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Devin Faraci: What BvS’ Second Week Drop Means For The DC Movieverse

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Let's dispel once and for all with this fiction that Kenneth Branagh doesn't know what an epic is.

Seriously though, whether you like the movie or not, Thor 1 hits most points which would define an epic. I mean they would have to really shit the bed for it not to considering the source material.
 

Harmen

Member
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Laughing my ass off here.

But I do agree with the guy to some extent, part of the variation between the films comes from influences from different genres. Thor is by no means a mythological epic, but there are many parts in that film that definitely resemble such an film. In the same manner most of the MCU solo films have their own thing going on, even though the tone is universal.
 
I see Suicide Squad as a betrayal to DC's belief as the movie seems to have too much fun. If you want fun movie, go watch those shallow Marvel films.

I dont watch DC films for fun. I watch them for the dark and gritty, deep, though provoking aspects.

I prefer future DC films to be more like BvS. It makes the audience thinks a lot and makes them feel sad (over the fate of a character) after the movie.

I LOVE DC's serious tone, but come the fuck on BvS wasn't good, jumbled mess, edited by an idiot director..
 

KonradLaw

Member
Laughing my ass off here.

But I do agree with the guy to some extent, part of the variation between the films comes from influences from different genres. Thor is by no means a mythological epic, but there are many parts in that film that definitely resemble such an film. In the same manner most of the MCU solo films have their own thing going on, even though the tone is universal.

I think the problem is they're afraid to take a final leap and fully commit to their influences. Winter Soldier and Ant Man are the biggest examples, where the movies start as superhero adaptations of different genres, but in third act they get scared and resort to safe, but boring epic confrontation, instead of sticking with the initial style through the end.

Hopefully now they're so wildly successful they will be willing to take more chances.
 
I'll definitely say, as someone who defaults to disliking much of the superhero adaptations (though currently I'm 1 for 1 on TV shows - loving Jessica Jones, warts and all!), Marvel still does a bit better at being diverse in its genres, but it still isn't good. I want movies where the superhero setting is incidental rather than being the defining element of the show. The Avengers, to me, is a superhero movie, whereas GotG is a space opera about superheroes. I'm kind of rambling, but basically what I want out of superhero movies is for them to give each movie its own identity that sets it apart from the rest. So, how about a superhero movie in the horror genre? Or a very complex sci-fi film (like 2001 complex) about superheroes? Romantic comedy about superheroes? That shit would be neat.

But again, Marvel may not do well at that, but they do better than DC in my experience. I'd love to see them try to adapt Watchmen again - Snyder's work on it wasn't half bad, but it could have been way better, and it definitely doesn't feel like something that would be just another superhero movie.
 
Laughing my ass off here.

But I do agree with the guy to some extent, part of the variation between the films comes from influences from different genres. Thor is by no means a mythological epic, but there are many parts in that film that definitely resemble such an film. In the same manner most of the MCU solo films have their own thing going on, even though the tone is universal.

It's reminiscent of the Assassin's Creed games to me. They retain a general tone and core structure while bolting different settings and characters onto it. One year it's pirates, next year its Parisian mobs but you pretty much know what to expect on a basic level and you go into it hoping that this year's creative team has done a good job with it.
 
Still though - the counterproductive conventional wisdom regarding the viability of animation as the primary means of theatrical comic book adaptation is partially why it's still such a touchy struggle to get any of these stories told half as well as we'd all like them to be. That not a single studio has even attempted to take a popular superhero and use Pixar as a model instead of Burton/Donner/Whedon... it's fucking baffling.

"How do we translate this visual medium into another visual medium?"
"I know! Let's drain the color out of everything, chain everything to semi-realistic physics, burden the storytelling with "real world" excuses for why people are doing these superhuman things, and limit how long we can keep this up due to actors getting old/tired/sick of the bullshit."
"...I was thinking maybe we like, just make the pictures we already have, like, yunno... move?"
"SHUT UP IDIOT AND GET ZACK SNYDER ON THE FUCKING PHONE NOW"
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Edit: They don't even have to do Pixar. They could easily pull a Tintin and have a slightly exaggerated realistic style.
Y'know, for a few properties that would benefit from it.
 

Crocodile

Member
The good news is that it's just low-key enough, and just under the radar enough that the only people who would actually want to adapt it are the very people who know such a task is supremely fuckin impossible, and wouldn't even try.

Still though - the counterproductive conventional wisdom regarding the viability of animation as the primary means of theatrical comic book adaptation is partially why it's still such a touchy struggle to get any of these stories told half as well as we'd all like them to be. That not a single studio has even attempted to take a popular superhero and use Pixar as a model instead of Burton/Donner/Whedon... it's fucking baffling.

"How do we translate this visual medium into another visual medium?"
"I know! Let's drain the color out of everything, chain everything to semi-realistic physics, burden the storytelling with "real world" excuses for why people are doing these superhuman things, and limit how long we can keep this up due to actors getting old/tired/sick of the bullshit."
"...I was thinking maybe we like, just make the pictures we already have, like, yunno... move?"
"SHUT UP IDIOT AND GET ZACK SNYDER ON THE FUCKING PHONE NOW"

Just swinging by to say BLESS THIS POST <3
 
Fury Road and TDK barely feature characters having any fun at all - maybe 2 minutes of Bruce Wayne verbal sparring or mocking somebody for wearing hockey pants. They're fun movies to watch, although TDK does enter into the same extremely dark territory that BvS does and near the end it gets emotionally draining. The difference is those two films have much tighter scripts and fewer instances of audience expectations getting thrown out the window. Better editing and no shoehorned universe building stuff either.

A film being fun isn't the same thing as characters having fun. Fury Road is a fucking 2 hour car chase with flamethrower guitar dudes, explosions left and right. It's a fun fucking movie.

The Dark Knight is a tight, compelling, intense crime thriller. The film moves along with a fast pace, twists and turns, and a transfixing performance by Ledger, and even a little bit more humor and "quips" than BvS. Even though it does go to some very dark places, it earns those moments because you've been having such a good time with the world and characters up to those points that you're emotionally invested.

BvS spends it's first 90-100 minutes with little in the way of humor, action, fun character moments, or strong pacing. By the time the action does finally get started after you've already watched a shorter film's entire length in running time, you're likely checked out of the film emotionally unless you're an absolute die-hard fan for these characters. By the time you get to the actual Batman Vs. Superman fight, you're probably not going to give a shit about either of these characters. It does have some interesting political and philosophical thematic work, but as a crowd-pleaser, it's an absolute failure.
 
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