By Tolu Salako
Staff Writer
It used to be all about the happy endings, where the two lovers live happily ever after and the audience leaves the theatre in a relatively good mood. However, movies are no longer as happy-go-lucky as they were before, and those screened in theatres today are a lot darker, and in some opinions, more intriguing.
For many years, superhero movies were quite prevalent in theaters. Superman, one of the first superhero movies to make it to the big screen, had a relatively happy ending. The plot was easy to follow, and there were no major twists in the original Superman movies by Richard Doner or in Bryan Singer’s 2006 adaptation.
Hollywood has decided to bring Superman back to the big screen, but instead of remaking the film that we have seen a dozen times, acclaimed director, Christopher Nolan, has made the Man of Steel darker.
“I am really excited for [Man of Steel],” senior Matt Smith said. “The trailer looks really interesting, and I really think it will be better than Superman Returns. The only reason I am actually interested in watching [the movie] this summer is because Christopher Nolan is directing it, and his movies are always great.”
The latest trend in Hollywood is to create thought-provoking and eerie films, believing they will appeal more to the masses. Nolan’s films, such as the Batman franchise, Inception and The Prestige and Man of Steel, can be classified as such and are enjoyed by many Coppell High School students. Receiving high ratings from critics, Nolan’s movies are recognized worldwide and have broken box office records yearly. Not only does Nolan participate in this “dark movie phenomenon,” director, Marc Webb worked on the newest Spiderman film, The Amazing Spiderman, starring Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone.
“The Amazing Spiderman was a far better film than those that starred Tobey Maguire,” junior Kyle Ballard said. “It was a lot darker and I thought the characters were more relatable. The Spiderman franchise was always dark, but the newest one did a much better job and had the right amount of humor, sorrow and action.”
Remaking popular films has always been Hollywood’s specialty. Some of the most recent eerier remakes include the Spiderman films, Hansel and Gretel, The Wizard of OZ, and Superman.
Childhood stories that many grew up reading have been adapted into huge Hollywood films. These innocent fairy tales, where the prince finds his princess and they both live happily-ever-after are no longer taken into account in these reboots. Take for instance Snow White & The Huntsman; it did not necessarily have a happy ending. Snow White never really got the expected happy ending, and she never really gets her Prince Charming in the end.
“I was at first very hesitant to watch [Snow White & The Huntsman], but I decided to give the movie a go anyway,” junior Michelle Mayes said. “I really enjoyed the film, and I thought it was really interesting that they turned an innocent classic into this really dark film. I loved it.”
During the spring, there were two Snow White films: Mirror, Mirror and Snow White & Huntsman. Snow White & The Huntsman made over $56 million during opening weekend while Mirror, Mirror made only $18 million. Many critics shared the same view, preferring the darker tone in Snow White & The Huntsman.
“In turn, the roughness of those characters [in Snow White and the Huntsman], along with the scratchy earth tones of Greig Fraser’s cinematography, make possible episodes of enchantment that feel fresh even to eyes that have seen everything under the digital sun,” A.O Scott from The New York Times wrote in his review of the film. “A terrifying slog through the dark forest, a serene sojourn in the garden of the fairies, a visit to an encampment of women and children — each of these scenes casts its own specific and effective spell.”
The majority of students has enjoyed the emergence of darker films being released, believing that it has affected their perspective on certain issues and that they can learn many things from these types of films.
“I feel like for darker movies, it is easier to feel emotion and it makes the storylines seem real,” Smith said. “Teenagers relate better to darker movies because it is the struggle that one goes through that defines them. Not everyone has a happy ending, and therefore not many relate to the characters in those movies. People are defined by the struggles they got through, and characters in these dark films show just that.”
