The Death of the Auteur in a Cinematic Universe?

Marvel now (in)famously has a reputation of making sure their films do not have a particular directorial style attached to them ever since Edgar Wright, the director of Shaun of the Dead and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, departed Ant-Man and was replaced with Peyton Reed, the director of Bring It On. Further, uber-nerd Joss Wheedon has left the Marvel Cinematic Universe and has been replaced with The Russo Brothers, who’s prior claim to fame was directing episodes of Community and Arrested Development. I am enjoying these later installments of the Avengers franchise, and I thoroughly enjoyed its latest- Captain America: Civil War- but it’s obvious these films lack a distinctive visual style. Despite having directors like Wheedon and Jon Favreau and Shane Black, the films within the Marvel Cinematic Universe feel like they were made by one person. And that’s precisely how Marvel producer Kevin Feige likes it.

The idea of auteurs and cinematic universes are in the news again thanks to reports that Gareth Edwards’ Rogue One are going in for re-shoots as Disney execs, “screened the film and felt it was tonally off with what a‘classic’ Star Wars movie should feel like”. While reports of why the film is going in for re-shoots have beendisputed, Disney is now starting to get the stigma (whether rightly or wrongly) or being anti-auteur.

Marvel's Small World Creative Success with Daredevil and Jessica Jones

In 2015, Netflix released two Marvel produced television shows- Daredevil and Jessica Jones. Both shows are excellent and will earn a spot in my end-of-year Top 20 list. There are many reasons why both of these shows are so good, but the main reason they work is because their stories are simple and their world is very small. Both of these stories take place in a small section of New York City (Hell's Kitchen) and tell a straightforward hero vs. villain story. Despite the fact that Daredevil and Jessica Jones will eventually team up and form The Defenders (along with Luke Cage and Iron Fist who will eventually get their own stand alone shows), their stories are self-contained.

Daredevil is an origin story telling defense attorney Matt Murdock's (Charlie Cox) rise becoming the superhero vigilante Daredevil in Hell's Kitchen. Early on, Daredevil discovers a crime syndicate run by Wilson Fisk (a.k.a Kingpin) played by Vincent D'Onfrio. Kingpin runs his gang mainly within Hell's Kitchen, and Daredevil spends 13 episodes finding and fighting Kingpin. Daredevil spends the first act discovering a sex traffic ring, the second act figuring out that Kingpin is the head of that ring (among many other criminal activities), and the third act bringing him down. It follows traditional superhero tropes (albeit the execution is darker and more effective that most), but its story follows one hero and his journey.

Why Marvel Hasn't Made A Good Movie Since The Avengers

WARNING: This post contains spoilers.

Marvel has a license to print money. The Avengers is the 3rd highest grossing film ever in America bringing in about $625 million dollars. Its first follow up in this Avengers franchise was Iron Man 3. Shane Black's version of Iron Man is the 14th highest grossing film all time racking up a little over $400 million domestically. Thor: The Dark World did alright as it brought in a little over $200 million. Marvel's newest film in this franchise, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, has (as of the writing of this post) has brought in $200 million within its first 3 weeks. America can't get enough of what Marvel is producing. The problem, is that these 3 Marvel films since The Avengers have not been very good. Iron Man 3, Thor: The Dark World, and Captain America: The Winter Soldier are all not good films. Despite the praise and (for some reason) the high Rotten Tomatoes score, these are not good movies.

Now in fairness, the only Marvel film in this franchise before The Avengers worth a damn was Jon Favreau's Iron Man. I think Edward Norton's The Incredible Hulk was excellent as well, but the Hulk series seems to be culturally adjacent from the Iron Man/Thor/Captain America/The Avengers films. Iron Man 2 and the original Captain America and Thor flicks were not very good either. They were great to help set up The Avengers, but on its own, they were just "eh".