With the announcement that Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger will be released in 3-D, comic-book movies have officially caught up with the rest of Hollywood. Whether we like it or not, 3-D is here to stay. But is this a good thing for our favorite superheroes? Fans are concerned that "up converting" (shooting in traditional 2-D and converting in postproduction) will result in muddy, less-than-stellar films that tarnish their beloved characters. (Witness the current backlash for The Last Airbender.)

While 3-D makes sense for the splashy adventures of Spider-Man, the trend could spell doom for the gritty, realistic world of Batman. Let's take a look at how 3-D could positively (and negatively) affect some upcoming comic-book-movie releases.

Thor
Next May, the Mighty Thor will be the first Marvel hero to battle evil in 3-D. (Though Superman Returns got the Imax treatment at select theaters, back in 2006.) The 3-D technology could be just what director Kenneth Branagh needs to bring Asgard to life. From Odin's palace to the rainbow bridge that connects the Earth to Asgard, the world of Thor is simply begging to be seen in more than two dimensions. (Besides, anyone worried about realism should pick up some Thor comics -- there's a lot of crazy stuff going on.)

Green Lantern
No speculating here: Warner Brothers has already confirmed that Ryan Reynolds will be wielding the Green Lantern ring in 3-D. As with Thor, 3-D could help Hal Jordan's chances at the box office. Fans will want to see all sorts of eye-popping creations from Green Lantern's ring, which can do whatever the wearer imagines. (Not to mention that the recently unveiled CGI costume will pop in 3-D.) Superhero cops battling aliens is exactly the sort of big-screen spectacle 3-D was made for.

Captain America: The First Avenger
While Marvel's Thor plans make sense, having Captain America punch out Nazis in 3-D smacks of bandwagon jumping. Cap's origin story should be a straightforward World War II tale, not an eye-popping extravaganza. (Outside of Cap's shield, what else could possibly leap from the screen? Bucky Barnes tossing liberty cabbage at Red Skull?) Meanwhile, director Joe Johnston is also wary, calling 3-D "overused" and "gimmicky" in the pages of the Los Angeles Times.

X-Men: First Class
With its cast in place (word is Kevin Bacon will play villain Sebastian Shaw), Matthew Vaughn's X prequel is all but guaranteed to get a 3-D makeover. After petering out with the flat X-Men: The Last Stand, the franchise could use a visual boost to get it back on track. We've yet to see Cyclops's optical blasts in 3-D, and with new mutants like Banshee and White Queen onboard the potential for nifty special effects has increased. Plus, getting a face full of Wolverine's claws could be pretty intense.

Untitled Batman Project
With news that the third Bat flick will commence production in April, fans are already speculating whether director Christopher Nolan will take the Caped Crusader into the third dimension. Considering that a follow-up to The Dark Knight is basically a license to print money, it's safe to say that DC Comics and Warner Brothers will push for 3-D, in an effort to inflate ticket prices. Word has it that Nolan would rather shoot entirely in Imax, in order to retain the epic look of his previous Batman outings. Here's hoping the great director sticks to his guns.

Nick Nadel writes for places like HBO and Asylum.com and is the "geek" blogger for GuySpeak.com. Follow the "Comic Book Movies" column on Twitter.  

This entry was posted on Monday, July 19th, 2010 at 10:01 pm and is filed under Movie Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.