Do Marvel Movies Actually Look Ugly? [Video Essay]

Even if you're not the biggest fan of superhero movies, you can't deny that Marvel Studios has executed their plan to build a cinematic universe containing their comic book characters rather skillfully. Every single movie they release is a hit, even if some of them aren't critically received very well.

But no matter how good each Marvel Studios movie is, they each have their problems, and many of them share some common issues such as weak villains and non-important female characters existing only assist the major male superheroes. But a new video essay calls attention to what the creator sees as another problem shared by most Marvel movies: they look ugly.

Find out why they think Marvel movies look ugly after the jump.

Saying that Marvel movies look ugly is an oversimplification of the matter at hand. As the video explains, what it comes down to is a lack of proper color grading due to there being no true black on screen at any given time. Using comic books as an example, it's easy to see what creator Patrick (H) Willems is saying.

But rather than just pointing out that Marvel movies look ugly and that's that, Willems takes a few seconds to show how the color grading in a Marvel movie can be improved. The modified shots from various Marvel movies look much better color wise when compared to what we've seen on the big screen.

Furthering this argument, Willems shows movies that have been shot with the same camera used on some Marvel movies and even the same cinematographer, and the color grading is leaps and bounds better in the non-Marvel movies. And this appears to be one area in which DC has surpassed Marvel in quality.

But maybe this is just a matter of opinion. Do you think that Marvel movies look a bit ugly?