Why do comic book movies need to be realistic?

[Dpooly84]

One common complaint I hear about comic book movies is that they are not realistic. Do people not know what there going to see? On top of that, what movie is realistic? Action movies? Rom-coms? Horror? Oh drama flicks? I might be alone on this but I really don't need reality in my super hero films. You can't make batman realistic; as much as you try. Just have fun with your fantasy getaway.

[Andrew NDB]

I always say there can be a happy middle ground. The Batman being a 0, Batman Begins being a 2 or 3, and Batman & Robin being a 10. I'd like to see stuff striving to land in the... 4-6 area.

[Dpooly84]

Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

I always say there can be a happy middle ground. The Batman being a 0, Batman Begins being a 2 or 3, and Batman & Robin being a 10. I'd like to see stuff striving to land in the... 4-6 area.

I like that scale, would you say that having more comic book accurate costumes would take you out of the movie? For example I loved the X-Men movies when they came out but damn I wish they just would have given us something closer to comic book accurate costumes. There isn't really mutants running around saving the world so what difference does it make in what they're wearing in a fictional movie?

[Andrew NDB]

Originally Posted by Dpooly84

I like that scale, would you say that having more comic book accurate costumes would take you out of the movie? For example I loved the X-Men movies when they came out but damn I wish they just would have given us something closer to comic book accurate costumes. There isn't really mutants running around saving the world so what difference does it make in what they're wearing in a fictional movie?

That's the perfect example. And don't get me wrong... X-Men (2000) kicked in a lot of doors for comic book movies. But yeah. Something between that movie and the 90s cartoon would be the perfect meshing. And at the time and even since people seem to pipe up about, "You guys really want everyone wearing spandex????"

My response has always been the same. "Why in the f*** would you assume that'd have to be spandex?" In a comic book you generally have costumes colored flatly. Which is to say, we don't know what that material is. Weirdo directors like Singer will step in and go "OK! Carte blanche for black leathers for all!" But those are just that. Weirdo directors.

[frank_one]

I guess it worked back then. Movies based on comics weren't actually aimed at comics readers so black leather jackets were supposed to be cooler than colorful costumes for the average viewer.

[Coola Yagami]

I don't know, but whenever a movie is made into live action, or at times, CGI, there's always this need to either explain the universe, make it fit into 'real world standard's or explain the origin.

Like the only example I could think of now would be like MLP movie I was dragged to way back when. As far as I could tell, the movie just carried on assuming you knew the characters already and the general plot. Similar to the classic Transformers movie, GI Joe movie and the Simpsons movie.

But make it live action and now suddenly you're 'burdened' with all of this somehow working 'in real life' and the overall concept of transforming robots or Smurfs or whatever needs to be explained to the general audience instead of just going with it.

I feel that's what happens to live action super hero movies.

[IMJ]

Originally Posted by Dpooly84

One common complaint I hear about comic book movies is that they are not realistic. Do people not know what there going to see? On top of that, what movie is realistic? Action movies? Rom-coms? Horror? Oh drama flicks? I might be alone on this but I really don't need reality in my super hero films. You can't make batman realistic; as much as you try. Just have fun with your fantasy getaway.

I love this thread as a topic, man. Props to you for shining a light on it. I'd say that the reasons for this are multi-faceted, provided we take your thread title as a fact of social phenomena.

I think the nature of this is multi-faceted and soundly set in a combination of vitriolic reasons related to personality and non-vitriolic reasons related to human nature. Basically we want to see things on film that could manifest somehow in real life which gives us a sense of goals and progress. But I also think there is a cross-section of people who simply use "it's not real" as justification for their criticism or to frown on others who enjoy something. So basically setting something in a "real world" alleviates the pseudo-intellectual critic while also delivering a sense of verisimilitude for the people who need that in order to have comprehension.

So, simply put - there are abstract thinkers and concrete thinkers. Abstract thinking is hard, concrete thinking is easier. There are fewer kings than peasants on Earth. So having something as "realistic" as possible draws in both parties for the dollars. Even the Marvel Universe, which is wildly abstract, led people in with a science based Iron Man and a chemically enhanced guy before getting into "magic stones". And it was embraced with relative ease by both the kings as well as the peasants who all got led into Infinity War together.