The latest rumour about the upcoming Avengers’ movie is that the plot will be set against the Kree/Skrull storyline. The Krees and Skrull are alien races that threaten earth with their ongoing war.
Now, I have faith in Joss Whedon and his writing/directing ability to make a good story. But, I will admit that my faith is somewhat shaken by this rumour. Alien-conflict stories may work okay in the superhero comic books, but once translated to the big screen they tend to fall flat.
Examples:
Fantastic Four 2. Now, I have to say there was a lot wrong with this movie to begin with. But, in terms of the alien storyline, in which Galactus is on his way to earth to eat it, the story was beyond unbelievable. The Silver Surfer, the herald and scout for Galactus arrives on the scene in all his CGI splendour, and he is such a threat to the FF that they are forced to team up with Victor Von Doom. Turns out The Silver Surfer isn’t really a bad guy after all, just someone who is indentured to Galactus. We are supposed to feel sorry for him, and see him as a hero when he sacrifices his life when he flies into Galactus and kills him.
Why this story didn’t work: Because we really didn’t care. The peril that Earth was facing was not believable, and the movie became more about the CGI tech than actual storyline. At least the writers had sense to not leave Galactus as a giant humanoid in a purple costume, and turned him instead into a giant ball of gas.
Spider-Man 3. Venom is a great villain in the comic books; on the big screen, not so much. In the comic, an omnipotent alien abducts Spider-Man and several other heroes and forces them to battle abducted super-villians. During these “Secret Wars”, Spider-Man’s costume is damaged and he replaces it with a black suit that appears to be made of an advanced alien material. Later, it is revealed that the suit is a sentient symbiont who desires to bond with Spider-Man. Spider-Man rejects the symbiont and in a case of ‘hell hath no fury,’ the symbiont bonds with Eddie Brock, a reporter with a grudge against Peter Parker.
In the movie, such a complex origin story was supposedly too cumbersome for ‘fickle’ movie watchers. So instead, Venom is unexplained sentient meteor poop (cue references to Stephen King and the Creep Show).
Why this story didn’t work: Besides the fact that there were too many storylines going at the same time (Sandman, Venom, Green Goblin and of course the mushy love triangle/conflict with Peter, MJ and Gwen Stacy), like FF2 the story suffered from CGI-itis.
Superman 2. Okay. Here’s one that actually worked. Zod, a ruthless warlord from Krypton breaks out of a trans-dimensional prison and makes his way to earth with his two lieutenants, intent on conquering and ruling Earth.
Why this story actually works: Two words: Terence Stamp. ‘Nuff said.
Lols: Terence Stamp. He was great Yes Man!
Terrence Stamp. Who else could take the line “Come, son of Jor-El. KNEEL BEFORE ZOD!” and make it work? Awesome.
Agreed about Stamp. Did you know he does the voice of Jor-El on Smallville?!
It was so awesome the first time I heard Stamp as Jor-El on Smallville in season two. Too bad the show went downhill so fast. I stopped watching after the third season.
But I really really really want an Annihilation Wave movie
.