OK, I have deliberately used a song title as the title for this article. It is ironic as it was used in Mystery Men, a film about incompetent superheroes. Specifically, it’s in a scene where they audition odd people like Squee Gee Man and The Waffler (if you haven’t seen this film you really should and for that scene in particular).
Superhero films are more popular than ever but somewhere along the line all is not well. Modern superheroes often seem quite psychologically conflicted. People often use the term “dark” although I do not think that is entirely accurate. I prefer the term “neurotic”.
Don’t get me wrong, I adore Batman and I love Christopher Nolan’s interpretation. The problem is every new film seems to want to artificially add this kind of complexity. Superman Returns is a good example of how this can go wrong. That film feels like someone gave millions to someone to make some kind of Jesus subtext fan fiction.
Strangely enough, the man who first gave us a darker interpretation of Batman said “Maybe it is time for the cartoon to come back.” After seeing Sin City and Watchmen I have to say I agree. However, I also do not think buckets of blood and overly stylistic slow motion necessarily equates to maturity!
For me, interesting characters are not necessarily psychologically traumatised. For me, the classic example is Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid or The Sting. These are two films where the two main stars effortlessly play off each other. You could imagine going out for a drink with these guys and you genuinely want them to succeed!
And this is what I want for AK Girl and Wondervixen (aka Vibes and Sally). While they do have dark moments, essentially the story is about their relationship as friends, sparking off each other with banter and acknowledging the oddness of their world.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to go back to camp and self parody…
I just want to offer an alternative to darkness and brooding…
Is that possible though?
– URBAN FOX
aka. Will Turner (writer, creator of Reynard City)
Tags: Batman, Christopher Nolan, Dark Night, Mystery Men, Reynard City, Sundance Kid, Superheroes, Superman, The Sting
Mediacrity 
URBAN FOX: No more heroes anymore…
17 AugOK, I have deliberately used a song title as the title for this article. It is ironic as it was used in Mystery Men, a film about incompetent superheroes. Specifically, it’s in a scene where they audition odd people like Squee Gee Man and The Waffler (if you haven’t seen this film you really should and for that scene in particular).
Superhero films are more popular than ever but somewhere along the line all is not well. Modern superheroes often seem quite psychologically conflicted. People often use the term “dark” although I do not think that is entirely accurate. I prefer the term “neurotic”.
Don’t get me wrong, I adore Batman and I love Christopher Nolan’s interpretation. The problem is every new film seems to want to artificially add this kind of complexity. Superman Returns is a good example of how this can go wrong. That film feels like someone gave millions to someone to make some kind of Jesus subtext fan fiction.
Strangely enough, the man who first gave us a darker interpretation of Batman said “Maybe it is time for the cartoon to come back.” After seeing Sin City and Watchmen I have to say I agree. However, I also do not think buckets of blood and overly stylistic slow motion necessarily equates to maturity!
For me, interesting characters are not necessarily psychologically traumatised. For me, the classic example is Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid or The Sting. These are two films where the two main stars effortlessly play off each other. You could imagine going out for a drink with these guys and you genuinely want them to succeed!
And this is what I want for AK Girl and Wondervixen (aka Vibes and Sally). While they do have dark moments, essentially the story is about their relationship as friends, sparking off each other with banter and acknowledging the oddness of their world.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to go back to camp and self parody…
I just want to offer an alternative to darkness and brooding…
Is that possible though?
– URBAN FOX
aka. Will Turner (writer, creator of Reynard City)
Tags: Batman, Christopher Nolan, Dark Night, Mystery Men, Reynard City, Sundance Kid, Superheroes, Superman, The Sting