Everyone’s favorite director, Brett Ratner, recently went on a bit of a rant to MTV News, talking about how he would love to direct more comic book movies, if only there were still some of the ‘best heroes’ to go around.
Now, I know what a lot of you are already thinking–but at least take a look at what the man had to say before you go ripping into him, please.
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“I would do any superhero movie that I was asked to do,” Ratner told MTV News. “But I wouldn’t have been interested in ‘Iron Man.’ I have a lot of respect for [Jon Favreau], because to me, it was a B-character. ‘Iron Man’? … But look what he did.”
Those comments definitely got under some people’s skin–this story was sent my way under the subject-heading, “Brett Ratner slams Jon Favreau and Iron Man,” for God’s sake. But I don’t see it as that bad of a comment: Iron Man was a B-list superhero (at best) and Jon Favreau deserves a lot of respect for taking the character and turning him into a mainstream icon.
However, I will call Ratner out on the fact that he said he wasn’t interested in comic book “B-characters.” I mean the guy is going to be producing and directing Rob Liefeld’s Youngblood, a comic book that was basically a C-list knock-off of The Avengers. He’d better hope that he too can work that Favreau magic at the box office.
For you Ratner-haters out there, here’s something Brett said in that same interview that will truly make you shudder with the thought of “What if?”, only to make you warm with joy all over again:
“I was so upset when I left ‘Superman,’” said Ratner. “[Bryan] Singer has his ‘X-Men,’ [Christopher] Nolan has ‘Batman‘ — there’s nothing left. ‘Hulk‘ has been exploited already. There’s nothing left for me.”
“I mean, I’m not going to go and do the Silver Surfer or something,” shrugged Ratner.
So we know that Silver Surfer is safe, but could you imagine if Ratner was handed a Batman or Superman film, or (God forbid!) another crack at X-Men? Don’t think it couldn’t happen! This guy is THE go-to guy in situations where celebrated directors depart from their franchises. Once Chris Nolan is tired of Batman…
Seriously though, I’m going to use this platform to proclaim that I’ve never understood all the Ratner-hate. Or for that matter, the intense hatred for X-Men: The Last Stand that I come across every day in the blogosphere. X3 wasn’t that bad of a movie; I keep watching it (gasp! I own it!) trying to get on the same page as a lot of my blogger-brethren, but I can’t do it. The film just isn’t that bad. I mean it certainly mucked with the X-Men continuum by killing off Cyclops and “killing off” Professor X… but the fight sequences were some of the best of the series (IMHO) and the plot (though a bit over-crammed) worked for me. X3 was a nice end chapter to the trilogy and a good setup for a fresher, younger, X-Men franchise down the line. Even Kelsey Grammer’s Beast was OK (though the makeup was a bit corny).
There, I said it. It’s so good to finally be able to come out of the closet as an X3 liker (not lover).
So, personally speaking: I would let Brett Ratner have a crack at another well-known comic book hero(es). It would be a B-list or C-list hero, but I would let him have a chance–if he deemed the project “worthy,” of course.
OK I’m finished. Now you can all go ahead and rant back about how you REALLY feel about Brett Ratner, X-Men: The Last Stand and Kofi Outlaw for saying he’s cool with both. I await your judgment.
Source: MTV News
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54 Comments
the thing that pissed me off in x3 was they killed cyclops.left you hanging at the end with professor-x,and juggernaut did not fight colossus. if they would have kept the movie just like the book it would have been alot better,and the thing with wolverine the movie is they said beak would be in it and he was not that sucked,and the way they screwd up the blob,and changed the way wolverine lost his memmory,also not enough screen time for gambit or deadpool,i hope they give them both their own films,and add beak in first class,they need to do generation-x and add chamber,the sentinels and sinister should be in first class as well,and lastly they need to do magneto’s origins and have him and charles fight apocalypse. A DISTRICT-X FILM WOULD NOT BE BAD EITHER ITS REALLY DARK AND FOR OLDER fans.i think they should do that with generaqtion-x,and add the special class in the first class film.my rants are done what are your opinions?
Wow. Does this guy have an insightful bone in his entire body?
What Brett does not realise is that his predecessor built up a raving, slavish, guaranteed audience with the X-Men franchise. It was just Brett’s bad luck that this audience happens by default to be a little more thoughtful and/or educated than the audience Hollywood normally aims for. But then, it is difficult for Hollywood accountants to understand that when you put the story of an oppressed, mostly hidden minority on the big screen, there is a damned good chance that a significant part of the audience will be part of an oppressed, mostly hidden minority.
And one thing the minority in question where X-Men is concerned find most insulting is being told that Albert Einstein was not one of them. The people seeking to “cure” them try to say that, too. Then when we confront them with the fact that Einstein did not speak a word before his third birthday, began speaking in whole sentences rather than one-word utterances, and often repeated what he heard others say around him, their response is to pretend we said something else entirely. Bryan Singer would have researched this and demanded that line be tossed out of the script, never to be uttered. Ratner apparently thought it was a good idea.
Ratner also thought it was somehow possible that if the real world’s X-Men were faced with an army weaponising a “cure” and attacking them with it, that any single one of us would lift a finger to defend that army when our people come to tear their heads off.
Sorry, Brett, but you took what was once one of the best, if not THE best comic book franchises on the big screen and flushed it down the toilet. You are in no position to diss Uwe Boll, leave alone Jon Favreau.
Brett Ratner isn’t a great director, only a competent one at best who seems to get the job done. Having said that though I wasn’t overly thrilled with his treatment of X3.
It had some good moments, but overall I left the cinema quite dissapointed. Even on DVD it’s not one that I’ll watch all that often.
I would like to see an (A list) Director take on the X Men, prefably someone with a command and respect for strong chracter development, continuity and cohesive storyline narratives.
It would be awesome to develop Cyclops as a strong and powerful team leader as in the books, someone to keep Wolverine in line.
Adding a bit of depth to Storm’s character and having The Beast, Angel, Iceman, Marvel Girl/Phoenix as part of the frontline team would surely make for a fantastic action packed blockbuster.
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