What was the last movie you've seen?

[isiolia]

Main consideration with applying that logic to most comic book movies is that the source material also tends to be problematic in that way. As adaptations, the MCU has done fairly well relative to many of the Sony or DC films.

[NotLuke]

don't think too hard

Barf. Barf on popcorn movies being accepted as dumb.

COCO
I'll need about a weekend to recover.

[samsonlonghair]

I think the reason I sometimes have trouble with “it’s fun if you don’t think too hard,” is that seems like almost every popular action film these days. I contend that an action or adventure film can have a coherent, reasonable story and good characters (villains and protagonists) and still be lots of fun. As much as I enjoy the Marvel films, I think they have lots of unecessary weaknesses that they don’t have to have. And pointing that out is often dismissed with “don’t think so hard.” It isn’t that I am thinking too hard. The films aren’t thinking enough.

don't think too hard

Barf. Barf on popcorn movies being accepted as dumb.

COCO
I'll need about a weekend to recover.

Alright, y'all are making it clear that you don't enjoy dumb popcorn movies. So here's my challenge to y'all: Name some action adventure movies that AREN'T dumb.

There are plenty of stylish action movies, sure. I can't think of very many action adventure flicks that also qualify as thoughtful. Blade Runner is the only one that comes to mind... maybe the first Matrix film qualifies. Some of the Alien movies are smart (smarter than others in the same franchise). The list starts getting short after that. Feel free to prove me wrong. If y'all can come up with a list of really smart action adventure films, I'd love to watch them.

[MrPopo]

I wouldn't really call Blade Runner an action movie, personally.

[ESauced]

Watched Spider-Man Homecoming and Jumanji Welcome to the Jungle.

I gotta say, I’ve been pretty burned out on most popcorn movies lately myself, all the Marvel ones start to blend together, but I really enjoyed both of these!

Spider-Man was a lot of fun and had some legitimately funny moments. Michael Keaton was great as a villain. I have to say, I like Sam Raimi, but this one takes the crown as best Spider-Man movie in my mind.

Jumanji is, by a large margin, the best video game movie ever made (or second to Scott Pilgrim if you count that). I mean obviously it’s not based on a real video game but it is inside of one and the video game aspect of it is a big part of the jokes. The Rock was charming and funny as usual, and Kevin Hart and Jack Black both had their moments. I did feel like they had some missed opportunities for jokes with the video game thing, but overall they did a good job with it.

[Ack]

There are plenty of stylish action movies, sure. I can't think of very many action adventure flicks that also qualify as thoughtful. Blade Runner is the only one that comes to mind... maybe the first Matrix film qualifies. Some of the Alien movies are smart (smarter than others in the same franchise). The list starts getting short after that. Feel free to prove me wrong. If y'all can come up with a list of really smart action adventure films, I'd love to watch them.

I'm not really involved in this conversation, but I can offer up a few suggestions for action films that tend to make me think:

First Blood - Focuses on the attitudes and prejudices of American citizens against US veterans post-Vietnam.
Conan the Barbarian - An undoubtedly conservative adaptation of the comic with a stoic emphasis on self-reliance.
Hard Boiled - An interesting look into the minds of police, one detective, one undercover, who unwittingly must go head to head and eventually join forces in the line of duty while making some mistakes in the heat of the moment.
Commando - A parody of the jingoistic US action film.
The Raid 2 - Combination of epic crime film and martial arts masterpiece from Indonesia.
Hardcore Henry - An experiment in filmmaking which provides a view from an angle that is far more up close than cinema traditionally goes.
Shoot 'Em Up - An over-the-top running gun battle that just as often mocks its genre and criticizes the society which enables it to be made as well as US attitudes towards firearms.
Ip Man - An excellent biographical examination of the events which led Ip Man to reevaluate patriotism and martial education in the wake of the Second Sino-Japanese War.
They Live - A paranoid sci-fi criticism of American consumerism.
District 9 - A look at apartheid, segregation, and xenophobia in South Africa, but done through a sci-fi setting where aliens take the place of ethnic minorities or underprivileged.

[marurun]

I didn't say they had to make me think, but it should allow me to want to think without immediately giving me a headache over how stupid it is. I shouldn't have to actually turn off my ability to think to enjoy a film. Stories of all types ask readers, listeners, viewers to suspend some of their disbelief, but too many "popcorn" films ask you to turn off any semblance of brain activity to the point that the plots literally don't make any sense. Sometimes other parts of the film are good enough I can overlook it, but I am getting pretty tired of it. There are plenty of great stories in other mediums that manage to be just as good if not better without asking me to suspend nearly as much disbelief. I want a movie that engages more than just my eye-holes. Take the latest Mad Max film, for example. It was an action-fest and I bought into it. I didn't have to completely turn my brain off. It had just enough depth to keep me engaged on most levels.

[MrPopo]

I rarely find the need to turn my brain off. People act stupidly in movies because people act stupidly in real life.

[marurun]

I rarely find the need to turn my brain off. People act stupidly in movies because people act stupidly in real life.

How characters act is only a portion of it. Also, since when must movies comport perfectly with real life?

[MrPopo]

Why should people in movies be better than real life?