Photo by Julian Jensen, via flickr
Rafael Abreu/Staff Writer
The Marvel Universe that’s been created on the silver screen has made much money and many more fans. People from all over the world have become fans of Iron Man, Thor and Captain America as a result of these wildly successful films.
What makes these films as popular as they are?
These films could have easily been mediocre and still make money, yet, these films have been critically favored for the most part (if Rotten Tomatoes is to be believed, no Marvel Universe film has yet to go under the 60 percent mark).
Marvel let the world know some years ago that they were planning phases for their films, meaning that each film was part of an arc and had significance to an overall story. Each film in the Marvel Universe is connected and planned way ahead of time, with much hype to follow.
Marvel’s dedication shows not only in their treatment of source material but in adapting lesser known properties (not everyone knows about the most recent incarnation of the Guardians of the Galaxy).
Marvel clearly cares about its characters; the filmmakers and writers hired tend to be respectful to the source material and have an understanding of the mythology.
It can be seen as atypical of such a massive corporation to put so much focus on the quality of its works, especially if they’re aware that they’ll gross much money anyway. The hiring of certain filmmakers, writers, and especially actors has helped elevate the films to be more than mere superhero fodder.
Films like “Iron Man” benefit from being exciting, action packed, as well as well acted, well scripted, and very funny.
“Iron Man” serves as an excellent example of one of the universe’s defining and most important traits. When people now think of Iron Man, Robert Downey Jr. may be the first thing someone thinks about.
“Iron Man” becomes well regarded and liked because of Downey Jr., who many would agree is the best part of the Iron Man films – It gets to a point that people can’t imagine anyone playing Tony Stark.
Digging at what makes the Marvel films so popular could have much to do with their being around for a long time.
The Incredible Hulk has been around for about fifty or so years and has remained popular ever since. If a motion picture comes out starring the Hulk, it will, at the very least, make money.
The people at Marvel don’t view their films as merely ways of making money, since fans of Marvel in general have voiced their massive approval of their films, going crazy over small references that the casual viewer may not catch.
Of course, even a film like “Iron Man 3” can be critically praised but hated by audiences due to a few things that the writer-director changed. Still, when such controversy comes about, there are many fans that applaud Marvel for taking such risks, which goes to show that the company is not hampered down by the usual studio executives.
This mixture of Marvel deeply caring for their product and caring for their fans creates a universe that has been rightly praised and loved.
rafael.abreu@fiusm.com
About Post Author
