1. Batman v Superman - To be honest, I'm not very keen on the idea of two superheroes fighting each other. To have two people who are trying to do good in this world, work against each other, forcing us to root for one of them to fail, just doesn't sit right with me. The film does a decent job of setting up a realistic reason for these two to be at odds with each other ("realistic" is a relative term in this case). And, just like any sane person expected, it is because of the destruction that occurred in Man of Steel. I was one of the few who couldn't care less about this destruction - it happens in every superhero movie, Man of Steel just emphasized it more. But it was nice to have some closure - and give people a reason to root for Batman (as if he needs it). I, for one, root for Batman, in this case, just because Ben Affleck did an AWESOME job of filling the cape. His Batman was different - darker, wiser, and a bit psychotic. Meanwhile, Henry Cavill still bores me as Superman. I hate using the word "boring" when describing Superman, because as a character, he is far from that, but I just don't think there has been a modern take on the character that has nailed the role. Cavill is so stiff and emotionless, and my interpretation of Superman is far from that (which is why I am LOVING the Supergirl tv show - it perfects the love that Supergirl has for humans and this planet).
2. DC v Marvel - Again, I don't understand the competition between the two. One can enjoy both, right? One can also have genuine criticism of either of them without it being part of an agenda, right? I would consider myself "new" to the comic book universe that lives on film - because I've never read any comics, all of my knowledge comes directly from these films. Although, I would say that my favorite superhero is Wonder Woman (I watched the tv show when I was a kid, and I love Greek mythology. I don't know her history in the comics, but I know her history as a feminist icon). If I were to base it solely on superheroes on film, I would say that my favorite superhero is Spider-Man. I love the first Iron Man movie, as well as the first Avengers movie, but I found it hard to sit-through several of the Marvel movies that followed (the Thor movies, the first Captain America movie, the second and third Iron Man movies). I absolutely love Batman Begins, but I have genuine criticism of both The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight rises. NONE of my criticism comes from whether I prefer DC or Marvel, it has to do with my love of films. So here is my criticism of Dawn of Justice:
3. Logic v Stupidity - It's not nearly as bad as some critics made it out to be. It's waaaaaay too long, it suffers from some poor editing choices, and the plot is a little all over the place, but overall I enjoyed it for what it was. I don't know where the hate for Zack Snyder came from, because he has such an interesting aesthetic; the one thing I can always say about his films is that they are so stunning to look at. The beginning of this movie was just so gorgeous - the images evoke emotions that are hard to imagine considering we've all seen Bruce's parents murdered several times. How did he still make that interesting? It's such a successful moment, that I have a hard time criticizing something so powerful. What I can criticize this movie for is the absolutely ridiculously dumb plot. First, if Batman was in Metropolis, then why didn't he help Superman defeat Zod? That would surely negate the whole purpose of this film, if, you know, they just worked together to begin with. Second, what the hell was the whole Africa thing about? Superman was framed for murdering people in Africa? Um...why? He's Superman, so he doesn't need a gun to kill people (which is how these people were murdered). Why would anyone believe that he did this? Third, don't even get me started on the "Martha" thing. Fourth, it seems like Superman always knows where Lois is, which is why he's always there to save her (blergh), ok fine, maybe he has some sort of sixth sense, right? But then why can't he figure out where Lex took his own mother? Fifth, the introduction of Wonder Woman was indeed awesome, but definitely felt unnecessary. Her entire part could have been cut and it wouldn't be a disservice to the film (it might actually help it). And why does Batman act like he doesn't know who she is at the end? He says "I thought she was with you", as if he hasn't already looked into her past. Sixth, as much as I kind of liked Eisenberg's Lex Luther (it was super weird and uncomfortable to watch, but at least it was interesting), I have no idea what it was that he was actually trying to do. Was his whole evil plot to create Doomsday? Because that felt like it was an accident. Anyway, I can probably list another 20 or so things wrong with the film, but I could probably do that with EVERY superhero movie. Instead, I choose to have fun with it.
No comments:
Post a Comment