The discussion and debate around Marvel movies and their visual style (or lack thereof) is something that the internet likes to bring back every once in a while. While the MCU is very beloved and the movies are always huge box office successes, there are still a lot of people who don't understand the Marvel hype. Obviously, this is bound to happen because art is subjective, but the question of whether or not Marvel movies should even be considered "art" is the whole issue.Objectively, any movie can technically be called "art" because it is a creation with some degree of thought and effort put into it by the people who crafted it (in most cases). However, the argument that has been circulating online recently is that Marvel movies really lack visual flair, and that they don't even try to make them look good because they know these movies will make a ton of money anyway. Is there any validity to this argument, and should Marvel movies (and other superhero/franchise movies in general) try harder to actually make their films more visually appealing?A lot of fans have argued that a movie doesn't need to look amazing to be valuable or entertaining. And this is true; there are many movies out there that aren't anything spectacular in the visual department but are still fun watches. Bad cinematography doesn't always take away from good acting performances or a good script if the movie has those elements, and it's possible for a film to succeed if it only has those things going for it.
However, the argument against the MCU's visual style is a little more complicated than that. Sure, the movies might still be enjoyable without any effort put into the camerawork, but does that mean they shouldn't even try? If these stories are being told in a visual medium like film, that means that they should be taking advantage of that very medium they're working with and do their best to make it the best it can be. It's not like Marvel is lacking money or resources, so it's a little insane that they really do the bare minimum as far as visual style goes.This isn't to say that every Marvel movie looks terrible; in fact there are many that take on a bit of the director's own style in small ways, and most MCU movies have at least a few really good shots. The older MCU movies especially tend to be more stylistic, because they were made before the MCU started trying to make every movie fit perfectly within the universe. However, despite the occasional interesting visual, the MCU as a whole really falls flat in that department, with a lot of the shot composition looking a little too basic and lifeless at times.Even the MCU movies that have a little bit of flair (such as Thor: Ragnarok) still have to fall into the overall Marvel style and fit within that, so they can't stray too far outside the box. This, however, is very limiting and means that a lot of these movies aren't reaching their full visual potential. It just comes off as very lazy when no effort is put into making the cinematography interesting and every movie looks exactly the same. This isn't to say that the people who work on these movies aren't talented, because they are, and they clearly put a lot of time and effort into what they're doing, but it seems like Marvel as a studio isn't letting that talent totally shine through.
A good example of this is lighting, which was one of the arguments brought up on Twitter during the discussion of Marvel's lack of visual style. The conversation was actually sparked by Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, as fans were comparing shots from the trailer to some of Marvel's previous movies, in hopes that director Sam Raimi might be taking a more art-forward approach with the movie. Twitter user @LanceStLaurent compared a shot of Doctor Strange from Spider-Man: No Way Home and one from Multiverse of Madness to showcase the small - but important - differences between the two. The Multiverse of Madness shot actually has some interesting lighting, and doesn't look like the most simple form of the shot imaginable was taken.
Many Marvel fans are going to claim that MCU movies don't need good lighting or cinematography to be enjoyable, and while that may be partially true, it's kind of ridiculous to claim that lighting and shot composition aren't incredibly important concepts in filmmaking. In fact, elements like that are pretty much essential to the process of filmmaking, and it's a bit concerning that Marvel (and Marvel fans) think it's exempt from needing to include those elements because the MCU isn't supposed to be "pretentious" or "artsy".
The very things that the MCU movies are based on - comic books - are very clearly pieces of art, and yet that same care often isn't put into the films. Why even adapt a story from a comic book if you aren't going to try to make it as visually appealing as possible? Marvel has moved into convenience mode, where every shot is as simple as possible, and many of these movies aren't shot on location anymore and are instead just filmed in front of massive green screens in a parking lot in Atlanta. This is why they're able to pump out so much content so easily, but it's coming at the expense of the films being visually appealing, which should literally be the bare minimum requirement for a halfway decent movie.
There are franchise films that have managed to have great visuals in the past, such as Lord of the Rings. Shooting them on location in New Zealand really lent a lot of depth and realism to the shots, but beyond that, it's clear that effort was put into making the cinematography look good, and not just "good...for a franchise film". It would be very possible for Marvel to do this too, but it seems like as long as fans keep accepting the bare minimum of visual style from them, their output is going to continue to be just that.
What's the solution here? Maybe it's to let directors and cinematographers put more of their personal style into the movies they make, rather than trying to make every MCU film look essentially the same. Maybe it's to start experimenting more now that the MCU is so established and will be successful no matter what they put out. No matter what, the MCU needs to do something to start regaining some visual flair, because otherwise the movies are just going to feel like cash cows rather than stories that needed to be told in a distinctly visual medium.