flow it actually isn't... it was in the first tease of the movie... it was fantastic I wish it was in the movie. Perfectly captures Logan's state of mind in this movie
Logan was everything I wanted it to be and more. It was symbolically a great film while satisfying the tropes the genre of Superheros has been making through out the years. This is when the R-Rating did it justice. Brutality was shown in a way to not just be eye candy but it added something to the story. Many people do not see that and rather just want a film full of brutality. Loved what Nerdwriter covered in his essay.
I know this will get lost in the comment section BUT. Nerdwriter PLEASE start a video club. 1. Send out a list of films or short clips to watch 2. We watch them 3. You make your normal video This would allow me, as a viewer, to get even more out of your videos!
some times some ideas are so complex that are very dificult to be articulates ....and that is the richnness of cinema ....if u want something simple ...go whacht some reality tv...or bad movie
What made Logan great is that the characters are believable in their interactions and reactions to each-other, and the story of Logan becoming her father in more than just genetics, combined with him showing that underneath the weight of all the pain and suffering in his life, he still cares, not just for Xavier, but for the innocent around him.
I think Mangold is the only "Wolverine" director who understood that the only way to make Logan's character interesting is to show him grappling with his "immortality" and tortured by his past decisions. That's what made Mangold's Wolverine movies (Logan and the Japan movie) a lot better than any other X-men movie with Logan.
fans want complex characters that feel like people, and an invincible killing machine that isn't at all affected by his past of killing, for whatever reason whether it be good or out of anger, is a terrible character to make a movie out of unless its premise is not-quite heroism and cool combat. Making him vulnerable and showing how he's tortured by what he's done more than his new wounds makes him feel relatable to the audience and gives his character a depth that there hasn't been before.
I fear, with Disney buying literally everything, almost every movie will be formulaic. Logan was such a breath of fresh air in movies dominated by MCU movies. Don't get me wrong those are entertaining movies to watch in theaters, but they are not great films. Forget about what happened in those movies after bout 2-3 days
I come back to this video just about every 6 months. It's an incredible essay. Logan is a beautiful movie and you cover the film and the transformation of genre so well. This video inspired an essay of mine in college, which this essay was credited in. Something about playing "Logan and Rogue" at the top and bottom of the essay hits me really hard. It helped me connect with the fact that while Logan's nature may be brutal and violent, it is also his nature to be comforting, supportive, and loving. It has always been in his nature to be self-sacrificial. It is in his nature to nurture. This connection aids in a stronger reading of the film for me - it helped me recognize that he has never been just some killing machine. That was never who Logan was. He was always looking out for those he cared for, always building a family for those who needed one. This is just my reading of his character in the Fox X-Men films, but this reading, and I, owe a debt of gratitude to this essay. Thx.
Logan is so brilliant and delightfully despairing, one of the best films I have ever seen. It really lifted me and turned me around from a very dark moment in my life. True story.
The R-rating did *wonders* for the film's quality in terms of allowing the gore and brutality necessary to get the point across. There was only one aspect of the film I didn't like, which was Xavier cussing excessive amounts for no f***ing reason. It didn't seem like something he would do, and I feel like they should have focused on writing his dialogue better instead of gunning with the R-rating, although it still didn't take down the film's 5/5 rating.
@@mparty1116 He has alzheimers' and is in pain. How do you think Xavier should convey himself due to his frustration at his situation in the movie? It was for no reason?
@@matthewritch8852 I understand that, but it was still out of character for him to do it every other sentence. They could have made him cuss more than normal without making it distracting, or he could have conveyed himself in some other way, but the way it was done kind of detracted from the quality of his dialogue heavy scenes. It didn't make the movie bad or anything, it just didn't make sense to me and stood out much more than it should have.
It was superb and the best live action superhero film since the dark knight. It was poignant, emotional, machure, brutal and just all around, a great film. It needs to be paid attention to in order to fully understand all of the little nuances of the film. 9.3/10. A superhero classic.
@Alexander Supertramp So it was an agreement between people who work at Marvel. But not a Marvel decision. Make sense. The directors, writters and producers made a decision. But IT WASN'T MARVEL!! Marvel would never!!
Keep relying on your kid friendly series but end game made it all for nothing, now that time travel is a thing, they could just bring back anyone they like, tony s death had no weight just like gmorah coming back
@Sydlove 45 The award is for the best movie. Black Panther, although a "cultural phenomenon", is just an average movie, overrated by media and some fans. That's why I think it shouldn't have been nominated for best picture.
Sydlove 45 I say this with respect and I completely understand what you are saying I just do not agree with it because I don’t view people form “your continent” as “shitty” I view them as people, the same as everybody else. While I personally don’t think black panther is a great movie i can understand its cultural importance, to me its just sad that there is still such a racial disruption between black and white people, and it should not take a film like Black Panther to make one group feel appreciated and respected... it should just be that way
@@connorferg9383 Bottomline is coming from a Black kid Black Panther is a very enjoyable movie the design looks fantastic and it was a good movie but not oscar worthy and was only nomimated because the Oscars want to look good in the eyes of the African American community but honestly we dont care Black Panther is awesome but not Oscar Worthy. The Dark Knight is a masterpiece and a top 100 movie of all time and Logan was a great film as well
I love the fact that you've used Michael Kamen's X-Men score here. It's not been featured in the franchise as much as John Ottman's more popular X2 Main Theme has been, so it's so great to hear it being used again! Great video.
I'm afraid that Logan will be seen as an exception from the rule as the years go by, with studios pushing for pg13 formula blockbusters. I hope change is on the horizon, but you need a whole lot of optimism to see it right now
@@ttime441 can that be helped? The dark knight joker is one of the best superhero villans to ever be put on the big screen, and my personal favorite antagonist of all modern cinema. If the joker from the upcoming film isn't as good, I won't be surprised, but I still think the movie can be good. And I have high hopes, as the trailer showed some thigs that, if handled correctly, will make a great movie.
Turns out Joker was another great example of pushing the limits of IP and genre. I'd say Joker and Logan have a lot in common. Definitely was a film to be taken far more seriously than something like The Dark Knight
The biggest blockbusters will always be PG because too much of the audience can't watch it otherwise. That's not a problem or a failure by anyone, it's just a reality - just like a film in Norwegian will never be a top 10 blockbuster.
Edit: Really nice touch playing the music from the first X-Men. Gave me chills. ORIGINAL: Logan is still the best film of the year IMO. It's so fucking layered and meaningful in so many ways, I'd have to write an essay to explain it. As a Wolverine fan, it's everything I've wanted (minus the suit--but it's ok cause the film is so strong). This film shows who Logan is as a man. Seeing a tortured soul finally find peace... If I had one word to describe the film, it'd be "beautiful". It's a film I've waited my whole life for. Jackman got the Logan-ending he deserved; something few characters get to have on film. Logan's always been my favorite X-man, and this film shows why. Mangold and Singer may have not understood the importance and symbolism of the suits, but they nailed Logan's character.
porras, oh no, I'm not saying it should've been here (it shouldn't), but he also did The Wolverine and there was no suit when there easily could've been. Or in Logan, it would've been nice to see the mask hanged in his room along with the sword from The Wolverine, just as confirmation that Logan has worn it before. Look up Kaptain Kristian's X-Men vid. Highlights a key moment in an interview Mangold did for The Wolverine saying that Logan is the rebel who wouldn't wear the suits, and that's simply not true. To quote Kristian, "Logan is a soldier, and a soldier knows the importance of a uniform." So no, as much as I love Mangold, I don't think he understood the importance of the suit.
What's even more tragic, is that Logan could never find peace unless if he is alone or dead. And that's what made it so sad. it cringes me that there is an uprising group of people who are hating on this movie or saying it's not that special.
I had chills during this video (because of the analysis perfectly balanced by the use of the soundtrakcs) just like when I watched Logan ... Man, that's I loved that movie so much and that's why I'm beginning to love your movies analysis so much !
Sam Buddy You think Guardians isn't formulaic? Little boy loses a parent, teams up with some superheroes, saves the day. Sound like any other Marvel movie?
Thank you for using "Logan and Rogue." I always thought Michael Kamen's score was underappreciated, and that track is one of my favorite pieces of film music.
Deadpool and Wolverine taking jabs at the MCU, calling out all the tired tropes, is the end of the journey of the superhero movies as discussed in this video. We have come full circle.
To me The Dark Knight was the absolute pinnacle of the genre, Infinity War was peak commercial success and an incredible spectacle to pull off, but Logan...Logan feels like that eventual farewell note, just written long before the wrap of comic book movies.
To me, Days of Future Past is the pinnacle of the genre. The Dark Knight is a very overrated mess of a movie. The visual storytelling is amateurish at best. The convoluted games of The Joker and then Batman go way too far. Days of Future Past is where it's at. Then Logan. Then Spiderman 2. I'm sick of hearing about the MCU and their vapid toy commercials
Useless Username: I agree. Logan had characters I cared about and a central theme relevant to everyone. The Dark Knight had cool characters I didn't really care about and a broader social theme not relevant to most people on a personal level. Seeing Logan, Charles, Laura, the family in pain was uncomfortable for me as a viewer. Nothing in The Dark Knight came close to that. The Dark Knight is fantastic entertainment. Logan is a fantastic personal story.
Useless Username there are so much more themes and deeper meaning in the tdk than in Logan. Logan was a sad story, precisely because it showed Logan's mortality and the loss of relationships and a lot more sad stuff. But that is it. I said it was great, but it's just a sad story. And to the other guy, anyone can say any movie that is rated highly is overrated. Tdk is not overrated haha go look at the plot again from Logan, it is very simple.
after watching Logan i was left in a serious depressive episode (i'm bipolar). i'm an emotional person so movies typically do that to me but it did leave me bone achingly depressed. I could relate to Logan's struggles with depression and when taking into consideration how he's suffered his whole life. How he had to feel tremendous amount of pain to be a hero. How he still said about using his claws that it still hurts each time he uses them. Along with Laura being so young yet suffering so much already. It manages to break me down every time. I could go on but i don't want to depress myself considering i've been doing better lol
dont I wish I was In your position. you're lucky to feel emotion for a movie like this. Since I have major depression and have a nihilist mindset, I can't take this story seriously.
VoidX funny enough I wish I didn't feel anything. Having extremely strong emotions is tiring and tolling. Drains all the life from your body going from mania to depression. I love movies. I know a lot about them and I watch a lot of them. Due to my extreme empathy, I nearly cry during every film I watch. Hope you get the help you need or at least on the road towards it.
Using Michael Kamen's beautiful and emotional music from the first X-Men (played at the moment where Rogue's seemingly dead body lies in Logan's arms) felt so fitting for the video... no disrespect for John Ottman (who scored the rest of the Singer directed X-Men films) but I can't avoid wonder what Kamen would have made for the series had he not die.
Except that Joker was a Martin Scorsese-sponsored film born out of loathing for superheroes. It's an anti-cape movie. Logan, on the other hand, was born out of love for these amazing fantasies.
That was some great editing here, congrats! The fast-paced forest action with the slow&sad music added a lot of emotion to the scene, even more than what was in the original!
Hi Nerdwriter. Your depth of understanding of media, and fantastic ability to tell stories of your own is truly breathtaking. This analysis, like Logan itself, choked me up. So often we take media for granted, at face value. Your amazing work peels back those layers, bringing us all closer to understanding these stories on the level they are meant to be told. Thank you so much for doing this work.
I have such a huge respect for the people involved in creating movies that know when it's time to end a storyline or character. I think a perfect example of this is the John Wick series. While I definitely hate to see the series end I also had a feeling of completeness at the end of the final film.
Great video, thank you. Also absolute props for using the music from the original X-men films, that nostalgia was perfect against the harsh scenes from "Logan"
the quality of these video essays seems unmatched; they are so meticulously written, insightful, articulate, and they so effectively manage to piece together abstract thoughts and ideas previously lying in my subconscious and yet to be expressed, that I cannot but praise them and envy your ability to produce such absolute masterpieces.
I listened to James Mangold in an extended interview, and both he and the producers wanted to make this movie the way it was before _Deadpool_ ever became a hit, so I get tired of people saying that _Deadpool_ "paved the way." _Logan_ was going to be _Logan_ regardless. However, I do appreciate that you pointed out the themes of the Burlesque, Nostalgia, Demythologization, and Reaffirmation. It's pretty useful for a writer to think of those things when thinking of new things to do with a series.
I think it's also worth noting that the audiences were also primed for Logan through Deadpool. Regardless of behind the scenes order - moviegoers saw Deadpool first, and it's parodying of the genre and near- sacrilegious treatment of superheroes primed audiences for a film like Logan that delved into similar themes but was more hard hitting.
Favorite scene in Logan was when X-23 walks down those stairs and fearlessly looks Logan in the eyes, a heartless monster, everything Logan never wanted to become
Dude, you are blowing my mind left, right and centre here. I discovered you about 30 minutes ago - you'd borrowed a little bit of our Thundercat interview for your brilliant piece on Kendrick and collaboration. You've now reaffirmed the value of Arrival for me, a film I'm going to have to revisit this weekend - and now with this insightful piece on genre in general, the superhero as it relates to the cowboy (and I supposed the Detective, the Samurai, etc...), and where genre will head as it enters it's baroque period you've got my neurons firing like crazy. Now i'm going to dig in on your piece on Interstellar...
If I had to find a parallel I think Metal Gear Solid 4 is pretty much the video game version of Logan, they both essentially are trying to convey the same thing about two long standing franchise protagonists, but in two different mediums.
But who's story is the deconstruction? Is it Big Boss who realizes how foolish he and Zero was or Solid Snake who finally gains a sense of value for his own life?
Gootothesecond predominantly you would say the game does focus on that of solid snakes. However in both the second and the fourth game it's actually Raiden who is the character most in need of a sense of value and purpose of their own life. Snake and boss are far more at peace with their fates and understand their mission. It's only MGS1's Ending that Snake is the one that finds true resolution which kind of gets taken away in MGS2.
Kojima actually wrote something of how his MGS 4 is very similar to Logan. Old Snake vs Old man LOGAN!!! www.reddit.com/r/Games/comments/69at4f/hideo_kojima_on_logan_vs_metal_gear_solid/
That Logan Rouge theme had me choked up… I wish they used it in the actual film (not the slight remix we got) .. this actual theme. It is THE nostalgic tune for Wolverine. Going back to 2000.
Hey man, hello... I got here with an indication from a channel called Jovem Nerd (young nerd) from Brazil, the guys like your work very much and talked about your show in their channel, so if a lot of brazilian dudes pop out here today, dont freakout! lol You are making a really good job here, I already subscribe... Cya!
I actually wish Deadpool was *more* burlesque. Really look at that movie and it isn't talking nearly enough about genre tropes as it wants you to think it is. Frankly a lot of the genre jokes that *are* in that film work way better if you forget the last twenty years and pretend we're still in the Silver Age. The thing about the Superhero Genre is that I don't think any of its limits are actually *inherent*. To a much greater extent than the western it's a genre that can encompass multiple other genres; spy thriller, family tragedy, space opera, etc. I say this as someone who ranks many of the Marvel Studios films among his all time favorites, but I think it's these same studios that (knowingly or otherwise) enforce genre limitations that need not be there. The Superhero film that Logan actually reminds me most of us is Ang Lee's Hulk. That movie doesn't get nearly enough credit for being really different by the standards of the genre, both in its time and especially now. If Marvel Studios, Warner Brothers and Fox should learn anything from Logan, it's that their ISN'T a limit to what thy can do with this genre, and to strive to make their films even more different. And not just talking about different thematic ideas or showing different character arcs. You can make movies that have noticeably varied structures, you can make films that all leave audiences feeing a different way as they leave the theater. I think Marvel Studios in particular is getting better at that last point, but you *COULD* even make Superhero movies that aren't necessarily action films. Clearly not THAT many people are turning around on Superhero films when they're regularly landing in the highest grossing films of all time, but I don't think anyone should come away from Logan thinking that the genre has said and done all it has to say and do. They should come away thinking "wow, we've been pigeonholing our material and this should just be the beginning".
In regards to Deadpool, I very much agree. I loved that movie but I have to say it didn't really bring anything new to the table. It was your pretty standard superhero origin story. The main influence it has is accredited to its box office success and even that comes partly from riding the post-Avengers superhero movie boom. Wish I had nickle for every news outlet that billed it as the first R-rated superhero film. Anyway, the main problem I had was I was promised an anti-superhero film. A send-up of all things superhero-dom. Instead, I got the superhero movie version of Moana. All the movie does is occasionally poke fun at the very tropes/cliches its 100% guilty of committing. Right down to the post-credit-scene, more on that later. I actually came across one guy who claimed Deadpool was deconstruction. Seriously? Deconstruction sends up tropes and cliches that it deftly avoids. Deadpool meets it halfway. The movie will approach a cliche, express awareness of the cliche, then go through with the cliche anyway. Put it in this perspective, look at the climax of Watchmen, which wrote the book on superhero deconstruction. The villain explains his master plan to the heroes. Then he brings up the concept of serial villains who's plans are foiled because they always feel the need to explain it to the heroes. Then comes the payoff: he reveals that the reason he's so damn comfortable telling the heroes his plan is because he put it motion 30 minutes before they arrived and its already half an hour too late for them to do anything about it. The entire story ends with the villain's plan being a complete success. I was blown away. If it were Deadpool, they'd just have the villain explain the plan then stop and say something along the lines of, "Oh crap, I just explained the plan didn't I?" Its only kinda funny and not all that clever. As a whole, Deadpool is best summed up by its post-credit scene: At first, it starts out as a clever aversion of superhero flicks that use post-credit scenes to set up the following film. But then Reynolds comes back and says, "Oh, yeah, Cable will be in the sequel!" The slight hypocrisy doesn't ruin the scene, but it does dilute it a little. Its like the movie desperately wants to break free of all these genre tropes/cliches if only so it can mock them, but it can't help but also fall back, rely on and go through with them in order to appeal to mainstream audiences. Looking back, I probably would've found the movie to be fresher if a) I hadn't looked forward to the anti-superhero movie angle Reynolds pitched so much b) I hadn't already been so familiar with the character c) I hadn't already seen Kick-Ass. Seriously, if I want a satirical, hyper-violent, profanity-laden R-rated superhero flick based on a Marvel comic, I'll watch Kick-Ass.
UGamer0890 I didn't even think about the lost credits scene in those terms, but you're totally right. The scene that always stuck out to me though was the line "my boyfriend said this was a superhero movie but that one guy just turned that other guy into a fucking kebab. Well this isn't a superhero movie, it's a love story." Um, you know superheroes in film have been killing their enemies since 1989 right Deadpool? And that they've prominently featured love stories even longer?
I don't think "Hurt" was on the soundtrack, but now that you mention it, it totally should have been! The real question is, though, should it have been Nine Inch Nails or Johnny Cash?
If mangold would have used this music from the old X-men movies at the end of Logan it would have hit me so much harder then it did now. Thank you for using this music nerdwriter!
Finally found this video again! Bless! Been looking for YEARS! This video is so beyond brilliant and strikingly prophetic. So relevant to media TODAY and the general meta- philosophy of society itself. Something so special is communicated in this video, and it has helped me create conversations. It helped further my own philosophical and analytical nature about the world as it relates to the community and culture I am a part of. Much love. Cheers!
"It's unclear whether a film that's sought to fully demythologize this myth could ever really get made." If Nerdwriter considers it "demythologization" in this genre only if the heroes are shown as very flawed, and they fail, and the villain wins, and the movie rubs in our faces that, after killing many innocents, the villain made the world a better place, hasn't this been done in _Watchmen_ ?
The connection with Shane the Western is so relevant here, for I view Logan as a Western, except with no riding off in the sunset, no hero in a white hat. Let's be honest here, this movie is Brutal, oh mercy, I respect its honesty. And of course, some want Jackman to reprise the role again, seriously, have you seen this movie?
Hey Evan, if by sheer luck you spot this (or anyone else for that matter), could you maybe list the music used in this video, or in your videos in general? I don't think I can see it listed anywhere and I liked it a fair bit :) Thanks for the amazing content, looking forward to what the superhero genre has to offer as much as what your take on it will be!
Nerdwriter : your videos are brilliant. Every time, no matter what the subject draws me in. Your style of editing is amazing and I think your voice fits perfectly for this type of video essay. Thanks for making these videos. -a fan :)
7 years on, and what we got is Deadpool 3 bastardizing and joking about bastardizing the legacy of Logan in this film lol. I still do hope to see movies of this calibre made in the superhero genre, as this video suggests. Really well made.
I've heard it was the Bourne movies that should be credited with the shift. After Bourne came out, the idea of another Pierce Brosnan type Bond was just to ridiculous. Casino Royale was their response to the Bourne movies
Derek Jones All Bourne did was create a more unique fight and car chase sequence. As well as the shaky camera effect, Jason Bourne definitely wasnt vulnerable at all.
Cynical Joker in the evolution of the genre at the time it did. same thing here. no one wants generic campy superheroes anymore. they want something more deep
Fantastic video. But let's not kid ourselves. Logan was not a response to the audience's outcry for a new direction. The need for films like this is only felt by a small minority. 95% of the audience is still perfectly content to watch explosions, supermodels, and witty banter for two hours. Case in point, Fate of the Furious (arguably one of the worst films ever made by just about every metric) has made over 1 billion worldwide. Guardians 2 has raked in over 700 million. The audience's standards remain abysmal. Films like Deadpool and Logan are important, not because they *reflect* change in the general consensus, but because they *cause* change in the general consensus. The directors, writers, and producers of these flicks are pioneers. Not crowd pleasers.
I thought that Guardians 2, while not as great as the first one, was very entertaining and funny. Sure, it had more flaws than I would've liked, but overall, it was a fun time. I think it can even be argued that it is in the burlesque category.
Scott K You are right in a sense, but when he says these movies are what we want, I think he meant it in a more abstract way. Like, the filmmakers and writers were probably the ones fed up, but they are like some of us too.
the sad truth. it doesnt really matter how over rated and old shit gets, the brainwashed majority will continue to consume whatever filth comes their way until the collapse of humanity itself
I'm not sure how but Nerdwriter often brings a tear to my eye. The swelling music and harmonious bringing together of ideas and then that final sentence always chokes me up! Damn beautiful ideas....
Yes, it fits the Saitama mold, although I would argue that One Punch Man isn't about supeheroes. It's about the common young people's life and need and desire to get better.
Certainly not, joker was more of a manifestation of the movie industry's own resentment towards the genre. It was not at all a superhero movie it was a Joaquin Phoenix character study more similar to You Were Never Really There. The Joker just shows how it is impossible to make money now without having a recognizable superhero property attached to a project. The genre itself has hardly matured at all and may have even regressed since Logan now that Disney has control of nearly the entire superhero market and they are clearly not interested in taking chances and the public seems to be okay giving them money for the same schlock over and over.
Interesting that he didn't mention Watchmen. I'd say that did many of the same things that Logan did -- deconstructing superheroes, blood and violence, and really exploring the genre -- eight years prior. And really, it's growing popularity, as well as comparison, really shows that it was released too early, before the genre had truly had the chance to mature and over-saturate.
Snyder's body of work is the equivalent of every "edgy" 90s comic book. The man is not capable of being all that mature in his filmmaking despite regularly dealing with complex and heavy themes. Listen to every vapid interview answer he gives if you don't believe me. Granted, Watchmen is a difficult work to bring to screen for even the most visionary directors. So I don't blame him for punching above his weight. My only point being: Logan understands what it's doing as a film to a far greater degree, which is why it works so well.
Watchmen is growing in popularity? I haven't seen anything to suggest that. The thing is, anything anyone could have to say about Watchmen, they'd already said two decades prior when the book was released. Anyone remotely interested in comics had already poured over Watchmen's every detail before the film was even on the table, whereas Logan isn't a direct adaptation of anything and thus invites new takes.
Devon besides, since Watchmen (the book) came out, blood, violence and deconstruction of tropes has already completely saturated all things Superhero (assuming they're not explicitly intended for children) you can hardly get *away* from Superhero material lampshading basic tropes or showing brutal violence, so even back in 2008 seeing it in a movie wasn't any kind of revelation.
One top critic said "For all the breathless talk about how Logan transcends the superhero genre, there’s nothing groundbreaking about a road trip movie in which adults try to elude the bad guys to protect a super-special child." I would argue that it did in a way that hasn't been seen in a superhero movie. It's a breath of fresh air that most superhero heroes have stakes that are too high and people wanted some character studies. Placing Logan into relative situations such as gas station stops, dinner with a family, trying to become more human helps to ground the movie so it doesn't feel like a superhero genre. It's a western, a drama, kind of horror and indie when being compared to the X-Men universe. It's groundbreaking when Logan or Deadpool are the cases against the cinematic universe's tone, structure and formula. Also with this kind of road trip story, you never see two characters with so much rage between characters. Logan and Laura don't really get along in the first hour and a half until the final. It;s not the "Oh, you can tell. They do kinda like each other", no, they legit hate each other to the point where I don't stop and think Logan would kick her out of the car and she'll come back in and slit his throat. The plot is basic, but when having great characters that drive the story, no one should care. Like Rogue One, you don't see that type of story in a Star Wars film series but it was still a breath of fresh air. I do love it when filmmakers get to experiment with different genres for superhero movies to avoid making things the same.
Really frustrated with Logan/Wolverine coming back. I get that characters in comics come back from the dead all the time, but it puts a really sour taste in my mouth. Part of Logan's appeal, to me at least, was sort of like getting to have this bittersweet goodbye to a character I grew up with. It really dampens what I was able to feel when I got to see this, and will taint future experiences with the story that I might have in the future. Than again, when I saw this in theaters, a guy behind me said "Oh, that's bullshit!" when he didn't rise from the grave at the end of the movie...so I'm probably in the minority here. Oh well, it is what it is I guess.
I know what you mean. The only way Deadpool 3 is going to make any narrative sense to me is if the story takes place before Logan. Otherwise all I see is a cash grab.
Nerdwriter, absolutely love this video. Second time I watch it. Now You See it's most recent video on 'so bad it's good movies' reminded me of this discussion you initiated. How genres change, and what comes out of that - in the industry. I left a small essay on his page :"D citing your vid, and stuff from your transcript. The final point I came to, on the spot: films like the disaster artist, is created to play on the contrast of its original source material. It's a homage, (& an adaptation of the style of the filmmaker as a function of a lens taken to his process) - that changes the source material, simply by existing. Thanks for listening
SO much 'sad stuff' going on in that film. 2 of the main characters were basically slowly dying throughout the movie. I felt sorry for Charles in pretty much every scene.
The song that plays over the fight scene at the end of the video is Logan and Rogue. That was such a good edit, I think it's better than the actual scene in the movie aesthetically.
Someone pointed out it the comments that it's the soundtrack to the first X-Men, by Michael Kamen! Highlander is also by Kamen, that's why it was my second guess.
+Frederick Beaudoin yeah, I've found it. It's in the x-men (2000) movie when wolverine sacrifices him self to save rouge up on the liberty statue +Dylan Mujakovic Bates the track is called Logan and Rogue theme
I really enjoyed Deadpool and Logan, but both struggled to maintain their unique ingenuity during their final acts. I've got a rare bit of optimism to see what comes in their wake.
Logan actually has one of the most unique final acts of a superhero movie. Not only does he die, but his death is caused by the literal embodiment of the animal inside his soul; the beast that has killed so many people and ruined his life. We've seen Logan take down tons of enemies, but the only one to beat him was ultimately himself. Then we received one of the most beautiful moments in cinematic history, with his hand holding Laura's as he finally "feels" what it's like to have a family and to die. For me, this movie is easily up there with 'The Dark Knight'.
+Pavan kumar I think that's because none of the films in that series were Superhero films in the traditional sense. They were different genre of films with the world of Batman as a backdrop. Batman Begins was a coming of age story, The Dark Knight was a crime thriller and The Dark Knight Rises was a disaster film. If you examine each with a film from the corresponding genre, you'd see they each follow the specific beats. In fact, The Dark Knight is the only Batman film that makes him an actual detective if only for a small section.
After my friend and I had seen Logan, I brought up Unforgiven and Shane. He mentioned that he had never seen Shane, so, I showed him it. Now he's seen it 3x. Great movie. I love James's remake of 3:10 To Yuma as well.
Greatest superhero movie ever made. It's a shame in some ways that Fox is returning to Marvel. Fox has been hit and miss but at least they push the genre, Deadpool, Logan, Legion, the upcoming New Mutants all try something new. Marvel just feels like a factory supplying a product, not Film makers vreating art.
It’s amazing how literally every word of what you’ve said is false. 1. It’s not a shame Fox is returning to Marvel. Fox was terrible with its properties. 2. “But at least they push the genre.” Except for the fact that Fox has literally no interest in making Deadpool or Logan. Reynolds and Jackman had to fight to get them made. Also, New Mutants is being butchered by Fox as we speak. 3. Marvel doesn’t “feel like a factory supplying a product, not filmmakers creating art.” Literally all Marvel is is filmmakers creating art. You’ve simply never heard of many of the filmmakers, leading you to the ignorant conclusion that they aren’t. Iron Man 3 IS a Shane Black movie. Guardians of the Galaxy is unmistakably James Gunn. Black Panther is Ryan Coogler’s film, through and through. Etc.
@@RM-cn8pw i agree, but even so, you have to admit that the franchise made by fox was really good at times. I love the fact Marvel is taking their properties back, but I grew up with the X Men films, so I'd like to see a grand finale to their universe, or at least a way to connect the Fox X Men with the main MCU. There is a point to what this guy's saying but I agree with you more
When I watch your videos , I always think about doing a video essay or essay video on you, how you talk, how you tell the story, how you juxtapose the content with the visuals and how you nourish them with your thoughts and how do you research all about these
I hate to be Mr. Actual Lee, but Blade was technically the first film to kick off the superhero craze after it crashed and burned thanks to the likes of Batman & Robin, Spawn and Steel in the 90s.
Blade contributed, but I still count X-Men as the start of the current boom (and Spider-Man as the point where one made such a ridiculous amount of money that everybody wanted to get in on the action). Compared to X-Men and Spider-Man, Blade seemed to shy away from its comic origins, presenting itself as more an original action/horror film rather than having any link at all to superheroes. It was also R-rated, so I don't think it played much of a role in superheroes becoming the mass-market blockbuster staple that they are today. Just checking Box Office Mojo: Blade made $70m in the USA (29th highest-grossing film of 1998), whereas X-Men made $157m (8th highest-grossing of that year). So I think it's fair to say that although Blade was a decent hit movie, X-Men was more influential in proving the genre's ongoing viability.
People try to bring up Blade when this conversation comes up, but I don't see it. It was successful, but it didn't quite draw the wide audiences that X-Men and Spider Man did, scoring well in all demographics and letting executives know that this was going to be profitable in the long term. I was a kid when these movies were out. Everyone was talking about X-Men and Spider Man. I didn't even know the Blade movies existed until I was an adult.
To me, that's like saying that all the fantasy movies that cropped up in the late eighties through the nineties kicked off the (brief) boom in fantasy movies, even though most of them didn't do well and were panned by critics and audiences alike (many now enjoying status as cult classics), the fact is that mass audiences never reall cared about high fantasy in film until The Fellowship of the Ring came out.
I was literally just about to bring up Blade before I saw this comment. Or doesn't get the recognition it deserves by a mile. It didn't start the boom, per se, but it was the first comic book movie after Batman and Robin killed the idea. And I think people who ignore it underestimate the amount of risk studios would probably feel approaching a comic book movie. Blade showed studios that if they do it "right" (ie make it cool and leathery and have good action) people could actually care about a comic book property (I'm assuming they figured Blade was less risky because he's not overtly comic booky and crosses into the more matketably accepted vampire genre). Then they took the risk and made a recognizable comic film in X-men (but kept the leather from Blade because people accepted that), and then that paved the way for Spider-man who was in full-on multicolored tights, and then that proved that the sky is the limit (or space? Or the multiverse?) because people will accept open-faced comic adaptations
Watchmen isn't really though because the heroes in it are already pessimistic and broken. It starts out hopeless rather than having that hope ripped from them. And BvS isn't because it's more of a reaffirmation. The good guys still win and are necessary for the world to work.
There's this web serial I've been reading called Worm that's about superheroes. It's dark and convolutes the tropes of good versus evil and justice, and now I understand what it's doing. It's a demythologization of the super hero genre. It, like Logan, focuses on the negative repercussions of good and bad deeds and what it is to have super powers. This video has made me look at the story in a new light, thank you.
"Nature made me a freak. Man made me a weapon. And God made it last too long" -Logan
woah... i need to watch that movie...
J Grandmaster I'm going to buy it on bluray
where is this in the movie? timestamp?
flow it actually isn't... it was in the first tease of the movie... it was fantastic I wish it was in the movie. Perfectly captures Logan's state of mind in this movie
You owe it to yourself....best comic book film ever!
Logan was everything I wanted it to be and more. It was symbolically a great film while satisfying the tropes the genre of Superheros has been making through out the years. This is when the R-Rating did it justice. Brutality was shown in a way to not just be eye candy but it added something to the story. Many people do not see that and rather just want a film full of brutality. Loved what Nerdwriter covered in his essay.
Nop, it was just an ok movie and the R was not earned, many people do not see that.
@@CabezasDePescado why was it not earned? Isn't that what everyone wanted?
Jonathan Uriostegui he’s just stupid as shit
@@CabezasDePescado “And I think therefore I am,” stultus.
I know this will get lost in the comment section BUT. Nerdwriter PLEASE start a video club.
1. Send out a list of films or short clips to watch
2. We watch them
3. You make your normal video
This would allow me, as a viewer, to get even more out of your videos!
100% agree - this is a great idea!
I second this
Don Jr up
yes
please
When nerdwriter articulates your thoughts better than you ever could.
some times some ideas are so complex that are very dificult to be articulates ....and that is the richnness of cinema ....if u want something simple ...go whacht some reality tv...or bad movie
When you hurt your neck nodding to everything he says because you think THE EXACT SAME
Every damn time
did you miss the entire point of the video? it's about how genres transform, not about the movie itself.
I believe that is Nerdwriter's skill: Articulation. I wonder what is the secret to great articulation?
Nature made him a freak
Man made him a weapon
But Laura made him human
Varinder Bhandal and then Hollywood made him a cash cow
Lmao XD
Ell Ess lol
she made him into a human, that's why he was ready to die. oooooh
Varinder Bhandal my boy from cr1tikal
What made Logan great is that the characters are believable in their interactions and reactions to each-other, and the story of Logan becoming her father in more than just genetics, combined with him showing that underneath the weight of all the pain and suffering in his life, he still cares, not just for Xavier, but for the innocent around him.
Exactly. This is the best part of why they need to cut back on hacks and computer graphics and let filmmakers do, as Mangold said, "what they will."
I think Mangold is the only "Wolverine" director who understood that the only way to make Logan's character interesting is to show him grappling with his "immortality" and tortured by his past decisions. That's what made Mangold's Wolverine movies (Logan and the Japan movie) a lot better than any other X-men movie with Logan.
Lol I mentioned that. I described it as "the Japan movie" to avoid confusion.
Fawad B Lol sorry. I will delete myself now
I don't get the fanbase. They only want solo movies where wolverine doesn't heal.
fans want complex characters that feel like people, and an invincible killing machine that isn't at all affected by his past of killing, for whatever reason whether it be good or out of anger, is a terrible character to make a movie out of unless its premise is not-quite heroism and cool combat. Making him vulnerable and showing how he's tortured by what he's done more than his new wounds makes him feel relatable to the audience and gives his character a depth that there hasn't been before.
Fawad B you're god damn right. 👍
I love the fact that Fox killed Logan so that Disney couldn't ruin him and make him a cash grab.
even if he didn't die, it's all gonna be rebooted anyways.
They'll take over fox eventually
Haha.. He will be back.
As if Fox’ X-Men movies haven’t been mostly low quality cash grabs? Come on.
@@charliestephens4686 and logan is?
I fear, with Disney buying literally everything, almost every movie will be formulaic. Logan was such a breath of fresh air in movies dominated by MCU movies. Don't get me wrong those are entertaining movies to watch in theaters, but they are not great films. Forget about what happened in those movies after bout 2-3 days
Not
Really
Mcu movies are great
Stfu DC tard
@@cringekiller348 "DC tard" when my favorite movies are Spiderman and X Men movies. oK MaKeS sEnSe
Well its happening now, all marvel movies are formulaic and rely on fan service and nostalgia
Guess what
Thought Logan couldn't get any better? Nerdwriter is about to fix that.
What is the difference between an edge and a broken pink elevator?
Breaking Banter imo, Logan should be nominated for best picture. best superhero movie since the dark knight.
Breaking Banter True. My appreciation for Logan increases daily.
its better then the darkknight
MrPoop1000000 possibly and to me, yes it is.
"The leading superhero does not die in a movie."
Logan : hold my beer
heri styono tony stark: hold my two 40 ouncers
after logans and xaviers death tony’s death made me feel nothing
@@MrJackOfAllTraits Then again, Tony wasn't the leading superhero.
I come back to this video just about every 6 months. It's an incredible essay. Logan is a beautiful movie and you cover the film and the transformation of genre so well. This video inspired an essay of mine in college, which this essay was credited in.
Something about playing "Logan and Rogue" at the top and bottom of the essay hits me really hard. It helped me connect with the fact that while Logan's nature may be brutal and violent, it is also his nature to be comforting, supportive, and loving. It has always been in his nature to be self-sacrificial. It is in his nature to nurture. This connection aids in a stronger reading of the film for me - it helped me recognize that he has never been just some killing machine. That was never who Logan was. He was always looking out for those he cared for, always building a family for those who needed one. This is just my reading of his character in the Fox X-Men films, but this reading, and I, owe a debt of gratitude to this essay. Thx.
There's not a single content creator on earth that I'm equally jealous and in awe of than the Nerdwriter.
The Critical Geek Every Frame A Painting or Kaptain Kristian are also an example of this.
Try KaptainKristian
I'm jealous of how articulate the Nerdwriter is, but I'm way more jealous of Kaptain Kristian's phenomenal editing and effects.
Try Movies with Mikey
The geek watch lemmino he is brilliant
Logan is so brilliant and delightfully despairing, one of the best films I have ever seen. It really lifted me and turned me around from a very dark moment in my life. True story.
People Rated LOGAN 1-2 stars just because it was rated R. People like that disgust me.
The R-rating did *wonders* for the film's quality in terms of allowing the gore and brutality necessary to get the point across. There was only one aspect of the film I didn't like, which was Xavier cussing excessive amounts for no f***ing reason. It didn't seem like something he would do, and I feel like they should have focused on writing his dialogue better instead of gunning with the R-rating, although it still didn't take down the film's 5/5 rating.
@@mparty1116 He has alzheimers' and is in pain. How do you think Xavier should convey himself due to his frustration at his situation in the movie? It was for no reason?
@@matthewritch8852 I understand that, but it was still out of character for him to do it every other sentence. They could have made him cuss more than normal without making it distracting, or he could have conveyed himself in some other way, but the way it was done kind of detracted from the quality of his dialogue heavy scenes. It didn't make the movie bad or anything, it just didn't make sense to me and stood out much more than it should have.
It was superb and the best live action superhero film since the dark knight. It was poignant, emotional, machure, brutal and just all around, a great film. It needs to be paid attention to in order to fully understand all of the little nuances of the film. 9.3/10. A superhero classic.
@@mparty1116 Alzheimer's change who you are. Make you lose everything you used to have.
That's why it's a horrifying end to a life.
That's a damn good UA-cam video and I can't emphasize it any better
CokeBlue right? This was an extremely in-depth film essay and the creator clearly knows his films
Nerdwriter: Marvel will never kill off Iron Man
Marvel: Hold my beer
@Alexander Supertramp lol technicalities don't matter
@Alexander Supertramp So it was an agreement between people who work at Marvel. But not a Marvel decision. Make sense.
The directors, writters and producers made a decision. But IT WASN'T MARVEL!! Marvel would never!!
Keep relying on your kid friendly series but end game made it all for nothing, now that time travel is a thing, they could just bring back anyone they like, tony s death had no weight just like gmorah coming back
@@guotyr2502 Yeah yeah. Go to sleep.
@@crepperwlp does truth hurt?
It's a damn shame masterpieces like Logan and The Dark Knight didn't get nominated for best picture but Black Panther did.
None of those films are masterpieces.
Ever heard of Bill Burr? Ever heard him use the term White Guilt? I’m not saying Black Panther isn’t good, but compared to Logan?
@Sydlove 45 The award is for the best movie. Black Panther, although a "cultural phenomenon", is just an average movie, overrated by media and some fans. That's why I think it shouldn't have been nominated for best picture.
Sydlove 45 I say this with respect and I completely understand what you are saying I just do not agree with it because I don’t view people form “your continent” as “shitty” I view them as people, the same as everybody else. While I personally don’t think black panther is a great movie i can understand its cultural importance, to me its just sad that there is still such a racial disruption between black and white people, and it should not take a film like Black Panther to make one group feel appreciated and respected... it should just be that way
@@connorferg9383 Bottomline is coming from a Black kid Black Panther is a very enjoyable movie the design looks fantastic and it was a good movie but not oscar worthy and was only nomimated because the Oscars want to look good in the eyes of the African American community but honestly we dont care Black Panther is awesome but not Oscar Worthy. The Dark Knight is a masterpiece and a top 100 movie of all time and Logan was a great film as well
He's no superhero.... He's a Legend
hoo-ra to that
I love the fact that you've used Michael Kamen's X-Men score here. It's not been featured in the franchise as much as John Ottman's more popular X2 Main Theme has been, so it's so great to hear it being used again! Great video.
I agree. And Kamen's X-Men theme is really beautiful -- it reminds me a lot of Thomas Newman's score for "Angels in America" with his use of the oboe.
I'm afraid that Logan will be seen as an exception from the rule as the years go by, with studios pushing for pg13 formula blockbusters. I hope change is on the horizon, but you need a whole lot of optimism to see it right now
I’m hoping the Joker movie will be something fresh and different.
David Dunn It’s gonna be worse than Dark Knight joker
@@ttime441 can that be helped? The dark knight joker is one of the best superhero villans to ever be put on the big screen, and my personal favorite antagonist of all modern cinema. If the joker from the upcoming film isn't as good, I won't be surprised, but I still think the movie can be good. And I have high hopes, as the trailer showed some thigs that, if handled correctly, will make a great movie.
Turns out Joker was another great example of pushing the limits of IP and genre. I'd say Joker and Logan have a lot in common. Definitely was a film to be taken far more seriously than something like The Dark Knight
The biggest blockbusters will always be PG because too much of the audience can't watch it otherwise. That's not a problem or a failure by anyone, it's just a reality - just like a film in Norwegian will never be a top 10 blockbuster.
Edit: Really nice touch playing the music from the first X-Men. Gave me chills.
ORIGINAL:
Logan is still the best film of the year IMO. It's so fucking layered and meaningful in so many ways, I'd have to write an essay to explain it. As a Wolverine fan, it's everything I've wanted (minus the suit--but it's ok cause the film is so strong).
This film shows who Logan is as a man. Seeing a tortured soul finally find peace... If I had one word to describe the film, it'd be "beautiful".
It's a film I've waited my whole life for. Jackman got the Logan-ending he deserved; something few characters get to have on film. Logan's always been my favorite X-man, and this film shows why.
Mangold and Singer may have not understood the importance and symbolism of the suits, but they nailed Logan's character.
Alex Love I see you every where.
Alex Love I kind of wish they would have had the full on berserk/rage mode, though I'd say this is the closest we've gotten. Great movie though.
Mangold does understand the importance of the suit. He also understood that this movie did not need it.
porras, oh no, I'm not saying it should've been here (it shouldn't), but he also did The Wolverine and there was no suit when there easily could've been.
Or in Logan, it would've been nice to see the mask hanged in his room along with the sword from The Wolverine, just as confirmation that Logan has worn it before.
Look up Kaptain Kristian's X-Men vid. Highlights a key moment in an interview Mangold did for The Wolverine saying that Logan is the rebel who wouldn't wear the suits, and that's simply not true. To quote Kristian, "Logan is a soldier, and a soldier knows the importance of a uniform." So no, as much as I love Mangold, I don't think he understood the importance of the suit.
What's even more tragic, is that Logan could never find peace unless if he is alone or dead. And that's what made it so sad. it cringes me that there is an uprising group of people who are hating on this movie or saying it's not that special.
clicked on this before eating breakast. Needwriter is the most important meal of the day
Oscar Dominguez Watched it during breakfast
I had chills during this video (because of the analysis perfectly balanced by the use of the soundtrakcs) just like when I watched Logan ... Man, that's I loved that movie so much and that's why I'm beginning to love your movies analysis so much !
Logan represents the demythification of the genre while Deadpool & Wolverine represents the remythification.
Marvel Studios will never make a movie like Logan or The Dark Knight. They're too afraid to take risks.
tennisdude52278 They take risks.
General Zod Every MCU movie has the same formula.
tennisdude52278 What's the formula?
Sam Buddy You think Guardians isn't formulaic? Little boy loses a parent, teams up with some superheroes, saves the day. Sound like any other Marvel movie?
tennisdude52278 The Dark Knight Rises?
I like how you used "Logan Holds Rogue" in the beginning and in the end.
Thank you for using "Logan and Rogue." I always thought Michael Kamen's score was underappreciated, and that track is one of my favorite pieces of film music.
There is a full version uot there, if you can find it. It's an understated gem.
Deadpool and Wolverine taking jabs at the MCU, calling out all the tired tropes, is the end of the journey of the superhero movies as discussed in this video. We have come full circle.
I'm extremely happy I was alive and coherent to watch it all happen.
To me The Dark Knight was the absolute pinnacle of the genre, Infinity War was peak commercial success and an incredible spectacle to pull off, but Logan...Logan feels like that eventual farewell note, just written long before the wrap of comic book movies.
To me, Days of Future Past is the pinnacle of the genre. The Dark Knight is a very overrated mess of a movie. The visual storytelling is amateurish at best. The convoluted games of The Joker and then Batman go way too far.
Days of Future Past is where it's at. Then Logan. Then Spiderman 2.
I'm sick of hearing about the MCU and their vapid toy commercials
There's The Dark Knight and Logan and then there's every other superhero films. TDK and Logan are so amazing and transcend the genre.
JustTooLit they're all unique. Logan is a great sad story, but TDK is so much more than that.
JustTooLit The Incredibles are better
Useless Username: I agree. Logan had characters I cared about and a central theme relevant to everyone. The Dark Knight had cool characters I didn't really care about and a broader social theme not relevant to most people on a personal level. Seeing Logan, Charles, Laura, the family in pain was uncomfortable for me as a viewer. Nothing in The Dark Knight came close to that. The Dark Knight is fantastic entertainment. Logan is a fantastic personal story.
TDK is overrated af lol
Useless Username there are so much more themes and deeper meaning in the tdk than in Logan. Logan was a sad story, precisely because it showed Logan's mortality and the loss of relationships and a lot more sad stuff. But that is it. I said it was great, but it's just a sad story. And to the other guy, anyone can say any movie that is rated highly is overrated. Tdk is not overrated haha go look at the plot again from Logan, it is very simple.
after watching Logan i was left in a serious depressive episode (i'm bipolar). i'm an emotional person so movies typically do that to me but it did leave me bone achingly depressed. I could relate to Logan's struggles with depression and when taking into consideration how he's suffered his whole life. How he had to feel tremendous amount of pain to be a hero. How he still said about using his claws that it still hurts each time he uses them. Along with Laura being so young yet suffering so much already. It manages to break me down every time. I could go on but i don't want to depress myself considering i've been doing better lol
Hang in there buddy
dont I wish I was In your position. you're lucky to feel emotion for a movie like this. Since I have major depression and have a nihilist mindset, I can't take this story seriously.
VoidX funny enough I wish I didn't feel anything. Having extremely strong emotions is tiring and tolling. Drains all the life from your body going from mania to depression. I love movies. I know a lot about them and I watch a lot of them. Due to my extreme empathy, I nearly cry during every film I watch. Hope you get the help you need or at least on the road towards it.
dont I understand bro. Also bipolar and can sometimes have strong reactions to film and television. Breaking Bad did that to me at times.
Duncan Siror holy shit same. breaking bad means a whole lot to me.
The music during his running in the forest clip has given me the feels again..thank you so much for providing an in depth look into Logan
Logan And Rogue/Logan Holds Rogue, should anyone ask for the name of the music.
Using Michael Kamen's beautiful and emotional music from the first X-Men (played at the moment where Rogue's seemingly dead body lies in Logan's arms) felt so fitting for the video... no disrespect for John Ottman (who scored the rest of the Singer directed X-Men films) but I can't avoid wonder what Kamen would have made for the series had he not die.
Thank you for pointing out where that came from; it would've driven me crazy
Another person who noticed, such beautiful music.
"It's transition like these where really interesting things begin to happen"
Enter JOKER
that's not a super hero
@@abhiraajsingh5878 Semantics.
And now we have The Boys
@@ariak7660 love that show! my 2nd favorite superhero show, right next to Daredevil
Except that Joker was a Martin Scorsese-sponsored film born out of loathing for superheroes. It's an anti-cape movie. Logan, on the other hand, was born out of love for these amazing fantasies.
That was some great editing here, congrats! The fast-paced forest action with the slow&sad music added a lot of emotion to the scene, even more than what was in the original!
I know they'll die out eventually, but I'll never tire from seeing my favorite heroes on the big screen.
imagine all superhero movies r like suicide squad, wouldnt u get tired?
Tbh man, I'm only in it for Logan and Spider-Man lmao
@@rymle For me it's those 2 and Batman
Logan is the Unforgiven of the Superhero genre
Hi Nerdwriter. Your depth of understanding of media, and fantastic ability to tell stories of your own is truly breathtaking. This analysis, like Logan itself, choked me up. So often we take media for granted, at face value. Your amazing work peels back those layers, bringing us all closer to understanding these stories on the level they are meant to be told. Thank you so much for doing this work.
My friend told me that he liked king kong more than Logan. He's not my friend anymore.
Miszu m good.
Miszu m that movie was so fucking stupid. It's everything that's wrong with modern cinema
Good to know you value your opinion more than your friendships.
Daimon Shaw you know... its a joke
Miszu m Not a very funny one
I have such a huge respect for the people involved in creating movies that know when it's time to end a storyline or character. I think a perfect example of this is the John Wick series. While I definitely hate to see the series end I also had a feeling of completeness at the end of the final film.
Great video, thank you. Also absolute props for using the music from the original X-men films, that nostalgia was perfect against the harsh scenes from "Logan"
the quality of these video essays seems unmatched; they are so meticulously written, insightful, articulate, and they so effectively manage to piece together abstract thoughts and ideas previously lying in my subconscious and yet to be expressed, that I cannot but praise them and envy your ability to produce such absolute masterpieces.
*Lessons from the Screenplay* feels similar!
Logan has stuck with me since I first watched it in theaters
I listened to James Mangold in an extended interview, and both he and the producers wanted to make this movie the way it was before _Deadpool_ ever became a hit, so I get tired of people saying that _Deadpool_ "paved the way." _Logan_ was going to be _Logan_ regardless.
However, I do appreciate that you pointed out the themes of the Burlesque, Nostalgia, Demythologization, and Reaffirmation. It's pretty useful for a writer to think of those things when thinking of new things to do with a series.
@@JamesD2957 NO. LOGAN WAS GREENLIT ON ITS R RATING BEFORE DEADPOOL EVEN RELEASED. OP IS CORRECT. PEOPLE NEED TO EDUCATE THEMSELVES ON THIS FACT.
I think it's also worth noting that the audiences were also primed for Logan through Deadpool. Regardless of behind the scenes order - moviegoers saw Deadpool first, and it's parodying of the genre and near- sacrilegious treatment of superheroes primed audiences for a film like Logan that delved into similar themes but was more hard hitting.
So many people don't understand this movie. They hate that Logan is old and depressed, and they don't look at the meaning of it
Alex Beamer we wanted hulk and little hulk offspring fucking shit up. Not read between the lines bollox.
glenneth kenneth just because it was in the comics doesn't mean it should be in the movies
Favorite scene in Logan was when X-23 walks down those stairs and fearlessly looks Logan in the eyes, a heartless monster, everything Logan never wanted to become
U mean x-24?
Dude, you are blowing my mind left, right and centre here. I discovered you about 30 minutes ago - you'd borrowed a little bit of our Thundercat interview for your brilliant piece on Kendrick and collaboration. You've now reaffirmed the value of Arrival for me, a film I'm going to have to revisit this weekend - and now with this insightful piece on genre in general, the superhero as it relates to the cowboy (and I supposed the Detective, the Samurai, etc...), and where genre will head as it enters it's baroque period you've got my neurons firing like crazy. Now i'm going to dig in on your piece on Interstellar...
If I had to find a parallel I think Metal Gear Solid 4 is pretty much the video game version of Logan, they both essentially are trying to convey the same thing about two long standing franchise protagonists, but in two different mediums.
Good parallel, Snake doesn't die there but Big Boss does and eventually MGS is about BigBoss, quite nice indeed.
But who's story is the deconstruction? Is it Big Boss who realizes how foolish he and Zero was or Solid Snake who finally gains a sense of value for his own life?
Gootothesecond predominantly you would say the game does focus on that of solid snakes. However in both the second and the fourth game it's actually Raiden who is the character most in need of a sense of value and purpose of their own life. Snake and boss are far more at peace with their fates and understand their mission. It's only MGS1's Ending that Snake is the one that finds true resolution which kind of gets taken away in MGS2.
Kojima actually wrote something of how his MGS 4 is very similar to Logan. Old Snake vs Old man LOGAN!!! www.reddit.com/r/Games/comments/69at4f/hideo_kojima_on_logan_vs_metal_gear_solid/
That Logan Rouge theme had me choked up… I wish they used it in the actual film (not the slight remix we got) .. this actual theme. It is THE nostalgic tune for Wolverine. Going back to 2000.
My favourite thing about your channel is that upon revisiting your videos I learn a new small thing each time. Thank you!
Hey man, hello... I got here with an indication from a channel called Jovem Nerd (young nerd) from Brazil, the guys like your work very much and talked about your show in their channel, so if a lot of brazilian dudes pop out here today, dont freakout! lol
You are making a really good job here, I already subscribe... Cya!
I actually wish Deadpool was *more* burlesque. Really look at that movie and it isn't talking nearly enough about genre tropes as it wants you to think it is. Frankly a lot of the genre jokes that *are* in that film work way better if you forget the last twenty years and pretend we're still in the Silver Age.
The thing about the Superhero Genre is that I don't think any of its limits are actually *inherent*. To a much greater extent than the western it's a genre that can encompass multiple other genres; spy thriller, family tragedy, space opera, etc. I say this as someone who ranks many of the Marvel Studios films among his all time favorites, but I think it's these same studios that (knowingly or otherwise) enforce genre limitations that need not be there.
The Superhero film that Logan actually reminds me most of us is Ang Lee's Hulk. That movie doesn't get nearly enough credit for being really different by the standards of the genre, both in its time and especially now. If Marvel Studios, Warner Brothers and Fox should learn anything from Logan, it's that their ISN'T a limit to what thy can do with this genre, and to strive to make their films even more different. And not just talking about different thematic ideas or showing different character arcs. You can make movies that have noticeably varied structures, you can make films that all leave audiences feeing a different way as they leave the theater. I think Marvel Studios in particular is getting better at that last point, but you *COULD* even make Superhero movies that aren't necessarily action films.
Clearly not THAT many people are turning around on Superhero films when they're regularly landing in the highest grossing films of all time, but I don't think anyone should come away from Logan thinking that the genre has said and done all it has to say and do. They should come away thinking "wow, we've been pigeonholing our material and this should just be the beginning".
The Ponderer Very well said
In regards to Deadpool, I very much agree. I loved that movie but I have to say it didn't really bring anything new to the table. It was your pretty standard superhero origin story. The main influence it has is accredited to its box office success and even that comes partly from riding the post-Avengers superhero movie boom. Wish I had nickle for every news outlet that billed it as the first R-rated superhero film. Anyway, the main problem I had was I was promised an anti-superhero film. A send-up of all things superhero-dom. Instead, I got the superhero movie version of Moana. All the movie does is occasionally poke fun at the very tropes/cliches its 100% guilty of committing. Right down to the post-credit-scene, more on that later.
I actually came across one guy who claimed Deadpool was deconstruction. Seriously? Deconstruction sends up tropes and cliches that it deftly avoids. Deadpool meets it halfway. The movie will approach a cliche, express awareness of the cliche, then go through with the cliche anyway. Put it in this perspective, look at the climax of Watchmen, which wrote the book on superhero deconstruction. The villain explains his master plan to the heroes. Then he brings up the concept of serial villains who's plans are foiled because they always feel the need to explain it to the heroes. Then comes the payoff: he reveals that the reason he's so damn comfortable telling the heroes his plan is because he put it motion 30 minutes before they arrived and its already half an hour too late for them to do anything about it. The entire story ends with the villain's plan being a complete success. I was blown away. If it were Deadpool, they'd just have the villain explain the plan then stop and say something along the lines of, "Oh crap, I just explained the plan didn't I?" Its only kinda funny and not all that clever.
As a whole, Deadpool is best summed up by its post-credit scene: At first, it starts out as a clever aversion of superhero flicks that use post-credit scenes to set up the following film. But then Reynolds comes back and says, "Oh, yeah, Cable will be in the sequel!" The slight hypocrisy doesn't ruin the scene, but it does dilute it a little. Its like the movie desperately wants to break free of all these genre tropes/cliches if only so it can mock them, but it can't help but also fall back, rely on and go through with them in order to appeal to mainstream audiences.
Looking back, I probably would've found the movie to be fresher if a) I hadn't looked forward to the anti-superhero movie angle Reynolds pitched so much b) I hadn't already been so familiar with the character c) I hadn't already seen Kick-Ass. Seriously, if I want a satirical, hyper-violent, profanity-laden R-rated superhero flick based on a Marvel comic, I'll watch Kick-Ass.
UGamer0890 I didn't even think about the lost credits scene in those terms, but you're totally right. The scene that always stuck out to me though was the line "my boyfriend said this was a superhero movie but that one guy just turned that other guy into a fucking kebab. Well this isn't a superhero movie, it's a love story."
Um, you know superheroes in film have been killing their enemies since 1989 right Deadpool? And that they've prominently featured love stories even longer?
Agreed. Deadpool didn't make fun of the superhero genre enough.
Maybe Marvel will have to make that movie themselves.
I think they are going for that in the sequel...the teaser alone even had the Williams Superman theme
beautiful use of the "logan and rogue" theme here
I hurt myself today
To see if I still feel
I focus on the pain
The only thing that's real. . . .
I loved this movie, a perfect conclusion
I don't think "Hurt" was on the soundtrack, but now that you mention it, it totally should have been! The real question is, though, should it have been Nine Inch Nails or Johnny Cash?
@@mparty1116 The superior version of "Hurt", from Johnny Cash, played during one of the trailers for Logan.
The needle tears a hole
The old familiar sting
Try to kill it all away
But I remember everything.....
If mangold would have used this music from the old X-men movies at the end of Logan it would have hit me so much harder then it did now. Thank you for using this music nerdwriter!
Finally found this video again! Bless! Been looking for YEARS! This video is so beyond brilliant and strikingly prophetic. So relevant to media TODAY and the general meta- philosophy of society itself. Something so special is communicated in this video, and it has helped me create conversations. It helped further my own philosophical and analytical nature about the world as it relates to the community and culture I am a part of. Much love. Cheers!
"It's unclear whether a film that's sought to fully demythologize this myth could ever really get made."
If Nerdwriter considers it "demythologization" in this genre only if the heroes are shown as very
flawed, and they fail, and the villain wins, and the movie rubs in our faces that, after killing many
innocents, the villain made the world a better place, hasn't this been done in _Watchmen_ ?
Good video! 👌🏻
The connection with Shane the Western is so relevant here, for I view Logan as a Western, except with no riding off in the sunset, no hero in a white hat. Let's be honest here, this movie is Brutal, oh mercy, I respect its honesty. And of course, some want Jackman to reprise the role again, seriously, have you seen this movie?
LOGAN is definitely in my top 3 favorite superhero movies of all time.
Hey Evan, if by sheer luck you spot this (or anyone else for that matter), could you maybe list the music used in this video, or in your videos in general?
I don't think I can see it listed anywhere and I liked it a fair bit :)
Thanks for the amazing content, looking forward to what the superhero genre has to offer as much as what your take on it will be!
Lovro Golac one of the tracks is the Logan and Rogue theme from the first X-Men :) hope this helps
thank you very much Rez :)
FutureRez exactly the one I was looking for thank you !
The use of the first movies score in this video was brilliant. Did not go unnoticed. Great touch.
Nerdwriter : your videos are brilliant. Every time, no matter what the subject draws me in. Your style of editing is amazing and I think your voice fits perfectly for this type of video essay. Thanks for making these videos.
-a fan :)
👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
Great video as always! You should make a video about Kendrick Lamar. Would love to hear your analysis of his work!!
That would be INCREDIBLE.
holy shit yes
Goal Guys yess please
pleeeease
No, stick to films
7 years on, and what we got is Deadpool 3 bastardizing and joking about bastardizing the legacy of Logan in this film lol. I still do hope to see movies of this calibre made in the superhero genre, as this video suggests. Really well made.
Isn't this comparable with the overpowered James Bond which transformed in _Skyfall_ into an highly vulnerable human being?
I've heard it was the Bourne movies that should be credited with the shift. After Bourne came out, the idea of another Pierce Brosnan type Bond was just to ridiculous. Casino Royale was their response to the Bourne movies
Derek Jones All Bourne did was create a more unique fight and car chase sequence. As well as the shaky camera effect, Jason Bourne definitely wasnt vulnerable at all.
No it brought realism to the spy thriller genre. Go watch Brosnan. They're unwatchable now that they are so campy
Cynical Joker in the evolution of the genre at the time it did. same thing here. no one wants generic campy superheroes anymore. they want something more deep
Someone finally said it. Critics act like Skyfall was the first film to make Bond a human being. Hell, they did it way back in OHMSS.
Christ, hearing the Michael Kamen X-Men music in a Logan video...
That got me more than I thought.
props to cutting the music at the end when he hits the shovel.
That was a clever way to show what you were talking about
Fantastic video. But let's not kid ourselves. Logan was not a response to the audience's outcry for a new direction. The need for films like this is only felt by a small minority. 95% of the audience is still perfectly content to watch explosions, supermodels, and witty banter for two hours. Case in point, Fate of the Furious (arguably one of the worst films ever made by just about every metric) has made over 1 billion worldwide. Guardians 2 has raked in over 700 million. The audience's standards remain abysmal.
Films like Deadpool and Logan are important, not because they *reflect* change in the general consensus, but because they *cause* change in the general consensus. The directors, writers, and producers of these flicks are pioneers. Not crowd pleasers.
Agreed
I thought that Guardians 2, while not as great as the first one, was very entertaining and funny. Sure, it had more flaws than I would've liked, but overall, it was a fun time. I think it can even be argued that it is in the burlesque category.
Scott K You are right in a sense, but when he says these movies are what we want, I think he meant it in a more abstract way. Like, the filmmakers and writers were probably the ones fed up, but they are like some of us too.
the sad truth. it doesnt really matter how over rated and old shit gets, the brainwashed majority will continue to consume whatever filth comes their way until the collapse of humanity itself
I agree...
THIS IS WHY I SUBBED
thank you nerdwriter
I'm not sure how but Nerdwriter often brings a tear to my eye. The swelling music and harmonious bringing together of ideas and then that final sentence always chokes me up! Damn beautiful ideas....
Do the 4 things mentioned also apply to One Punch Man?
Yes, it fits the Saitama mold, although I would argue that One Punch Man isn't about supeheroes. It's about the common young people's life and need and desire to get better.
Pxintman as well as Spec Ops: The Line if you've ever played it
Gavin Felan I would say Spec Ops The Line falls into the demythologization category.
It is in the burlesque category making fun of the genre of represents
+mnikhk seconding the statement
It seems that The Joker may be an indication of the shift occurring
Certainly not, joker was more of a manifestation of the movie industry's own resentment towards the genre. It was not at all a superhero movie it was a Joaquin Phoenix character study more similar to You Were Never Really There. The Joker just shows how it is impossible to make money now without having a recognizable superhero property attached to a project. The genre itself has hardly matured at all and may have even regressed since Logan now that Disney has control of nearly the entire superhero market and they are clearly not interested in taking chances and the public seems to be okay giving them money for the same schlock over and over.
Joker seems to be a perfect demythologization.
Enter the boys
@@jeolifter4449 you were never really *here
the problem is joker sucked ass and very vapid even with a good performance
The whole family getting slaughtered in the house in Logan is one of the most horrifying scene in films.
Interesting that he didn't mention Watchmen. I'd say that did many of the same things that Logan did -- deconstructing superheroes, blood and violence, and really exploring the genre -- eight years prior. And really, it's growing popularity, as well as comparison, really shows that it was released too early, before the genre had truly had the chance to mature and over-saturate.
He actually did in the BvS analysis. But he hates Zack Snyder, so expect trash talk
Snyder's body of work is the equivalent of every "edgy" 90s comic book. The man is not capable of being all that mature in his filmmaking despite regularly dealing with complex and heavy themes. Listen to every vapid interview answer he gives if you don't believe me.
Granted, Watchmen is a difficult work to bring to screen for even the most visionary directors. So I don't blame him for punching above his weight. My only point being: Logan understands what it's doing as a film to a far greater degree, which is why it works so well.
Devon I would seriously love an analysis of Watchmen from him
Watchmen is growing in popularity? I haven't seen anything to suggest that. The thing is, anything anyone could have to say about Watchmen, they'd already said two decades prior when the book was released. Anyone remotely interested in comics had already poured over Watchmen's every detail before the film was even on the table, whereas Logan isn't a direct adaptation of anything and thus invites new takes.
Devon besides, since Watchmen (the book) came out, blood, violence and deconstruction of tropes has already completely saturated all things Superhero (assuming they're not explicitly intended for children) you can hardly get *away* from Superhero material lampshading basic tropes or showing brutal violence, so even back in 2008 seeing it in a movie wasn't any kind of revelation.
Don't know if you're into games but a video about The Last of Us would be great
he did it just now in this video
Good one.
Why?
You don't need to enjoy games to enjoy the Last of Us. It serves movie fans a lot more than game fans.
rachit bhetwal The last of us is just a movie disguised as a game.
Bloody hell your videos are getting good. Such good editing, and your points are so well backed up with your choices in cuts.
can someone please link me the outro song?
Please make a video about George Carlin!
Ub Sa I SECOND THIS! Arguably the greatest comic ever
One top critic said "For all the breathless talk about how Logan transcends the superhero genre, there’s nothing groundbreaking about a road trip movie in which adults try to elude the bad guys to protect a super-special child."
I would argue that it did in a way that hasn't been seen in a superhero movie. It's a breath of fresh air that most superhero heroes have stakes that are too high and people wanted some character studies. Placing Logan into relative situations such as gas station stops, dinner with a family, trying to become more human helps to ground the movie so it doesn't feel like a superhero genre. It's a western, a drama, kind of horror and indie when being compared to the X-Men universe. It's groundbreaking when Logan or Deadpool are the cases against the cinematic universe's tone, structure and formula.
Also with this kind of road trip story, you never see two characters with so much rage between characters. Logan and Laura don't really get along in the first hour and a half until the final. It;s not the "Oh, you can tell. They do kinda like each other", no, they legit hate each other to the point where I don't stop and think Logan would kick her out of the car and she'll come back in and slit his throat. The plot is basic, but when having great characters that drive the story, no one should care.
Like Rogue One, you don't see that type of story in a Star Wars film series but it was still a breath of fresh air. I do love it when filmmakers get to experiment with different genres for superhero movies to avoid making things the same.
You should make a video about Bo Burnham and explore his intriguingly tragic comedy style.
Ha
omg yes pls
WhiskeyPigeon it's not that I want him to copy it I want to hear his insights and idea in relation to Bo Burnham.
I want to see how he would do it
Really frustrated with Logan/Wolverine coming back. I get that characters in comics come back from the dead all the time, but it puts a really sour taste in my mouth. Part of Logan's appeal, to me at least, was sort of like getting to have this bittersweet goodbye to a character I grew up with. It really dampens what I was able to feel when I got to see this, and will taint future experiences with the story that I might have in the future.
Than again, when I saw this in theaters, a guy behind me said "Oh, that's bullshit!" when he didn't rise from the grave at the end of the movie...so I'm probably in the minority here. Oh well, it is what it is I guess.
I know what you mean. The only way Deadpool 3 is going to make any narrative sense to me is if the story takes place before Logan. Otherwise all I see is a cash grab.
Nerdwriter, absolutely love this video. Second time I watch it. Now You See it's most recent video on 'so bad it's good movies' reminded me of this discussion you initiated. How genres change, and what comes out of that - in the industry. I left a small essay on his page :"D citing your vid, and stuff from your transcript. The final point I came to, on the spot: films like the disaster artist, is created to play on the contrast of its original source material. It's a homage, (& an adaptation of the style of the filmmaker as a function of a lens taken to his process) - that changes the source material, simply by existing. Thanks for listening
I haven't watched the movie, but I like how Logan is able to tell a story unconstrainted by the convention of the superhero genera.
it was so sad to see logan die
SO much 'sad stuff' going on in that film. 2 of the main characters were basically slowly dying throughout the movie. I felt sorry for Charles in pretty much every scene.
Katzen4u fr bro
And weirdly satisfying. He wanted this for a while
He finally got his ending.
I cried.
The song that plays over the fight scene at the end of the video is Logan and Rogue. That was such a good edit, I think it's better than the actual scene in the movie aesthetically.
background music sounds so familiar, yet I can't remember where I heard it, it's frustrating >.< anybody know it?
Jin s I can't pin it either. The first Spiderman?
I tried thinking Highlander, but I'm not sure about that either.
Someone pointed out it the comments that it's the soundtrack to the first X-Men, by Michael Kamen! Highlander is also by Kamen, that's why it was my second guess.
ikr
+Frederick Beaudoin
yeah, I've found it. It's in the x-men (2000) movie when wolverine sacrifices him self to save rouge up on the liberty statue
+Dylan Mujakovic Bates
the track is called Logan and Rogue theme
I really enjoyed Deadpool and Logan, but both struggled to maintain their unique ingenuity during their final acts. I've got a rare bit of optimism to see what comes in their wake.
Zsht couldn't agree more.
The Dark Knight is as perfect a superhero movie can get.
Logan actually has one of the most unique final acts of a superhero movie. Not only does he die, but his death is caused by the literal embodiment of the animal inside his soul; the beast that has killed so many people and ruined his life. We've seen Logan take down tons of enemies, but the only one to beat him was ultimately himself. Then we received one of the most beautiful moments in cinematic history, with his hand holding Laura's as he finally "feels" what it's like to have a family and to die. For me, this movie is easily up there with 'The Dark Knight'.
Same goes for Wonder Woman imo... :/
+Pavan kumar I think that's because none of the films in that series were Superhero films in the traditional sense. They were different genre of films with the world of Batman as a backdrop. Batman Begins was a coming of age story, The Dark Knight was a crime thriller and The Dark Knight Rises was a disaster film. If you examine each with a film from the corresponding genre, you'd see they each follow the specific beats. In fact, The Dark Knight is the only Batman film that makes him an actual detective if only for a small section.
After my friend and I had seen Logan, I brought up Unforgiven and Shane. He mentioned that he had never seen Shane, so, I showed him it. Now he's seen it 3x. Great movie. I love James's remake of 3:10 To Yuma as well.
Nerdwriter, could you please do an episode on Groundhog Day? It has so much mystery and symbolism that I'd LOVE to see analysed
What soundtrack is playing during this? I know the film...I just can't place it.
From the first X-Men movie, it's called Logan and Rogue.
Yes yes yes...thanks so much man!
This is such an amazing, emotional analysis of the film - you made me cry all over again.
Hello from Brazil. Jovem Nerd suggested me this channel.
Great videos! :)
Greatest superhero movie ever made. It's a shame in some ways that Fox is returning to Marvel. Fox has been hit and miss but at least they push the genre, Deadpool, Logan, Legion, the upcoming New Mutants all try something new. Marvel just feels like a factory supplying a product, not Film makers vreating art.
It’s amazing how literally every word of what you’ve said is false.
1. It’s not a shame Fox is returning to Marvel. Fox was terrible with its properties.
2. “But at least they push the genre.” Except for the fact that Fox has literally no interest in making Deadpool or Logan. Reynolds and Jackman had to fight to get them made. Also, New Mutants is being butchered by Fox as we speak.
3. Marvel doesn’t “feel like a factory supplying a product, not filmmakers creating art.” Literally all Marvel is is filmmakers creating art. You’ve simply never heard of many of the filmmakers, leading you to the ignorant conclusion that they aren’t. Iron Man 3 IS a Shane Black movie. Guardians of the Galaxy is unmistakably James Gunn. Black Panther is Ryan Coogler’s film, through and through. Etc.
@@RM-cn8pw i agree, but even so, you have to admit that the franchise made by fox was really good at times. I love the fact Marvel is taking their properties back, but I grew up with the X Men films, so I'd like to see a grand finale to their universe, or at least a way to connect the Fox X Men with the main MCU. There is a point to what this guy's saying but I agree with you more
jhunt5578 “A factory supplying a product” they are the only Superhero studio that makes characters human beings, and audiences relate to them
@@RM-cn8pw black panther was a bit bland and they do feel the same
alfa01spotivo Both of those statements are false.
When I watch your videos , I always think about doing a video essay or essay video on you, how you talk, how you tell the story, how you juxtapose the content with the visuals and how you nourish them with your thoughts and how do you research all about these
I hate to be Mr. Actual Lee, but Blade was technically the first film to kick off the superhero craze after it crashed and burned thanks to the likes of Batman & Robin, Spawn and Steel in the 90s.
Blade contributed, but I still count X-Men as the start of the current boom (and Spider-Man as the point where one made such a ridiculous amount of money that everybody wanted to get in on the action). Compared to X-Men and Spider-Man, Blade seemed to shy away from its comic origins, presenting itself as more an original action/horror film rather than having any link at all to superheroes. It was also R-rated, so I don't think it played much of a role in superheroes becoming the mass-market blockbuster staple that they are today.
Just checking Box Office Mojo: Blade made $70m in the USA (29th highest-grossing film of 1998), whereas X-Men made $157m (8th highest-grossing of that year). So I think it's fair to say that although Blade was a decent hit movie, X-Men was more influential in proving the genre's ongoing viability.
People try to bring up Blade when this conversation comes up, but I don't see it. It was successful, but it didn't quite draw the wide audiences that X-Men and Spider Man did, scoring well in all demographics and letting executives know that this was going to be profitable in the long term.
I was a kid when these movies were out. Everyone was talking about X-Men and Spider Man. I didn't even know the Blade movies existed until I was an adult.
To me, that's like saying that all the fantasy movies that cropped up in the late eighties through the nineties kicked off the (brief) boom in fantasy movies, even though most of them didn't do well and were panned by critics and audiences alike (many now enjoying status as cult classics), the fact is that mass audiences never reall cared about high fantasy in film until The Fellowship of the Ring came out.
If Blade isn't worth bringing up then neither is X-Men. Spider-Man was the one that made almost a billion, X-Men didn't even make $300m.
I was literally just about to bring up Blade before I saw this comment. Or doesn't get the recognition it deserves by a mile. It didn't start the boom, per se, but it was the first comic book movie after Batman and Robin killed the idea. And I think people who ignore it underestimate the amount of risk studios would probably feel approaching a comic book movie. Blade showed studios that if they do it "right" (ie make it cool and leathery and have good action) people could actually care about a comic book property (I'm assuming they figured Blade was less risky because he's not overtly comic booky and crosses into the more matketably accepted vampire genre). Then they took the risk and made a recognizable comic film in X-men (but kept the leather from Blade because people accepted that), and then that paved the way for Spider-man who was in full-on multicolored tights, and then that proved that the sky is the limit (or space? Or the multiverse?) because people will accept open-faced comic adaptations
A "demythologized" superhero movie would be so amazing! Imagine a hero movie where the hero fails at every turn and leaves the movie broken and lost.
And they'd give each fight-scene to a physicist or engineer to look over. I'm pretty sure the human body breaks before a brick wall does.
Dillon Green I think it's fair to say that Watchmen is that film. And as mixed as the reception was to Batman v Superman, I'd include it too.
Dillon Green So you mean Watchmen?
Watchmen isn't really though because the heroes in it are already pessimistic and broken. It starts out hopeless rather than having that hope ripped from them.
And BvS isn't because it's more of a reaffirmation. The good guys still win and are necessary for the world to work.
Hancock ?
There's this web serial I've been reading called Worm that's about superheroes. It's dark and convolutes the tropes of good versus evil and justice, and now I understand what it's doing. It's a demythologization of the super hero genre. It, like Logan, focuses on the negative repercussions of good and bad deeds and what it is to have super powers. This video has made me look at the story in a new light, thank you.
2:36 that was one of the most disturbing scenes I've ever watched...