(Forbes) Why You Saw 'Captain Marvel' And 'Wonder Woman' But Not 'Alita' And 'Tomb Raider'.

[TheBeardedOne]

I don't spend money on movies that don't look good, or only look middling, unless I'm really bored. Most action movies also aren't that good, and Marvel is milking the shit out of these properties to varying degrees of quality.

I'll watch Captain Marvel one day, but I doubt I'll go see it in theatres. I don't feel like paying for or using one of my free passes on it. Alita looked dumb, so I didn't go see it, and wouldn't anyways. It looked like a big, action packed, dumb CGI fest.

Tomb Raider was obviously going to be bad. The trailers were atrocious. So I skipped it. I did watch it on Crave, and holy shit was it bad. So mindnumbingly boring. I had been looking forward to it, but wasn't holding my breath. Then I saw the trailers.

I did go see Wonder Woman for a birthday party, and it was good.

I don't care who stars in the movie, or if it's a woman or a man, nearly as much as I care if the movie is good. I'm not going to spend money to see movies just to support female leads. I've watched tons of movies with female leads, but a movie has to stand out for me to pay to see it.

I'll be going to see Us next

 

[PhoncipleBone]

Alita was dope. Best action sequences this decade, IMO, in western cinema.

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Uh huh. Suuuurrrre.

 

[UltraMagnus]

These four movies don't have that much in common. Yes they have a female protagonist but so? They're four different genres for one, yes even Wonder Woman (WW2-era comic adaptation) and Captain Marvel (space/cosmic comic adaptation) .

 

[Madao]

i watch many anime style shows and even i found Alita to be uncanny-valley territory. those big eyes look so off putting.
no idea why Cameron was so centered in having the eyes like that. you can do anime style with normal eyes pretty fine (i know only Alita has the big eyes but still. the trade off was too big)

Spoiler

i still plan to buy the Blu-ray eventually

 

[Compbros]

Saw all 4.

Alita > WoWo > Marvel > Raider

 

[lenovox1]

Just gonna post this here because it's disgraceful how quickly this superheroine's amazing feats of badass have been forgotten in the wake of these other milquetoast entries.

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The best part about that otherwise predictable movie.

 

[Ichthyosaurus]

The best part about that otherwise predictable movie.

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This.

 

[massoluk]

Except they didn't? they in fact toned down the eyes after the initial backlash, not a perfect fix obviously, but absolutely the opposite of "doubling down".

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Nah, it's the eyes still.

 

[Peru]

Pretty poor hot take. Tomb Raider was not critically well-received, neither was Alita a critical favourite and both bore the hallmarks of many other action movies in the past few years that have not taken off, regardless of the lead's gender.

And in spite of that, quite a lot of people did show up to both these critically-meh'd movies. Tomb Raider made as much worldwide as the first Angelina Jolie Tomb Raider movie. It's just that they're expensive movies that didn't make as much money as expensive superhero movies.

 

[AHA-Lambda]

I saw all 4, and Alita was great!

 

[It’s Reyn Time!]

i watch many anime style shows and even i found Alita to be uncanny-valley territory. those big eyes look so off putting.
no idea why Cameron was so centered in having the eyes like that. you can do anime style with normal eyes pretty fine (i know only Alita has the big eyes but still. the trade off was too big)

Spoiler

i still plan to buy the Blu-ray eventually

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Because technology allowed him to have the character look exactly like she does in the source material and it's explainable in-universe. As an added bonus, you don't get that disconnected feeling of 'that's an actress's head superimposed on a body that's doing something ridiculous' during action scenes if the entire character is CGI all the way through. Not saying it's right or wrong (that discussion's so boring at this point) but that's the reasons.

 

[squeakywheel]

Saw all 4.

Alita > WoWo > Marvel > Raider

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I agree with this ranking. I just saw Marvel and was underwhelmed. I really enjoyed Alita best. Marvel seemed so one note the entire time and the humor fell so flat. Nobody laughed in my full theater tonight. Kinda disappointed but at least the 3rd act was pretty good and showed off her powers. The kid and the cat were pretty good lol.

 

[CrocodileGrin]

I really enjoyed both of the Jolie films but didn't see the new Tomb Raider because it looked like the 2013 reboot game and I had no interest in seeing a cinematic version of that. Alita's trailers never sold me on it because I found the main character's animated head distracting. Wonder Woman I've had on blu-ray for several months, and unfortunately I haven't gotten around to watching it. Captain Marvel I plan to see because I always found the concept of Carol both fascinating and complicated. Plus, Avengers is soon. I was going to bring up Annihilation going against everything this article is saying and then I read it's actually considered a box office bomb??? I'm really surprised. It's a good film.

 

[Aftermath]

Well I have been watching and admiring female hero's (and Villains) for years in the Horror/Sci-Fi genre.

Heros

From Barbara to Carrie, from to Ripley to Sarah Connor (T2 & TV Series) and everything inbetween, Sidney Prescott, Laurie Strode, Buffy etc.

it's not my fault you aren't into Horror but your missing out and anyone who has ever said woman don't belong in Horror need their head seen too, Women Rule horror, you could argue that the men overshadow them but I don't believe that.

I don't view them as weak like some do neither but strong, the problem is the Scream Queens, we do need less of the Final girl was a Virgin trope though.

Villains and Monsters

Alien Queen, Bride of Frankenstein (she was not really a Villain) hell even the 1st Friday the 13th Killer was Mrs Vorhees and NOT Jason, Julia & the Female Cenobite ( it was really Julia who was the Monster) Sadako Yamamura, Regan (again was she really a Villain or a Victim?) and so on.

Sci-Fi
I saw Ghost in the Shell in the Cinema & I liked it despite the controversy, Princess Leia was a badass, Mamma was a great For Dredd and Even Dr Who's Assistants Ace and Bill Potts being two of my favourite.

But we Can do better in both Genres outside of Comic Books and we will get there with the likes of the Soska Sisters etc

 

[apocat]

Because movies with male leads never flop?

 

[TheBeardedOne]

i watch many anime style shows and even i found Alita to be uncanny-valley territory. those big eyes look so off putting.
no idea why Cameron was so centered in having the eyes like that. you can do anime style with normal eyes pretty fine (i know only Alita has the big eyes but still. the trade off was too big)

Spoiler

i still plan to buy the Blu-ray eventually

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Yeah. The animation was quite offputting. I'm not into anime whatsoever, so that added to it. Maybe I'll watch it on TV one day, but I'm in no rush.

Because movies with male leads never flop?

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Nope. Never.

 

[Mauricio_Magus]

I didn't see any of them.

Even if I'm sure that I will eventually watch Captain Marvel.

 

[davidnolan13]

I saw all 4 and happy death day 2u and mortal engines and enjoyed them all mainly. Mortal engines was slightly underwhelming but fun enough. But a film with a female lead is just as good or bad as any male lead film.

 

[Deleted member 1698]

Nobody saw Alita because the title is Alita: battle angel.

That might sound like a small thing but to me it screamed "don't pay to see this at the movies, watch it on tv one day". If you are really confident in the whole thing, just call it Alita and make it seem like it isn't a cheap tv episode.

Not showing the entire damn movie in the trailer would be a great tip too.

 

[Kaswa101]

I've seen and enjoyed all of them besides Alita - haven't gotten around to watching that one yet. :/

 

[coldzone24]

While I loved Alita, I also thought it was terrible at the same time and would never actually recommend to anybody but a few select people who are into shlocky movies like me. And Tomb Raider simply looked boring and bland.

 

[TheKeyPit]

I still think that a John Wick movie with a woman as the lead (a lost sister of Mr. Wick) would make bank. It'd be like Atomic Blonde but cranked up to an absurd level of John Wick action / choreography.

 

[PrimeBeef]

I'm sorry, movies have to at least be interesting to me, and Tomb Raider and Atila didn't move the needle, neither did Wonder Woman. Marvel comics clicked with me at an early age in a way DC never did, so I am interested in seeing what they can do with beloved characters and stories of my youth.

 

[ParanoidRED]

Jolie's TR is still the goat, new one looked boring as fuck, just like the newer games


Anyway, watched 'em all, Wonder Woman felt the most competent and entertaining by far

 

[Laserdisk]

Tomb Raider and Alita were not very good tho.
Plus Alita is driven by men.

 

[Aztechnology]

Well I saw all of them.

 

[Deleted member 135]

Alita looked really creepy and off putting.

 

[nel e nel]

i dont really know what the thesis is here. no im not more likely to see a bad or uninteresting movie because it has a female lead.

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Exactly.

Now let's talk about the really important issue: OP HAS KEPT EVERY MOVIESTUB FOR OVER 20 YEARS

 

[Xater]

Two of them looked good and I heard good things about. The other two looked bad (Alita, Tomb Raider).

 

[Jie Li]

Alita is going to be a cult classic 20 years down the road. Don't expect movies like that to be huge successes right away. Alita is on the same path as Blade Runner.

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Agreed. If it never gets a sequel it will absolutely become a cult favorite.

 

[Laserdisk]

The best part about that otherwise predictable movie.

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Garden fight!!!

Alita is going to be a cult classic 20 years down the road. Don't expect movies like that to be huge successes right away. Alita is on the same path as Blade Runner.

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Did you just? Blade Runner?
Seriously?
Alita....
Blade Runner...
You can like it, but Blade Runner........

 

[Ferrs]

Tomb Raider was ok, Vikander was great and I wish she had another opportunity with a better script.

Alita's eyes just creep me out too much. Also not very interested in anime.

 

[Odesu]

It's worth noting that Captain Marvel and Tomb Raider share an insane amount of similiarities because the same screenwriter wrote both. And with it, both share an amazing, oscar-winning actress who can do absolutely nothing with the stale, soap opera style drama and cheesy, non-hitting comedy lines. It all seems slightly wrong. If you watch both after each other, the problems they share with their screenplay are incredibly obvious.

CM certainly isn't a better movie than either of them. But yeah, it's a franchise. Article is on point in that regard.

 

[Galkinator]

That is grasping at straws.
CM and WW were good movies with a talented crew and heart behind them.
TR never looked good or appealing, where as Alita probably creeped out everyone with their awful design choice of her cringeworthy eyes.
Alita could've also been a moderate success if they hadn't blown an insane budget on it.

 

[SixelAlexiS]

I can't be the only one that saw all four of them.

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And I can't be the only one who haven't saw any of them.

 

[Deleted member 31817]

I havent seen any

Tomb Raider looked bad and the new games have worst in class stories. Alita never appealed to me and the unique but poorly executed character design actually drew my attention, still never bothered. I don't see the rush to go see so so movies. Wonder Woman I caught on digital and Pike and Gadot had a lot of charisma but the formulaic 3rd act and paper thin supporting caricatures led to a decent but forgettable movie.

Havent seen captain marvel yet and havent been interested from the trailers but I like Larson a lot and wanna be caught up before Endgame so I'll probably see it in its last 2 weeks. Meh

 

[Defect]

I haven't seen any of those and don't plan to. Maaaaaybe I'll watch Alita one day since that's the most interesting looking one but it'll probably be years before I do.

As for Captain Marvel, I'll see her in Endgame.

 

[Lucky241]

Saw and loved them all. It sucks to see Alita won't get the sequel. Really would have liked to see where that story goes. (No, I'm not reading the manga)

Don't know why it came out so close to Captain Marvel. Absolutely stupid of them. They're both about young women discovering their identity, purpose and power. Spread it out over the year. No fucking need to come out so close together.

 

[NoName999]

I mean, one was the first good superheroine movie with good of mouth
One was a the next movie starring a superheroine in a popular movie franchise

Meanwhile, the others were either a video game movie or an anime movie that was co opted by Nazis.

I mean... it's not that hard to see why.

 

[Valkerion]

Tomb Raider never interested me, not the games, not the movies, so a movie reboot of a rebooted game wasn't gonna do it for me lol. Wanna see Alita though when it drops on home release.

 

[OrangeNova]

Nobody saw Alita because the title is Alita: battle angel.

That might sound like a small thing but to me it screamed "don't pay to see this at the movies, watch it on tv one day". If you are really confident in the whole thing, just call it Alita and make it seem like it isn't a cheap tv episode.

Not showing the entire damn movie in the trailer would be a great tip too.

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The title of the series is Battle Angel Alita... And then James Cameron changed it so that his movies would still be A or T names.

 

[Deleted member 7051]

Alita was actually better than Captain Marvel.

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It's really not. I love Alita a lot, it was badass, with great characters, awesome fight scenes and lots of spectacle but it didn't make me feel anything. Captain Marvel was actually inspiring and Carol herself is much more relatable. Young women already look up to her the way I imagine young men look up to Rogers and I came out of the movie air punching like the guy from Breakfast Club.

 

[apocat]

Alita is going to be a cult classic 20 years down the road. Don't expect movies like that to be huge successes right away. Alita is on the same path as Blade Runner.

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I mean, its the best movie of the ones listed, and I agree it has the potential to become a cult movie, despite som very real flaws.

But on the same path as Blade Runner? That's crazy talk right there. Sorry friend, you just might be crazy.

 

[Mars People]

God gods I am sick of all the commentary and controversy around Captain Marvel.
It wasn't even that good. It was pretty mid/low tier even amoung the Marvel movies.

But why can't movies stand on their own anymore? It always has to bring in feminism, sexism, everyone pick a side. I hate it.

It just a superhero movie. A distinctly average superhero movie.

 

[Messofanego]

i saw Annihilation in theaters, thats worth 5 woman-led movies, so im still covered for now

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I wish I could see Annihilation here in UK cinemas but it never came out that way :(

 

[vinnygambini]

I saw all 4 of these films at the theatre and dare I say, Tomb Raider was more engaging than Captain Marvel.

 

[Fisty]

If anything, it shows you need to market a middling female-led action movie as some kind of cultural feminist touchstone if you want mega-success.

 

[Freakzilla]

I saw none of them. They all seem terrible.

 

[Sanka]

You know what? I actually really hate this take. It suggests that it's on us as an audience to make sure that these diverse movies keep getting made. That we as an audience have to show up for every showing wasting hard earned money, just so that these Disney execs can keep filling their pockets. Nah, fuck that.

We are demanding more representation not because it's supposed to make them more money, but because it's the right thing to do. And if that's not happening we will keep criticising and calling them out for it.

 

[Certinfy]

Seen all four, wouldn't say any are bad.

Personally: Captain Marvel > Tomb Raider > Alita > Wonder Woman.

Not that Wonder Woman isn't good but that beyond awful final act and the lack of interesting supporting characters killed it for me.