Derp, because I like them/think they're pretty damn good? Controversial rationale, I know...
DaCosta said:
Frankly, this whole "I'm sick of Marvel" I hear sometimes just strike me of "Stop liking what I don't like!". Just ignore it, like with the hundreds of other movies that come out every year and you don't care about.
The antagonism and/or cynicism the MCU often attracts is peculiar. Regardless of subjective preferences it's an incredibly accomplished thing to pull off, and has been a huge critical and commercial success over the years.
Perhaps that's the primary thing which riles people; it's mainstream, it's popular. Perhaps, by extension, its inclusivity is also a major sticking point, i.e. it's 'nerd culture' that doesn't seek to exclude anyone, or restrict these kinds of characters and stories to a small group of insecure, insular, whining cultural gatekeepers.
Chanticoblues said:
I think we'll see the general public start to turn on them a bit too. The DC films are already treated skeptically...
You can't conflate 'people react to bad films' to 'people might be getting sick of superhero films'. Besides, even though films like BvS and Suicide Squad deserve skepticism and/or hazmat suits, they were still very successful, commercially.
...MCU is often criticized for samey character arcs
Do general cinemagoers really care about that? If they see different characters, novel setpieces, and well crafted films made by passionate people, surely pop-culture is merely doing its job, and then some. Marvel Studios clearly care enough about crafting characters that resonate with audiences. The MCU also convinced the mainstream public that a sci-fi film featuring a machine-gun wielding talking racoon and a sentient tree was a thing worth paying for... I'd say the MCU's enriched the mainstream.
And as for samey character arcs: unlike all the other genres, right? Because samey plots or character arcs are clearly the death-knell of popular narrative and spectacle...
...facetious, I know, but you get my point. If comicbook films or the MCU specifically are to falter, then it won't be because of repeated motifs with plots or character arcs. Oversaturation could be an issue, but the box office is still looking very healthy, and both Marvel and DC/Warner (if they can sort out their mind bendingly profound incompetence) have all kinds of weird and wonderful characters and events to draw from to keep people entertained and coming back for more.
...and the most talked about superhero flick at the moment is a kind of post-superhero film (Logan). Not saying they're going away, but I wouldn't say that they're trending upwards.
I've not seen Logan yet, but I don't see that as reflecting a trend towards anything 'post-superhero'. I feel films like it could only exist once the groundwork's been done, so to speak. The early X-Men films and Spider-Man 2 paved the way for Nolan's Batman and the MCU, and now comicbook films can pull off stuff like Deadpool, Logan, and properties like Daredevil and Jessica Jones on the small screen (I gather the newbie, Legion, is also pretty good).
If anything, Logan et al prove how much respect the MCU should be historically accorded.
I mean, jeese... Nerds generally had absolute garbage to contend with in terms of adaptations. Now? Now look at the benchmarks of overall quality, and the range of properties being adapted with real guile across TV and film. It's doubtful we've
ever had it so good.
Roll on Infinity War, Black Panther, Captain Marvel, and [probably/hopefully] the MCU Spidey.