Pictures of Jamie Foxx as Electro have hit the internet, and as usual people are all up in arms based solely on one picture. Nothing else has been shown except this picture and of course a lot of Fanboys have already started the usual round of complaints. Everything from casting to costumes, and they haven’t seen the movie yet.
So the big question is: As a comic reader how can you enjoy a comic book movie?
Well here are some suggestions on how you can:
- YOU ARE NOT THE TARGET AUDIENCE – Bottom line, Hollywood really doesn’t care about what Fanboys think when it comes to comic book movies. We are a small percentage of viewers in the larger scale of things. The brain trust in Hollywood usually has no clue about the comics themselves. They are trying to appeal to a mass audience to make money. Yes, Hollywood appears at comic conventions like San Diego, but this is for marketing purposes only. Movies are a business and more important, a great marketing product. Toys, T-shirts, posters, etc. That’s mainly the point for Hollywood to get behind these movies. Money talks.
- ACCEPT CHANGE – With any adaptation from book to screen, there will always be changes made. Not just comic books, but all books. You have to squeeze all this story into a minimum of a 120 minutes. When it comes to comics, we’re talking about 70 years of history, that’s constantly changing and then needs to be translated to the screen. It’s not an easy task by any means. Especially when you have to appeal to a wide audience. Do these adaptations work? Not always. As long as the essence of the character is there, be happy & accept it. And sometimes change is good.
- KNOW THE CHARACTER – A lot of Fanboys think they know these characters inside and out. Hate to tell you, but if you started reading comics in the 90’s and the character has been around since the 50’s, you don’t know crap. Go back & familiarize yourself with the character. An example was with Daredevil. A lot of people bitched & moaned the movie version was nothing like the comic. That’s true, if all you know is the Frank Miller version. The movie version is closer to the original character that was created by Stan Lee & Bill Everett. So go back & read those older stories. Directors & writers like to blend all these versions into a composite character. Plus you’ll get some of those “Easter Eggs” & homages they sometime throw in.
- KEEP AN OPEN MIND – The internet has burst open the rumor mill tenfold. You hear a rumor & suddenly you have people bitching & moan about it. And it hasn’t even confirmed yet. Wait until the trailers come out or you see the movie. Even pictures that are released can be misleading. Sometime the studios actually Photoshop the pictures. A lot of times things look better on screen. So just try to keep an open mind & not go off the deep end.
- SPANDEX DOESN’T WORK – Unless the character is Superman or Spider-Man, spandex looks damn silly. Look at the 1960’s Batman TV show. That suit isn’t menacing or intimating in the least. It looks down right goofy. Tim Burton & Chris Nolan use of a suit armor makes more sense, and quite honestly looks better.
Beyond this, the best advice is…if you don’t like it, don’t see it.
If you already if decided you’re not going to like the movie, why bother spending money on it. You’re just going to torture yourself.
Best to wait for a rental.
Well you definitely make some good points, and these should be pretty much common sense at this point for those who do feel very passionate about major/minor changes to beloved characters in movies. That being said, I agree that most hollywood execs could give two shits about what fanboys think, but that attitude needs to improve on their end, since it’s usually the fanboys that keep buying the comics and merchandise of these heroes or hero teams they’re making movies about. Quid Pro Quo and all that.
Good article.