old comic book movies from the 1980s-1990s were fun and simple

[XandertheWise]

Dick Tracy
The Rocketeer
The Phantom
Incredible Hulk Returns
Howard the Duck
Trial of Incredible Hulk
the 1990 Captain America movie
the David Hasselhoff Nick Fury movie

Those movies were fun to watch and not crammed with bunch of crap like today's Marvel Movie Universe where its all about Avengers plot or Thor dealing with finding out about long lost sisters or cleaning up mistakes that his father made in the past etc

the Dick Tracy movie was fun and simple
the Rocketeer had a simple even though a bit over the top plot. . The Germans were trying to build jetpacks to rule the world only for a small town teen to steal one and keep one hidden in a mechanic shop yada yada. a big shot actor character in cahoots with the Germans or Russian. then a big cartoonist henchman that looks like he came from the Dick Tracy world.

[Dark Soul # 7]

This should probably be in the TV and movie forum.

[K7P5V]

the 1990 Captain America movie

Totally agree, fake ears and all...

[grampagen]

Dick Tracy
The Rocketeer
The Phantom
Incredible Hulk Returns
Howard the Duck
Trial of Incredible Hulk
the 1990 Captain America movie
the David Hasselhoff Nick Fury movie

Those movies were fun to watch and not crammed with bunch of crap like today's Marvel Movie Universe where its all about Avengers plot or Thor dealing with finding out about long lost sisters or cleaning up mistakes that his father made in the past etc

You're absolutely right, movies with self-contained plots which must resolve by the end are indeed simpler than long-running episodic stories. Have a cookie.

the Rocketeer had a simple even though a bit over the top plot. . The Germans were trying to build jetpacks to rule the world only for a small town teen to steal one and keep one hidden in a mechanic shop yada yada. a big shot actor character in cahoots with the Germans or Russian. then a big cartoonist henchman that looks like he came from the Dick Tracy world.

How very, very simple indeed.

[Powerboy]

Well, yes, they were simplistic. Some, like Dick Tracy and the Rocketeer, were pretty good. Some, like those Hulk movies, were embarrassing and a sad finale to a series that was good in it's time. That Cap movie was one of the worst movies ever made with a Cap that was such an @$$hole that the Red Skull was the sympathetic character. I do like a lot of the stuff from those days. But, back then, I often wished those stories would have some continuity and consequences, maybe a bit more depth.

[K7P5V]

Hopefully this counts, but another favorite from the '90s would be...

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

[Android 17]

It's a crime how underrated Dick Tracy is. Wish people talked about it more.

Still Madonna's best movie too lol.

[Beadle]

lStill Madonna's best movie too lol.

To be fair though, that’s a very low bar.

[Sharkerbob]

Simple, self-contained stuff is nice sometimes, but at some point, people want to see more complex stories, and get invested in longer narratives. And as movie making technology and storytelling standards evolve, audiences and artists alike want to expand what they can see and do. Of course, serialization and inter-connected universes of media can have down sides. Serials can easily become a slog; there's many a Netflix/Prime series that could have benefited from being cut in half on the run time. Some TV shows just work better being episodic, rather than turning every season into a sprawling storyline. But when a series works, it works, and that works for movies, too. Say what you will about the more recent "seasons" of the MCU, the Infinity Saga set of movies was a pretty solid series overall.

And hey, we're talking comic books here. A medium that's defined in part by its decades-spanning characters and never-ending multiverses (for better or worse). Movies are a different beast, but I'd argue its only the MCU and DCEU that have actually managed to capture the feeling of crafting a true comic book universe presentation in movie form (for better or worse).

Anyway, I don't disagree that there's a charm to the old films, and the whole "Cinematic Universe" trend has proven to be more disaster than hit, even the Big Two have gotten bogged down in their cruft. We do get some pretty solid self-contained stuff even these days. But those older movies were also products of their time; some of them were good, but a lot of them were goofy schlock that I would rather have not wasted my time on.

[Postmania]

You bring up comic book movies from the 90s and skip out on Blade which knocks out pretty much everything else? A grave offense

[Wildling]

You bring up comic book movies from the 90s and skip out on Blade which knocks out pretty much everything else? A grave offense

Even current Marvel is taking so long to get Blade right and get it out it might be necessary to recast Blade if Mahershala Ali becomes too old.

[Beadle]

You bring up comic book movies from the 90s and skip out on Blade which knocks out pretty much everything else? A grave offense

And the Stallone Judge Dredd movie.