I’m just curious to see what others think about the idea that the male demographic for the movie industry is looked at as a bunch of overgrown kids that are only interested in mindless escapism in the form of super heroes.

I’m not bashing guys who are into comic books as I read the occasional graphic novel and watch these movies every once and awhile. It just seems like all we get as men are comic book hero movies and cookie cutter action flicks and nothing that I would consider mentally challenging and from the point of view of men that actually isn’t insulting to us on some level. We might get a more sophisticated drama but the male characters seem to always be some variation of the blue pill stereotype.

I’ve given up on modern movies for the most part, but just like with TV, I get the impression that we are just a bunch of knuckle dragging, double digit IQ morons in their eyes and the content we get is on par with that.

And let’s be honest, from a technical and storytelling standpoint these movies are cliche and predictable as f~~~. They all hit the same beats along the way in the exact same fashion. Somebody came up with a template for guaranteed box office money but the creative quality is generic s~~~.

Twelve O’Clock High 1949 – Gregory Peck

Patton 1970 – Geo. C. Scott

The Desert Rats 1953 – J. Mason, R.  Burton

The Man Who Never Was 1956 – C. Web, G. Grahame

The Longest Day 1962 – H. Fonda, J. Wayne, R. Mitchum, S. Connery, C. Jurgens

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy – Alec Guinness as Geo. Smiley

The Young Lions 1958 – Brando, Martin, Clift

The Maigret Collection 2005 – Michael Gambone

The Enemy Below 1957 – dueling Captains Robert Mitchum versus Curt Jurgens – slightly antiquated feel but superlative plot

The Train 1964 – this is one my favorite films of all – Burt Lancaster

Run Silent, Run Deep 1958 – Clark Gable and Burt Lancaster

The Gallant Hours 1959-60 – another favorite – starring James Cagney as Admiral William F. ‘Bull’ Halsey

The Sherlock Holmes Feature Film Collection – Jeremy Brett

Murder In Mesopotamia 2001 – David Souchet as Detective Poirot DVD

case closed….

I think a better word would be Marvel movies lol. Look at the difference compared to DC movies. To this day people still talk about the Dark Knight Trilogy for what it represented. Even the Reeve Superman films are talked about sometimes. Now compare that to Marvels movies. They don’t have a movie like the Dark Knight in terms of people still talking about it. Even Avengers isn’t held in that high of a regard when you think about it. When discussing the Dark Knight people always talk about themes such as crime, anarchy, police vs vigilantism, chaos vs order, etc, but with Avengers none of that stuff is discussed. The most people bring up is some funny lines and “omg they were all together…and LOKI!” Even the most deepest Marvel movie so far, The Winter Solider, isn’t discussed like the Dark Knight. Man of Steel is even still talked bout for its themes and based off of that Batman v Superman trailer that movie is going to be very deep. There is also Suicide Squad coming up and it will be the same but this time taking the moral stance of can bad people do good things. The animated Suicide Squad movie, Assault on Arkham, did a good job at showing that and a bigger budge live action movie will sure do even more.

I agree that the DC movies are a lot better. Iron Man stinks, the X-men movies and spinoffs have been mediocre, Spiderman was so-so, etc.

I think Batman did well because he isn’t some superhuman powerhouse like the Hulk or Superman. His limitations are far greater and he has to innovate a lot more. The Punisher is another character I really like, same with the comic book Wolverine (not the Hugh Jackman version). Wolverine is more powered up but it’s not the same as Thor, Hulk, Silver Surfer, etc. I prefer the characters that have to rely on combat training and strategy.

EDIT: My taste runs to action-adventure and comedy. I dislike romance, brooding introspection, and dysfunctional anything. A superannuated high school kid, that’s me.

Also was watching Flight of the Phoenix(1960s) and Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo.

But, I also think we’re missing the bigger picture here.  The things I enjoy doing are mainly male-only activities (again, nerdy things like tabletop wargames, video games, etc).  These are exactly that, too.  They target guys in my age range (mid 30s-early 40s).  They an extension of a relatively male “safe space”.  They also attract boys and teenagers into that mostly male-oriented space.  You don’t see women as often setting out on a girls’ night out to go see The Dark Knight or the Avengers.  You don’t see women going by themselves to watch the Super Bowl over at Betty’s house.

I enjoy the things I enjoy because they get me outta the house (where I live with my GF), and around “the guys”.  They’re fun, interesting, and keep me occupied.  I think that’s something we’ve not really considered yet.

Just saw the new marvel movie last night.  Besides all the action, I am impressed with the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) in general.  No one before has attempted to tie in movies and tv series with multiple story lines and characters before.    There are also plenty of subplots in the latest movie.  They again bring up the trust factor, that these heroes struggle with trusting each other.   At the same time, they show that the team has evolved, they know each other better and utilize each other’s strengths better.   Ironman is willing to take risks to ‘end the war’ while Captain America wants to stick to his principles.  Banner struggles with the fact that he can’t control the hulk and may do more harm then good.  Hawkeye struggles with being a father and a hero, while knowing that he is a minor member of the team.  They bring up the dangers of artificial intelligence.  They bring up the idea that mankind is it’s own greatest enemy.  They bring up the question of what really is good and evil, with heroes switching sides in the middle of the movie.

No, I see some depth in these movies.  Probably not as much as the movies others reference, and certainly, you could watch a marvel movie and walk away without taking anything from it but mindless distraction.