Alright, first of all, What present-day Marvel and DC movies have achieved is nothing short of phenomenal!
Comic books are exaggerations of reality. Entire cities along with their megastructures folding onto themselves by magic tricks of Dr. Strange or Spider-Man preventing a ship from falling apart using his webs or Wonder Woman lifting tons of weight with her bare hands. All of this is comparatively easier to sketch on a paper however to adapt the same to a video where the scenery appears real and not a gimmick is not facile. Couple this with signing up of A-list actors for each of its IP, interwinding the stories together for a grand festival of good against evil, and also maintaining the quality of the cinematography, screenplay, character development, etc.
Yes. it’s a lot to take in, and they have done it wonderfully well. DC indeed had more misses than hits as compared to Marvel, but one cannot question their efforts. The results have also been brilliant, with several blockbusters topping charts across many countries. Spiraling into a whole fandom, merchandise, and 100s of youtube channels reviewing or reacting to the movies and trailers, and breaking them down.
Spider-Man No Way Home trailer garnered 355.5 million global views within 24 hours of its release, which is a Guinness world record surpassing another Marvel movie, Avengers: Endgame which had 289 million views. Many ticketing websites crashed on the pre-booking day, and tickets were sold for as high as $24,000 for the first-day show.
Marvel and DC have enlisted many industry giants from Academy award-winning and nominated actors, directors, cinematographers, etc. While also, rightfully, appreciated by critics and fans alike for respectful adaption of source material, inclusivity, and representation.
Every rumor regarding casting, trailer release date, or announcement of the release schedule for the next 3–4 years sends social media into a frenzy with viral trends across Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, or TikTok.
It is quite amazing that marvel can carefully manage the production and release of multiple titles so well across theatre, and OTT platforms. This is made possible through huge investments but also no less enthusiasm and passion behind these projects.
From invoking nostalgia with acknowledgment to past movies to multiple TV spot teasers, every promotional tactic is put to use which has been rewarding with extremely profitable ventures.
So what has hurt my elbow?
I understand that people visit theatres to put themselves away from the daily grind and struggle. Cinema always had entertainment as its primary purpose.
What bugs me the most is that when after a movie I walk away with nothing. I have seen my fair share of movies, from Hollywood classics to obscure titles to modern cinema and a little of European and Korean cinema. Does this make me an expert on cinema? not at all. However, across my journey, I have come across art which has been too generous. Take movies like Brazil(1985) with its kafkaesque world, dealing with themes of dystopia and doom for the sane; Matrix (1999), where machines reign supreme; No Country for Old men(2007), where nobody walks alive after brushing past ‘Anton Chigurh’; 2001 A Space Odyssey(1968), a magnificent space opera; which leave a lasting impression on the mind of the audience. The themes and ideas that these movies explore, make one think about the concept of Control, progress, change, crime, futurism, etc. for years to come.
Black Panther, Shang-chi, Wonder Woman, etc. have received rave reviews and praise for the honest portrayal of characters and representation, but none of them stayed with me. Once I left the theatre, I could not carry with me any new perspective. I am probably being too harsh to this genre of cinema, but in a world where content is now packaged and repackaged many times over, I fear that we might lose out on more adventurous bioscopes.
