I saw WONDER WOOOOOOO-MAAAAAN* last night!
My hot take that nobody asked for: It was decent. The mid-section is the strongest part. Gadot and Pine are good together (Thank God!) and the nods to Brian Azzarello’s comic book run, George Perez’s run, and Richard Donner’s SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE are all appreciated. As a matter of fact, I’ll even go as far as to say there are some fairly direct pulls from other superheroes flicks, as well. Even **GASP** Marvel ones.
There is, however, one element of the film that I will openly admit to thinking too long about: The use of energy projectiles as a storytelling tool.
From fans and critics alike, one major gripe against the superhero movie genre is the use of beams of energy to doom the world…and/or defeat the bad guy…and/or as a visual representation of eternal struggle…and/or a doomsday clock. Now, as the video above points out, superhero films didn’t invent this trope…but, MAN, do they overuse it.
Naturally, I took to Twitter to discuss…
Saw WONDER WOMAN. Y’know, “energy blasts” are only really effective dramatic tools when they are hand-drawn. On screen it’s a light show.
— Troy-Jeffrey Allen (@TJAComics) June 8, 2017
Like, an artist can draw a dramatic attack via energy projectile. A live-action can’t really capture that intensity through moving picture.
— Troy-Jeffrey Allen (@TJAComics) June 8, 2017
At 3:14: https://t.co/HCRt8FE7YA
It’s just boring to watch because it’s just a light show with intense squinting.
— Troy-Jeffrey Allen (@TJAComics) June 8, 2017
Or at 0:59 here. It’s not all that interesting to watch. https://t.co/I9EtUZasAy
— Troy-Jeffrey Allen (@TJAComics) June 8, 2017
There is an absence of intimacy when you out energy projection on screen. And I know how that sounds, but fights are personal.
— Troy-Jeffrey Allen (@TJAComics) June 8, 2017
It’s called “mano a mano” for a reason.
— Troy-Jeffrey Allen (@TJAComics) June 8, 2017
In WONDER WOMAN, she assumes that the sniper is a coward because he doesn’t grapple with his opponent.
— Troy-Jeffrey Allen (@TJAComics) June 8, 2017
But film has never had a problem depicting snipers because what they do IS personal. Ex: ENEMY AT THE GATE puts us in the violence.
— Troy-Jeffrey Allen (@TJAComics) June 8, 2017
…in the crosshairs. SAVING PRIVATE RYAN too, of course.
— Troy-Jeffrey Allen (@TJAComics) June 8, 2017
The first JACK REACHER Is another example: https://t.co/MIsQuzcUE7
— Troy-Jeffrey Allen (@TJAComics) June 8, 2017
But energy beams/blasts/bursts aren’t really useful dramatic tools for live-action. At least not how they are usually directed.
— Troy-Jeffrey Allen (@TJAComics) June 8, 2017
But comics…or anime…!
— Troy-Jeffrey Allen (@TJAComics) June 8, 2017
The hand-drawn element makes a huge difference. pic.twitter.com/Cx1nxYlLXt
— Troy-Jeffrey Allen (@TJAComics) June 8, 2017
It freeze frames the action at it’s most intense. Comic artists that understand action understand this.
— Troy-Jeffrey Allen (@TJAComics) June 8, 2017
To which, longtime friend and fellow vampire, @That_Urban_Punk, chimed in with…
Maybe…I just don’t think we’ve had directors tackle it often enough because energy blasts is such a comic book trope… Infinity War!
— That Urban Punk (@that_urban_punk) June 8, 2017
Which is also fair.
But let’s keep it going with more examples. Like Alex Ross’ work on MARVELS.
An artist can zero in on the most dramatic moment instead of relying on edits and music to pull the drama out of a scene. pic.twitter.com/c7ye6Ffk3U
— Troy-Jeffrey Allen (@TJAComics) June 8, 2017
Maybe something more recent like Ryan Brown’s work on CURSE WORDS.
It’s not just a series of moments…it is THE moment they are depicting. pic.twitter.com/LQfdeYGpWS
— Troy-Jeffrey Allen (@TJAComics) June 8, 2017
Or BATTLING BOY by Paul Pope.
And if it is a series of moments, it defies borders for impact. pic.twitter.com/6JVADcZ43c
— Troy-Jeffrey Allen (@TJAComics) June 8, 2017
And, just to bring it back to DC Comic characters, how about Adam Kubert’s work on Richard Donner and Geoff Johns’ SUPERMAN: LAST SON.
Even Adam Kubert’s lil’x-ray blasts looks more effective than Zod’s squinting in MAN OF STEEL. pic.twitter.com/nPHt9EVXiK
— Troy-Jeffrey Allen (@TJAComics) June 8, 2017
And I’ve seen perfectly good directors turn a superhero projectile fight into a snorefest. Martin Campbell…
— Troy-Jeffrey Allen (@TJAComics) June 8, 2017
And before you accuse me of being a loser who thinks about shit no one cares about…I know.
Yes. I’ve thought about this too much. But…you know who got it? Who REALLY understood how comics depict action and put it on screen…?
— Troy-Jeffrey Allen (@TJAComics) June 8, 2017
It was Joss Whedon.
— Troy-Jeffrey Allen (@TJAComics) June 8, 2017
There are better overall directors than Whedon, but Whedon sorted out that the light show isn’t the action. The pose is.
— Troy-Jeffrey Allen (@TJAComics) June 8, 2017
This is supposed to be “constantly”, by the way.
They are conntantly posing in this fight. Energy, shield, magic projectile…it is all framed for the pose. https://t.co/oQk63L40tP
— Troy-Jeffrey Allen (@TJAComics) June 8, 2017
Whedon tried to get viewers as close to the comic reader experience as he could with moving images.
— Troy-Jeffrey Allen (@TJAComics) June 8, 2017
And that’s it.
Needless to say, there is a WONDER WOMAN “light show” at some point in the film. Which also invites another thing that I really want comic book movies to retire: The INJUSTICE video game-like fight sequences between heroes and villains. This seems to be a thing the DCEU has really made it’s home with. MAN OF STEEL and BATMAN V. SUPERMAN end with a showdown that feels like I’m watching someone play a fighter from WB Games/NetherRealm. But that’s a late-night tweet for another time.
*Sorry, I’m a child of 1970s television. I will always hear “Wonder Woman” sung instead of spoken in my head.