"I usually identify with the nerds,but these ones just reinforce the social rules. Their values are fascistic. All those people marching around in capes and masks and boots. The superhero imagery is totally fascist! When you step into this genre, they feel it belongs to them. They want you to conform, or they won't like you. They want the conventional."
The above is a quote from "Green Hornet" director Michael Gondry after an audience at the San Diego Comic-Con started getting up and walking out in the middle of his presentation, and then he goes on to say that his movie is not for the comic nerds but is for the "normal people". Now for the record, I do NOT agree with Mr.Gondry's opinions, in fact I think they are extremely disrespectful, offensive, and single minded. I actually lost a ton of respect for the man after reading that interview, but this isn't an attack on Michael Gondry, but rather a look at what has him so upset: fan criticisms.
As a lifelong comic book fan, I know how it is to follow a comic book character your whole life, to develop an opinion of them and their world, and of course how you think it would translate to the movies. Like other fans, when I hear that one of my favorite comic characters is getting a movie I feel that familiar hope and excitement and wonder how the casting will be, what the story will be, etc. I also know the anger and disappoint you feel whenever you see one of your favorite characters butchered by filmmakers that either don't understand the character,care about the character, or worse just want to collect a paycheck. In short, I can see why fans place all comic book movies under such scrutiny and why they raise alarms at the first sign of trouble.
But are we to quick to sound the alarms?
When Ann Hathaway was announced as Catwoman yesterday, people were already taking to the message boards saying that she didn't have the "look" needed for Catwoman, etc. I say this: just give her a chance. When Heath Ledger was announced as the Joker fans also said that he was wrong for the role but when "The Dark Knight" hit theaters he silenced all doubters. Christopher Nolan has shown that he has a great eye for talent and I'm sure that he chose Hathaway for a reason; plus she is an Oscar nominated actress so I'm sure she's more than qualified to take over the Catwoman role and give us another great Batman villain performance.
Three very high profile comic book movies are hitting this summer as well, "Thor", "The First Avenger: Captain America", and "The Green Lantern" and all three have fallen under extreme fan scrutiny. "Green Lantern" has become a favorite target of fans, who attack everything in the trailer from the suit, dialogue, and comedic tone. But when you look at it all we've seen from GL is three minutes. Three minutes of the movie cut together to get audiences interested. Shouldn't we wait until we've at least seen another trailer before we attack the movie?
From all accounts, "Green Lantern" sounds like it sticks extremely close to the comics, the origin is pretty much the same, many fan favorite characters are featured in it, and the costumes look pretty accurate despite being all computer generated. Many are against the CGI costume and I gotta say at first I was too. When you think about it though, a CGI costume does make sense seeing how the costume is generated from the ring so I can see why the filmmakers chose to make it not look like traditional tights. As for the comedic tone, all we really saw were snippets of two scenes; now these could be just little scenes of comedic relief seeing how most superhero movies use that, or it could mean that the film does have a lighter tone. But is a lighter superhero movie all that bad? Not every superhero movie can be dark and gritty, and "Iron Man" proved that a comic book movie can be funny and action packed. Lightening up a movie makes it easier for general audiences to enjoy it and it would work with a hero like Green Lantern seeing how he isn't as well known as Batman or Superman.
But then again I could be wrong, the movie could be the pile of crap everyone is expecting, but my point is that a little optimism doesn't hurt. I want "The Green Lantern" to be good, I want it to prove to the naysayers wrong, but I know there's a strong possibility it may not be, but I'm not going to condemn the movie just yet.
How many times in the past have us fans had an opinion of a movie and been proved wrong? I remember when the first pictures of the costumes from "X-Men" went out and the internet went up in arms, but nowadays can you really see Hugh Jackman's Wolverine running around in yellow spandex? Or with "Batman"? People were dead set against Michael Keaton as Batman but now many people regard him as the best actor to play Batman.
To sum up, we have every right to be concerned when Hollywood starts messing with our beloved heroes, but sometimes we need to relax and just let the filmmakers do their work. In the end, comic books and movies are two different mediums and sometimes they don't go together all to well, but not every producer is out to butcher our favorite comics. Yes, there are plenty of bad comic book movies out there, but I think we are all too quick to judge the upcoming ones as "bad" just by going from a few stills, a little footage, and casting. Ideally we should wait until we see the actual movie before we attack it, or at least wait until we have more information.
http://www.superherohype.com/news/articles/112353-michel-gondry-upset-by-comic-con-audience