The Justice

This of course brings us to this summer, when superhero films undoubtedly ruled the box office arena. The two highest grossing movies of the year so far have been The Dark Knight and Iron Man, with a number of other superhero films, including Hancock, The Incredible Hulk and Hellboy II doing strong business as well. If that weren't enough, The Dark Knight and Iron Man are also two of the most critically acclaimed films of the year, managing the difficult combination of being both box office hits and critically beloved, with The Dark Knight even being mentioned as a possible Oscar contender. The superhero genre is as strong as it has ever been, and with new additions to the X-Men, Spiderman and Iron Man franchises all reportedly on the way, it seems like things are going to continue to be good for the superhero film.

And yet I can't help but feel as if this summer in some way represents a high mark for the superhero film. Throughout Hollywood's history, genres seem to find their creative and commercial apex and then begin their slow decline as audiences, followed by Hollywood, move on to newer, more profitable genres. It happened to the Western and the musical, and it will inevitably happen to the superhero film. So why do I think now is that critical moment, that tipping point at which the superhero will begin to fall? Mainly because, well, it doesn't get any better than this. There have always been two types of superhero films, the first being the Superman and Spiderman type, in which action and romance rule the day and there is hardly a serious thought in the film. These types of films are designed from the bottom up to be blockbusters, bringing in crowds by the thousands and delighting everyone in the family. Of these types of films, there has perhaps never been one better executed than this summer's Iron Man. Boasting a tremendous performance by Robert Downey, Jr., and a tight script, Iron Man is everything one could want from a superhero blockbuster. It provides laughs, action and even a bit of romance, and perhaps most importantly, there are absolutely no serious or controversial themes to the movie. The film seems to go out of its way to make sure there is little complexity, and when Iron Man stomps across Afghanistan killing terrorists, we can't help but delight in the escapist pleasure of it all.

Continued...

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