re: Anybody Else Done With Superhero/Comic Book Movies

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This is the demographic that likes comic book movies.

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I'll never understand this attitude. "Film critics" get crapped on all the time for being snobby and elitist, but it was the French New Wave who championed westerns and genre film as great art (essentially, the super hero film of their day). I find the supposed elitist snobs are much ore willing to champion the greatness of genre trash.

You should never write off a whole genre. There are bad comic book movies, there are great ones. same with westerns, or rom-coms, or war films, or whatever. Denying yourself an experience solely because of its genre is such a limiting way to go through life. It's like denying yourself of the full richness of experience, just so you can claim how much cooler and sophisticated you are. I mean, knock yourself out, but you're only hurting yourself.

The best comic book movies, like horror films (another of my favorite genres), can smuggle in critical themes that straight movies can't. Mainly because people aren't paying attention to those details. For example, THOR RAGNAROK is a pretty damning portrayal of colonialism and the way that people in control manipulate information to oppress others, while at the same time treating themselves as above it all or worse yet, as the good guys. As Hela says, they love what they have, ashamed of how they got it. But its even more fleshed out in the Grandmaster's world and how he oppressed society.

Now, is that the thrust of the film? OF course not. That would be a major bummer. So it's also about brotherhood, finding your true self, and a Thor/Hulk buddy comedy. But those other themes are there if you just tug at the thread. It's not essential to delve into those themes to enjoy the movie, but they are there. And that, to me, is really interesting and cool.

And before you mention BLACK PANTHER being overly political, that is true, but the hidden theme is how deeply feminist the movie is. The argument of who's right, Killmonger or T'Challa, misses the point. they're both wrong. Nakia is the one with the truly ethical and moral vision for Wakanda, and it is her vision which wins out.