BATMAN V SUPERMAN - "Solemn...No Fun"

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Paul MacLean
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Re: BATMAN V SUPERMAN - Extended Comic-Con Trailer Online

#31 Post by Paul MacLean »

I quit watching at the shot of the "Superman=Illegal Alien" placard.

Oooo...so topical! :roll:

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AndyDursin
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Re: BATMAN V SUPERMAN - Extended Comic-Con Trailer Online

#32 Post by AndyDursin »

I also liked the 9/11 imagery of the building coming down and the smoke debris cascading down the street in front of Bruce Wayne. As if we didn't have enough of THAT in Man of Steel.

Still baffled by the Eisenberg casting, he doesn't project anything in that trailer.

mkaroly
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Re: BATMAN V SUPERMAN - Extended Comic-Con Trailer Online

#33 Post by mkaroly »

Trailer is awful...doesn't pique my interest in the least.

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AndyDursin
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Re: BATMAN V SUPERMAN - Extended Comic-Con Trailer Online

#34 Post by AndyDursin »

No Margot Robbie in this either = fail

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AndyDursin
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Re: BATMAN V SUPERMAN - Extended Comic-Con Trailer Online

#35 Post by AndyDursin »

So Warner is -- rumored -- worried this film is a disaster. And that the entire JUSTICE LEAGUE slate might be "in jeopardy"? (Might want to have thought about that before making WONDER WOMAN, which has GREEN LANTERN already written all over it).

Here's my take: I CANNOT BELIEVE THAT ZACK SNYDER MAY NOT HAVE MADE A GOOD MOVIE! Seriously? Can you? This guy has made nothing but gold!! :lol: :lol: :lol:

Everything about this movie looks like crap, starting with Snyder's MEH "Man of Steel", the hideous looking Wonder Woman, and the "dark brooding" tone.

http://www.hitfix.com/the-dartboard/bat ... andemonium
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, which is a mouthful of a title, is intended to be the jumping off point for the DC Extended Universe, and lead to the Justice League movies down the road. Not only are the Dark Knight and Man of Steel in this movie, but Wonder Woman plays a substantial role, and we’ve heard that we’ll see Aquaman, the Flash, and others show up in at least some capacity. That’s all well and good, but according to Drew McWeeny at HitFix, and his sources, now that people are finally getting a look at BvS, the reaction hasn’t been quite what the studio hoped and could have a huge impact on DC/WB’s plan moving forward.

Eric W.
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Re: BATMAN V SUPERMAN - Rumblings It's a Disaster In Waiting

#36 Post by Eric W. »

I had no interest in Man of Steel and I have no interest in this.

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Monterey Jack
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Re: BATMAN V SUPERMAN - Rumblings It's a Disaster In Waiting

#37 Post by Monterey Jack »

While I'll certainly see this, my enthusiasm level is set very low. Especially in the wake of the frisky, deliberately inconsequential Deadpool, who wants another 165 minutes' worth of gloomy, Snyder/Nolan Disaster Porn mayhem? DC continues to have NO IDEA how to properly develop their superhero properties, with the exception of the Nolan Dark Knight trilogy, and those films were a case of the right tone for the right post-9/11 time, and as such will not age terribly well (whereas the Tim Burton films -- some dodgy F/X work on the first one aside -- have a "timeless" quality that have worn well over the last 25 years). Who wants to see Superman as a humorless murderer who snaps the villain's neck at the end of the movie and who clearly doesn't give a crap about deflecting battle sequences away from the innocent populace he's supposed to be protecting? Who wants to see a Wonder Woman with a color-deprived costume that looks like it was dipped in Hershey's syrup? Who wants to see a Batman played by that crummy Daredevil from the movie that nobody liked? Who wants to see a Lex Luthor played by the geek from Zombieland? I can't see this making much past the opening weekend, because destruction for its own sake is no longer the novelty it was in the dawn of the CG era, and with no humor or engaging characterization (like the Marvel movies -- even the crummier ones -- have always provided), what is there to latch onto? And there are just too MANY superhero movies at this point...the pop-culture saturation level of these films have reached the same crisis level as zombie movies, and zombie movies don't cost $300 million to produce. I'm much more interested in the next X-Men movie, because those films have always favored character and theme over mayhem, and the 80's setting for Apocalypse will certainly offer some nostalgic comfort food. 8)

DavidBanner

Re: BATMAN V SUPERMAN - Rumblings It's a Disaster In Waiting

#38 Post by DavidBanner »

I was floored by the new, final trailer for this movie. I couldn't stop asking myself, "Can the movie really be this bad?" Then I remembered the director and had to admit, "Yes. Yes, it can really be that bad." I barely made it through MOS, which was nothing but repeated disaster sequences with no sense of story or momentum. Basically, the new version of Superman shows up somewhere, the bad guys attack him, and the entire area winds up destroyed. The new movie seems to think everyone will jump up and down because they've added a Batman character - except that what he's doing doesn't seem to make any sense. And why the heck did they waste Jeremy Irons on Alfred? This just seems to be a disaster on the level of Snyder's wretched adaptation of Watchmen, where he miscast several key roles, misunderstood the story Alan Moore was telling and apparently spent all his time composing shots to look like the comic panels, without ever thinking about the actual content of those panels.

I do disagree about the relative merits of the Nolan Batmans vs the Burton Batmans. I watched the 1989 Batman again last year and was frankly shocked at how dated and contrived the movie seemed today. I remember having issues with that movie in 1989 - things like the Art Gallery scene felt like they were dropped in from the TV show, but I had still enjoyed some of the Joker material with Jack Nicholson. Watching that movie again in 2015, it simply didn't make any sense at all. And while I enjoyed the 1992 sequel a bit more at the time, that one has also sadly dated badly. The Nolan movies, on the other hand, don't feel dated so much as heavy. Nolan's storytelling mode is to build giant moments with the editing and music and sheer spectacle - when it works, you get an incredible experience. When it doesn't, as in the second half of Dark Knight Rises, and in the final 20 minutes of Dark Knight, you just get the feeling of a corn puff blown up way beyond any reasonable size.

To my mind, the Nolan approach worked well for Batman. And the current Netflix approach to Daredevil is working well (at least based on the first season - we'll have to see if the 2nd season can maintain the quality). But that approach doesn't work for Superman, a character who is meant to be unabashedly, romantically heroic. Superman exists in bold colors, both as a symbol and as a character. Richard Donner showed it was possible to stage that character in a realistic environment, but you still have to embrace the blue and red tights, the cape and the sheer fun of the idea. Otherwise, the story turns into a dour action remake of The Day The Earth Stood Still, and who really wants to see that?

It might be better if WB and DC were to scrap this movie, let the sequels go and just focus where they seem to be doing okay at the moment - on the CW television shows. Maybe these characters work better on the small screen for a while. And maybe it's time to give Batman and Superman a rest for a decade - at least until we can find a filmmaker who actually cares about these stories and wants to do something interesting with them.

BTW - I'm having trouble with the trailer for X Men Apocalypse. The movie looks incoherent, which frankly surprised me from Singer. But it was inevitable that after Days of Future Past, the next movie wouldn't be able to top or even live up to the last installment. I wouldn't be surprised to see Apocalypse actually take a dive, at least compared to Days. And I wouldn't be surprised to see Singer make noises about retooling the franchise afterward. They lose Jennifer Lawrence after this one, and it may serve Singer better to go back to the original cast for his next go-round.

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Re: BATMAN V SUPERMAN - Rumblings It's a Disaster In Waiting

#39 Post by AndyDursin »

Though I liked it more than you David, The '89 BATMAN gave me the same general feeling when I saw it again a few years ago. It's very clear Guber/Peters and the studio (and probably Nicholson also) tightened the reigns on Burton, so much that the movie feels bland and shockingly vanilla -- even its visual design isn't that interesting. That's what surprised me so much -- how ordinary and nondescript it feels. BATMAN RETURNS is a real Burton film, and if you're into the director's work, I think it's held up extremely well. Everything about it is heavy on atmosphere and mood and Burton's visual flourishes, which are mostly absent from its predecessor.

I think I might have liked all the portions of Nolan's movies you didn't care for and vice versa -- for me THE DARK KNIGHT, though I liked it the first time through, was a sadistic, one-note grind -- but I think we can all agree both he AND Burton had a firmer, more compelling grasp on the material than Joel Schumacher. :lol:
But that approach doesn't work for Superman, a character who is meant to be unabashedly, romantically heroic. Superman exists in bold colors, both as a symbol and as a character. Richard Donner showed it was possible to stage that character in a realistic environment, but you still have to embrace the blue and red tights, the cape and the sheer fun of the idea. Otherwise, the story turns into a dour action remake of The Day The Earth Stood Still, and who really wants to see that?
Well said. That is precisely what MAN OF STEEL was missing -- a sense of fun, a sense of joy, and that's what's absent from Snyder's work in general. I disliked WATCHMEN and have found most of his movies to be utter chores to sit through.
I wouldn't be surprised to see Apocalypse actually take a dive, at least compared to Days. And I wouldn't be surprised to see Singer make noises about retooling the franchise afterward. They lose Jennifer Lawrence after this one, and it may serve Singer better to go back to the original cast for his next go-round.
The original cast is finished I believe. These movies are clearly set up to go with "the kids" from now on...though they do lose a load of star power with Lawrence departing, and they have repeatedly said they can't see anyone else but Jackman as Wolverine. But even his dozen-picture (or whatever number it was) deal is up after the next Wolverine film they're currently shooting.

Maybe they'll give Dougray Scott his opportunity at long last ;) :lol:

DavidBanner

Re: BATMAN V SUPERMAN - Rumblings It's a Disaster In Waiting

#40 Post by DavidBanner »

Andy, I think we're furiously in agreement on almost all of this. I frankly can't see myself giving Snyder any money or any of my time this summer to watch him mess up another comic book I enjoyed as a kid.

Regarding X-Men, I don't really see the younger cast being able to do much without Jennifer Lawrence there to anchor it. McAvoy and Fassbender are quite good in their roles, but everyone else is forgettable, sadly. I also really wonder if they're going to just say goodnight to Jackman - or if they'll do what I believe is happening with Daniel Craig for the Bond films. That sound you hear is the Brinks truck backing up to the driveway...

If Apocalypse does well at the box office, then I agree that they'll just make another young generation X-Men movie. (I'm hearing that they also want to make a New Mutants movie as well) If Apocalypse bombs the way I think it will, then all bets are off. A big part of why Days did so well was that they melded the new cast and the old one in a really satisfying way. If the new cast doesn't hold up well with the new movie, I believe they'll sign what they can of the older cast and do another hybrid. Or just do another current era movie, taking place after Days left off.

Of course, I'm just speculating, at least three months before that movie even hits the box office. For all I know, it'll be another big hit. But my instincts tell me we'll be hearing a lot of damage control come summer.

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Paul MacLean
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Re: BATMAN V SUPERMAN - Rumblings It's a Disaster In Waiting

#41 Post by Paul MacLean »

AndyDursin wrote:Though I liked it more than you David, The '89 BATMAN gave me the same general feeling when I saw it again a few years ago. It's very clear Guber/Peters and the studio (and probably Nicholson also) tightened the reigns on Burton, so much that the movie feels bland and shockingly vanilla -- even its visual design isn't that interesting.
I was never very impressed with Batman, even when I first saw it. I found it clunky and awkwardly written. Character development was poor, and Michael Keaton incredibly bland in the role. NIcholson was fun to watch...but his performance was more schtick than character. And unlike many, I wasn't even that crazy about the score. But agreed on the sequel, which was far-better executed and dramatically satisfying (and better scored!).

I tried watching the sequel with Jim Carrey on a plane, but turned it off. I didn't seen another Batman until Nolan's first film, which I enjoyed. I disliked the sequel (which was overlong and too preoccupied with being "real") and haven't seen the third yet.

Honestly, of all the Batman movies I've seen, the one I liked best was Mask of the Phantasm (which has the best score, too)!

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Monterey Jack
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Re: BATMAN V SUPERMAN - Rumblings It's a Disaster In Waiting

#42 Post by Monterey Jack »

Paul MacLean wrote:Honestly, of all the Batman movies I've seen, the one I liked best was Mask of the Phantasm (which has the best score, too)!
Batman: The Animated Series remains, IMO, the best-ever adaptation of the character outside of the comics...a big part of the reason I found the Schumacher movies so terrible was in seeing dramatically conflicted, tragic villains from TAS like Two-Face and Mr. Freeze turned into campy, mugging fools. :x TAS truly "got" the Dark Knight in a way that no live-action version has to date, mainly because it could afford to experiment with the storytelling in a way that a $250 million summer tentpole movie cannot. I'm sick to DEATH of superhero movies where The Fate Of The World is always at stake, but with TAS, the crime on display was often of a minor, street-gang level, the kind that Batman would probably spend the majority of his time fighting instead of having epic smackdowns with Superman. For all of the "realism" of the Nolan films, they all ultimately devolved into arch super-villains plotting to destroy all of Gotham City because Reasons. :? The best part of Batman Begins, to me, was the first half, when Batman was busy taking down mid-level gangsters and building his "legend", instead of the usual claptrap of stopping some glowing Thingy that's raining down death from the skies like in 90% of all Marvel movies (which rarely generates any real tension or suspense, because you KNOW the Avengers are going to save as many people as possible).

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Re: BATMAN V SUPERMAN - Rumblings It's a Disaster In Waiting

#43 Post by AndyDursin »

Jena Malone's role as Batgirl/whatever is cut out of the theatrical version...but Snyder vows to restore it to his R-RATED director's cut!

Just what I always wanted...an R-rated Superman/Batman team-up film. LOL :roll:

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Re: BATMAN V SUPERMAN - Rumblings It's a Disaster In Waiting

#44 Post by Monterey Jack »

Opening this film on EASTER WEEKEND is kind of a big gamble, no? Can you name the last movie that had a huge opening weekend when competing with Easter Sunday?

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Re: BATMAN V SUPERMAN - Rumblings It's a Disaster In Waiting

#45 Post by AndyDursin »

I looked it up -- I was surprised to find there have been a lot of them.

Most obvious is FURIOUS 7 which made $147 million on Easter weekend two years ago. There have been other big openings on Easter weekend (CLASH OF THE TITANS '10, THE MATRIX, PANIC ROOM, SCARY MOVIE and GI JOE sequels, etc.). Even going back to the '90s with INDECENT PROPOSAL, so it is not an odd time to find a big movie opening.

Remember, though -- this wasn't their first choice. They moved here after CAPTAIN AMERICA came in and took away early May -- which forced Warner Bros. to move this back.

Here's the list of all-time Easter weekends:

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/alltime/we ... easter.htm

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