What does it take, from the CBM'er's perspective, to create a GREAT comic book movie?

What does it take, from the CBM'er's perspective, to create a GREAT comic book movie?

X-Men: First Class...

Feature Opinion
By danwgriff - Jun 23, 2011 05:06 PM EST
Filed Under: X-Men: First Class
Source: Dan W Griff



So after reading thousands upon thousands of comments about all of the different movies that have come out this year, you guys really have me wondering; What does it take to please a fan on this site?

Before First Class came out I would say 80 percent of the people on the site were putting it down because of, well, anything. Magneto's suit, Beast's fur, Mystique had a five-head, Charles wasn't quad enough.... Movie comes out and everyone loves it. But still, what would the CBM'er need in that X-men First Class movie to put it over the top?

Tell us in the comments section and I will try to round our ideas up with some kind of production.

Thanks.
Dan

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BlackLighting
BlackLighting - 6/23/2011, 5:05 PM
Maybe a smaller picture on your article? They should have stuck with the original cast more.
ComicBrooks
ComicBrooks - 6/23/2011, 5:16 PM
What people dot get is that first class is a prequel of a prequel. I was reading a book about it an the director said it is NOT the first class. Now since the school is open at the the end of the film they could have the sequel focus on the real members of the team or if they actually keep continuity have cyke jean and whoever else in the film.
marvel72
marvel72 - 6/23/2011, 5:47 PM
x-men first class was good but it could of been better.

how to make x-men first class better.

-reboot as a brand new trilogy.
-the original team (cyclops,marvel girl,ice man,beast & angel)
-set during 60s was fine,but you could of made it present day if you wanted.
-magneto as the villain,if you want to tell the story of charles & erik.x-men origins magneto would of been better.
-after the credits scenes that give you a taste of what was coming in the next movie.

so basic layout for the x-men trilogy would be something like this.

-x-men first class (original team vs magneto)

-x-men first class 2 (original team vs magneto & his brotherhood of evil mutants i.e quicksilver,scarlett witch,mastermind,blob & toad)

-x-men first class 3 (x-men & the brotherhood vs the sentinels.)

BigK1337
BigK1337 - 6/23/2011, 7:04 PM
I don't know, maybe actually doing a good retelling of the original X-Men's beginning while at the same time changing things up with uses of the earlier mutant villains they face in the comics. Than for the sequels actually do all the other enemies from the Sentinals to Apocalypse. Yeah, it cost alot of money; but did that stop movies like Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter be adapted will retaining its original plot. I mean seriously, making a comic book movie is a hell of alot easier than making a novel based movie; it is quite literally a blue print for making a good movie flow.
Wadey09
Wadey09 - 6/23/2011, 11:18 PM
what does it take to make a good comic based film?
as much if not more than what it takes to make a normal film.

(1) Pull out all the stops.
this means no holding back on anything. it has to be the BEST of the BEST that anyone can offer.

(2) A director with vision.
audiences don't need another studio stooge directing a film. those guys make fifty (thousand) mediocre films per year. while a long time fan of the comic in question would be nice, it is not imo mandatory. but it needs to be someone who can embrace the themes and tone while presenting it in a daring way.

(3) A great cast.
all star casts do not make good films. although they do help sell it. get people who can portray the emotion and depth of the characters who have been cherished by millions across the globe.

(4) A compelling script.
Green Lantern is solid proof of how a script can kill a movie. while something original is what we as fans want, the script must remain faithful to the source material. while changes are expected, we as fans ant to be able to recognize the characters and scenarios on screen.

(5) Realistic computer graphics.
if there is one thing that takes a person out of a movie more than bad acting, its bad effects. most CBMs are overly dependent on CGI. the effects need to serve the story and remain realistic otherwise it will just look fake. while we all know the movie is fake, we like to be fooled into thinking its not.

(6) A moving film score.
while many people don't notice the music in a film, whithout it, the audience realizes something is missing. the music has to fit the tone of the setting and most importantly, the tone of the film. otherwise you'll be an idiot and hire Mastodon to do the music for a western (COUGH Jonah Hex COUGH).

(7) A solid budget.
while many films are made on high budgets, its generally imo the lower tier budget films that are better. why? because someway or somehow, the money is spent on the wrong thing. granted, advertising is not a bad thing. and too little leaves you little to make. but with overhyped movies like Green Lantern, a big budget may mean little return. and i want a GL sequel to fix the mess that warner Bros. made!
danwgriff
danwgriff - 6/24/2011, 7:57 AM
What about costume? Is everyone leaning toward an over the top 90's, colorful wardrobe? Was the original trilogy to dark when it came to costume? Remember that it came out when the Matrix was breaking the box office in black leather.
Wadey09
Wadey09 - 6/24/2011, 9:44 AM
The Matrix is an original work of genius.
the leather fit the tone and feel of the film.
X-men came out in 2000, when CBMs were finally coming back into the public eye. no one wanted to take too many chances on a CBM because the last major one was Batman & Robin.
and seeing as how Blade pulled off the leather, i'm certain that Fox took a cue from them.

and i would not want to watch a movie where they actually used the spandex outfits from the comics. unless only the hot girls wore them.
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sorry, got distracted.
but i would have liked for the X-men to have their own unique uniform besides blue/green/white/pink lines in the leather.

but i would prefer a realistic translation to the screen. Thor, Iron Man, Captain America, Batman, Spider-man, and The Punisher are prime examples of this.
PirateOpossum
PirateOpossum - 6/24/2011, 9:52 AM
make an actual X-Men movie. Look at what they did with Thor and Iron Man ... they CAN DO IT RIGHT. just FLIPPING FIRE BRYAN SINGER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
SpiderFan35
SpiderFan35 - 6/25/2011, 12:43 AM
I agree with the points made by Wadey09. Nice mention on the music aspect, so important to make an epic CBM.

Must have good actors, and a script and director that support them, not hinder them. And if they start doing some crazy voice tell them to stop it (too late Mr. Nolan).

CBM's need to ramp up the action, superheroes exist to beat up bad guys, not have flashbacks about their parents and cry about girls and take long soul searching walks on the beach. This stuff has its place and there is more time to develop it in comic books, but c'mon we only have 2 hours and we want to see some awesome fight scenes.

Keep the humour smart and grown-up. There were a few times during Thor when I was expecting a laugh track to start up. I don't go to movies to watch sit-coms.

Have a good villain who has just as much charisma, humour and depth as the hero has (or should have). No more massive entity villains that are made of energy or consciousness or whatever, these are boring on film.

And yes the black leather costumes are getting old now. I liked the attempt in First Class to be more like the comics but they can do better. They need to experiment with different materials and fabrics and see what they can come up with for future films.


Moonwalker1991
Moonwalker1991 - 6/26/2011, 7:20 PM
For one, don't mess with the continuity. Example: Alexander Summers should not be in a movie before his OLDER brother is born. Two: don't throw any random mix of characters just to fill up space. We all know First Class should have had either the actual ORIGINAL X-men, or just be a solo Magneto film. Magneto is the only reason I would see First Class. He and Charles are all that matter in the movie. Three: the ridiculous leather costumes are pathetic. Four: Sentinels. Apocalypse. Mr. Sinister, they need to make an appearance at some point. Five: Don't mix up characters. For instance, Rogue had the personality of Jubilee, being a runaway and all. She was dating Bobby Drake, who Kitty Pryde is supposed to be with. And apparently in X2 it seemed like Storm and Nightcrawler were looking to get busy. Oh, yeah and try to find a director that has actually read a comic. Bryan Singer obviously has a secret life that no one knows about. He better not touch another comic movie again. Wake me up with Marvel Studios has the rights back to its characters. Then we'll get the X-men movies we need.
MoonDoggyX
MoonDoggyX - 6/26/2011, 10:53 PM
Action is agood place to start. Thor, x-men and gl were all lacking in that department. Take the matrix(first one) for example. It had a great story and Good acting, but it was the action that made it EPIC! It seems like the action now days is very "matter of fact". The action needs to be jaw-dropping and there needs to be a lot of it. I don't want to leave the theatre saying "that was a good movie", I want to say "wow"!
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