I could generally care less what other people (critics, friends, endless beaters-of-the-same-drum here) think about a film once I've seen it. Unless they raise points I hadn't thought about. And then I'm very happy to read, engage, dissect and digest those opinions and critiques. If I still think they're wrong, so be it and I'll continue to enjoy thinking of, and rewatching that film. But if they make me look at something from a different angle, then fantastic. And, frankly, that's what most decent professional critics do. They look at media from an analytical standpoint, but promulgated by the
love for the medium. Many people write off professional critics based on the 500-word columns they get in the ever-shrinking publications. Many of those critics have written theses, books and taught about film. Sure, in the age of the internet where anyone with a webpage can pop-up a review and label themselves a "reviewer" or "critic", the notion of the Film Critic has been terribly watered down, and I understand people's reticence to homogeneously accept the blanket view.
I think the notion that genuine film critics would be bought off to help discredit a film laughable. The fact that this is targeting a minor subset of films and allegedly wrangled by a competitor that, frankly, makes so much money from its properties and ancillaries anyway, is again, laughable.
Marvel make competent and mostly enjoyable fluff. Only one film has really taken a stride to make something that has a real message or anything particularly knowing, but that doesn't stop the fact that many of the films are well made, well thought out, engaging entertainment, easily consumed and enjoyed. I'd love to see them take more risks, but that's not wholly likely and I've accepted that.
DC has attempted to try to add weight, conflicted drama and a harder tone to its efforts. I applaud the notion, but the execution has been woeful because the people they hire to make the films have no idea what dramatic weight or real emotion are. Further to this, they are encumbering themselves with nonsensical, contrived and ill-conceived plots and characters, leaving many people (myself included) little to grasp onto. Leaving only the visuals. It's like they took the comic book pages, saw Greg Capullo's, Jim Lee's, Jock's artwork, copied them for the screen, but forgot that the panels also include dialogue and characters and plots.
I want DC to work. I have no animus towards them, and I very much doubt the critics do either. I just want a well told story with some characters that make sense. Thus far they have failed miserably on these key fronts and until they accept that spectacle alone will not support a film, then fan and critical backlash will continue. Many of the Marvel films are simple 1-2-3 plots, but they have at least paid attention to what makes their characters work, honing them from film to film. For all its flimsiness, at least I walked out of
Ant Man thinking, "I wouldn't say no to seeing more of that Scott Lang.
WW looks to have a strong chance of bucking their recent trend, and I hope that the company accepts and feeds in the prior negative response. Critical self reflection of yourself is the only way to improve.
He did Ghost Rider and Daredevil.
I've not read any of your work
@Greg Cox , but having read the scripts for those films I'd say you had an uphill challenge. Kudos to you.
Hugo - trying to improve, day by day