A diatribe about comic book movies
I got into a conversation with gentleman at my local Games Workshop the other day. It started with me telling a friend that I intended to download the Wolverine movie rather than see it in theatre because I heard it was awful.
He had seen the movie and liked it. He said it was a good movie.
Having never seen it, I couldn’t judge. I simply told him because a friend said it wasn’t true to the comics. As such, I knew I wouldn’t like it.
I recognize my self-righteousness in doing so. And I stand by it.
That said, I’ve loved movies whose source material was clearly modified and adapted to make the movie. Shawshank Redemption, Lord of the Rings, Princess Bride and Watchmen are just a few examples. The issue isn’t about just the how good the movie is as a standalone, but also how much reverence it shows towards the source material and the fans, by extension.
Constantine, for example, was probably a reasonably enjoyable movie. I saw it with someone who had never read Hellblazer and he enjoyed it. Unlike him, I read Hellblazer and LOVED the character of John Constantine, and I just couldn’t help but feel slapped in the face by the producers and the studio.
The problem I have with Wolverine and works like it, is that the source material is extremely easy to translate film - most comic books are. Keeping the “essence” of a comic book is easy - fudge the small details, if needed, but stay true to who the characters are. I can let the fact that Wolverine towers over Storm in X2 slide because his essence is the same (albeit, without the little man syndrome). Hugh Jackman is a big guy, and he can’t help it. They could have, however, cast someone who could actually speak with a proper Cajun accent instead of some young primetime drama star because he’s handsome, who hasn’t got a clue about what his character should sound like. Or at least hire a dialect coach.
Essence matters. Details matter.
The onus to keeping the “essence” also swings the other way. Sin City was extremely (even quite literally) true to the source material, which again I loved, but it just felt like reading the comic - it didn’t bring anything new and exciting to the work (and edited some out) and so left me wanting.
Yes, I recognize I’m hard to please.
I hold these movies to a higher standard because it’s right to; they’re buying these intellectual properties to leverage the existing fanbase; to get fans to create buzz, to move us to drag on non-nerd friends to see the movie, to mobilize us. By failing to show respect to the source material, it exploits us, as opposed to rewarding us for our loyalty.