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Why Comic Book Movies Are Good & Bad For Bond
With the constant onslaught of comic book movie news flying around these days, I couldn't help but sit down and think of all the ways this steady rise in fan-based media is both good and bad for our favorite hero. Instead of list them all out in a big post and kill the discussion, I'd like us all to follow a format. Post one 'Good' impact comic books movies have for us Bond fans, and one 'Bad' impact, and discuss.
I'll begin with some light topics.
Good: For the new films 'X-Men: Days of Future Past' and 'Captain America: The Winter Soldier', the studios have released fantastic new movie posters similar to what you might find on the cover of their respective comic books:
This will hopefully inspire future Bond films to create similar artwork to that of the more classic Bond and/or espionage era of the 60's and 70's. The fans eat up this creativity, and its something that has been lacking in the advertising department for years.
Bad: Fierce competition. You have the X-Men franchise releasing a new film almost every year, Marvel releasing two-to-three a year, Warner Bros. releasing one every 2-4 years, and Fox releasing one soon-to-be every year. In a span of four years, including one-off's and other comic book inspired films, that's anywhere from 15 to 20 comic book movies in between Bond films. Bond has to fit in there somewhere and not be forgotten.
I'll begin with some light topics.
Good: For the new films 'X-Men: Days of Future Past' and 'Captain America: The Winter Soldier', the studios have released fantastic new movie posters similar to what you might find on the cover of their respective comic books:
This will hopefully inspire future Bond films to create similar artwork to that of the more classic Bond and/or espionage era of the 60's and 70's. The fans eat up this creativity, and its something that has been lacking in the advertising department for years.
Bad: Fierce competition. You have the X-Men franchise releasing a new film almost every year, Marvel releasing two-to-three a year, Warner Bros. releasing one every 2-4 years, and Fox releasing one soon-to-be every year. In a span of four years, including one-off's and other comic book inspired films, that's anywhere from 15 to 20 comic book movies in between Bond films. Bond has to fit in there somewhere and not be forgotten.
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Comments
The possibility of returning to seemingly forgotten values. Iron Man 3, and judging from the trailer also Guardians of the Galaxy, are partly reviving a good feeling certain action films in the 80s and 90s had, e.g. Die Hard, Lethal Weapon. Because those comic book films are multiplicating like rabbits at the moment, they use the opportunity to explore all different kinds of approaches. This can be a positive inspiration for other films.
Bad:
Like the action films of the 90s, comic book movies of our days might attract so many viewers that the Bond producers might feel compelled to emulate those movies too much. Even though the success of SF could make it a trendsetter too, Bond films always sucked up inspiration from current fashions. SF managed very decently to incorporate influences from Christopher Nolan´s Batman films. But I dare not imagine what might happen if films like the first Cpt America film were huge hits.
Yes, I would LOVE to see the return of painted posters. Some were fantastic, namely LALD, OP and AVTAK.
But I most also agree on the comic book films. There have been far too many and there a lots more to come. I think it is just complete overkill.
Given your artistic talent you would be a leading talent to bring back the painted posters for the Bond films.
Thank you, Dragonpol! :)
I don't think I could get close to some of those wonderful poster art!
I was just looking at the Thai poster for Octopussy, a sublime piece.
The Captain America Poster looks really good although I suspect not many people will see it since it's not one of the main posters for the movie. The X-Men poster on the other hand looks truly terribly. I can not comprehend how you could think it looks any good. Anyway movie posters are becoming less and less important with each year...
I completely disagree with you. The huge amount of superhero movies (not to mention fantasy movies, sci-fi movies and the young adult fracnhises like The Hunger Games) is the best thing for the James Bond franchise.
The days of the macho action movies are long gone and there aren't many movies nowadays similar to the Bond films (meaning big spectacle movies that take place it the real world without any sci-fi or fantasy elements). Nowadays Bond films really stand out from the crowd and the only real competitors are the Bourne films (this franchise is practically dead now), the Mission Impossible films and movies by Christopher Nolan (think Inception and the Dark Knigh movies, which are more similar to the Bond movies than to other superhero franchises).
As long as other studios are busy making movies that are far removed from reality, the Bond films are in a really great position.
There may be many comic book movies coming out but I don't think
There may be many comic book movies coming out but I don't think it's overkill and as someone who grew up reading predominantly Marvel comics and still do from time to time, it's an amazing time to be a comic book fan. It's no different from the onslaught of Westerns that came about, or the romcoms we get, movies in the scifi genre. These comic book movies are a genre unto themselves and it really becomes a problem when it's a load of crap that's being churned out. Contemporarily, DC/WB on the whole have failed to make any sort of real impact other than Nolan's batman movies. Marvel's properties that are at other studios are for the most part doing extremely well and are the ones that really facilitated the profitability of the genre i.e. X-men and the spider-man movies. As it stands, Marvel making their own movies on the characters they do own are excelling and not only that but are strategically building towards things instead of just churning out movies for the sake of it.
I've just seen the new captain America movie and I think its the best Marvel movie to date. It's fun yet mature without being dark and pretentiously serious. It's a movie that presents itself as a thriller and it works on every level. In fact EoN could learn a few things from the latest cap movie imo.
In short, this cap movie really excels on all fronts and I can tell you this, it's very satisfying. A lot more satisfying than the last couple of Bond films and that's a claim I don't make lightly. I'm giving credit where it's due and this new cap really deserves it. Tone, character and action with an intense and suspenseful atmosphere. That's what this cap movie has and knocks it out of the park.
Comic book movies are good for the Bond franchise. All those comicbook/movie fansites give extensive coverage to James Bond, and draws in more of the younger crowd/geeks who might otherwise not be so interested in Bond. I think.
Also, the Russo's did a grand job in utilising social and political themes that are very much at the forefront of what's current today I.e. terrorism, domestic spying, security and pretty much things Orwell had been saying. The Russo's have a firm grasp on what they're doing with cap and it's no wonder why they were immediately recalled to direct the 3rd Cap film. It's this sort of presentation and understanding of the character that the Bond movies would really do well to adopt. The Russo brothers could most definitely make an amazing Bond film but EoN's approach with directors suggests the unlikelihood of seeing that happen.
Seriously, tweak the new cap film and swap Cap with Bond, BW with a female agent, Hydra with Quantum, SHIELD with MI6, the WS with a former Bond ally and a few other things, add a few Bond tropes and you'd be looking at the best Bond movie ever made.
You must be joking. Casino Royale and Skyfall are both far greater than any of the Marvel movies ever made.
SF most certainly not and some of the Marvel movies have shown that great actioners can have a coherent script in which the characters get their pound of flesh acting wise.
The Avengers was a very well done movie with fun lines and all the characters got their moment. And Captain America was a brilliantly combination between acting and action.
The Iron Man movies are all three very well done.
I agree EON could borrow a page on how to balance great action with a script that gives all characters a moment of greatness.
As for Iron Man, I thought IM2 was a huge letdown; just thought I'd throw that in there.
GOOD: The most important lesson the current spate of comic book movies can teach the folks behind the Bond movies is this: the success or failure of your film begins with a strong script. The Fantastic Four and Daredevil movies failed artistically because their scripts did not ground their characters believably in the partial reality/partial fantasy world that a comic book -- and a Bond film -- must inhabit in order to allow the audience to become invested in that world. The Avengers movie succeeded triumphantly because (A) Marvel Studios took the time to establish the individual Avengers and their shared reality, and (B) they then brought in a filmmaker who was also invested in that world, and who worked up a script that allowed the various characters to shine, both singly and collectively. When the Bond movies succeed artistically (regardless of the actor playing the lead character) it is because of a strong script like that of CR, when they fail it is because of a weak script like that of QoS.
MIDDLE GROUND: I’ll leave the obvious peril of audience burn-out for special effects movies aside here. It’s already been commented on, and to some point I agree that it is a potential (but not a definite) peril. I only want to make the point that, yes; Bond movies and Comic Book movies do indeed share a common pool of potential ticket-buyers. That pool is the general public. Let’s leave the fan base aside here, no genre movie can succeed solely on ticket sales to the converted. Skyfall and Avengers both succeeded overwhelmingly, despite both being released at nearly the same time, because they brought out the general public in droves, and the initial theatre-goers for both were so pleased by the films in question that they gave both films an overwhelmingly favorable word-of-mouth. So in this arena, competition can be either a good or a bad thing. LTK was probably hurt by its competition with Batman and Indiana Jones, but LTK had some significant weaknesses script-wise; Skyfall may very well have been helped by the presence of the Avengers on the screen just down the hall because both were fundamentally very good offerings in the action-adventure arena.
BAD: Actually, it’s hard for me to think of any…but then, I’m both a comics fan and a Bond fan. Both hit essentially the same button for me when they are done right. When they’re done poorly, you get DAD or Superman Returns. The one thing I’d like all of them to realize, be it Eon or Marvel or WB: Explosions cannot outweigh exposition. I guess the potential for a bad film featuring a great character comes when the film-makers rely on the strength of their core material, expecting that to overcome a weak effort on their own parts. As long as a given film makes money, the film makers will continue to move in that direction. All things considered, that’s good enough for me. Even if I personally am disappointed with, say, Man of Steel, then as long as WB is going to make another Superman movie because they brought in enough $$$ on MoS, they at least have the opportunity to get the next one right. And just perhaps, if enough money is made but the core base says firmly, “You missed the mark with this character HERE, HERE, and HERE,” then perhaps the film’s producers will make another one, this time working a little harder and more faithfully towards the goal that we all share: another great film featuring our favorite iconic heroes.
So far I've only seen you B&W work, MayDay, and it does show great promise. Is there any color work that you can show us?
Oooh, scary: a Bond film as a period piece. Possibly even set during the Cold War. What a terrible prospect! ;)
Why thank you! I don't usually work with colour but I am going to do some colour drawings of some of the posters (such as the UK Dr. No Quad). So I will post them on my thread when completed.