EDITORIAL: The Lost Art Of The Opening Credits

Man Of Steel was probably the biggest let down so far..not the movie, the fact that I sat there waiting for a mind blowing title sequence and instead got the usual 25 minutes of studio logos leading right into the action. I mean this was Zack Snyder! The man responsible for that incredible Watchmen opening -- if anyone was gonna break this ridiculous streak of not having any opening credits it was him right? Nope.

It's just something that seems to have been phased out completely from not only CBMs, but most big blockbuster type flicks. There are those that are very happy about that of course; as I have heard from quite a few people who believe that watching a title sequence somehow takes them out of the movie..or actually reminds them that they are watching a movie in the first place (whatever the hell that means!). But for me it's always been something I've really looked forward to, and actually makes me anticipate what's coming after even more. It's a chance for a film maker to do such a wide variety of things and maybe play around with different styles and tones -- they can dazzle us with striking images that aren't necessarily relevant to the movie's plot (David Fincher's The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo for example) or use the sequence to set up the story with an action packed montage -- like the one used in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, which is still talked about as being the best part of the whole movie by some! Remember that great closing credits from The Avengers? Wouldn't that have been so much cooler at the beginning of the film instead? At the very least it's a chance for the audiences to have a look at the cast and crew of the film and maybe spot someone they hadn't realized had a role in it.

Granted some movies still give us an opening of sorts..J.J. Abrams' Star Trek films for example, at least build up to giving us a blast of the score and flash the movies' title. Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy gave us those really cool Bat-logos (still not a patch on Tim Burton's opening sequences for his Batman flicks), but is that enough? I mean look at Superman The Movie: that opening sequence is as iconic as the score that accompanies it -- can you imagine sticking that movie into your Blu-ray player and skipping over the credits straight to the first scene? Course you can't.

I really hope studios and directors stop pandering to ADHD crowds and start bringing back the opening credits. Obviously this works better for some movies than others, and it doesn't have to be a 10 minute opus, just give us something! I know it's not just me, but maybe we are in a minority..so let's find out! Vote below and then share your thoughts in the usual place.