Need Less: Superhero Movies

Let me come right out and say that this needing less of the superhero movies does not apply to the current Batman franchise. Nor would it apply to Aquaman if Entourage was real.

But everything else can pretty much go. Don't get me wrong, there are some good movies from this genre here and there, but for the most part they suck. For every Batman movie there's 10 Incredible Hulks or Punishers. And judging by the rate that they keep remaking the Incredible Hulk or The Punisher, there might actually be a 10:1 ratio.

The Punisher first came out in 1989 starring Dolph Lundgren. I confess I've never seen it, but since I haven't even heard about it until I searched "punisher" on IMDB, I can't imagine it was that good. Even assuming it was the best movie of all time, do we need to really have a remake in 2004? Or a sequel in 2008? How about yet another remake in development coming out in 2014? Will the world be a better place because of this? I doubt it.

And that brings me to the Incredible Hulk, one of my favorite TV shows as a young lad. There was something about the green make-up and Lou Ferrigno. Oh Ferrigs. Anyway there was Hulk in 2003, which was so bad that it needed to be remade and renamed back to the original the Incredible Hulk in 2008.

Instead of trying to remake old versions of the movie that failed, maybe studios, actors, and directors should realize that instead of the movie being the problem, maybe it's the character. Some storylines and characters just don't translate well into 2 hour movies.

There are just so many superheros and deep stories involved with each one that you could honestly almost make sequels indefinitely. The only problem is that it starts to get really old after a while. These movies mostly serve a niche audience, but can catch on with the mainstream. I saw the first couple Spiderman movies (I was even in them) and the first couple X-Men, but they come out with so many sequels it's almost impossible to keep up. Doing a quick count on IMDB, I see 5 or 6 X-Men movies that have come out in the past 10 years! Has there ever been a movie "series" that has that type of staying power? We're starting to approach horror movies in terms of the number of remakes and sequels.

Has anyone except Dustin even seen the recent Superman movies? And they're coming out with another.

From what I've seen and heard the first movie or two in any series is usually pretty good, but then it really drops off. It's because everyone except for die-hard (there's a reason they're called that) fans die off.

On a side note, here's a humorous column from Deadspin that debates if Batman is a legit superhero.