Could The Dark Knight Kill the Superhero Genre?

[GreenScar]

I read a really interesting editorial about how movie themes are cyclical. Cowboy movies are popular only to be replaced by War movies. They are in turn replaced by Pirate movies which are replaced by Space movies (you get the point). While there really hasn't been a stinker that has been able to kill the Superhero genre, could The Dark Knight be so good as to kill it? Here is a little from the article:

If The Dark Knight really is the amazing, world-changing, shining beacon of awesome early reviewers seem to be touting it as, then where does that leave every superhero movie that comes after it? With an impossible standard to live up to, that’s where. A movie that good becomes the genre’s pinnacle, and it’s all downhill from there. Just look at how the excitement over this thing has reached such outrageous levels. There’s never been anything like it. Even if The Dark Knight wasn’t good, how could the hype over any other superhero project even hope to match it? We’ll all run out to see Captain America, and then wander home disappointed because while it was nice, it just wasn’t as good as The Dark Knight. Audiences will line up for Spider-Man 4, enjoy it, and yet end up comparing it unfavorably against this Batman And gradually, we’ll get used to disappointment, start to accept that we’ve seen the best there is to see, and maybe, just maybe move on to something else.

Would that really be so bad? Superhero movies have had their run. If The Dark Knight really is the capper on the genre, then the world might be ready to give them a break for awhile. Send them off to wherever they keep cowboy movies now and focus on something else. Maybe it’ll be the turn of knights in shining armor or perhaps outer space science fiction will earn a much deserved resurgence. Whatever it is, should The Dark Knight really prove to be the masterpiece it’s being touted as and should the hype surrounding it continue with the same unabated, manic fervor, then to me The Dark Knight seems to be as good a place to press pause on the superhero genre. We might not even be able to help it. Once you’ve seen the best, what point will there be in watching the rest? Enjoy it while it lasts.

There aren't enough fanboys to support a genre. John Q. Public is needed. Is it possible that The Dark Knight could come along and satisfy them into not caring anymore?

Interesting read to say the least.

[JasonS]

I personally think it is the dumbest articles I've ever read. That's like saying "let's stop making movies all together because all of the great ones have been made already." The Godfather II was considered one of the best movies of all time, and certainly the best crime/mobster movie ever filmed. Does that mean The Sopranos should never have been created?

[JJ]

Quick, someone get JasonR in here so we can have a triple-Jason discussion.

[Moefiz]

Originally Posted by JasonS

I personally think it is the dumbest articles I've ever read. That's like saying "let's stop making movies all together because all of the great ones have been made already." The Godfather II was considered one of the best movies of all time, and certainly the best crime/mobster movie ever filmed. Does that mean The Sopranos should never have been created?

I totally agree with you, with out the crap that Hollywood been putting out lately they have to turn to another media to get ideals from.

[GreenScar]

Originally Posted by JasonS

I personally think it is the dumbest articles I've ever read. That's like saying "let's stop making movies all together because all of the great ones have been made already." The Godfather II was considered one of the best movies of all time, and certainly the best crime/mobster movie ever filmed. Does that mean The Sopranos should never have been created?

I think he's referring more to the cycle. Not saying that it won't cycle again. Mobster movies are indeed a part of the cycle as well (should I say fad maybe?). The Sopranos didn't come out directly after Godfather. I think he makes the point that usually it's a craptastic movie that kills the cycle, but that The Dark Knight (with the amount of hype it's had) could be the opposite that does the same. Has a movie had this much hype before and been able to live up to it? It seems The Dark Knight may be the first to be able to do that.

[WriteSimply]

From the quoted text, the author seems to need two paragraphs to say the same thing. Sounds like he didn't think it through.


fuad

[GreenScar]

Originally Posted by WriteSimply

From the quoted text, the author seems to need two paragraphs to say the same thing. Sounds like he didn't think it through.


fuad

Fuad, Is it that good? You can tell us that much. Does it live up to the incredible amount of hype?

[JasonS]

Originally Posted by jasonbird

I think he's referring more to the cycle. Not saying that it won't cycle again.

I understand that part of the argument. Saying "now that this comic book movie does so well let's green light 15 more right away." I think it is already happening. There have been some amazing ones: Iron Man, Spider-Man 1 & 2, but there have been some absolutely horrendous one's too: Catowmen, Ang Lee's Hulk, etc. I think comic book movies over the past 6 years have taken on a genre of their own and like any genre some will be good and some will suck. But they are here to stay and I'm optimistic that more in the future will absolutely rock despite The Dark Knight.

[EricJ]

Notice that friendly little two-letter word, that the columnist uses in saying "IF it's really the most amazing, world-changing, etc., etc.,"
Which is a polite journalistic term for the main jumping-off point of the article, which was "How about waiting for the danged thing to OPEN first, and finding out?? "

It's nature of the fanboy beast to not only think that a waiting movie is "going to be cool", but getting tired of that poor puny future tense, and moving on to the more neato, supportive Present tense: It already IS cool, so how many Oscars is it already lined up to win?

I'm not saying the Real Movie's going to be another First Hulk (although the arguments do sound familiar...), but it might keep post traffic down to learn the difference between things that have happened, and things that you want to but technically haven't yet--
It's a fun way to spend that last six days of waiting, which's what everybody's been doing here in the meantime.

[mredman]

Originally Posted by JasonS

I personally think it is the dumbest articles I've ever read. That's like saying "let's stop making movies all together because all of the great ones have been made already." The Godfather II was considered one of the best movies of all time, and certainly the best crime/mobster movie ever filmed. Does that mean The Sopranos should never have been created?

I whole heartly agree. what an idiot and a load of bull

[Mike Z]

I'm just wondering how the third Nolan/Bale Batman movie will ever live up to expectations if TDK ends up being as incredible as it's rumored to be

Mike

[Leopold BUTTERS]

Originally Posted by Mike Z

I'm just wondering how the third Nolan/Bale Batman movie will ever live up to expectations if TDK ends up being as incredible as it's rumored to be

Mike

nope. If heath did such an amazing job as the joker how is two face going to even live up to those expectations? btw i heard that heath has been nominated for an oscar for his role as the joker.

[GORT]

If Ang Lee And Joel Shumacher could not kill the comic book movie then nothing can.

[MarkJ801]

Originally Posted by Leopold BUTTERS

nope. If heath did such an amazing job as the joker how is two face going to even live up to those expectations? btw i heard that heath has been nominated for an oscar for his role as the joker.

You can't be nominated 7 months before the nominations are announced....

[cajmoyper]

To the author: (fart sound). This is just dumb. The cycle part I think he has a valid point on. But what I think he's saying about all the proceeding comic-book movies is that we're all already going to have made up our minds about them and that is where he is wrong.

[Sith]

Originally Posted by Leopold BUTTERS

nope. If heath did such an amazing job as the joker how is two face going to even live up to those expectations? btw i heard that heath has been nominated for an oscar for his role as the joker.

did butters tell you that?

[STARSCREAM]

F*cking stupid article. No way would it kill it, if anything it would make them produce more super hero movies.

[Blu-Malibu2009]

Originally Posted by STARSCREAM

F*cking stupid article. No way would it kill it, if anything it would make them produce more super hero movies.

Yeah it's a really dumb article. The fact is that Batman is a darker superhero than the rest of them. It's an exception to the rule. There will always be a very big place in the superhero genre for lighter hearted superhero movies. They are the core of the genre in fact. There will always be lighter hearted, cheesier superhero movies that are kid-friendly. There MUST always be those kind of films. Otherwise TDK wouldn't stand out the way it does, and Hollywood would be depriving a key demographic the opportunity to watch movies about characters that were written for THEM (children).

[Ernest Rister]

Originally Posted by jasonbird

I think he's referring more to the cycle. Not saying that it won't cycle again. Mobster movies are indeed a part of the cycle as well (should I say fad maybe?). The Sopranos didn't come out directly after Godfather. I think he makes the point that usually it's a craptastic movie that kills the cycle, but that The Dark Knight (with the amount of hype it's had) could be the opposite that does the same. Has a movie had this much hype before and been able to live up to it? It seems The Dark Knight may be the first to be able to do that.

No "craptastic" movie killed the Western...TV killed the western, or should I say, an unending glut of formula westerns on TV throughout the mid-to-kate 50's on into the 60's killed the western. No one had anything new to say anymore, it had all been done. To this day, it's difficult to find a fresh take on that genre besides deconstructionist revisionism (Unforgiven, The Wild Bunch, Dances With Wolves) or neo-classicism (Open Range, 3:10 to Yuma, Silverado).

The only thing that's going to kill the superhero movie genre is a glut of superhero movies and tv shows. But I don't see that happenening because they're too expensive to make. Superheroes have been with us since the birth of cinema, they'll be with us at the end of it.

[tommyboy81]

Originally Posted by Ernest Rister

No "craptastic" movie killed the Western...TV killed the western, or should I say, an unending glut of formula westerns on TV throughout the mid-to-kate 50's on into the 60's killed the western. No one had anything new to say anymore, it had all been done. To this day, it's difficult to find a fresh take on that genre besides deconstructionist revisionism (Unforgiven, The Wild Bunch, Dances With Wolves) or neo-classicism (Open Range, 3:10 to Yuma, Silverado).

The only thing that's going to kill the superhero movie genre is a glut of superhero movies and tv shows. But I don't see that happenening because they're too expensive to make. Superheroes have been with us since the birth of cinema, they'll be with us at the end of it.

We have the butt load of Superhero movies but not tv shows.