Hey Pepe. I know it's not Monday, but LET'S TALK MOVIES!
Especially this one. First of all,
time to grab a knife and fork.
After listening to several reviews, I was surprised when Mrs. Adorkification confessed to me that she wanted to see the film.
But being the loving husband I am, I agreed. And I have to admit - it was better that I expected.
Now now...let me explain before you tear my head off.
As much as I disagree with the look and direction of the DCCU, the first thing this film told me was that both DC Comics and Warner Brothers are committed to it. They may have taken comments and reviews from MoS to heart, but anything they've altered to appease fans must have been done through dialogue and scene elements. The tone, the visuals, the scope of the DCCU were staying the same. They didn't suddenly change everything (like director or writer or set design) to "shut the fans up". They didn't waffle. They weren't wishy-washy. And despite my personal opinions about this Universe, I respect that.
On to the film. Ahead there be spoilers. Starting with...
...Batman's origin
Did we really need to see it? Again? No. But that's not what this was. This was the DCCU version of Batman's origin being told for the first time. That's important -
because anyone who's read DC Comics over the past several decades knows that if nothing else, the guys and gals over there tend to shake things up. Often.
Which is what I've been sayin' all along.
Then there's the connection to MoS.
Setting aside the unnecessary damage that battle caused, I understand why they showed it again here:
- They needed an event to bridge both (and possibly future) movies. I wouldn't be surprised at all if that fight comes up again in Wonder Woman, Flash, or Cyborg.
- They needed to show the fight from ground level to give that entire scene an everyman perspective. It just so happens that the 'everyman' here was Batman.
Speaking of Batman...
This version, both directly and indirectly, killed. A lot. And even though (like in Harry Tasker's case) "they were all bad", the Batman that I know doesn't kill. Ever. So why have him go that dark here?
There's your answer.
When Jason Todd died in the books, Bruce went dark. He went gritty. Borderline The Dark Knight Returns gritty. He didn't kill or carry a gun, but he thought less and fought more. It wasn't until Tim Drake entered Bruce's world that he started seeing the brighter side of life again.
However, it would have been nice if Snyder And Co. cut Batman's origin (for use in the future Batman stand-alone film) and added a flashback/dream with Robin to drive home the point, because that 8/10 of a second of screen time wasn't enough for those not-in-the-know.
Now. About the gun.
He needed it. The Batmobile had 'em. So did the Batwing. Those could be explained away because of Robin's death. He even used a rifle earlier in the film to plant the tracer (which kinda made no sense, but that's another issue). The gun he used here was needed to fire the kryptonite gas necessary to fight Superman. Without the gas, Bruce would have gotten his a$$ kicked every time he was within arm's reach of Clark. You know how I know? Because every time Bruce was within arm's reach of Clark, he got his a$$ kicked...until the gas kicked in. Plus, he needed it against Doomsday.
Now for the Superman part.
I get that he scares people s#!tless to the point of forcing him to appear before Congress to address his actions and their consequences...
...sound familiar?...
...but it bugged me that no one was pissed about Metropolis. He was called upon to answer for his actions in Africa?
The Hell?
Anyway, his walk through the building - in full costume - made me feel for the guy, because he looked a bit ridiculous in full garb surrounded by "regular people". But all that went away as he quietly (and gently) opened the gate to walk up to the podium. That spoke volumes to me.
Here's a guy who doesn't need this crap. He didn't have to be there, and he certainly didn't need to walk through that gate. He could have flown over it. But he didn't. He wouldn't. To me, that's Superman. I was also surprised that he wasn't blamed for blowing up the building.
It was all part of Luthor's plan.
For the record - I hate Kryptonite. I know why they created it in the radio show, and I know why it exists in the books, but in live-action stuff (including television) it's a cop-out. It screams "we don't know how to make this all-powerful character more interesting and relatable to fans, so we'll just write this rock into the thing to make it all better". Which...Is...
But having said that,
it made sense that Lex would use Kryptonite to create a weapon that could kill Superman. It also made sense that Batman would steal said Kryptonite from Luthor to weaponize in order to kill Superman. What I didn't expect was that Luthor was behind getting Batman to want to kill Superman. Coercing Clark to fight Batman by kidnapping Martha was typical Luthor, but how would Lex know that Batman would fight back? With the Kryptonite?
Exactly...
And in all my years as a comic fan, I never realized that Bruce's and Clark's mothers shared the same name.
I know...I know...
Then there's Lois' underuse in this film.
She could have interviewed Superman. She could have interviewed Bruce. She sure as s#!t shouldn't have given away that precious bullet that seemed so important for only the first half of the film. But all was forgiven during the fight with Doomsday.
She saved Superman. Not Clark. Superman.
How could he hear Lois' struggle during all of that fighting? He loves her. I can hear my wife's voice in a crowded room. That gets a pass. But when he saved her from drowning, and she told him where the spear was, he went in after it - knowing it's Kryptonite. Lois stayed there, and when he was drowning because of the Kryptonite, she saved him. That was the best use of Lois in the movie ('cause Clark could have easily said "It's my mother's name!"), and the single best use of Kryptonite I've ever seen.
Okay. It had a ring of Superman: The Movie to it...but it was Lois this time, making it more of a moment.
How about that Wonder Woman intro?
I liked that she didn't "suit up" until the final battle. And she kicked a$$. I admit to feeling a Xena vibe to the point of expecting her to throw her shield all chakram-like, but I'm glad she didn't. I also liked that she was photographed back in World War I instead of the 1940's.
Which would have been too on the nose, even though it would have been accurate.
Plus, it was just enough for me to want to see Wonder Woman, so...points for that.
But more would have been better.
As for the rest of the League,
I'm not a fan of the casting decision for Flash. I don't know Ezra Miller from anything, and am probably too used to Grant Gustin in the suit. Plus, his use here in the video footage stopping the robbery was 'meh' at best. If that was him telling Bruce about Lois, they should have at least made his outfit more visible.
Jason Momoa doesn't look a thing like Arthur Curry, so who knows what that's about, but I'm willing to see what they do with him. His cameo here was only slightly better than Miller's.
Ray Fisher's Cyborg cameo was the best. He didn't have any lines other than a yell, but I'd see that movie too.
Like it or hate it, the DCCU's here to stay. So we better get used to it.
I'm not gonna knock it just because it's DC...like that one guy we overheard talking to his friend as we left the theater -
Guy #2 "So, what did you think? Worth it?"
Guy #1 "Not at all."
Guy #2 "Really?"
Guy #1: "Just goes to show that Marvel's good and DC sucks."
The debate continues...
No comments:
Post a Comment