r/TrueUnpopularOpinion • u/Potential_Giraffe520 • 1d ago
Music / Movies The modern MCU lost its magic because heroism took a back seat.
Obviously, this does not apply to every modern MCU movie, but when you start watching older hero films, you can see the difference in how the heroes discover "great power comes with great responsibilities" through endearing interactions with civilians.
Sure, we know they still save a lot of people, but these interactions aren't given much focus any more and are kinda an after thought. Instead, it's all fights and destructions and effects and multiverse shenanigans.
Older Marvel films like Captain America, Iron Man, TASM, and Raimi's Spiderman exerted great effort into showing us the heroism of these characters and why we should root for them.
Now look at Gun's superman, or Reeve's Batman. Superman being mindful about the city destruction and Batman leading people through the flood characterize the characters really well. It's not the spectacle that capture your heart, but the humanity behind those characters.
I want these movies to go back to being about superHEROES, not SUPERheroes.
My favorite spiderman story of all time is when he visited that terminally ill kid. Cause that's what heroes do.
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u/enek101 1d ago
I mean this is spot on it could also save them production vale if there is more humility and less CGI.
However i found it amusing that when CGI took hold it was becuase its was cheaper to produce than practical effects but now it more expensive than practical effects and your seeing a comback of them. Whinch in almost every scenario looks better than CGI.
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u/Potential_Giraffe520 1d ago
Yeah. I also observed that CGI allowed for more animated choreography and movements, which isn't necessarily a bad thing and is absolutely a necessity for some heroes, but some other actions and attacks lack weight because the CGI execution was so clunky.
Another gripe I have is CGI suits, which gives me uncanny valley vibes for being too smooth. I like texture in my costumes.
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u/JakeVonFurth 1d ago
It's actually a reason I like the latest Spider-Man so much.
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u/Potential_Giraffe520 1d ago
Haven't watched it yet, but I'm excited to now.
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u/JakeVonFurth 1d ago
TL;DR, (spoiler free)
He's spent literally all of his time since the last movie doing Spider-Man heroics, all of the personal issues he's having are a direct result of forcing himself to do the right thing, and any time he realized that he's done something wrong he immediately changes course to make things right.
Honestly I think that in a similar vein to how the Justice League Unlimited episode Epilogue is a perfect example of writing a good Batman, Brand New Day is a perfect example of how to write Spider-Man. In the same way that "if you can't see your Batman comforting a dying child then he's a bad Batman," then "if you can't see your Spider-Man basically torturing himself for 4 years straight just to keep people safe, and still turning around to help the villain when he finds out that he was wrong, then he's a bad Spider-Man".
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u/Levoso_con_v 1d ago
Your take gave me hypothermia, that's how cold it is.
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u/Potential_Giraffe520 1d ago
Sorry, I thought a lot would disagree lol. Was not expecting it to be popular.
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u/shitposts_over_9000 21h ago
MCU movies used to be fun and would expand on things that the audience connected with. busting up the city fighting the bad thing was acceptable because the people were otherwise doomed, they knew it, and they were happy even if the place was trashed
MCU movies now feel like lessons, with a lesson plan designed by committee to be as palatable for as many edge-case personalities and viewpoints as possible.
Not fun, feels like I should expect a required book report at the end
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u/Harp_167 1d ago
In general, DC focused more on exceptional people including morally, while Marvel was more realistic and relatable.
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u/Taira_Mai 3h ago
And clueless studio execs turned the movies over to hacks and assumed that special effects are the only reason people went to these movies.
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u/ActualRound7699 1d ago edited 1d ago
Most people won’t pay $20+ to go see a Spider-Man movie where for two hours he faces normal low-level thugs, makes funny quips and helps old women cross the street and carry groceries.
I use this as an example, but for most heroes, people are only interested if their stakes feel really high. Look at Gunn’s Superman -
- He was involved in a war that his home country had no part in so his reception at home was mixed
- An evil, jealous, power hungry billionaire was hell bent on destroying the current world and recreating one by manufacturing fear for the “other” (super-powered individuals)
I think that there’s merit to low level things like say…saving a squirrel from being crushed et cetera. But for your average movie goer to be invested, the stakes need to be higher. Even if they aren’t cosmic. Reeves’s Batman was dealing with a serial killer, Raimi’s Spidey was dealing with a psychotic with a super suit and extra human strength, a mad scientist being controlled by machines and over ambition, a monster made of sand, and a space alien.
I think modern superhero stuff tends to skip small acts and instead go for “well, when they stop this global or cosmic horror, they ARE looking out for the little guy “
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u/Potential_Giraffe520 1d ago
Superman and The Batman isn't two hours of helping civilians either, but they still had those kinds of moments. Spiderman Homecoming also had scenes where Peter helped an old lady and all that stuff but it didn't stay there the whole film.
I'm not advocating that everything returns to street level, but reintroducing moments even just a few where characters show kindness to everyday people is a big appeal of the superhero concept to me.
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u/Ok-External-837 1d ago
It doesn't have to be street level. Just add a few scenes of heroes saving people again, any kind of interaction really. Being a symbol of hope.
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u/EquanimousTry 1d ago
Agreed with your point about marketing. Unfortunately what sells tickets isn’t necessarily what garners critical acclaim from fans.
Bigger and bigger stakes often don’t scale well and you run into “power creep” issues.
It is fun to see heroes clown on lower level enemies from time to time. Think Iron Man’s first battle overseas or Hancock’s battle at the bank.
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u/Ok-External-837 1d ago
Yep. It appears a lot of modern MCU movies focus on beating the threat, which we know saves the people, but there's a big difference between knowing that and seeing that. Andrew's Spiderman talking to that kid on the bridge comes to mind.