My Moviegoer Perspective on Shared Universes: Cinematic or Problematic?
Here they come to save the day!
"I need a hero! I'm holding out for a hero 'til the end of the night! He's gotta be strong, and he's gotta be fast, and he's gotta be fresh from the fight!" - Bonnie Tyler, Holding Out for a Hero
I love a good crossover story. After all, what's cooler than seeing some of your favourite characters from different series interacting with one another, especially when you'd never expect said characters to meet? Some good crossover examples include Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man, King Kong vs. Godzilla, Laff-A-Lympics, A Muppet Family Christmas, The Jetsons Meet the Flintstones, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Alien vs. Predator, Captain N: The Game Master, Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue, RoboCop Versus The Terminator, Marvel vs. Capcom, DC vs. Marvel, Super Smash Bros., Kingdom Hearts, Freddy vs. Jason, Wreck-It Ralph, and Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers.
A common trait shared amongst most crossovers is that the viewer/reader/gamer needn't have intimate knowledge of each character's source material to enjoy the shared work. For example, I've seen all but two Friday the 13th movies (cheesy good fun!) and none of the A Nightmare on Elm Street flicks, yet this didn't affect my enjoyment of Freddy vs. Jason. In my opinion, a good crossover should be able to stand on its own and appeal to fans of all series represented without expecting them to follow the others.
This brings me to my main point: shared universes. There are multiple ways to tackle the multiverse. One is to have different versions of the same characters meet, a la Turtles Forever or Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Another is when characters from different series work together, such as The Avengers or Justice League. Yet another is to combine both of the above, such as Spider-Man: No Way Home, The Flash, or Deadpool & Wolverine. Any of these can be good fun, so long as you don't force your audience to follow each and every independent work.
Unfortunately, this is the problem I have with the shared universe model employed by Marvel and DC nowadays. Both studios have crafted convoluted, interconnected storylines that weave their way and intersect between all of their films. As such, if you fail to watch each movie in each series in a very specific order, you'll find yourself lost and confused by the overarching storyline. This is ultimately why I rarely watch modern superhero flicks. Back in the day, you could watch a Superman, Batman, X-Men, or Spider-Man movie and their sequels without following any of the other series. Sadly, this is no longer the case.
Let's use Spider-Man as an example. In the pre-shared universe era, you could watch each of the Spider-Man movies starring Tobey Maguire or Andrew Garfield, consecutively, without ever having seen any other Marvel flick. This was great, as you weren't expected to dedicate your time following the storylines of other superheroes you either didn't care for or had zero interest in. However, in the post-shared universe era, you can't simply watch Tom Holland Spider-Man movies and nothing else. Oh, no. You're expected to have first seen each of The Avengers movies, including all their solo outings, sequels, spin-offs, and streaming series, not to mention all other Marvel flicks. It's exactly the same thing with DC's less successful shared universe flicks. Don't care for some superheroes in a shared universe? Tough luck, kid. You're watching their movies if you hope to keep up with the interconnected narrative.
Look, I'm not trying to bash shared universe flicks, as I do think crossovers are cool. It's just that I feel shared universe flicks have overcomplicated the superhero genre, and the oversaturation of these movies can result in severe superhero burnout. That's what I find so refreshing whenever the rare independent, standalone superhero movie comes along, which is now once in a blue moon. Take Joker, for example. It wasn't connected to Ben Affleck in any way (yay!), required no intricate knowledge of DC lore, and, thankfully, wasn't 3-hours-long. For all these appealing reasons, I broke my superhero flick diet and saw Joker in cinemas. I loved it. Masterful performance by Joaquin Phoenix as the Clown Prince of Crime, and definitely deserving of his Oscar win. Heck, I can't wait to see the upcoming sequel with Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn (yay, again)!
Another, more recent exception I made to my superhero flick diet was finally seeing the over-1-month-old Deadpool & Wolverine in a virtually empty cinema (when attending the cinema, I usually wait about a month for the crowds to die down, due to my autism-related social anxiety). As with Joker, I'm glad I made this exception, as I also loved Deadpool & Wolverine, and felt as though I was watching one of the pre-shared universe superhero flicks of my childhood and teenaged years.
While technically part of Disney's bloated MCU, and while also filled with Marvel crossover cameos, the only prior Marvel flicks that are beneficial to watch before seeing Deadpool & Wolverine, are the first two Deadpool movies and Logan. That's it. Sure, there are plenty of references to the greater MCU at large, but none that are needed to understand what's going on in Deadpool & Wolverine.
In summary, I feel more shared universes flicks should follow Deadpool & Wolverine's example, giving audiences the cool crossover fan service they crave without forcing them to watch every MCU film and streaming series ever made. The same goes for DC. Give us more standalone flicks like Joker, 100% free of Ben Affleck and company (being Canadian, I've disliked that dude ever since he altered, downplayed, and snubbed Canadian history in Argo).
In closing, I have some additional advice for both Marvel and DC. Hire film editors again. Those fine folks work wonders at trimming excess fat from movie runtimes. Honestly, did Zack Snyder's Justice League really need to be longer than Gone with the Wind?!? That pretty much sums up my moviegoer perspective on shared universes. Remember, kids: bigger doesn't always equal better. Do you have any thoughts on this post? If so, feel free to reach out by leaving a comment, dropping me a line, or signing my guestbook to share your opinions on this or any other topic. Also, feel free to press the "like" button if you enjoyed this post, as "likes" help me gauge audience interest in the content I post. After all, I don't want to bore anyone, ha-ha. Until next time, love, peace, and chicken grease!
Posted in "Nerd Alert" on Sunday, September 15, 2024.