With great power comes awful films

Why I can’t stand superhero movies

By Jessica Berget, Opinions Editor

Maybe it’s because I never read superhero comics, maybe it’s because I’ve seen only a few of the films, or maybe it’s because, admittedly, I’m a huge movie snob, but I absolutely detest superhero movies. Just last month I saw Black Panther for the first time and, although I enjoyed it, I realized that I’ve had enough superhero movie exposure to last me a lifetime.

“How can anyone hate superhero movies?!” You, a possible superhero movie fan, might be asking yourself. Well believe me, I have my reasons.

They’re extremely predictable. I find superhero movies all follow the same plot formulas, same characterizations, same outcomes, same climaxes, same cheesy lines, same everything! I feel like I already know what’s going to happen in every superhero movie before I’ve even seen them. The heroes always win in the end, and the villains are always defeated, though they always come back a couple times to arouse suspense, and then are finally conquered in some epic last battle… or so you think., because there is almost always a scene at the end that shows that the villain is still alive, or has some successor seeking revenge against the heroes, thus setting up the plot for the next superhero movie. It never. Fucking. Ends.

One movie becomes a set-up for a future movie, which means a sequel for another, movie which means more characters are going to be introduced for more sequels for more movies. It makes it seem that the set-ups for future movies are more important than the current movie itself. This would be fine if these stories developed or evolved, but I find they never go anywhere. All it ever gives you is the same formula for every superhero movie; mindless action mixed with an abhorrent amount of CGI, some suspense, a couple cheesy romance scenes and inside jokes that only the die-hard fans would understand.

I get that suspense and action are important elements in film-making, but that’s practically all superhero movies are. I’m not saying they can’t also have great acting, stories, characters, and cinematography, I’m sure some do. However, the emotional response I get from superhero movies is always superficial, relying on explosions and fight scenes to captivate audiences, and that’s just not what I’m into.

As frustrating as this is to me, I can understand why so many superhero movies are being produced these days. They are huge right now, so production companies are constantly pumping them out for profit because they know people will watch them. The characters and superheroes are so well-known at this point that people will watch them in anything, no matter how bad the final product may be.