I'm so glad it's Friday today.

[entangled_now]

So there was a trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens. I'm not really a huge Star Wars fan but everyone seems very happy. So I'm happy for you guys and your new Stars Wars movie.

Also, the Batman Vs Superman trailer teaser thingy appeared last night. And I just wanted to talk about DC movies for a bit before I head out.

Comments

[nausicaa83]

I agree so much. And judging from that picture of Momoa as Aquaman, it's dark and gritty and depressing in his realm as well. The sun has left the premises.

I understand how the goofy Superman movies of the 70s would not work on today's audiences, but Marvel did a movie with a talking racoon with a shotgun, and it was awesome. So there is a way to reach a happy compromise between more adult storylines, and the funny roots of the characters. After all, Daredevil, with its Taxi Driver setting and characters bleeding all over the place, is still part of the MCU. It works, to have a bit of all styles together.

Not to mention, DC comics have as many characters as Marvel, and yet they keep making Batman movies. For the casual audience, it looks like DC only has Batman. Even Superman acts like Batman now. I guess this whole planet is just... Gotham.

The good news is that, even if they replaced the director of the Wonder Woman movie, thankfully it's still a woman, the director of Monster. So at least there's that, a different perspective

[entangled_now]

Now, I'm very nervous about all the cameos of other Justice League members they want in this movie, because it's going to have to set the tone for all of them. Poor Aquaman. Trying to get a feel for anyone in a movie crammed with so much other stuff. It's going to be crazy.

Yes, exactly, Marvel isn't afraid to change up its styles and tones, try new things. But for DC everyone is dark, everything is despair! I get that a super-happy, bright Superman isn't what they want, and I get that and I think it's possible. But a Superman without any hope, optimism or heart isn't Superman at all.

DC feels so terrified of having anything slightly unrealistic, or humourous, or not grumpy-human-man based, because they think people won't go to see that. Then Guardians was basically a movie about a half-alien, set in space and full of blue, pink and green people, eighties music and raccoons and it made a billion dollars.

For the casual audience, it looks like DC only has Batman. Even Superman acts like Batman now. I guess this whole planet is

[nausicaa83]

Have you seen this? Some wonderful person took the Batman song from the Lego Movie and applied it to the Batman vs Superman trailer, and it's hilarious. Also exactly what we were talking about. :D

[entangled_now]

Ha! I can't take anything seriously while that music is playing, so it's perfect :D

[goldenusagi]

Aquaman looks pretty bleak, himself. Like he's the god of ruined oceans or something.

[entangled_now]

I now have this terrible fear that his whole movie is going to be full of pollution and dead whales!

[goldenusagi]

also I cannot find this trailer. Link?

[entangled_now]

It's not the actual trailer yet, it's shaky footage of the teaser that ended up online.

There's a copy here

[sandrine]

I don't think Zack Synder can do anything but dark and gloomy. Having said that, I think Man of Steel was an epic clusterfuck, which I tentatively put down to the script rather than the director, so I'm clinging to the hope that Dawn of Justice will be better.

Also, I generally have faith in Affleck and I don't think it's fair that the world seems to judge his performance solely on a number of messy movies he's done more than a decade ago when he's put in some strong performances much more recently (I think anything he's done since 2010 has been great).

[entangled_now]

I really wish they hadn't given him the reins to the DC universe. He's fun for the occasional spectacle but I think the Justice League needs more voices. I thought Man of Steel had some great visuals, and I liked the idea it was going for, and it showed the raw power of supers going at it pretty well. But it was just a mess, characters, dialogue, ratio of stuff to other stuff. Mess. I want to love movie Justice League, I really do, but they're making it so bloody hard.

Yeah, Affleck's much better now, and he knows how to direct stuff so with any luck they'll use that. He could end up being a really good Batman. But he needs to be surrounded by people who aren't just more versions of Batman.

[travels_in_time]

I don't read comics, but you've just articulated clearly why I don't go to DC movies, either. The ones I have caught were so depressing. And I loved Superman as a kid, in the old comics! And with Dean Cain and Christopher Reeve! I don't want to see him gritty and dark unless Richard Pryor is somehow involved. Until something changes, I will watch Marvel movies and reruns of "The Adventures of Lois and Clark".

[entangled_now]

Yes, I hear a lot of people saying that there is a way to make gritty Superman work, to make him sort of bleak and realistic. I agree with that, it's possible. But I think the mistake they're making is that a lot of people don't want a gritty superman, that he's that symbol of hope and optimism that you can come back to when you've had enough of all the gritty superheroes. When all the other godlike superbeings are crushing us underfoot and zapping us with lasers and turning us into squid people on a whim we'll always still know that Superman cares, and that he'll try to save us.

Only now he's apparently too busy looking sad in the rain.