DC Getting Their Act Together

[KingsGambit_v1legacy]

I didn't like the dark and gritty aesthetic or 9/11 thrill-ride that Man of Steel was. The only characters portrayals I liked were Zod and Perry White. I didn't care about Kal-El killing Zod. I don't think "rules" like that belong in films, while they're fine in comic books. Film audiences are not the same as the comic book audiences (though a lot of comic fans will watch the films). Superman Returns was a significantly better Superman film than Man of Steel was, and that film was just "alright". I didn't mind Lois Lane too much, I thought at the very least she was better than Bosworth.

The main thing with Superman is that he's thoroughly dull, particularly compared to Clark Kent. Watching Supes destroy buildings for 45 minutes was tedious. Watching Clark Kent eye a phone booth while trying to extricate himself from conversation...that's interesting. Superman II is the best Superman film there has been, because of how well it focused on the characters. I still remember the arm-wrestling bit with the women, the mute guy trying to use heat vision on a stick and carrying the police siren with him.

I didn't like a great deal about the Batmans either. Liam Neeson was superb, the Scarecrow was very good, the Joker was pretty good and Bane wasn't particularly exciting. I thought the stupid "Batman voice" was stupid; since when does Batman put on a stupid voice when he has the mask on? I did like the continuity, even though, as MovieBob points out, all three films are pretty much the same story. I didn't like the aesthetic much. Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman were both brilliant.

I don't think DC are on the right track. They've only done stuff for two of their heroes (I'm not acknowledging Green Lantern) and they were generally let downs with only small glimmers of good stuff. A Justice League film, based on the last 4 DC films, will not succeed and will probably not be very good.

 

[KazeAizen]

I didn't like the dark and gritty aesthetic or 9/11 thrill-ride that Man of Steel was. The only characters portrayals I liked were Zod and Perry White. I didn't care about Kal-El killing Zod. I don't think "rules" like that belong in films, while they're fine in comic books. Film audiences are not the same as the comic book audiences (though a lot of comic fans will watch the films). Superman Returns was a significantly better Superman film than Man of Steel was, and that film was just "alright". I didn't mind Lois Lane too much, I thought at the very least she was better than Bosworth.

The main thing with Superman is that he's thoroughly dull, particularly compared to Clark Kent. Watching Supes destroy buildings for 45 minutes was tedious. Watching Clark Kent eye a phone booth while trying to extricate himself from conversation...that's interesting. Superman II is the best Superman film there has been, because of how well it focused on the characters. I still remember the arm-wrestling bit with the women, the mute guy trying to use heat vision on a stick and carrying the police siren with him.

I didn't like a great deal about the Batmans either. Liam Neeson was superb, the Scarecrow was very good, the Joker was pretty good and Bane wasn't particularly exciting. I thought the stupid "Batman voice" was stupid; since when does Batman put on a stupid voice when he has the mask on? I did like the continuity, even though, as MovieBob points out, all three films are pretty much the same story. I didn't like the aesthetic much. Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman were both brilliant.

I don't think DC are on the right track. They've only done stuff for two of their heroes (I'm not acknowledging Green Lantern) and they were generally let downs with only small glimmers of good stuff. A Justice League film, based on the last 4 DC films, will not succeed and will probably not be very good.

The Justice League film will only take stuff from Man of Steel and beyond. Batman honestly does put on a different voice when he puts on the mask. The thing is that Christian Bale just made a very extreme contrast and sadly that extreme contrast wasn't exactly the best. Go back and watch Batman the animated series or Justice League and listen to Kevin Conroy as Batman and Bruce. There are differences, subtle differences, but differences in the way he talks while he's Bruce and while he's Batman.

 

[MrGonzales]

I like the idea of DC going dark and edgy. I would be fine with Marvel now being lighthearted fun, and DC being gritty and bleak. But DC's current products suck. They have mistaken darkness for quality, and almost everything they currently make shows it. Man of Steel was an awful movie, and not because it was dark or it differed from the comics. It was bad because it had characters with no personality, intelligence, or depth (though the movie tries to pretend otherwise) terrible pacing, random jumps from past to present, and a third act that was almost entirely a prolonged fight scene in which I couldn't possibly care less about any of the characters.

Also, Zod's killing itself isn't bad, but the lazy way it was done most certainly is. If Superman can turn his neck to break it, why can't he just turn it away from the people. And why is he sad afterwards, when the film has given absolutely no hint that this version of Superman is against killing. Comic Superman tries to never kill, this is a well known fact, but movie Superman is obviously going to be different and as such you have to establish what his ideals are, which the movie never even tries to do. There are plenty of other annoyances, but those are the big ones. It had a couple of good parts, like young Clark's powers going out of control, but those do not redeem an entire film that is boring, stupid, and pretentious.

Dc really needs to start making stuff that is actually good, and it really doesn't matter if it is light or dark. The Demon Knights comic was great, and ridiculously dark with morally ambiguous "heroes", regular acts of murder, damnation to hell, and mass slaughter of innocent villagers. But it wasn't great because of those, it was because of the characters having distinct, clashing personalities, the bits of humor, the occasional breather moments to balance things out, and the desperate and epic feel of the series. A dark or light tone can enhance a work, but neither will automatically make it good.

 

[TekMoney]

I meant it that DC cancels all these shows because its scared of the mainstream and what it would think.

Its so scattered and so unfocused because its source material would be offensive or alien to viewers. So it has to invent on-the-fly new stories in a very short time.

Yeah I don't think that's true. And even if it were the case that wouldn't have applied to Preacher and Fables. They made The Dark Knight at the same time as Batman RIP. And that right there shows that alien source material isn't the concern.

 

[TekMoney]

I meant it that DC cancels all these shows because its scared of the mainstream and what it would think.

Its so scattered and so unfocused because its source material would be offensive or alien to viewers. So it has to invent on-the-fly new stories in a very short time.

Yeah I don't think that's true. And even if it were the case that wouldn't have applied to Preacher and Fables. They made The Dark Knight at the same time as Batman RIP. And that right there shows that alien source material isn't the concern.

Comics are much more different than the TV, movies, and other shows. The dark knight and others were just cobbled together to sell in a shorter time than they write the comics.

DC can't show its actual source material without butchering it to be more what the audience expects.

It seems like you're not even trying to formulate responses to what I'm saying. You're just saying the things you want to say regardless of if it's part of this conversation or not.

 

[Johnny Impact]

I didn't care for the gritty tone Man of Steel tried for. The killing of Zod was completely the wrong decision, especially when Supes had other options. What about putting his hand over Zod's face? So Kal would have been burned, big deal. Superman would definitely take a wound to save people. Also, what about the Kryptonian tech? Seriously, there's a Phantom Zone prison ship thing in orbit, didn't it occur to Kal to lock the other Kryptonians up in it and send them packing? Maybe I missed something?

I'd watch movies of the Justice League characters as long as they were well rated. I always look at RottenTomatoes before going to the theater. I enjoy bad movies, but I don't enjoy paying twelve bucks apiece to see them.

DC has an impossible task trying to come up with something as solid as Marvel's latest crop of movies. I wish them good luck.