Sunday, September 11, 2016

Why Story Structure In A Superhero Movie Is Important

You know why the first two Reeves Superman films, the first two Raimi Spider-Man, and currently the Dark Knight Trilogy stood the test of time in superhero movies? It's because they have story structure.

Sure the Reeve Superman films held some of the most impressive special effects of that time but the special effects wasn't the be all and end all of those movies. It was Clark Kent's journey into becoming a superhero. You could say it was about the adventures of a simple farm boy, who had these extraordinary abilities, ended up discovering that he's from the planet krypton. So he embarks on a journey to not only become a superhero but be accepted by the people of the planet he considers his new home. From the first movie it was about his humble beginnings then by the second movie his heroic journey came to an end. All that happened afterward was just filler. Eventhough the third was fine filler.

There is a reason why Deadpool was so successful. It was more than just an R-Rated super movie with a foul mouth, fourth wall breaking, merc. It was a movie that had two basic storytelling elements that surprisingly worked well together. It was a romantic comedy between Deadpool and Vanessa then became a revenge movie with Deadpool wanting to kill Francis. It did it's job by making you care about Deadpool's journey while making you laugh in the process. Did I forget to mention that it knows how to use comedy properly?

With story structure, you care about the hero or heroine's journey and want to root for them to succeed. Cause that is how a properly built story structure works. It adds sympathy and suspense. Without it you're just looking at a mindless smash up with special effects and explosions. Yet with little heart put in it.

While I'm happy that we get to see the superhero genre become a huge success, that success came with a price. Quality storytelling to go with the mindblowing special effects.

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