FAN CAST: If Todays Comic Book Movies Were Made In The 80s. I take a look at some popular comic book characters whove recently been adapted to the screen and examine how they would be different if the films were made in the 1980s instead of today, and which actors would best suit the roles. Follow HeisenbergSaysRelax: By HeisenbergSaysRelax - 2/13/2014 Adapting comic books in TV and Film has been done for a while. An early example would be the adaptions of characters like Batman and Superman in various 1940s movie serials. However, films based on comic books didnt really gain widespread mainstream success until the early 2000s when we were given films like “X-Men (2000)” and “Spider-Man (2002)”. But imagine for a second, if the popularity of comic adaptions didnt happen in the 2000s. Imagine it happened a bit earlier. Imagine it happened...in the 1980s. What would the films have been like? How would they have felt different from the current film? In the next few paragraphs I plan to take a look at various popular comic book movie franchises and how they would differ if they were produce in the 1980s instead of 2000-2014. Spider-Man The 80s were a great time for movies about teenagers getting into peculiar situations. Just about every memorable movie from the 80s had a teenager as its protagonist. Sam Raimis “Spider-Man” was released in 2002 and was the start of a trilogy that would follow the story of Peter Parker. But Rami never really explored Peters high school life and how it was affected by his responsibilities as Spider-Man. By the end of Raimis first film, Peter Parker had already graduated high school. Mark Webbs 2012 film “The Amazing Spider-Man” dealt with high school issues a bit more, but still didnt go as in depth as it could have. I imagine that if Spider-Man was adapted to film in the 1980s the film more than likely would have focused quite heavily on Peters life as a high school student and how he balances being a Superhero and a student at the same time. Problems would likely arise in Peters family as his Aunt and Uncle notice a severe drop in his grades, which would provide some great drama for Peter at home. The film would have probably been a great coming-of-age tale. If Spider-Man had been given a film in the 80s, I think it more than likely would have been written by John Hughes (Pretty in Pink, The Breakfast Club, Ferris Buellers Day Off) and would have been directed by Hughes or possibly Howard Duetch, who directed many of Hughess scripts. It likely would have starred various members of the Brat Pack (a group of popular actors from the 80s who typically played teenagers in films, some of which were written or directed by Hughes). Just off the top of my head I could imagine someone like Matthew Broderick or Jon Cryer playing Peter Parker/Spider-Man and someone like Molly Ringwald playing Mary-Jane Watson. The film probably wouldnt have been nearly as action-packed as what were currently used to, but the story, character development and dialogue between characters would have been something that Id really like to see. Its hard to say if the film would be better or worse than what we currently have, but I can definitely say it would be much, much different. Iron Man I dont think there is any way to top Jon Favreaus “Iron Man”. The film is witty, fun and is one of my personal favorite CBMs. But I think we would have gotten something equally as fun with an 80s cast, and 80s director and a 80s writer. Robert Zemeckis would have been a great choice for an 80s Iron Man film. Zemeckis wrote and directed the 1985 film “Back To The Future” which was a hit, spawning 2 sequels. The film had a fantastic mixture of drama, action and comedy which are all things that would be needed for a character like Iron Man. The 1980s also saw the start of a talented young mans career with supporting roles in films like Tuff, Tuff, Less Than Zero and Weird Science. That young man was none other than Robert Downey Jr...The man, the myth, the legend. People seem to forget that he was semi-popular in the mid-80s. So, its entirely possible that the man who currently plays everyones favorite “Genius, Billionaire, Playboy, Philanthropist” could have played the very same role, back in the day. Thor Chris Hemsworth does a pretty amazing job of playing The God Of Thunder on screen. But imagine if someone a little different wielded that famous Hammer. Lightning strikes a desert floor with a thunderous impact, leaving behind a massive crater. Inside the carter is a man, crouching. He wears a black, yellow and blue costume with a metal helmet, long flowing blonde hair and a hammer. The man comes to his feet, his face still masked by shadows and strands of his hair. He whips back his gold locks and reveals himself to the camera. Its Arnold friggin Schwarzenegger playing Thor. Holy crap. Im not gonna say anything else. Im sure youre all sold on this idea. The Punisher I know Punisher already had a 1980s film and it was pretty awful. But thats because they did it wrong. First of all, you dont cast Dolph Lundgren as Frank Castle. Nobody has ever walked out of a movie theater and been like “Man, this movie needed more Dolph Lundgren”...it just doesnt happen. The Punisher is a character that would have been so great in an 80s film. The 80s was a decade filled with insane ultra-violence in films. A lot of people dont think about it, but films like Predator, Robocop, Terminator and many others are FILLED with tons of really well-done violence (and all with practical effects! Yay!). If you did The Punisher in a similar style as the revenge film “Death Wish” or did it in the style of an exploitation film (similar to the films poked fun at by Grindhouse, Hobo With A Shotgun) you would have, I imagine, an amazing, ultra-violent Punisher film. The kind of Punisher film everyone wants. The 80s were a great time for film. A lot of our favorite movies are huge hits from the 80s or cult classics from the 80s. Youd be hard-pressed to find a single film-fan who doesnt have an 80s classic in their top 10. So imagine taking the feel of your favorite 80s film and merging it with your favorite comic book character. It might not be the recipe for the most amazing films, but its definitely something I wish I could have seen. Let me know what you think in the comments. DISCLAIMER: This article was submitted by a volunteer contributor who has agreed to our code of conduct. ComicBookMovie is protected from liability under safe harbor provisions and will disable users who knowingly commit plagiarism, piracy, trademark or copyright infringement. For expeditious removal, contact us HERE. Read more at comicbookmovie/fansites/HeisenbergSaysRelax/news/?a=94528#AF4e4jPzoFpw3Jix.99
Posted on: Sat, 15 Feb 2014 01:42:32 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015