Captain America

[stansimpson]

....and the universally panned Wolf Man (a movie even he admits he screwed up on)

The Wolf Man wasn't "universally panned" (and the bad reviews I read all start out "didn't live up to...." like it's the movie's fault that the reviewer may have expected way too much).  And where does Johnston say in that story that he "screwed up"?

Also love how people forget to mention two other good films he directed - Honey I Shrunk the Kids and Jumanji

Ok, so maybe Wolf Man wasn't "universally panned".  Even Old Dogs has a good review or two.  But I've never heard anything other than "medicore".  But he just doesn't seem to have it in him anymore.  I almost mentioned Honey, I Shrunk the Kids and Jumanji but I was trying to stay away from a rant.  My thoughts on that are the rule of thumb in that "you're only as good as your last movie."  It's not wholly reliable, but it's the best bet.  Maybe a bright spot will come up here or there, but I think it's messed up sometimes that directors are given lifetime passes.  Look at Rob Reiner.  Amaaaaazing director filmography from '84 (Spinal Tap) to, let's say '96 (Ghosts of Mississippi).  But from '96 to now, it's simply pale pale pale by comparison.  He may have directed Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally, and A Few Good Men, but it doesn't mean his next movie's gonna be good.  It's his last movies Rumor Has It and The Bucket List that make me not look forward to his next movie.  Same for Johnston.  Directing Jurassic Park 3 and Wolf Man does not give me hope for Captain America.

[warofthebees]

I didn't expect Jon Favreau to make a good Iron Man movie.  He had directed Elf, Zathura, and an episode of Undeclared.  Not a lot under his belt, and certainly no waters as dangerous as pissing off fanboys.  However, he turned out one of the best superhero movies ever.  Yes, I know Robert Downey Jr. made Iron Man what it was, but still-who would have thought of Jon Favreau directing it?

Ang Le is a fantastic director.  I thought Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was a beautiful film, despite unleashing Wire Fu on American audiences.  He was nominated for an Oscar, and was able to direct action scenes.  He also churned out Hulk, the only franchise I can think of that was rebooted in just one movie.

The point is, you can't really assume the director is going to make a bad comic book movie.  Unless it's Uwe Boll.  Wait, that's video games.

[Plastic Self-Cleaning Duck]

....and the universally panned Wolf Man (a movie even he admits he screwed up on)

The Wolf Man wasn't "universally panned" (and the bad reviews I read all start out "didn't live up to...." like it's the movie's fault that the reviewer may have expected way too much).  And where does Johnston say in that story that he "screwed up"?

Also love how people forget to mention two other good films he directed - Honey I Shrunk the Kids and Jumanji

Ok, so maybe Wolf Man wasn't "universally panned".  Even Old Dogs has a good review or two.  But I've never heard anything other than "medicore".  But he just doesn't seem to have it in him anymore.  I almost mentioned Honey, I Shrunk the Kids and Jumanji but I was trying to stay away from a rant.  My thoughts on that are the rule of thumb in that "you're only as good as your last movie."  It's not wholly reliable, but it's the best bet.  Maybe a bright spot will come up here or there, but I think it's messed up sometimes that directors are given lifetime passes.  Look at Rob Reiner.  Amaaaaazing director filmography from '84 (Spinal Tap) to, let's say '96 (Ghosts of Mississippi).  But from '96 to now, it's simply pale pale pale by comparison.  He may have directed Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally, and A Few Good Men, but it doesn't mean his next movie's gonna be good.  It's his last movies Rumor Has It and The Bucket List that make me not look forward to his next movie.  Same for Johnston.  Directing Jurassic Park 3 and Wolf Man does not give me hope for Captain America.

So, we're talking about a movie you haven't seen but are judging?

If Johnston was with The Wolf Man from day one, I'd say that that was fair. That wasn't the case.

But he came in and had to take what someone else had set up and make it into something that worked and was still his own vision.  Besides, his cut of the film hasn't been seen and won't be until the DVD is released.  However, I thought it was very good as released.

And Rob Reiner made North.....and then made American President and Ghost of Mississippi...or where those bad films?  How about Spielberg making 1941 before Raiders, E.T. and all the rest....?

[stansimpson]

And Rob Reiner made North.....and then made American President and Ghost of Mississippi...or where those bad films?  How about Spielberg making 1941 before Raiders, E.T. and all the rest....?

My thoughts on that are the rule of thumb in that "you're only as good as your last movie."  It's not wholly reliable, but it's the best bet.  Maybe a bright spot will come up here or there.

It works the other way around too.  Directors occasionally mess up.  That's why you have to look at their filmography as a whole.  I'm not talking about an exact science here.  Just what I think is more likely to happen.

The real issue here is guaging whether Johnston can make a good movie, and whether he's the best director for the job.  I say he is capable of making a competent movie, but not one good enough to wage a franchise on (Jurassic Park 4? Not gonna happen [unless it's a reboot]).  What I'm trying to say is that there are definitely many better directors out there.  Johnston is past his prime.  I'd love to see him prove me wrong, but history is stacked up against him.  I'd like to see Captain America be the exception to the rule.

[Plastic Self-Cleaning Duck]

And Rob Reiner made North.....and then made American President and Ghost of Mississippi...or where those bad films?  How about Spielberg making 1941 before Raiders, E.T. and all the rest....?

My thoughts on that are the rule of thumb in that "you're only as good as your last movie."  It's not wholly reliable, but it's the best bet.  Maybe a bright spot will come up here or there.

It works the other way around too.  Directors occasionally mess up.  That's why you have to look at their filmography as a whole.  I'm not talking about an exact science here.  Just what I think is more likely to happen.

The real issue here is guaging whether Johnston can make a good movie, and whether he's the best director for the job.  I say he is capable of making a competent movie, but not one good enough to wage a franchise on (Jurassic Park 4? Not gonna happen [unless it's a reboot]).  What I'm trying to say is that there are definitely many better directors out there.  Johnston is past his prime.  I'd love to see him prove me wrong, but history is stacked up against him.  I'd like to see Captain America be the exception to the rule.

Not saying that he's necessarily the best. But he's no hack by any means.  Doubt anyone could have made anything more out of Jurassic Park 3 than he did (personally, I consider Lost World Jurassic Park unwatchable after the once - and look who directed that).

And since you didn't say you have seen The Wolf Man so you don't know if he's already proved you wrong, do you?

[Sharktopus]

What worries me is the stuff that's come out of Johnston's mouth when anyone asks him about the Cap movie. I fear a Star Trek-like douchey kid goes to war and learns to become a leader of men story. It should be a sheltered optimist sees the horrors of war and rises above it story. Let's hope Rocketeer era Joe Johnston is still in there. Cap is all about optimism.

[a pretty girl is like]

Who forgot about Jumanji?  I remember exactly how much it sucked. 

[gbeenie]

Who forgot about Jumanji?  I remember exactly how much it sucked. 

Oh, it was fine. I didn't get a lot out of it personally, but if I was a kid I would have LOVED it.

[Darth Geek]

I liked Jumanji for what it was, just a fun movie. I don't hate Robin Williams like so many others do. It wasn't a particularly great movie, and Zathura was better, so I am not using it alone as a judge wether he can make a good movie. I quite liked The Wolfman, and I think it would have been better if there hadn't been a shift in director so close to start of filming. But Talbot was the most boring part of that movie, and I don't blame the director for that.

[stansimpson]

And since you didn't say you have seen The Wolf Man so you don't know if he's already proved you wrong, do you?

I haven't seen Rumour Has It to know that it's not The Princess Bride.  Even if I loved Wolf Man, it still doesn't make it a great movie (I don't expect you to understand that tho).  And yeah, Jumanji was great as a kid.  I don't think I would like it anywhere near as much had I first seen it as an adult.

This is all conjecture anyway (I mean, we're discussing a movie that isn't even made yet  ).

[warofthebees]

And since you didn't say you have seen The Wolf Man so you don't know if he's already proved you wrong, do you?

I haven't seen Rumour Has It to know that it's not The Princess Bride.  Even if I loved Wolf Man, it still doesn't make it a great movie (I don't expect you to understand that tho).

By that logic, I haven't seen Iron Man 2, but since I know it won't be Citizen Kane, I shouldn't bother.  Wolfman was not a great movie.  I wouldn't expect5 to see it nominated for an Oscar in anything at all.

But I paid my money to see a werewolf tear things up.  And I got what I paid for.  I will pay my money to see a super soldier dressed like a flag fight Nazis and then get frozen, and guess what?  I'll probably get to see that too. 

[Russell]

Hugo Weaving as Red Skull... sure, why not? He's got a big enough skull, that's for damn sure. What I am worried about more though is pulling off Captain America. If history has proved anything, it's that nobody who dons that outfit could possibly ever make it work. Reb Brown and that wuss who wore the costume wasn't any better either... and no matter how good the story is, if Captain America looks like shit then I guarantee you the movie will also be shit, let's hope the writers and producers pull something brilliant out their ass because this movie is gonna need it.

[warofthebees]

Hugo Weaving as Red Skull... sure, why not? He's got a big enough skull, that's for damn sure. What I am worried about more though is pulling off Captain America. If history has proved anything, it's that nobody who dons that outfit could possibly ever make it work. Reb Brown and that wuss who wore the costume wasn't any better either... and no matter how good the story is, if Captain America looks like shit then I guarantee you the movie will also be shit, let's hope the writers and producers pull something brilliant out their ass because this movie is gonna need it.

I think that if they go with an Ultimates-inspired outfit, they might be better off.  Ultimate Captain America looked the part, but wasn't all spandex-y. 



Looks traditional enough, but not all Reb Brown spandex looking crap.  If the X-Men could be made without looking like crap, I'm sure they can make Captain America look believable.

[Sharktopus]

I'd like Cap to look a lot like this during WWII:



and save the modern superhero look for the Avengers movie:

[Darth Geek]

I'd like Cap to look a lot like this during WWII:

The brown cap reminds me of the fake hero Mark Hamill wanted Bruce Campbell to play in Comic Book: The Movie.