New breed of heroes not so super, but still extraordinary
There is a new breed of superheroes who will be fighting and wise-cracking their way into cinemas this year, and they're light years away from what you have come to expect thanks to the dominance of stylised Hollywood takes on the adventures of the genetically blessed (or cursed) likes of Superman, Spiderman and the X-Men.
But are audiences ready for an injection of realism that might bring our notion of superheroes back down to earth? Director Matthew Vaughan seems to think so, saying in a recent interview: "I've always felt, whether it's Superman, who was basically a refugee who didn't fit, superheroes are always flawed characters that we can relate to and who you want to be and take you on a journey that gets you out of the mundane life that we all have." The release of his latest film Kick-Ass in April will be closely followed by the similarly themed Defendor starring Woody Harrelson and Super starring Rainn Wilson, which all explore the idea of Average Joe citizen donning tights to bring justice to the community.
So what brought on the latest trend of giving a well-established and bankable genre a postmodern tweak? You could say that the crowd-pleasing and critic-appeasing blockbuster of global proportions that was The Dark Knight proved that the complexity and darkness characteristic of modern comic books doesn't have to be sacrificed in the transfer to the big screen. And thank heavens for that, as hopefully audiences won't be subjected to any more cringe-worthy Batman sequels like the ones churned out in the 1990s.
Another nail in the coffin for conventional film adaptations of comic books was probably the adaptation of Watchmen last year, based on an acclaimed graphic novel by Alan Moore that deconstructed the myth of the superhero in American popular culture. After languishing in development hell for years, it seems the time was ripe for an epic cinematic examination of what lurks behind the mask of the superhero archetype.
These films weren't exactly breaking new ground, as several films made over the past two decades had already established a genuinely ironic subgenre of superhero films. The list includes Blankman (1994) by the Wayans Brothers, Mystery Men (1999) starring Ben Stiller, lesser-known The Specials (2000), Unbreakable (2000) with Bruce Willis, and Hancock (2008) with Will Smith.
You could argue that the superhero genre is self-reflective enough, and question why the simultaneous release of so many films based on a similar theme is warranted.
Whatever the case, its heartening to see that audiences are being treated as intelligent enough to appreciate that heroes don't always come equipped with supernatural powers; sometimes all they need is a good sewing machine, determination, and a kick-ass director to deliver the goods.
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No-one of consequence 27 Apr 2010 01:25
written so well!
Natalie 27 Apr 2010 01:35
I thought Kick-Ass was a brilliant movie, very thought-provoking and challenging of our notions of 'superhero'. I like how this article places this movie into context with other movies exploring similar themes. Very interesting and well-written.
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mobile phone 17 Sep 2010 22:38
its heartening to see that audiences are being treated as intelligent enough to appreciate that heroes don't always come equipped with supernatural powers;
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