7 Times Auteurs Took On Superhero Movies

We live in a world where superhero movies rule the cinematic landscape, where caped crusaders and men of steel dominate the box office and draw swathes of fans into theaters. Even though it's been around for a good while, the superhero genre is more popular than ever. Only, something's definitely changed. Where once superhero movies were generally released as standalone projects, nowadays shared cinematic universes are all the rage. Marvel Studios has one for Iron Man et al, DC has one for Superman, Batman, and co., and 20th Century Fox is developing its own cinematic comic book universe with X-Men and the Fantastic Four. And behind each one of those universes is a brain trust of creatives, a team that decides which way the wind blows on each film. For those who like their cinema to look like television - more like episodes with a uniform style - this is no bad thing. But for the auteurists out there, the MCU, the DCEU, and whatever Fox is calling its own universe are all contributing to a superhero movie world where singular artistic visions are tempered down, where comic book pictures are handled by a committee overseeing the director. Thankfully, for those who like their superhero movies made in a singular style and spirit, it's rumored that Mad Max's George Miller will soon get behind the reins of Man of Steel 2, proving that there may still be room for creative autonomy for auteurs on superhero films. To celebrate the news of Miller's possible hiring, here are seven past examples of auteurs putting their own unique stamp on superhero movies. 7) Tim Burton - Batman, Batman Returns It's been a long time since Tim Burton made a genuinely great, or even good film (animation aside). Still, that doesn't mean the director isn't a fully-fledged auteur; if anything, he has a more instantly recognizable style than the vast majority of Hollywood filmmakers working today. If it's dark, gloomy, a little bit OTT, and home to some oddball characters, chances are it's a Tim Burton film. And those are exactly the characteristics Burton brought to his two Batman outings some two-plus decades ago. Batman and Batman Returns aren't just a case of filmmaker perfectly matching the material, though - Burton pushed the gothic nature of the darker Batman comics even further, whilst allowing a touch of the old pop-art Adam West Batman series to seep into the style. Plus, he brought his Beetlejuice actor Michael Keaton over with him to play Bruce Wayne - who else would think to go for such a bold, unusual choice? 6) Bryan Singer - X-Men, X2, X-Men: Days Of Future Past Although it was released only a decade-and-a-half ago and is often credited as one of the foundation stones of modern superhero cinema, Bryan Singer's original X-Men movie feels almost radical now. The basic plot - good guys must defeat evil genius from annihilating mankind - is familiar, but thematically it's pure Singer, dealing with the persecution of outsiders, the Jewish people especially (something that Singer has explored elsewhere), and observing the growing pains of youth in what feels like a remarkably personal way. X-Men also plays around with the idea of identity (via Logan/Wolverine and the shape-shifting Mystique), something the director had previous to then dealt with in The Usual Suspects and Apt Pupil. But what most stands out is how deeply felt X-Men is. Though Singer's subsequent X-movies since then have diluted the director's individual concerns, they're still very much Singer's films. For a fundamentally action-oriented superhero franchise, they're made with what feels like genuine affection, and are imbued with the director's DNA. 5) Sam Raimi - Spider-Man Trilogy Before Sony's The Amazing Spider-Man sucked so hard that it forced Marvel to step in and sort the property out, Sam Raimi did very nicely with a Spidey trilogy of his own. Spider-Man 2 is the pinnacle here, a glorious showdown between misunderstood villain and just-as-misunderstood hero, but all of Raimi's Spider-films feel near-enough like they've been ripped from the comic pages themselves. There's a child-like glee and fun sensibility to them that's rare even for the best of the MCU. Raimi's Spider-Man movies aren't always totally successful - Tobey Maguire is a fairly weak lead (especially in comparison to subsequent Peter Parker Andrew Garfield), and even the superior first two are occasionally hampered by their own cartoonishness. Meanwhile, Spider-Man 3 had too many cooks in the kitchen, and it shows that Raimi didn't quite have the creative final say that he did previously. Still, the eye for a set-piece and especially that playful humor is present and correct - in what other superhero movie would you have an extended comedy skit featuring Raimi's longtime pal Bruce Campbell as a French waiter? 4) Guillermo del Toro - Hellboy, Hellboy II It's difficult to think of a more idiosyncratic modern comic book movie property than Hellboy. Though created for print by writer-artist Mike Mignola, Hellboy on film could be mistaken for del Toro's own, as a dark, operatic, devilishly humorous (fairy)tale about monsters living among us and fighting for our survival in secret. The plots for Hellboy and Hellboy II are thin - they're placeholders for del Toro's designs, as is his usual wont - and, typical for the director, the films are fun, eccentric and visually resplendent. Hellboy II in particular is a feast for the eyes, favoring practical effects and lavish, detailed sets, as seen in the troll market and the magnificent temple of the Golden Army. Those are the visual trademarks of del Toro, but the Hellboy films' most del Toro-esque aspect concerns the idea of what makes a monster, what constitutes evil, and the place of nature in a world controlled by man. Indeed, it would appear Hellboy has more sympathy for its band of outcasts and misunderstood villains than for its human characters. 3) Ang Lee - Hulk Not all films on this list are great examples of auteurs getting a handle on superhero movies. For all the good that a singular vision and one talented individual's fresh ideas can bring to the genre, there has to also inevitably be some room for the bad. And Ang Lee's Hulk is a prime example of the negatives of handing a superhero property over to one filmmaker and allowing that one filmmaker alone to make the movie his own. An admirable failure rather than an all-out disaster, Hulk takes a unique visual approach, using split screens so the frame resembles comic panels, and attempts a thematic and dramatic complexity that most superhero movies won't touch. Only the film feels dull for a supposedly action-packed comic book movie (Lee's glacial pace doesn't exactly apply itself well to tentpole blockbusters), and the effects - dated even at the time - are horrible enough to outright ruin any scenes featuring the CGI'd Hulk. Which, considering he's the title character, isn't a smart way to go. 2) Zack Snyder - Watchmen Love him or hate him, Zack Snyder has something most other oft-criticized directors don't: a distinctive, personal style. You could argue he didn't exactly bring this with him to his last superhero movie, Man of Steel (though that was a DCCU movie more than a Snyder movie, and it must be hard for a filmmaker to make something in his unique style when Chris Nolan, David S. Goyer, and the rest of the DC/Warner Bros. brain trust are pitching in), but his previous one felt like classic Snyder. Whether that's a good thing depends on personal taste. Watchmen was slated by some upon release, but it has its fans now, for the slickly artificial (and heavily green-screened) look, the gratuitous ultra-violence, the use of super slo-mo, and the music video-like segments soundtracked to pop/rock tunes, all hallmarks of Snyder's oeuvre. For such a faithful adaptation, the film still feels like Snyder's own, hollowness, misogyny, and all. 1) Christopher Nolan - The Dark Knight Trilogy One of the most fascinating things about Christopher Nolan's Batman films is how they chart his evolution as a filmmaker. Coming in to Batman Begins, Nolan was something of a dab hand in films dealing with troubled characters and their psychology; so Begins focuses on Batman/Bruce Wayne and the psychology of life the man behind the mask. By The Dark Knight Rises, however, Nolan's tastes had shifted to making epic high budget movies dealing in big themes; so Rises is a grandiose affair exploring the concept of legacy, and what it means to be a hero. This is only part of what makes Nolan's Batman films the most interesting collection of superhero movies ever, not to mention the best example of what an auteur can bring to the superhero genre. The Dark Knight trilogy is what convinced audiences and the studios that superhero movies could be both entertaining and complex, both action-packed and character-focused. And if the self-seriousness, grit, and practical effects didn't give it away, you can tell who's behind the lens just from the cast of actors, people Nolan's only been too happy to work with time and time again.

7 Times Auteurs Took On Superhero Movies

4) Guillermo del Toro – Hellboy, Hellboy II