Before I get ousted for what I am about to say, I am an avid fan of superhero movies and some of the comics. However, me being a fan, I can not ignore the fact that there are way too many superhero movies in our modern film era.

This does make sense though, because at the end of the day these Hollywood studios are businesses and businesses need to make money. However, with just the Marvel Cinematic Universe, around 2-4 films debut each year since 2008.

At the beginning I really enjoyed these films, for the most part they have great screenplays, amazing CGI, above average cinematography and of course amazing fighting/action scenes.

The superhero films of today still have these aspects about them, but there is no ignoring the fact that when looked at analytically, all of these films follow very similar story lines and premises.

The only superhero films I have seen recently that go outside of these “superhero movie norms” were Logan and Deadpool. Now I have not seen every single MCU film, so if there are others like this I apologize for not mentioning them, but these two films definitely stood out to me in a very saturated genre.

Logan was a more darker film then the usual superhero film, showing the character of Logan (Wolverine) in old age past his prime, and the film has some western (film genre) aspects to it. Hugh Jackman, delivers a compelling performance, he has played Wolverine for years up until this point, but this film was definitely his best performance with the character.

Now Deadpool does follow the classic superhero origin story, the story where the main character becomes the superhero in the film. But, the over the top grotesque humor and gruesome violence really made the film stand out. This was only one of the few MCU films where I laughed constantly during my first viewing. Ryan Reynolds, really pulled off the character, especially the way he would constantly break the fourth wall during the film, similar to the original comic book character.

Both movies received R-ratings, so maybe because of that, the films felt more real. However, while most of the MCU films are enjoyable, rarely they take a risk like they did with these two movies and still follow the classic “hero’s journey” trope in all of the films.

Now I am more of a Marvel fan, but I do enjoy some DC Comics/films every now and then. However, DC films fall into the same category of over saturated superhero movies.

The one that stood out to me in the past few years is The Dark Knight. Most people praise the film specifically for Heath Ledger’s performance as the the Joker in the film. Ledger did do a wonderful performance, but there were many different aspects about the film that did make it great and rememberable.

Unfortunately, DC has had some flops among their many successes. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad were some of the most hyped films from fans, but they both ended up being lackluster.

I enjoy superhero films very much, but there is a time where us fans need a break from them. I feel like every time I turn on my TV now, there is a new trailer for a superhero movie. It is too much to handle, even for someone who is a fan like myself. The films will be so much more rememberable and impact full if they were not released every few months, like they have been recently.

Jordan Boyer is a senior history major, he can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].