John and I were discussing comic book movies today, surprise surprise. He asked me to do a post about guidelines I would give to ensure better super hero films were made. It is easy for me to sit from an ivory tower and bark suggestions, so I will. Ladies, Gentlemen and Centaurs I present to you 5 golden rules:
1) The villain should be a villain. Not a guy who has had a bad string of luck or can be cured of evil. I want a nihilist power hungry megalomaniac that would rather kill than obey the laws of the land.
2) The heroes do not have kids or have a relationship. Like a monk his/her dedication is bent on fighting evil 24/7. The hero may have casual encounters but a family life is never possible, family can be killed and or held hostage.
3) The Movie should be 90 minutes, or less.
4) The villain must be able to go toe to toe with the hero OR have interesting minions that can (The minions in Blade 2 are a great example of minions done right.). Don’t just have the hero lift stuff like in Superman Returns – have him fight someone. If the villain can take on the hero awesome, let them go at it.
If minions are done right they can be amazing, for example if you have an evil genius character – let him have a cyborg army that has his back. The cyborgs can all have their own personalities and can do the dirty work of the scientist. You also leave the door open for sequels – some cyborgs die but the evil genius gets away. In super hero movies we want lots of fights followed by a “big boss” fight.
5) The Final Fight should be at least 15 minutes of the film. No bullshit Fantastic Four endings, no Higher Ground debacles – the fight should be an all out war like the End of Children OF Men but with 2 super forces clashing causing insane destruction in the process. Super Heroes produce super action.
There you have it 5 Doug Nagy suggestions for better super hero films. The boards are open – International friends now it is time for your suggestions!
