People always say, “The book was better than the movie.”
They say it because, usually, the movie in their head is much better than the one playing on the screen. They say it because, due to time constraints, budget, or lack of special effects, they have to cut some part of the story. The movie industry leaves out background and explanations. They leave out prequels and change continuity. All of this is by necessity in order to cram days of reading pleasure into two hours of viewing and still have it make some kind of sense.
It has to be a tough job, specifically when they are making a movie that has a large fanbase. In the Information Age, any movie that is panned by the book’s loyal hordes is eviscerated on opening night through Twitter and Facebook. Moral: not pleasing the geeks can cost.
The opposite is also true: any book that pleases the fanbase or even creates new fans in the process is lauded by those same hordes and suddenly we’re talking sequels, merchandising, and new covers of that book shining on the shelves of Barnes & Noble. This makes getting it right a necessity.
Now imagine you’re a director, and you’re not just trying to adapt ONE book, but over a thousand. Imagine you’re attempting to cram SIXTY YEARS of books into a movie with a fan base that spans all age groups, all races, all demographics. You’d better be damn sure you get it right.
The Avengers, Age of Ultron, gets it right.
I heard some people talking about the movie (making sure they didn’t give any spoilers) and said that it was “good” but it wasn’t as good as the first one. I agree. To them, it wasn’t as good as the first one. Reason: the movie wasn’t FOR them. It was for me and everyone like me. It was for people who, when they sit down to read The Avengers, are catching up with old friends. It was for people who didn’t need a bunch of character development, since we already know who we’re dealing with. We don’t need explanations and backstory, it has already been established.
If you didn’t see any of the Marvel movies and Age of Ultron was your first, you probably felt a little left behind. Don’t worry, you’ll catch up. As a matter of fact, you just experienced exactly what it felt like to pick up a copy of Power Man and Iron Fist in the middle of a storyline in 1979. You don’t know who these guys are or what they can do, but the mystery is part of the fun. You figured it out. This was always the way with a new comic, since the industry didn’t pander to first-timers, you caught up by experience.
This was the same reason why comic geeks loved The Incredibles. No origin. No dealing-with-newfound-power. Here’s the heroes, here’s their personalities, here we go. Previously, comicbook movies were made with small budgets and the hero was only in costume only a few minutes throughout the entire film. The story was about the alter-ego: the reporter, the photographer, the millionaire trying to balance his love life with being a vigilante. The Marvel movies waste very little time with all that and Age of Ultron is no exception.
For the first time ever, movies are doing what the comics have done for decades. We don’t need a re-introduction, we don’t need an explanation. The characters were established a while back, so let’s get to it! This is true for the TV shows, too, with Agent Carter, Daredevil, and Agents of Shield all alluding to the events in the movies. This has allowed the tapestry of the fictional world to expand to a size rivaling the original Marvel Comic Universe. This is Geek Heaven for someone who already has a firm foundational understanding of that universe.
As far as the book being better than the movie, it’s completely understandable that things have to be changed. The fan base cannot reasonably expect the movie to stay true to the continuity of the comic. We wouldn’t want that, anyway, or we’d already know everything that is going to happen and how it would play out. Still, they’ve done a phenomenal job. All of the important things about the character are there including subtle nuances of personality. Obscure characters I never thought would go mainstream have done just that. It’s like watching your best friend from junior high win an Oscar.
I spoke to the guy at the comicbook store and asked him, “We’ve had the Golden Age of comics, the Silver Age, and the Modern Age. What will this Age be called?” He replied that only history will be able to answer that. I’ll call the time in which the movie industry was making movies just for me.
Hopefully, you all can enjoy them as well.
Excelsior!
They say it because, usually, the movie in their head is much better than the one playing on the screen. They say it because, due to time constraints, budget, or lack of special effects, they have to cut some part of the story. The movie industry leaves out background and explanations. They leave out prequels and change continuity. All of this is by necessity in order to cram days of reading pleasure into two hours of viewing and still have it make some kind of sense.
It has to be a tough job, specifically when they are making a movie that has a large fanbase. In the Information Age, any movie that is panned by the book’s loyal hordes is eviscerated on opening night through Twitter and Facebook. Moral: not pleasing the geeks can cost.
The opposite is also true: any book that pleases the fanbase or even creates new fans in the process is lauded by those same hordes and suddenly we’re talking sequels, merchandising, and new covers of that book shining on the shelves of Barnes & Noble. This makes getting it right a necessity.
Now imagine you’re a director, and you’re not just trying to adapt ONE book, but over a thousand. Imagine you’re attempting to cram SIXTY YEARS of books into a movie with a fan base that spans all age groups, all races, all demographics. You’d better be damn sure you get it right.
The Avengers, Age of Ultron, gets it right.
I heard some people talking about the movie (making sure they didn’t give any spoilers) and said that it was “good” but it wasn’t as good as the first one. I agree. To them, it wasn’t as good as the first one. Reason: the movie wasn’t FOR them. It was for me and everyone like me. It was for people who, when they sit down to read The Avengers, are catching up with old friends. It was for people who didn’t need a bunch of character development, since we already know who we’re dealing with. We don’t need explanations and backstory, it has already been established.
If you didn’t see any of the Marvel movies and Age of Ultron was your first, you probably felt a little left behind. Don’t worry, you’ll catch up. As a matter of fact, you just experienced exactly what it felt like to pick up a copy of Power Man and Iron Fist in the middle of a storyline in 1979. You don’t know who these guys are or what they can do, but the mystery is part of the fun. You figured it out. This was always the way with a new comic, since the industry didn’t pander to first-timers, you caught up by experience.
This was the same reason why comic geeks loved The Incredibles. No origin. No dealing-with-newfound-power. Here’s the heroes, here’s their personalities, here we go. Previously, comicbook movies were made with small budgets and the hero was only in costume only a few minutes throughout the entire film. The story was about the alter-ego: the reporter, the photographer, the millionaire trying to balance his love life with being a vigilante. The Marvel movies waste very little time with all that and Age of Ultron is no exception.
For the first time ever, movies are doing what the comics have done for decades. We don’t need a re-introduction, we don’t need an explanation. The characters were established a while back, so let’s get to it! This is true for the TV shows, too, with Agent Carter, Daredevil, and Agents of Shield all alluding to the events in the movies. This has allowed the tapestry of the fictional world to expand to a size rivaling the original Marvel Comic Universe. This is Geek Heaven for someone who already has a firm foundational understanding of that universe.
As far as the book being better than the movie, it’s completely understandable that things have to be changed. The fan base cannot reasonably expect the movie to stay true to the continuity of the comic. We wouldn’t want that, anyway, or we’d already know everything that is going to happen and how it would play out. Still, they’ve done a phenomenal job. All of the important things about the character are there including subtle nuances of personality. Obscure characters I never thought would go mainstream have done just that. It’s like watching your best friend from junior high win an Oscar.
I spoke to the guy at the comicbook store and asked him, “We’ve had the Golden Age of comics, the Silver Age, and the Modern Age. What will this Age be called?” He replied that only history will be able to answer that. I’ll call the time in which the movie industry was making movies just for me.
Hopefully, you all can enjoy them as well.
Excelsior!
