With cinemas being crowded by more superhero movies than ever before, it can become exceedingly difficult for moviegoers to choose their favorites – or easier for some. The latter appears to be the case for Mark Millar, the man who wrote the comic book miniseries that served as inspiration for Captain America: Civil War.
Having been one of the most celebrated comic book writers of the 21st century, Millar has had the Midas Touch when working for both Marvel and DC. Not only did he write the aforementioned crossover that was loosely adapted to one of 2016’s biggest feature films, but he reinvented the wheel with his run on Ultimate X-Men and bedazzled readers with an alternate take on the Man of Steel in Superman: Red Son. Not only that, a little story called Kick-Ass happens to be his brainchild as well. Perhaps you’ve heard of it?
It’s no secret that writers don’t always enjoy big screen adaptations of their work. Stephen King (The Shining) and Alan Moore (V For Vendetta) are prime examples, and now, we can apparently add Millar to that list as he filed Captain America: Civil War under “didn’t really dig” when recently discussing what he thought of 2016’s cinematic offerings on his blog:
“Civil War had a good opening twenty mins, but then I honestly can’t remember what the movie was about. It’s interesting the Russos have a background in comedy because it’s really missing in these otherwise well-made pictures and very, very missed. I really hope this bleakness doesn’t extend into their two Avengers pictures because what made that first Avengers work was the light as well as shade and I’ll be sad if that’s all lost like it was in this picture.”
While I respect this man’s opinion, I must disagree. Not only is it a matter of public record that I loved the film, but it also happened to top our list of the best superhero movies released this year. But I digress.
Much like Frank Costanza airing his grievances on a cold and snowy Festivus, Millar wasn’t quite finished letting us know which flicks he experienced displeasure with, as Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice was also given a healthy dose of honesty:
“I think we should just leave alone. Like Suicide Squad, WB has just decided to go a certain way with these movies and their logic is that they don’t want to look like Marvel films. It’s not how I feel these characters work best and sadly my DC-obsessed kids (I’m a DC guy way more than I’m a Marvel guy) can’t see their favourite characters in the cinema. Their TV and animation departments are working beautifully. I’d love to see some of that same light applied to their theatrical division.”
So what did get his approval? Well, he seemed to enjoy Doctor Strange:
“Just a nice, fun Marvel movie. The only comic-book flick to hit my top 10 this year, which feels weird, but the Marvel formula is a solid one and this was a nice hark back to before they went a little too dark and serious and had lots of nice jokes and asshole-learning-to-be-a-hero leads. Marvel’s genius is the casting and like Hemsworth and Downey Jr, Cumberbatch holds this movie together with his terrific presence. The American accent I think was a mistake in the same way giving Colin Firth a Kentucky accent would seem weird on film as it’s an actor we understand to be quintessentially English. But it’s a minor quibble and a nice film with a good third act (where Marvel’s origin movies in particular usually stumble a little).”
Tell us, do your sentiments regarding Captain America: Civil War echo those of Millar’s? Or do you agree with us? Let us know in the comments section below.