A beaker full of death wrote:
That "snark" as you put it, or entrenched cynicism as I see it, is the reason superheroes have turned drab and dull (Raimi notwithstanding - he still believed in the source material). No one's willing to believe in earnestness anymore. Where Wertham failed this attitude is succeeding.
For that reason I'll make the following prediction: Man of Steel will bomb. Superman is a creature of light and fancy. Any attempt to weigh him down is doomed to failure.
I mean, come on: Hansel & Gretel, Witch Hunters?? Really?
|
What you call "entrenched cynicism" I call "depth." Or at least attempts at achieving it. Nobody wants to see a goody two-shoes Superman in 2013. We expect a bit more complexity these days.
Everything doesn't have to be grim and gritty, but some effort at realism (as in portraying characters as if they were real people) is a good thing.