Nerds rejoice! The Academy has recognized a comic book film this year! The raw and emotional end to Hugh Jackman’s portrayal as Logan, aka Wolverine, was a brilliant piece of cinema in 2017. The Academy has just recently announced the 2018 nominees, giving FOX’s Logan a Best Adapted Screenplay nod.
While this isn’t the first comic book movie to get nominated for an Oscar, but the majority of the time they are recognized for their visuals. For instance, this year Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 was given a nod for Achievement in Visual Effects. This is understandable though, as I don’t consider most superhero movies to be “Oscar material.” While I absolutely love anything from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, I can admit that these movies are made for pure joy and entertainment only. Infinity War may end up being my favorite movie of 2018, but I won’t expect to see it nominated for Best Picture in 2019.
However, Logan was a different type of superhero film. In Logan, we got a western disguised as a superhero flick. Its character-driven narrative is why critics held it in such high regard, currently holding a 93% on Rotten Tomatoes. It’s also worth noting how successful it was commercially, grossing well over $600,000,000 worldwide. It’s refreshing to see the Academy take notice for more well-known films and a superhero one at that. The fact that a screenplay adapted from a comic book was given award recognition gives all of us nerds hope for the future.
While Disney has acquired Fox and all its properties, Fox can at least say that two of its films have gotten prestigious award recognition. Just last year, Deadpool got two nominations at the Golden Globes for both Best Actor and Best Picture Comedy/Musical. It’s a good time to be a nerd!
