This is dedicated to my fellow members of the CBM community as well as the average Superhero Film fanatic. This is a brief history and a review of the Superhero film genre. Enjoy.
In 1960, we saw the birth of the modern horror film with Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho, leading to the rapid growth of the horror genre through the 1960's. This single movie could have possibly triggered an obsessive trait inside the minds of movie-goers. Though the previous decade had seen a prevalence in Western films and musicals, it was Hitchcock who was able to get audiences back into theaters after introducing something the world had never seen before. As well as the horror film, the sci-fi genre was starting to gather a following. In 1968, the world changed when Fox brought Planet of the Apes to the big screen. This immensely popular film—for its time—took the film industry by storm and captivated the audience by reintroducing the "I want more" sensation that Hitchcock films were able to accomplish. In the late 70's, After seemingly every production company took to making their own sci-fi franchise, Warner Bros. took to a different route by doing something no other production company opted to: adapt a comic book series for the film reel. Richard Donner's Superman shocked audiences while surprisingly achieving much critical acclaim. Warner Brothers continued to adapt DC Comics superheroes for the big screen, controlling the genre until the world met the X-Men in Brian Singer's X-Men, starting up the superhero craze of the 2000's.
Today, superhero films are so frequent, it feels as though a new one hits theaters every weekend. With a similar popularity to the science fiction films of the 1970's, some superhero films were able to gain viewers by closely adapting the source material while others like the X-Men franchise were able to succeed despite their loose adaptations. As Hitchcock films trigger fear and thrill in the viewer and sci-fi films trigger curiosity and a yearning for the beyond, the superhero film gives the audience the peace of mind that Captain America will be there to save the day. After the antihero revolution in films and the gangster mentality expressed in pop culture through the 1990's, the superhero genre gives viewers a role model, a figure to strive to be like, and an example for morality. Though this has become an idea common in many films of this category, certain franchises like Zack Snyder's Watchmen, Chris Nolan's Dark Knight Trilogy and Jon Favreau's Iron Man took to expressing morality through different ways than just the generic reiteration of "with great power comes great responsability".
Despite Watchmen’s nearly mirror-like adaptation of the graphic novel of the same name, many critics were on the fence about this film. The film is incredibly controversial, criticizing events and political figures of the 1970’s and 1980’s while bringing in superheroism to reconcile the problems of that time. It challenges previous attempts at superhero films while pessimistically dealing with the question: How would our world look like with superheroes? The score is fantastic, the cinematography is beautiful and the acting is superb. Somewhat surprisingly, however, this is the first, and possibly only, film of this genre where (spoiler alert) the good guys don’t save the world in the end. Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy brings the same element of darkness to adapt the character for a realistic setting. The second and third films in this trilogy, regarded as being the best, have completely original character portrayals, striving to differ as much as possible from previous live-action appearances. These films are notorious for expressing an intensity in the acting, the music, and the story. The second film, The Dark Knight, breaks all boundaries and expands into Oscar territory becoming the first, and only, superhero film to win Academy Awards in acting and to be nominated for Best Picture. It is safe to say that it completely revolutionized the genre. Another incredibly popular film, famous for having kick-started Marvel’s cinematic universe, is Jon Favreau’s Iron Man. Iron Man introduces an element of wit and humor, previously uncommon in this film category, in an attempt to “humanize” the character. Morality becomes prevalent in the film in terms of weapons and the implications of the weapon industry. These three franchises depart from the categories they are labeled under, embarking into action/adventure, comedy, sci-fi, suspense, and drama, changing the superhero genre and the film industry as a whole, touching on elements of morality and influencing the mentalities of the viewer, regardless of age, to act like a hero. This is why I love the superhero film genre.
Thanks for reading.
-GeoffJohns