It’s been my opinion for a while now that Marvel has killed the “superhero” genre. At least the way they tell it. It’s gotten so bad that they now have to rely on “multiverse” gimmicks in order to perpetuate “new” stories. If you can’t think of anything interesting anymore in this universe, maybe we can make something stupid up in another. Of course, it’s only a matter of time before we run out of things to do anywhere else too.
But I guess this is their schtick. Their first round (once they decided to develop a story arc) was the Thanos thing. [Spoiler Alert] “Let’s have the bad guy kill off half of life in the universe with the snap of his fingers.” Now for round two — interdimensional travel. Maybe this kind of thing works on those who can’t remember movies of any real quality (before special effects became the “selling point” of any movie), but to me it was old before it even started.
So what about those who want some kind of quality while actually enjoying a story from the superhero genre? I believe I’ve found something interesting — the Korean version of a superhero drama: Moving (which can be seen on Disney+). I finished its 20 episodes last night and found it engaging for the most part. A decent balance of character development (they devote entire episodes to backstory and tying things together) and action, along with the Korean propensity to wrap things up nicely and in a way that satisfies the viewer in the end. It also features the actor Jo In-seong, who I used to see every so often here on Osan when he was doing his two years of military service.
I can’t find any decent clips, but if you take a look at the trailer, you might get a taste for it. Don’t let it give you the idea that it’s one of those “young adult” pieces though (like Hunger Games or Twilight). It’s much more (and much better) than that. It’s also one of the few interesting things to watch anymore in this era of streamers cranking out trash and releasing vast swaths of rehashed B and C movies that no one really wants to see. I think if you give it a chance, you’ll find it entertaining enough to regain a little bit of faith in the genre. But then again, I’m sure Marvel will come along with something soon enough to suck the joy out of moviegoing again.