Video Essay: Most Important Component of a CBM

Video Essay: Most Important Component of a CBM

Sound off in the comment section and be sure to cast your vote for what you feel is the most important element in a comic book movie.

Editorial Opinion
By MarkJulian - Jul 06, 2011 11:07 AM EST
Filed Under: Other

What's the most important element for a comic book movie to achieve critical and financial success? Is it adherence to the source material, big name actors, the costume, or is it editing? While all of these things are key, I'm asking you, What's the most important?

The Costume:
example: Spider-Man Suit



Source Material
example: Watchmen movie was shot "almost" panel for panel from the graphic novel


Action
example: Kick-Ass had some of the most visceral actions scenes


Big Name Actors
example: Nolan's Batman franchise has more Golden Globe, Academy Awards,
and SAG award nominated actors/actresses than any other CBM


Dialogue
example:Sin City


Editing
example:Iron Man_"editing" i.e. the crucial story telling
tool that makes a movie cohesive or nonsensical


"Wow" Moment
example:Joker's Magic Trick


SFX
example:Transformers


The Villain
example:Magneto


Please vote below and give the reason(s) behind your vote in the comment section. Thanks!

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golden123
golden123 - 7/6/2011, 11:19 AM
What about plot and/or story?
golden123
golden123 - 7/6/2011, 11:21 AM
@SuperArgo: Transformers may have achieved financial success but not critical.
eatmyhit
eatmyhit - 7/6/2011, 11:22 AM
Yeah think plot is the most important thing!!
MarkJulian
MarkJulian - 7/6/2011, 11:24 AM
@golden 123 and @eatmyhit I felt that was too hard to pin down. Dialogue, Action Scenes, Editing, Source Material, Villain, etc. all would fall under plot/story and screw up the poll.
Hellsing
Hellsing - 7/6/2011, 11:24 AM
You forgot the biggest one the leading actor or actresses yes everything you put up there is important but if you don't invest in the hero or heroine no matter how good the FX, Villain or Wow moments are. To me CBM's live or die on there lead. Then obviously the plot, and the rest comes in later
yeoldeemoney
yeoldeemoney - 7/6/2011, 11:25 AM
Without a great villain, the movie will fall flat. Movies with bad villains: Green Lantern, Fantastic Four, Electra, etc. Movies with good villains: The Dark Knight, Spider-man, X-Men, etc.

A hero is only as good as his villain.
STYGR8dotCOM
STYGR8dotCOM - 7/6/2011, 11:31 AM
BIG NAME ACTORS MEAN NOTHING TO ME. if you like the character you wont care if a big actor plays him. well the actor has to be a good one hah.
MarkJulian
MarkJulian - 7/6/2011, 11:31 AM
@Helsing You do see "big name actor", right?
pintoman
pintoman - 7/6/2011, 11:31 AM
All movies shout have:

1) good dialogue
2) a good plot (reason for being)
3) good editing

comic book movies add to that needing:

1) true to the source material (otherwise, what's the point of choosing that hero?)
2) a costume that's true to the material but adjusted "logically" if needed for film (if the movie maker does not like the costume, don't do the movie).
Shaman
Shaman - 7/6/2011, 11:41 AM
I'd have to go with "ESSENCE" in regards to the most important thing a CBM needs. If it keeps the essence of the characters in the source material, then the events can be changed as well as many other aspects. I'd remove the things from your poll that are actually important to ANY film because, a CBM is a film FIRST.
drykillogic22
drykillogic22 - 7/6/2011, 11:49 AM
Character development..
as far as the Source Material argument..GTFO!..Except for Watchmen, No other cbm has been strictly source material.
chubakka
chubakka - 7/6/2011, 11:50 AM
How come there is no option for "Helmets"?? Supposedly, they are pretty important.
Shaman
Shaman - 7/6/2011, 12:05 PM
Heath did "wow" me more in his nurse outfit.
aaronite1999
aaronite1999 - 7/6/2011, 12:10 PM
It's all about skillful "adaptation" skills, leaving out what needs to be left out.

It's all well and good being "faithful" to a mini-series or small series of novels, but if you have 60 - 70 years of good/bad stuff to choose from, that's a different matter!

Leaving things out like Krypto, Batgirl, Wolverine's costume (?) or Batman/Spider-man's adventures in space etc can be much more important than staying 100% faithful.

Oh, and great casting/script/director, naturally.
SFCamerica
SFCamerica - 7/6/2011, 12:18 PM
All the above! At least now I know that the Watchmen comics suck too! Have at me fellas, I'm sure I'll get shit for saying that.
SFCamerica
SFCamerica - 7/6/2011, 12:20 PM
@Nomis - don't forget Iron Man! I've always loved AC/DC, but hearing them will never be the same again, in a good way!
ThaMessenger07
ThaMessenger07 - 7/6/2011, 12:25 PM
All of the above. A Comic Book Movie is based off a Comic Book. A Comic Book is a form of Book. The Idea of a Book is to have captivating dialogue, fantastic story pacing, great characters and to allow the reader to grasp the visual of said scenario. All good to great books do this. Comics take it one step further by giving you a visual to run with yet still keeping all those elements intact.

The movies should/need to do all above.
MarkCassidy
MarkCassidy - 7/6/2011, 12:28 PM
lol, Intruder you are literally the only person I have ever heard..on this site or otherwise that doesn't like that scene. Whoever said it was intelligent or special? It's just [frick]ing awesome! He kills a guy by slamming a pencil through his eye after asking who wants to see a magic trick. If you don't get why that is a great scene I don't know what to tell you.
Ceejay
Ceejay - 7/6/2011, 12:29 PM
The most important thing is knowing what to leave out to formulate a decent adaptation. Comics Artists and writers don't work to a limited budget, movies do!

@SuperArgo - Captain America won't come close to TF3's box office, what TF3's done so far its managed in little over a week! It's taken the other movies weeks and months to make their totals and they're already left behind TF3!
MarkJulian
MarkJulian - 7/6/2011, 12:41 PM
@RorMachine Don't feed the animals, argue with the fish,chase the tail, or whatever euphemism you want to insert here. Some people are just impossible to please as evident by this comment thread. I understand everyone has their opinion and is rightfully entitled to it. But at the same time it's up to others to decide whether that opinion bothers you or not. And last time I checked, an opinion becomes irrelevant once you go beyond the 3-5 minutes of thought you gave it. :-)
MarkCassidy
MarkCassidy - 7/6/2011, 12:57 PM
I couldn't care less if you don't like it, it's not "ruining it's score". I just get this feeling that if it was in a different movie..more specifically a Marvel one, you would be singing a different tune.


MoonDoggyX
MoonDoggyX - 7/6/2011, 12:58 PM
You guys are crazy! Critical acclaim does not matter. Ask Michael Bay or Paramount how much they care about critics.

The answer is a "gimmick". Something that's gonna blow the mind of the audience. People need to leave the theatre and tell everyone they know that they "HAVE" to see it, too. Not necessarily action, though that probably is the best way for a CBM. It was that action for Transformers, it was Heath Ledger's Joker in TDK, RDJ's performance in Iron Man... CBM's this year have been flat until DotM. Transformers is easily the best CBM so far this year. That's why it out performed every other CBM this year in its first 5 days...

@Ror - Yeah, that scene was awesome.
MarkCassidy
MarkCassidy - 7/6/2011, 1:05 PM
Out of these, I went for dialog. I mean they are all important, but sometimes great dialog can salvage a movie if it's lacking in other areas. A movie can be faithful to the source and still a pile of shit after all!

Intruder, I was curious as to why you didn't like it, I didn't CARE that you didn't like it. I just see you run down this movie a lot using kinda silly reasoning. "Anyone could put on makeup and overact and play the Joker" etc. And then over praise Marvel stuff for the most pedestrian things at the same time. Just how I see it!
Brashlight
Brashlight - 7/6/2011, 1:10 PM
I'm not a fan of this poll simply because so many of those things are vital to a great movie. These are parts of a recipe and are all needed to create something that is great. I chose closeness to source simply because I was curious to what people put. I figured that and dialog would be the to ones.

Good stuff though Graphic very well put together!
MoonDoggyX
MoonDoggyX - 7/6/2011, 1:17 PM
@Brashlight - "so many of those things are vital to a great movie." Kinda. All of these things are needed to be a good movie, but it needs to excel in one or more of these to be a great movie... or at least a blockbuster. I'm talking $500-600+ million...
MarkCassidy
MarkCassidy - 7/6/2011, 1:20 PM
Oh I KNOW you're a biased Marvelite, mainly because you have come right out and said as much! As for this, I wouldn't say I was mocking your opinion just found it funny that you thought the scene was overrated. I mean aside from it's awesomeness, it's probably the most gleefully violent thing we have seen or will see in a pg13 CBM
MarkCassidy
MarkCassidy - 7/6/2011, 1:34 PM
Umm, how was I slinging insults? But go ahead and try to twist this into something it's not all you like, I'm not getting involved again.
RIKSHAWRenegade
RIKSHAWRenegade - 7/6/2011, 2:33 PM
Oh its gettin real alright!!! REAL STUPID!!!
RIKSHAWRenegade
RIKSHAWRenegade - 7/6/2011, 2:35 PM
Quick, someone clean a baby, SOMEONE CLEAN A BABY!!!!
I LOVE YOU GUYS AND GALS!!!
RIKSHAWRenegade
RIKSHAWRenegade - 7/6/2011, 2:37 PM
And now I must whip. Hehehehehehehe!!! Oh and closeness to source material is most important, IMHO.
Ceejay
Ceejay - 7/6/2011, 3:09 PM
Closeness to the source material doesn't always make the best cinema. Hollywood don't spend millions making films to please a minuscule portion of fanboys who buy the comic. They make movies to sell to the billions who don't buy the comic but may enjoy the concept if adapted with the right level of re-imaging beyond its unchallenged comic roots.
Knightstalker
Knightstalker - 7/6/2011, 4:11 PM
I am a Marvelite and, though I think Batman is tired, and totally and completely gimmicky, even for a comic book, I really LOOVE The Joker, always have :)

The DC Characters that I care about:
Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Sinestro, Lobo, Martian Manhunter, The Joker, Darkseid, Bizarro, Doomsday, General Zod, Lex Luthor.

DC Characters I dont like: Catwoman, Super Woman, Super Girl, Super Boy, Bat Girl, Bat Woman, Bat Boy, Deathstroke, Hawkman, Captain Marvel, Green Arrow, Aquaman, Flash.

------------------------------------------

Marvel Character that I Care for:

Adam Warlock, Absorbing Man, Annihilus, Ant Man, Apocalypse, Archangel, Ares, Armor, Banshee, Baron Mordo, Baron Zemo, Basilisk, Beast, Beta Ray Bill, Beyonder, Bishop, Black Bolt, Black Cat, Black Panther, Black Widow, Blackheart, Blade, Blob, Bob (Agent of Hydra), Brother Voodoo, Bucky, Bullseye, Butterball, Luke Cage, Captain America, Captain Brittain, Captain Marvel, Carnage, Cloak, Colossus, Crimson Dynamo, Crossbones, Cyclops, Dagger, Daken, Daredevil, Dark Beast, Dark Phoenix, Darkhawk, Dazzler, Deadpool, Death's Head II, Deathlok, Dr DOom, Dr Octopus, Doctor Strange, Spidy's Doppleganger, Dormammu, Dracula, Drax the Destroyer, Ego the Living Planet, Electro, Elektra, Enchantress, Fantomex, Fing Fang Foom, Firelord, Firestar, Fixer, Foolkiller, Galactus, Gambit, Ghost Rider, Giant Man, Gladiator, Groot, Victoria Hand, Havok, Hawkeye, Heimdall, Maria Hill, Hobgoblin, Hulk, Human Torch, Iceman, Invisible Woman, Iron Fist, Iron Man, Iron Patriot, Jubilee, Juggernaut, Ka-Zar, Kingpin, Kitty Pryde, Misty knight, Krang, Lady Deathstrike, The Leader, Lilith, Living Tribunal, Lockheed, Loki, Longshot, M-11, Machine Man, Magneto, Magus, Man-Thing, Man Wolf, Mephisto, Mister Fantastic, Mr Negative, Mr Sinister, MODOK, Mole Man, Moonknight, Moondragon, Moonstone, Multiple Man, Mysterio, Mystique, Namora, Nebula, Nick Fury, Night Thrasher, Nightcrawler, Nightmare, Nimrod, Northstar, Nova, Nuke, Omega Red, Pennance, phalanx, Phyla-Vell, Psyloch, Puck, Punisher, Quasar, Quicksliver, Red Hulk, Rescue, Rhino, Rocket Racoon, Ronin, Sabretooth, Sandman, Sasquatch, Scarlett Withc, Scourge, Sentry, Shadow King, Shatterstar, She Hulk, Silver Surfer, Super Skrull, Sleepwalker, Son of Sata, Spider Boy, Spider Girl, Spider Ham, Spiderman, Spider WOman, Spiderman 2099, Star Thief, Storm, Sub Mariner, Sonspot, Superia, Taskmaster, Thanos, The Thing, Thor, Flash Thompson Venom, Tigra, Typhoid Mary, US Agent, Ultron, Valkryie, Waspe, Veil, Venom, War Machine, Warpath, Watcher, Wendigo, Prof. X,



Marvel Characters I Dont like:

A-Bomb, Balder, Black Knight, Cannonball, Captain Universe, Chameleon, Danger, Demogoblin, Doc Samson, Dragon Man, Emma Frost, Eros (starfox), Falcon, Feral, Frankencastle, Goliath, Gorilla Girl, The Mandrill, Green Goblin, Grey Gargoyle, Griffin, Harmmerhead, Hannibal King, Hercules, Howard the Duck, Hulkling, Hydro Man, Impossible Man, Iron Lad, Lady Bullseye, Mockingbird, Mrs Marvel, Namorita, New Goblin, Night Nurse, Nomad, OOnslaught, Owl, Paladan, Pyro, Rage, Ravage 2099, red She Hulk, Reptyl, Sauron, Scorpion, She-Thing, She-Venom, Shocker, Shriek, Shroud, Sif, Silver Sable, Squirril Girl, Strong Guy, Stryker, Thor Girl, Thunderstrike, Toad, Tusk, Tyger Tiger, Vulture, Wiccan, Walrus, Wolfsbane, Wonder Man,
MoonDoggyX
MoonDoggyX - 7/6/2011, 4:50 PM
No way is the most important thing "closeness to source material". If that was the case, watchmen would have been more successful. Comics and movies are way too different of mediums to directly transfer unless the comic is written like a movie.
Knightstalker
Knightstalker - 7/6/2011, 10:29 PM
Whoa!!!! I did not say that. Somebody has hacked in and had way too much fun with this site. Those words were NEVER spoken, written, or even thought by me.
Knightstalker
Knightstalker - 7/6/2011, 10:31 PM
What I said was a good story, carefully told about characters that we all can relate to, cheer for, and care about. THAT is the most important component of a comic book movie (or any other movie for that matter).
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