10 Things We Loved About Pre-MCU Comic Book Movies
7. The Relatively Light Tone Of Most Films
The term 'dark and gritty' has become the default way of describing grounded adaptations of comic books.
Following the blockbuster success of Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy, dozens of directors sought to copy his unique, realistic aesthetic to varying degrees of success.
Superhero films made before the year 2008 tended to be lighter in tone and had a more straightforward structure.
Superman Returns, for example, attempted to mirror the tone of the original 1978 classic to varying degrees of success. Indeed, the villains were cartoony and had absurd intentions. (Lex Luthor's real estate goals being an underwhelming reprise of the original movie) However, the film still had a retro charm not often seen in today's superhero movies.