Are modern "superhero" films too serious?

[Mr. Smith]

Yes.

Some take the Grimdark route, some are meta, you'll find a few that are still small-scale or lighthearted.

But pretty much all of them after Nolan's trilogy have been bloated with too much exposition, whether it be character motives, or keeping the plot straight because the writers insisted on weaving in too many damn subplots. Either way, too much is directly told to the audience rather than shown or left to interpretation. And count on a fecking skybeam at some point.

In some cases, prominent side characters are replaced with lifeless talking points only there to further entrench the protagonist one way or another. Nolan's trilogy started the trend, but it got much worse after 2010.

There are exceptions like Deadpool, or Logan which get it right, but they are far and few. Ultimately earnestness as a whole died with Spider Man 2.

[Mr. Smith]

Drunk Superman (Superman III) is the best Superman.

Well except for:

Earnest, Straight from the comics Superman (Superman I)
Many Powers from Nowhere Superman (Superman II)
Nailed-Scratched Superman (Superman IV)
Baby-Making Superman (Superman Returns)
Won't Smile Superman (Man of Steel/Batman v Superman)


You're right!

[Mr. Smith]

Nope. Honestly, I like where superhero films are right now in terms of seriousness. Several films are very serious (Batman V Superman, Logan) some films are moderately serious (Almost anything by Marvel Studios), and we got some not serious movies (Deadpool, GOTG)

Also, change the thread's name to "Why So Serious?" please.

Agree.

I'm surprised no one has yet mentioned Watchmen. Now there was one helluva serious movie. I think it's one of the most fascinating superhero movies made yet, particularly so because the plot and dialogue adhered so closely to the original comic book, and most of the changes that were made were excellent changes, making the movie even better than the book(s) it was based on.

Chris Columbus' Harry Potter movies were practically word for word with maybe five scenes deleted or excised from the books. And yet, no one talks about 'em besides nostalgic purists and John Williams' iconic score for a reason.

YMMV about the changes obviously.

No, serious done right still belongs to M. Night Shyamlan of all people with Unbreakable. It was all about SUperman not realizing he was Superman, and it's the best acting from Samuel L. Jackson that didn't include the MoFo bomb at any point.  It's criminal that critics whined about it being too close to The Sixth Sense...just criminal.

[Mr. Smith]

I'm surprised no one has yet mentioned Watchmen. Now there was one helluva serious movie. I think it's one of the most fascinating superhero movies made yet, particularly so because the plot and dialogue adhered so closely to the original comic book, and most of the changes that were made were excellent changes, making the movie even better than the book(s) it was based on.

YMMV about the changes obviously.

"You Make Me Vomit" ......??
That's a pretty crude response.

Your Mileage May Vary, actually.

I for one disagree about those changes being all that good, but then, I didn't care much for Watchmen in its original source either.