Paul_Scott
Senior HTF Member
- Joined
- Jul 19, 2002
- Messages
- 6,545
i was kind of thinking about this when i was watching TMR today.
To me, TMR is, for all its intricate puzzles and allusions, still primarily a comic book movie.
action, in this case mostly wire-fu, punctuates the narrative, in sometimes (maybe most times) a clunky rhythmic fashion.
much like a grade B Shaolin Temple flick.
but then, when you compare and contrast it w
X2 (and probably the Hulk), a movie everyone will
readily acknowledge is comic book material, it seems to
have a lot more ...density.
and then thats when i realized, that although both these franchises are structurally, or innately comic books on screen,
one is literally a Marvel and one is a DC( more like Vertigo) .
whereas DC kinda splintered off a sister imprint to take on more challenging themed work, Marvels bread & butter , editorially speaking, is still melodrama/ soap opera.
not that Marvel can't insert broader Themes into the material, just that its not the point.
making a big generalization here- the Marvel stuff is character based, were as the Vertigo (AOL/Time-Warner/DC)stuff is theme based.
to take it back 30 years, when i first became a comic book fan, The Marvel stuff i never much cared for since it was much denser material.
stories were not tidily wrapped up in 20 pages the way they still were in the DC books, and you had copious footnoting by the editor which keyed you in on the past issue(s) that ___ being discussed first took place.
i always thought the Marvel stuff appealed to an older, cooler, crowd.
but as a little kid, i was quite happy with the simple pleasures of a self contained Superman where Lois turns into a monster and back to normal by page 22.
it's amusing as an adult to see how much 30 years later, the dynamics of the companies products have shifted.
Marvel still has allegiance to the soap opera/melodrama as the foundations of its films.
and they are more or less simpler stories, whereas the DC stuff is now for the older kids, the 'cooler' crowd , that loves the footnotes sprinkled throughout ( "check out out issue #24 of Amazing Biblical Prophecy, O Neo fan!-ye editors, Larry & Andy).
thats kind of cool, and in a way, i envy the density of the material that DC is giving its fans. I would love to see the Marvel material bite off thematically bigger stuff,
but not if it comes at the expense of the characters.
'Cause thats the only reason in the end that i still feel distanced by the DC movie-comics.
after all the puzzle speculating & reference researching, i really just don't care about the characters and their dilemmas in the matrix.
it doesn't help when Keanu Reeves actually gives one of the better performances in the film.
i'm still very much like i was as a little kid, i guess.
i prefer the 'lower order' melodrama and more obvious thematic qualities of the Marvel stuff...cause when it comes down to it, i'd just rather spend time with these characters.
what is super sweet though, is that the multi-plex in 2003 is just like that old drugstore spinner rack, and both kinds of comic book fans can find something good to groove on.
nothing wrong with that
To me, TMR is, for all its intricate puzzles and allusions, still primarily a comic book movie.
action, in this case mostly wire-fu, punctuates the narrative, in sometimes (maybe most times) a clunky rhythmic fashion.
much like a grade B Shaolin Temple flick.
but then, when you compare and contrast it w
X2 (and probably the Hulk), a movie everyone will
readily acknowledge is comic book material, it seems to
have a lot more ...density.
and then thats when i realized, that although both these franchises are structurally, or innately comic books on screen,
one is literally a Marvel and one is a DC( more like Vertigo) .
whereas DC kinda splintered off a sister imprint to take on more challenging themed work, Marvels bread & butter , editorially speaking, is still melodrama/ soap opera.
not that Marvel can't insert broader Themes into the material, just that its not the point.
making a big generalization here- the Marvel stuff is character based, were as the Vertigo (AOL/Time-Warner/DC)stuff is theme based.
to take it back 30 years, when i first became a comic book fan, The Marvel stuff i never much cared for since it was much denser material.
stories were not tidily wrapped up in 20 pages the way they still were in the DC books, and you had copious footnoting by the editor which keyed you in on the past issue(s) that ___ being discussed first took place.
i always thought the Marvel stuff appealed to an older, cooler, crowd.
but as a little kid, i was quite happy with the simple pleasures of a self contained Superman where Lois turns into a monster and back to normal by page 22.
it's amusing as an adult to see how much 30 years later, the dynamics of the companies products have shifted.
Marvel still has allegiance to the soap opera/melodrama as the foundations of its films.
and they are more or less simpler stories, whereas the DC stuff is now for the older kids, the 'cooler' crowd , that loves the footnotes sprinkled throughout ( "check out out issue #24 of Amazing Biblical Prophecy, O Neo fan!-ye editors, Larry & Andy).
thats kind of cool, and in a way, i envy the density of the material that DC is giving its fans. I would love to see the Marvel material bite off thematically bigger stuff,
but not if it comes at the expense of the characters.
'Cause thats the only reason in the end that i still feel distanced by the DC movie-comics.
after all the puzzle speculating & reference researching, i really just don't care about the characters and their dilemmas in the matrix.
it doesn't help when Keanu Reeves actually gives one of the better performances in the film.
i'm still very much like i was as a little kid, i guess.
i prefer the 'lower order' melodrama and more obvious thematic qualities of the Marvel stuff...cause when it comes down to it, i'd just rather spend time with these characters.
what is super sweet though, is that the multi-plex in 2003 is just like that old drugstore spinner rack, and both kinds of comic book fans can find something good to groove on.
nothing wrong with that