‘Dumb and Boring’: James Gunn on present superhero movies

Filmmaker James Gunn, who made his mark in the superhero genre with the Marvel film Guardians of the Galaxy and its sequel, has made his stand on the present state of superhero movies quite clear; calling most of them ‘really dumb’ and ‘mostly boring’.

In conversation with the Irish Times, Gunn talked about the cyclical nature of cinema, and how the future of films in the superhero genre depends on their ability to incorporate different elements into them. He gives examples of Westerns and war films, whose popularity has witnessed a massive decline among most casual movie-watchers these days.

He gave examples of the first Superman movie, starring Christopher Reeves, and the first Iron Man movie, which had a pioneering effect in the superhero genre, even though the visual effects of the former seemed outdated at the present.

Regarding his own upcoming DC comics-inspired movie, The Suicide Squad, Gunn has called it a ‘spectacle war film’, rife with practical special effects. He also mentioned his excitement at having a chance of doing a movie with villains as protagonists.

The Suicide Squad, whose distribution is going to be handled by Warner Bros. Pictures, is a sequel to the 2016 Suicide Squad. It tells the story of a group of convicted felons who are recruited as part of a task force to destroy a laboratory of the Nazi-era, notorious for conducting shady experiments. The film stars Margot Robbie, John Cena, Idris Elba, Viola Davis and Peter Capaldi, among others.