a few days. Cap clearly was busy just like war machine was during the avengers. We got a Bruce banner cameo at the end. I think phase 2 is doing a good job in linking the universe together. Even agents of shield is helping show how compromised shield is. Once avengers 2 comes out I guess everyone will see how smart marvel is.

Firgosaurus
Firgosaurus - 1/3/2014, 8:31 PM
Look dude, sometimes some people need to barbeque while others have to foil an evil villain. It's not a retarded relationship where you keep on asking your other half what the hell they are doing.
MoonDoggyX
MoonDoggyX - 1/3/2014, 8:33 PM
@kurne - Stark never NEEDED to call Shield before. Fine, so shield isn't there, it would have just taken 1 maybe 2 lines of dialog to explain why. But they didn't.

@pedrito - WB/DC will have it even worse for that very reason.

Its not nagging. Its a kneejerk reaction. When something goes against the established laws of a universe our minds are trained to pick up on it.
MoonDoggyX
MoonDoggyX - 1/3/2014, 8:46 PM
Honestly, I don't think anyone really expected Hulk, Thor or Cap to show up in IM3 no matter what happened, but shield was in the previous irom man films. In all of these films so far shield WAS the shared universe. Its what all thhe other films had in common... Except TIH...
kinghulk
kinghulk - 1/4/2014, 9:52 AM
sotojuiceman- i dont think cap, shield or anyone else could have responded in time to save the president, it was up 2 rhodey and tony. he was kidnapped and there was then a few hours before tony and rhodey saved him. shield and cap also might have had their hands full elsewhere,we dont know yet when iron man 3 takes place in relation to cap and thor 2. it could be like fury's big week where they all take place at the same time.
MightyZeus
MightyZeus - 1/5/2014, 4:46 AM
Good write up. I do agree with some points in this article but i do over all disagree with some.

The biggest example of continuity screw ups and mess ups is the Fox's X-men. I just hope that X-men Days of Future Past will address the continuity errors.
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