CGI Has Made Comic Book Movies Deeper

Posted on April 15, 2008
Filed Under Creativity, Movies |

Comic Books have had a hard life. From the 20’s where they started as entertainment for everyone on a par with the Saturday morning serials shown at the cinemas, through hard times in the late 20th century they’ve had quite a rough ride. Being seen as a corrupting influence, communist propaganda, and kids stuff in turn. More recently a generation of artists and writers who grew up reading comic books have returned to the art form which sustained their imaginations through childhood and breathed new life into a medium which was beginning to stagger under the weight of its own, sometimes extremely convoluted storylines.

Batman (Michael Keaton) and The Joker ~(Jack Nicholson) in Tim Burton\'s Batman.The first comic book movie of the modern age could be said to be Tim Burton’s Batman (1989), I wasn’t allowed to go and see it at the cinema when it came out as I was 11 and it was the first film to be given a 12 rating. Batman was a masterpiece in my opinion, capturing the murkiest facets of The Dark Knight’s persona and portraying the madness which lies at the heart of the character as only Burton could. The series fell into disrepute after Batman Returns, becoming flashy, garish and cartoony. Joel Shumacher’s two followups (Batman Forever, and Batman and Robin) to Burton’s Batman films descended into the camp mediocrity reminiscent of the 60’s TV series; which Burton had managed to shrug off.

Things went quite quiet on the blockbuster front for a while, cult films based on comic books like The Crow and Tank Girl appealed to very niche audiences and never really made it at the box office. During the 90’s alot of movies based ostensibly on comic books (or ‘graphic novels’ as they were then being called, as if trying to deny their pulpy and kid friendly roots and wanting to sound more grown up.) were made. The Shadow, The Phantom, those dirisible Schumacher Batman movies, The Rocketeer and many more less notable adaptations. Suffice it to say they all bombed (or did well at the box office but were terrible films).

During this period CGI was still in its infancy, with the technology remaining expensive and requiring very highly skilled users to get the best out of it. As the hardware and software bacme cheaper and easier to use, the possibility of bringing the comics to life on screen more faithfully than ever before was seized upon by writers and directors alike. Previous to the dawn of the CGI age the writing and characterisation had taken back seats (with the possible exception of the Christopher Reeve Superman movies) because the effects necessary were expensive and time consuming. With the advent of decent and believable CGI, which is a helluva lot cheaper to produce than FX involving models and wires and stuntmen, the effects have been put in their proper place, i.e. that of scenery.

From this point on comic book movies hit the mainstream, with the Spiderman series and The X-Men being by far the most prominent. A new depth was introduced as those writers who grew up reading comics brought their favourite characters to life on screen. Granted there have been some turkeys as studios have sought to cash in on lucrative licenses (Electra and the first Fantastic 4 anyone?) but all in all comic book movies have been pretty faithful to the fans of the characters, and the studios are coming to realise that merchandising isn’t everything.

Iron Man is indicative of how movies based on comic books have grown up in recent years. Comic books (I hate the pretension in the title ‘Graphic Novel’) have long been concerned more with the personalities of the protagonists than with the awesome powers they possess. I think it was Stan Lee who said that a hero without flaws and weaknesses is less of a hero. Iron Man is certainly a flawed hero, Tony Stark is rich, amoral, and a drunk, all things which add depth to a character which is basically a guy in a tin suit. I think Iron Man may mark the coming of age of the comic book movie (Sin City not withstanding) and I’ll be forking out my reddies to go and see it at the cinema, which I haven’t done in a long time. Here’s a trailer to whet your appetite:

Hat tip to Loudmouthman for inspiring this post.

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One Response to “CGI Has Made Comic Book Movies Deeper”

  1. TV Movies Soaps » CGI Has Made Comic Book Movies Deeper on April 15th, 2008 5:18 pm

    […] mandrill placed an observative post today on CGI Has Made Comic Book Movies DeeperHere’s a quick excerptThe first comic book movie of the modern age could be said to be Tim Burton’s Batman (1989), I wasn’t allowed to go and see it at the cinema when it came out as I was 11 and it was the first film to be given a 12 rating. … […]

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