Editorial: Could The Dark Knight Kill The Superhero Genre?

By Josh Tyler: 2008-07-04 02:05:08

Yesterday we brought you a selection of the first bunch of Dark Knight reviews here. They weren’t just all resoundingly positive, they were flat out bat-drool. In the 24 hours since posting that story, the number of rabidly devoted reviews of The Dark Knight has only multiplied, with even more frantic, mind-blowing praise coming from every single corner. If there’s been a single negative word said about the movie so far, I haven’t found it. And as the number of screamingly awesome Dark Knight reviews roaming around out there continues to multiply, the excitement over the film is reaching an almost epic crescendo. I think it’s safe to say there’s never been this much internet excitement for any movie, ever. Whether that’s true or not, two things are becoming abundantly clear: This thing is really, really good and people are going to start riots just to see it. Granted it’s still early, and there’s nearly 2 weeks worth of discussion to go, but the current consensus seems to be that this isn’t just the best superhero movie ever made, but maybe one of the best movies as well. If that’s true, I think maybe the superhero genre is in trouble.

Superhero movies have been all the rage for nearly a decade now, after a brief hiatus when the whole thing was killed off by a string of high-profile stinkers like Batman & Robin. Usually these things are cyclical. Cowboy movies are popular, only to be supplanted by Pirate movies. Pirate movies are popular for awhile, until people get high on outer space movies, and so on. For the superhero film that cycle has lasted longer than normal, surviving and even thriving in the face of some seriously bad entries, failures which might have killed any other trend (Elektra I’m looking at you). The worst of the worst superhero flicks hasn’t been able to kill the moviegoing interest in watching men in tights. Maybe it’ll take something incredibly good to do it. Not just good, but the perfect superhero film.

If The Dark Knight really is the amazing, world-changing, shining beacon of awesome early reviewers seem to be touting it as, then where does that leave every superhero movie that comes after it? With an impossible standard to live up to, that’s where. A movie that good becomes the genre’s pinnacle, and it’s all downhill from there. Just look at how the excitement over this thing has reached such outrageous levels. There’s never been anything like it. Even if The Dark Knight wasn’t good, how could the hype over any other superhero project even hope to match it? We’ll all run out to see Captain America, and then wander home disappointed because while it was nice, it just wasn’t as good as The Dark Knight. Audiences will line up for Spider-Man 4, enjoy it, and yet end up comparing it unfavorably against this Batman And gradually, we’ll get used to disappointment, start to accept that we’ve seen the best there is to see, and maybe, just maybe move on to something else.

Would that really be so bad? Superhero movies have had their run. If The Dark Knight really is the capper on the genre, then the world might be ready to give them a break for awhile. Send them off to wherever they keep cowboy movies now and focus on something else. Maybe it’ll be the turn of knights in shining armor or perhaps outer space science fiction will earn a much deserved resurgence. Whatever it is, should The Dark Knight really prove to be the masterpiece it’s being touted as and should the hype surrounding it continue with the same unabated, manic fervor, then to me The Dark Knight seems to be as good a place to press pause on the superhero genre. We might not even be able to help it. Once you’ve seen the best, what point will there be in watching the rest? Enjoy it while it lasts.

RELATED: rant, editorial, superhero, batman, the dark knight

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noob1337 Says:
July 4th, 2008 at 03:01
That or because it raises the bar for superhero movies those future films will attract better writers, talented actors and actresses, incredible directors - making superhero movies that much more better.

JoshT Says:
July 4th, 2008 at 03:04
@noob1337: I think that's what the success of movies like Spider-Man and X-Men has already done . Now superhero movies ARE already written, directed, and acted by pretty much the best people available. You really can't get much better than directed by Christopher Nolan and starring Christian Bale!

Jason in Japan Says:
July 4th, 2008 at 13:06
Josh - I understand the premise of this article, but I think it's a flawed one.

I don't think seeing a great movie has ever put people off seeing more great movies.

Why make another musical after Singin' in the Rain (the best musical of all time)? Well, they did and movies like The Sound of Music and Grease were incredibly popular.
Why make another gangster movie after the one-two punch of Godfather 1 and 2, in some eyes two of the best movies ever made? Well, Scorsese came along and made Goodfellas, and aren't we all glad he did.

If anything, a great movie makes it hard on the person who made it, not the genre.
Has Coppola ever really attained the success he had or the deserved praise he had with those two Godfather films?
Has Lucas ever topped the original holy trilogy?
Will the Wachowski brothers ever top the original Matrix?
Orson Welles never recovered from the genius of Citizen Kane.

So I think the worst that could happen is that Nolan is raising the bar on himself, and possibly the character of Batman - all future Batman flicks will forever be compared, but people will still line up to see Iron Man 2 and Wolverine, and be satisfied if those characters are done justice within their own films.

-Jason

Cecil88 Says:
July 4th, 2008 at 13:06
And Heath Ledger.

Just for good measure, we will throw in Michael Cane, Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman, Aaron Eckhart, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Eric Roberts, and whoever else I didnt throw in at this time. . .

Stewart Says:
July 4th, 2008 at 13:06
I think that there will always be room for cheezy superhero movies. The kid friendly kind that soccer moms can have movie parties for little Johnny. Marvel does a good job at these kinds of movies (marketed to young kids and families).

However with that said, I think with The Dark Knight and Hopefully with The Watchmen, they will start a trend for older teens and adults who need more in a movie than just bad CGI effects and Big explosions.

P.S. Spiderman & X-Men were cheese fest movies so I don't count them in the same breath as Batman Begins, Superman the Movie, The Crow, or The Dark Knight.

hearveydent08 Says:
July 4th, 2008 at 15:02
I think the biggest flaw in the writers logic is that there is still another Batman to come. If The Dark Knight is as good as we all think it will be, and a storyboard is in place for a 3 picture arc, then wouldn't it suggest that their's gotta be at least one more.

I also agree with Stewart and hope that the Studios realize that a mature comic book film can and will pull in the numbers they so feverishly attain to. I would love to see an "R" rating on a comic movie. That would be amazing. Maybe a do-over on Spawn.

eric Says:
July 4th, 2008 at 17:39
well if this is the case that batman is the ultimate superhero movie then i am proud to say that i am glad he's is and always has been my favorite, and no one deserves it more!

William Usher Says:
July 4th, 2008 at 17:39
@hearveydent08, Spawn was already released with a PG-13 and R rating...neither of which made a difference in the quality of the film itself.

I don't believe a rating should be pursued for the kind of content to be explored in the superhero genre, so much as the content being explored to produce an amazing movie in general.

I think this was first achieved with Spider-Man 2 (for making a good movie in general), and it looks like it's happening again with The Dark Knight. Hopefully the trend will last long enough for Captain America (the original Captain film sucked big time)

Still, I wouldn't be surprised if Ledger ends up with the Best Supporting Actor award at the Oscars.

Victor Says:
July 4th, 2008 at 17:39
I think this is just showing that the public no longer wants dumb downed movies but movies that stimulate their minds as well as entertain. We are ready to actually become intelligent so stop feeding us crap.

"When the chips are down, these civilized people.... will eat eachother" - The JOker

Gregory Says:
July 4th, 2008 at 18:36
Not to mention superhero movies have hardly dominated the multiplex. You compare it to westerns as if they had a short span. The western was a major genre for 50 years. Should there not have been another western after red river? Then we never would have gotten rio bravo.

Superhero movies never had two in the same year or even one two years in a row until X-men I believe. This genre is just getting going and I think the Dark Knight is going to cement it as a genre that can reach beyond the tights and bright colors.

jason in Japan Says:
July 4th, 2008 at 18:36
The first BLADE film was an R-rated comic book movie, and a pretty good one at that.

Sam Says:
July 4th, 2008 at 23:30
I haven't been disappointed in every other action film since I saw Die Hard. So, I don't know why I'd be disappointed in every other super hero movie after The Dark Knight.

I think Jason hit something on the head with his Goodfellas Godfather comparison. Genres can allow for several different types of movies even if some movies in the genre are considerably better than others that doesn't mean that artists working on the ones thought to be 'lesser' have nothing to bring to the genre in terms of style, or focus.

The perfect example of this comes the week before The Dark Knight in Hell Boy II. Even though, The Dark Knight will probably be a better film than Hell Boy II, Hell Boy II has an entirely different take on the super hero genre.

manoj Says:
July 5th, 2008 at 01:52
manoj

entertainmenttodayandbeyond Says:
July 6th, 2008 at 16:54
Interesting point of view and I totally agree. Even when I went
to see Iron Man, a film that I though was very good, I knew in my
minds eye that it was just going to be an Appetizer for The Dark Knight. Films like The Fantastic Four and Ghost Rider will wind up being
the napkin that you wipe off your mouth with incomparison. Every one who sees a comic book film wants to up the anti! While Ihave not seen THE DARK KNIGHT as of yet I would assume going by the reviews Ive read that it will be a hard one to top!

Kris Says:
July 7th, 2008 at 13:30
I think there is plenty of room for great Superhero movies, but we cant forget this is all about the dollars. If Dark Knight comes out and makes a billion dollars, it wont signal the studios to try and up the ante or even live up to it, it will tell them that Superhero movies are amazingly marketable and to churn them out as fast as possible.
Just watch in the coming months, youll see that because of the amazing success of Dark Knight the studios will start fast-tracking every comic book property they they can get their grubby hands on and push them out the door, and undoubtedly (and even without the DK comparison) they will mostly be grabage.
Lets face it, the honest truth is that we get a few talented directors, a great scrpt and an amazing cast (Batman Begins, Iron Man) and they turn out the best Comic book movies ever made, and all the studios care about is cashing in.

Ray Says:
July 7th, 2008 at 19:25
Batman has always been a favorite of mine, and until Batman Begins I was sorely disappointed with his film adaptations. And even then, Batman Begins felt like it was a movie that was really good to Batman fans, and only sorta good to the uninitiated. I always thought Heath would put an original spin on the Joker, and upon first view of a proper trailer, I was officially too excited for my own good. But Heath died. Now the first reviews are popping up, and it's non-stop praise. I'm not meaning to spit on a man's grave or anything by saying this, but does anyone think that maybe this being Heath's last film and all, it holds a weight on the critics opinions? That maybe they're salivating over this film because it's the right thing to do? And maybe they're thinking to themselves, "well this movie was good, but I don't want to be the one that doesn't give it a not-so-good review."

I really hope not.
I am excited, and people like Peter Travers I trust a lot. Even Kevin Smith said it was an amazing movie (near masterpiece I believe, but if it is that good, it could reach such a level after it ages a little). I don't know, maybe I'm just pessimistic.

As to the main idea of the article, I'm fine with having a movie good enough to kill a genre. Because at the end of the day, you get to see an amazing movie. I think that's what we all want to begin with. Who cares about a genre getting put on pause for a while... as long as it's given us a great movie, why should we complain?

brad Says:
July 10th, 2008 at 14:35
again, my two cents...

1st, this is not Heath's last picture, there is another film in post production, casting 2 actors i can't remember whom, to fill in and finish it. Apparently Heath's character has multiple personnas and these two actors will portray them..... But to the other cent-

Superhero films have been on the rise, we se that. But with Spiderman, originally ( with repect to Keaton's BatMan ) starting the whole game of kick the bucket and see who kicks it farther, Dark Horse, Marvel and DC have been making every attempt to make films in this genre as fast as possible. FF was okay, as was daredevil, HULK....whatever, HULK 2??? from what Ed Norton says, they ruined it again, BUT will problay make quite a few bucks. As is what all the other franchises to come will also try and accomplish. IronMan, was great!! So that being said, DK won't ruin this thing, it'll only push the envelope further for new flicks to come. Think about it, hasn't all the films that come out so far done well in the Box Office?? yes. Sequels have come and gone for all of them and Now spinnoffs are starting. Elektra does'nt count, but Wolverine will in no doubt be incredible. My only guess, is if Marvel does it right, is the hopes and dreams of the IronMan, Hulk, Captain America and the Avengers tie ins come full circle to push what DK is doing now. My one true disappointment is the fact DC crapped the bed and let Justice League fall by the wayside. Did they not see what Xmen has done?? and what Avengers will do????

i understand people want Bale as Bats in this flick, but if done right, we don't need it. Think about this for a minute: Justice League done in the eyes of how we read Alex Ross' Kingdom Come?! All characters are older, most of us fans already know origins, hell, why do we need origins? It is in my personal belief, DK will be the new anchor of Hero films, if only films that will follow stant next to it, if not ahead. Pushing the envelope is what every company, individual should do and has done, keep getting better going over the top! Snoogins...

Steve M Says:
July 18th, 2008 at 00:52
I don't mean to completely bash this article because it is well written and does provide a fresh idea but I believe it is ridiculous to say that the best movie so far is going to destroy an entire genre. The superhero idea has been around since comic books and even before then with mythology and stuff like that. It has just been an ever growing and adapting idea. The thought of a superhuman being guided by a positive moral compass will always be a fresh and fun idea. I do not believe this superhero genre is in any trouble it has just gotten to the epic level of other movies. We have rarely seen a movie of this genre be compared to the greatest movies of all time and now a superhero movie can be considered one of the greats. It's just pushing an idea or genre into the highest level of praise.

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Editorial: Could The Dark Knight Kill The Superhero Genre?

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