Y'know, I was listening to a script doctor talk about this same issue and I remember thinking how odd his comments were, that these types of heroes don't have a core wound or a vulnerability. I think a lot of the evaluation of these films from some old Hollywood types comes from a misunderstanding of what these films are and do. Most people don't go see most films, and actors and filmmakers are no different. From the quote I saw from Mel Gibson, it's possible that Batman v Superman is the only superhero flick he's seen since, I dunno, '89 or '78. It's certainly the only one I've seen. And if all you saw were trailers for Marvel movies and BvS... wouldn't you have a similar opinion about superhero flicks? It's not like everyone is raving about RDJ's performance, or the nuanced story of Civil War after all. Because it's not really that nuanced, and the performances service the vehicle, but they don't really dominate it. Things that movies are beloved for aren't the same things movies used to be beloved for.
So, the more salient criticism I think stems from the reliance of these films on sentimentalized symbolism. I think Spielberg didn't realize that superhero films were going to soon become other types of films, just with people in spandex. And I think that's the rub, that a spy thriller is one thing, but if that spy thriller is Captain America: The Winter Soldier, then all of a sudden, it's gangbusters. That's really really weird for someone who didn't grow up saturated in comic book characters. The addition of Cap and the Bucky twist doesn't make CATWS a dramatically better film, but it makes it a much more appealing film. That connectivity, that banking on pop culture, that's new, that's weird, that's hard for someone whose not in it to really appreciate.
It also isn't strictly speaking a part of the *movie* but much more about how the viewer fills in the edges of the world around the movie. That also can invite critique. I think anyone predicting the end of this trend is barking up the wrong tree, since recycling symoblism is pretty much the uttermost expression of modern western culture, but hey... who knows what might happen in 20 years. Maybe silent films will make a comeback!
.
