It might be common knowledge by now, but with the flood of superhero movies in Hollywood during the past five years I can't help but see it as a well constructed ploy by big time movie producers. It may have worked for some time, though after a dozen heroes resurrected onto the silver screen I'm just about ready to throw up.

I was watching an episode of Entourage the other day. Vinny, the main character, was being considered for the role of Aquaman. Everyone wanted him to take it. For one, he would make a ton of money, and also it would help boost his career. I thought about the second reason and how it rings true in Hollywood today. Superhero movies are a just a catalyst for a certain actor's or actresses' career. Producers choose a promising actor (without any thoughts for casting or auditions), inject them into a superhero movie, promote them like crazy, and then hope that they are nominated for an Oscar by their next movie. Ben Affleck might have won an Oscar before he did Daredevil, but his name was still attached to Matt Damon then. While in Halle Berry's case, doing Catwoman was just a terrible decision.

On the other hand, the producers aren't the only ones to blame. The other thing that bothers me is that people still flock to the theaters whenever a superhero movie comes out. We can consider some of them as old fans of the comic books. However, comic book fans are usually disappointed with movie renditions anyway. Sure a superhero movie looks cool. Even I have to admit that the production value is way up there, with hundreds of extras and really well done effects and scenes. But we get to see that in the preview. I don't have to watch the whole movie to see that nice chase scene between the Silver Surfer and the Human Torch.

My one advice, besides not watching any more superhero flicks, is to keep your children away from these kinds of movies. Not only will you save money from buying useless merchandise that your kid wants after watching the latest hero on screen (i.e. mediocre action figures and plastic lunch boxes), but it also helps filter their conventions for quality films. I could also argue that superhero movies are naturally violent, but I'll leave that for the soccer moms to point out.

It's annoying to think that Hollywood producers are simply making fun of us. It seems that they want us to fall into their trap of big budgeted marketing. They make us think that spending millions of dollars on a movie assures its quality. When all is said and done, they think of us (the audience) as fools who are all the more ready to eat up anything they put out as long as it looks cool.