Why Action-Babe Movies Flop

Washington Monthly Article by Christina Larson: Seven Mistakes Superheroines Make Why the latest action-babe flicks flopped.

Two of these action-babe movies of interest to me are Elektra and Catwoman. I saw neither, nor did I have an inkling of desire to see them. Elektra stars Jennifer Garner of Alias fame and Catwoman was, of course, Halle Berry.

Now, someone must have filled these women's heads with nonsense, because they seem to be under the impression that men will die to see them in scantilly clad outfits. Both movies were basically, "come get me, boys!" They did not even try to push a plot or storyline, their ads and trailers were all about sex(iness). They seem to think if they showed enough skin that men would come tripping over themselves to watch the movies. How idiotic!

These days, if men are that desparate to see women in revealing ways, it is only a mouse click away (unfortunately) and through the internet, men now view thousands of women that are far more beautiful than either one of those stars. So why would a man pay $7 to see Halle Berry in sexy tights, when he can gratify that need for free through the internet? The same holds true for Charlie's Angels 2 and Lora Croft 2. The marketing of those movies already precludes a female audience, so it is clear that they expect men to come flocking.

We also see a similar problem in the TV show Alias with Jennifer Garner. At every opportunity they find, she's in a sexy outfit and men just can't resist her charms as she does her spy work. Stupido! Drop the sex stuff, it only cheapens the actress and the show. There are much better and classier ways to capture erotic energy than imitating playboy. An analogical example is M. Night Shamalayan. Let's pretend that his latest movie, the Village, didn't happen. One strength of M. Night is that, like Stephen King, the horror is in your head, you really don't get to see much. You hear sounds, scuffles, or you don't know what's going to happen, etc and that messes with your mind, just like the Blair Witch Project. In the same way, if movie producers want to capitalize on Halle Berry's beauty or Jennifer Garner, you don't have to get all gauche. Get tasteful, put in a plot, make interesting characters, get somethings blowed up, and you'll get men in there.

It just goes to show that Hollywood does not respect, nor understand its male audiences. Those who need to see Berry as Eve will stay home anyway and those who are turned off by the blatant sexualiztion will stay home.

Oh, BTW, the article reference above gives different reasons. I think I agree with it.