Dark Knight Rises VFX Supervisor Talks Good and Bad Superhero Movies
In the short film The Escape, director Paul J. Franklin weaves a modern telling of late sci-fi [...]
Superhero Movies - From Nolan to Now
While discussing what kind of projects Paul J. Franklin may want to take on as he moves from VFX work to full-on directing, we addressed the question of what big sci-fi properties or franchises Franklin might want to try his hand at.
More: Intersellar VFX Director talks Original Sci-fi Films
After covering the question of the sci-fi genre, we had to ask Franklin - who worked on some of the biggest, and/or game-changing films in the superhero genre - what superhero properties or franchises he would want to take on. According to Franklin:
"That's an interesting one to ask. I was so lucky to have been involved in all three of Chris Nolan's Dark Knight movies. It's very difficult to top that. I think they are the definitive superhero movies."
There was a time that most superhero movie fans would instantly agree with Franklin; however, in the nearly ten years since The Dark Knight hit theaters, fans have moved on to new favorites (see: Guardians of the Galaxy), and you'll find just as much debate over Nolan's Batman movies, as you will praise.
For his part, Franklin still clearly likes what Chris Nolan did with the genre; other films in the genre? Not so much:
"[Nolan's Batman Trilogy] They're fantastic films as well as being fantastic superhero films and I don't think that can be said for all comic book movies, by any means.
...I think there's been a huge number of really great superhero movies in the last few years. I think some of the ones before the modern era of superhero filmmaking came along... A good superhero movie was the exception rather than the norm. You look at a film like Richard Donner's 'Superman,' absolutely fantastic film, but there were so many other not very good versions of Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four that came out in the '70s and the '80s which are rightly forgotten these days. I think those are examples of not very good versions of superhero films."
That's a very diplomatic answer - but what can one expect from a man who has worked on some the best projects for both DC and Marvel? Not the usual fan bias for one or the other, that's for sure.
For more on Paul J. Franklin's short film The Escape, and more of our interview with filmmaker (including talk about the sci-fi genre), click the link below.