Tom Hanks reveals his main issue with comic book movies
Academy Award-winning actor Tom Hanks has shared his thoughts on comic book movies, suggesting that superhero stories are formulaic and lack purpose.
Hanks has worked in the industry for over four decades now, taking on projects of all shapes and sizes. He swept award season in the 1990s as Forrest Gump, worked closely with Steven Spielberg in the years following, and has voiced Woody in the Toy Story series for almost 30 years. However, there are one or two franchises that Hanks has no interest in joining.
The actor recently shared his thoughts on the slew of comic book adaptations that have dominated our cinemas over the last decade or so. During an appearance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, he suggested that the genre has become so popular because of new technology.
“Remember in the 1970s and ’80s they tried to do TV version of Captain America and Spider-Man? Even Batman, the Adam West one,” he remembered, “The technology did not exist to make it look like it did in the comic books and now it does. You can do anything at all.”
However, Hanks doesn’t believe that impressive visual effects are enough to uphold a good film. “We are now enjoying the luxury of riches and because you can make anything happen on screen now,” he commented, “we are being brought back to the concept of, ‘Ok that’s true, but what is the story?'”
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“You can dream Lake Michigan and fill it with cuckoo clocks that form a three-headed dragon that breathes fire and destroys Chicago,” Hanks continued, “You can do that. But to what purpose? What is the story and what is it going to be saying about us?”
The actor acknowledged that for a while, audiences gravitated towards these films to see “better versions of ourselves.” Nevertheless, this intrigue now seems to be wearing off. “We’ve had 20 years to explore that kind of thing,” Hanks stated, “and now we’re in an evolution and place where it’s: And the story is what? The theme is what? The point of this movie is what?”
Hanks asserted that the audience is now “way ahead” of the industry, which relies on repeating the same formulas in the hope that it will guarantee success. According to the actor, audiences seem to have tired of this repetition, instead seeking out films that have something to say about humans.
Hanks isn’t the only actor or director who has criticised superhero movies in the last few years. As the genre settles into decline, more and more filmmakers seem to be sharing their dislike for it, from David Cronenberg to former superhero star Gwyneth Paltrow.
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