As it goes, I've become increasingly convinced Marvel movies have irreversibly fucked the film industry. For not only have they made bad movies, they've made bad trends - trends that have spread outside the superhero genre and encompassed much of the modern cinema experience.
The core of the issue is in the name - Marvel movies. The concept of the "Marvel Universe" brings with it a certain "Marvel Style", where movies are not just blandly made but expected to be bland. I can't think of a single director who I know solely for their work on Marvel movies. This is intentional - by eliminating the importance of the people behind the camera, it allows Marvel to more often turn to directors-for-hire and not worry about seeming cheap. It transfers the praise from person to production; it's no longer a movie made by great people but rather a movie made by a great company. (Not that these films are anywhere close to great.)
If this was just in Marvel, I wouldn't be too concerned - shit in, shit out. However, this trend has spread to other corners of the industry, most notably the juggernaut of "indie" films that is A24. This is a sampling of comments taken from a trailer for an upcoming movie released by A24. See if you can spot the uniting factor.
Yeah. I was hard-pressed to find a single comment mentioning the director, and almost all praise was sent straight to A24. I shouldn't have to say why this is ridiculous. A24 is a distributor above all else; they take films and get them into theaters. They work as a production company often, but saying "A24 never disappoints" is like saying a movie has the "Searchlight Seal Of Approval". It's fucking dumb.
I don't mean to speak too pessimistically, but I believe the age of the director has passed. There is one name remaining, and that is Jordan Peele. Jordan Peele rocks.
