MCU Star Says Marvel Movies Are Childish In The Best Possible Way
If you want to rile up the average Marvel fan, you only need to say one word: “childish.” To the countless fans who take this franchise way too seriously, the most insulting thing you can do is imply that movies meant to sell comic books, action figures, and video games may be more immature than the average Hollywood movie. However, one of the franchise’s biggest actors has now described these movies as being childish in the best possible way: according to Elizabeth Olson, Marvel’s heavy use of CGI means performers are “acting with nothing” and “feel like a 7-year-old playing make-believe.”
Elizabeth Olsen Had To Channel Her Inner-Child
Before any superfans try to burn the Scarlet Witch at the stake, it’s important to consider the context for Elizabeth Olsen’s comment about Marvel movies. She simply noted that the heavy use of green screen means that actors must channel their imagination to get an idea of what the final scene will look like with all of the VFX added in. She noted how actors “really have to embrace this dumb point of view” of young children “playing make-believe” but was quick to underscore how difficult this acting really is.
Marvel Acting Isn’t Easy
While some old-school movie fans decry directors going all-in on CGI (George Lucas led the way for this approach with Star Wars prequels), others dismiss these performances because they think computer artists are doing all the heavy lifting.
This is a mindset that Elizabeth Olsen would like to push back against, and she thinks the best way to prove how difficult Marvel performers have it is to release a special edition of at least one film. “I do believe that at some point they should release a full version of one of the movies, without any of the special effects so people can see how hard it is.”
Elizabeth Olsen Had To Work Extra Hard
We never really thought about it before reading Elizabeth Olsen’s comments, but she likely had it even harder than some of her Marvel colleagues when it came to working with CGI. Actors like Chris Evans and Chris Hemsworth get to at least carry around props (a shield and a hammer, respectively) that help them visualize how their characters are laying the smackdown on various villains.
Meanwhile, all of Olsen’s witchy-woman powers must be animated via CGI, and she must somehow try to take scenes seriously while just waving her hands in the air.
Marvel Is Meant To Be Childish
Elizabeth Olsen’s comments about Marvel movies being childish focused entirely on acting around the CGI, but we would argue that the MCU would be stronger if it hearkened closer to the simple tales of good and evil that captivated us all as children.
For example, one of the big reasons Eternals bombed is that it was a broody meditation on living forever…something that wouldn’t exactly make for a page-turning comic. Meanwhile, Deadpool & Wolverine is a success because it embraced what we all loved from comics when we were younger: great humor, cool action, and hilarious character interactions.
Elizabeth Olsen Returning To Marvel?
All of this is to say that for our money, not only could the MCU get a bit more childish but it may need to do so in order to survive. And speaking of survival, it feels like only a matter of time before Agatha All Along brings Elizabeth Olsen’s Scarlet Witch back to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Let’s just hope that episode doesn’t end the way WandaVision did: in a plodding CGI battle forgotten by everyone as soon as the credits star rolling.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
