Spoilers Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice - Grading & Discussion
- Thread starter Commander Richard
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Not really. The previous movie made about $650 million. By the end of today, they are predicting it will be up to $525 million.
And I'd rather not have the movies do something just becuase the comics did it. Hell if being interpreted in different way is good enough for characters like Sherlock Holmes and Dracula I don't see why isn't good enough for a supporting character in a comic book.
Anyone remember Captain America dying at the end of Marvel's "Civil War" crossover? Marvel Execs might possibly be very pissed right now.
And not everything has to be so damn depressing and cynical like this movie was either.
And THAT is my point. A section of the fanbase want the movies to do it BECAUSE the comics did it. To see beloved comic book characters translated into live action with the best effects current money can buy. Not your cup of tea, as I said before, fine. Doesn't invalidate the criticism of those who want to see something different than you do.
BvS was pretty dark in the theater where I saw it. In some scenes it was kind of hard to tell what was going on. I wish they would turn up the brightness on the projector.
Kor
In my local theater they've gotten into the habit of turning the lights on as soon as the credits start. Ugh, so lame. Good thing there wasn't an after-credits scene, though a bunch of people waited until the very end just in case.
If it had, you know:
- A fluid story structure. It's not a difficult plot to follow by any means, but so much of Lex's shennanigans are clear overload to try to add "commplexity" and just lead to clutter.
- Clearly defined and rational character arcs - I for one don't believe that Superman has learnt a damned thing from MoS and in fact appears to almost have taken steps back. Lex is an ego maniac, or a genius seeing a future no one else can, or a nutbar, or being controlled by someone else, or filled with daddy issues...
- 2-3 less dream sequences
- A director that had an actual handle on the emotional beats of the characters
- No forced requirement to shoehorn in extraneous DC characters as seeds for future "events" - be it prophetic sequences, Wonder Woman going to the ATM, or the Flash buying milk, all of them dragged the pace and added nothing to the actual story (Marvel needs to cut this shit out too, btw - grrr Thor nightswmming grr)
This film frustrates the heck out of me and has done so from the first scene. There are some great things in here:
- ALL of the actors give their best - Their characters may be trite and plot-servicing only and there are some severely questionable directorial/writing choices, but even Eisenberg sells the crazy amount of crazy that Snyder was for some reason after. Affleck nails an utterly desolate and broken Batman, Cavill does what he can with "Stoic McStoic-y" and all of the sideline cast ahve clear fun with their dialogue.
- There are some very resonant ideas about God-hood/vengeance/loneliness/power, but each one is just mentioned and never fully explored, or utterly undermined. Supes has a weird sequence with his Earth Dad about unintended consequences, which would have been an interesting play on his burgeoning power, if he hadn't planted a human man through two brick walls earlier in the film. That man ain't a metahuman or a man in a metal suit. He's kaput, tot, snuffed it.
- Snyder put out two great Batman action sequences showing his resilience and resourcefulness. Shame he's out and out killing people left right and centre. Not MY kind of Batman, but not an horrific interpretation overall.
- Batman does some detective work.
- Batmans ruthfulness does have a sense of history about it and I am grateful the film decided to not try and flesh this out too - though watch out for the Ultimate Cut!
- Wonder Woman, Batman and Superman vs Doomsday. Not Doomsday itself, or the reason it was there or its look, but rather the Super-Trio working together. Felt nice, especially Diana crashing the party
- Some great iconic Comic Book Imagery.
This film has seen the largest Box Office Audience Drop Off between Friday and Sunday ever seen in a tentpole picture. With a 55% drop off between Friday and Sunday. It will make money, no doubt. Age of Ultron saw a 40% drop off over its weekend and still made $1.4billion world wide. But this film will be heavily dependant upon how big a weekly drop off the international markets show as that is where these films typically have legs these days.
That was a longer post than intended. Apologies, but it had to come out and now everyone can ignore it
Hugo - That's how it starts. The fever, the rage, the feeling of powerlessness that turns good men... cruel
And if there were a great many of them their comics probably wouldn't have had a major reboot a few years ago. And a major blockbuster is except to make way more than a comic book.
The ONLY time he called Superman friend was when he rescued Martha and said "I'm a friend of your son". That was more to let her know he was one of the good guys and she shouldn't fear him. Basically Batman had his "this man is not our enemy" moment like the solider from the first movie.
Well, they have not been slavishly following their comic book versions of the stories when translating them to the screen - and I kind of doubt Chris Evans as 'Captain America' won't be a part of Avengers 3&4 (The Infinity War) films.
^^^
The above said, there WAS the time 'The Falcon' became 'Captain America' for a time when Steve Rogers lost his powers.
Good post and echoes lot of my feelings. Not terrible acting (hello, serious Oscar winners/nominees), some nice iconic imagery, nascent ideas. I'm not even going to hate on Eisenberg, who was consistent and good even if not the Luthor needed.
But the script/plot was a mess (unless Snyder fucked it up in directing). I suspect the director's cut will be fun and fill in some gaps.
Gave it a B as faults notwithstanding, enjoyed it for what it was.
Irons was great. Probably the most enjoyable Alfred I've seen.
And Marvel movies do, while being reasonably faithful to their comic book counterparts, whether Ultimate or 616 in nature. Which is perhaps why the Marvel movies are a bit more universally praised than this movie which seems a bit more divisive.
Regardless, he still put aside all that anger and animosity awfully quick at the end. And seemed to completely forget about the threat that he (very strongly) felt Superman might one day become.
Yeah Iron Man 2 was a stunning adaption of Demon in a Bottle, and hey remember when SHIELD was reveled to be a front for HYDRA in the original Winter Solider comic and was subsequently dissolved, or how Hank Pym is an older retired super hero in the comics with an adult daughter, or Peter Parker's classic Spider-Man costume was given to him by Tony Stark.