They finally got Batman right in terms of body type with Affleck. They then go to an actor that is about the most pencil thin dude they could have hired. I actually have nothing against Pattison the actor. He's done some really great work post Twilight. But if you are going to make a movie about a vigilante beating down multiple big, bad criminals every night, having a dude who I'm stronger than is not believable.
Anyone watch the Peacemaker show? I’m a couple episodes in, Cena is so good in this role, absolutely hilarious.
Haha yeah that would definitely be helpful, I think it would add MUCH needed context to this show. It’s also a really good movie, blows the first Suicide Squad away, much more like a hard R Guardians of the Galaxy.
Anyone end up watching The Batman? Seemed like there was some indifference/pessimism from some of y’all, but from the trailers and buzz I heard, I had been very hyped for this movie… And I ended up having very mixed feelings. Spoiler On paper, it nailed a lot of what I was hoping for in a Batman movie. More of a focus on him as a detective, the criminal element of Gotham. And aesthetically it was just amazing. They did such an excellent job at balancing darkness while having just enough light to show you what you needed in action sequences, Batmobile chase was epic, the shot afterwards where the camera goes upside down and he’s walking towards Penguin with the flames behind him. Riddler was legitimately terrifying. But the plot ended up being much more interesting on paper than it actually ended up being executed. The “mystery” and Riddler’s schemes weren’t really that fleshed out. Felt to me more like plot devices to move to the next scene than an actual elaborate plan. Like one of Riddler’s big riddles was to “bring the rat into the light” … and that ended up referring to him literally wanting to bring Falcone in front of a specific street light at a specific time so that Riddler could snipe him? The Joker cameo also really threw me off. It was tacked into the end as if it was supposed to be a big reveal, but it just left me confused since we haven’t seen this Joker yet. Overall a great movie and I want more from this universe, but some of the social media hype I had heard comparing it to TDK did it a disservice.
I followed your recommendation and watched both the movie and the remaining episodes. The show was indeed pretty good and I would actually like them to make another season.
Spoiler Agree with much of your review. I really liked it. It felt like a pg-13 Se7en with a bulletproof vigilante detective instead of Brad Pitt. The joker scene I think was just a sequel tease, like a marvel post credit scene but not post credit.
Thoughts on batman Spoiler Saw The Batman opening weekend. Thought it was really good. It was Matt Reeves' love letter to David Fincher... mostly Se7en but with a little Zodiac in there too. Cast killed it. Colin completely lost himself in the role of Penguin. There were only two scenes where I could tell that was him. Really looking forward to his HBO spin off show. I appreciated the movie being year 2. We've had enough origin stories, don't need another. R-Patt is still not my bat, but he did good. Loved the detective angle really showcased, he was in the suit a lot too. My only real complaint with him is he's a really bad facial reaction actor and in the suit, you REALLY notice that. And a picky nit, Alfred might be too good at deciphering Riddlers clues. Bruce is using tech and his computer, Alfred is churning them out over tea and the NY Times. Surprised we got a Joker reveal and we're already going back to that well. He looked and sounded good, the deleted scene that came out a couple weeks ago with Bats and Joker was solid (very Clarice and Hannibalesque). There's so many great villains who haven't been on the big screen yet.
I finally saw The Batman on HBO last night. I largely agree with the comments here, but I’ll say I did really really like it. A few moments I got that sense of awe feeling, that “damn this is cool” smile on your face thing. The overall feel I loved, very dark, creepy, some parts made me feel fear for what it’d be like to be Batman walking into these crazy situations that I don’t think any other Batman movie has made me feel. Mostly I applaud it for being so different though, it felt entirely like it’s own world, a new Batman world from any filmed before, and as he’s my favorite comic book hero I really enjoyed that. I grew up on the animated series and this reminded me of that in a lot of ways. Spoiler I thought the Riddler was great, I felt genuinely creeped out at times. Actually thought the entire cast was great, I never thought I could take John Turturro seriously, but I did. I have minor complaints of course, nitpicks. Pattinson played Bruce Wayne really weird, the relationship between Batman and Catwoman felt forced, the movie probably doesn’t hold up as well on second viewing as it’s highly a mystery film and once you know how it goes it’s not the same, etc.. The Joker bit at the end took me out of the movie as well, thought the guy sounded awful. Then I watched the deleted Joker scene and hated it. Guy looks ridiculous, like a bad TV show makeup job, silly face, ridiculous hair. The Joker is my favorite villain of all time, so I’m picky about who plays him, and while I like Barry Keoghan, he’s not right for me. The Joker is an imposing figure, he’s Batman’s height, they’re menacing figures. I’m not scared of a 5’7 shrimpy little Joker with a bad monster movie accent, it’s silly. Just like Alden Ehrenreich wasn’t right as Han Solo, it’s weird, it looks wrong. I’ll watch a sequel, but I’m not enthused about it now.
Marvel is lucky their tank for Wemby phase 4 coincided with the dumpster fire s*** show that's been DC. It's really eliminated any superhero competition for them at the moment. I like the idea of Gunn as a head of their film division. But I hate the decisions so far. I don't know if there was any good way to transition, but I can't say I'm digging the path they chose. I don't care about a young Superman. We had a decade of Smallville. I'm good. Cavill is a great Superman. All of their big castings are on point. It's the material and no clear direction that's been the issue. I know the first thing anyone one does during a takeover is clean house and bring in their people, but that's a shame cause Cavill is a great Superman, Mamoa was a damn good Aquaman, Gal was a really good WW. We still have an Aquaman, Flash, and Shazaam release for a dead cinematic universe. It's hard to care too much for those knowing what we know. It's now tough to care about Keaton's involvement in the Flash after the shelved Batgirl movie and the canceled Batman Beyond movie. It's tough to care about Ben popping up in Aquaman for no reason. It's tough to care about Shazaam because it will now never connect to Superman or Black Adam. There's been some dispute over whether this was the case, but the optics are that Cavill left one of the most popular shows and followings on Netflix (possibly damaging that relationship) to return to Superman. Only weeks later they're like, nah just kidding. I see he's working on a Warhammer Amazon show now, not sure if that was the plan or a pivot. Maybe this will open up the chance and time for him to be Bond or something (has to be bicep reloads, that was badass in Mission Impossible). I would be upset if I'm DJ. He's been working on Black Adam from conception to release for 14 years. It turned out to be his biggest individual box office performance. It either barely made a profit or was a loss, depending on who's financial reporting you believe. I thought it was solid. Not bad, but nothing special, other than the shape DJ got in for it. Take a second to appreciate no muscle suit or CGI muscles (sorry Ben) had to be used. Enjoyed Brosnan and Hodge in it, too. But that was a building block towards what we have been waiting for since DJ and Cavill posted their pic together 6 years ago. You can't get there before setting up Black Adam. That battle and then battling the studio to even get Cavill in the cameo only for it all to get flushed. That's a bummer. Meanwhile, we're keeping a Batman that is not tied to anything and is going to introduce a 5th Joker? They do know Batman has a rich gallery of villains right? Just watch the f***ing animated series (something they also canceled before it got off the ground at HBO but since Conroy died it wouldn't have worked anyway without him). Speaking of Joker, they're keeping that going too with Phoenix and this one is going to be a musical with Lady Gaga. Seriously. You can't make this s*** up. Rant over.
Could not agree more with everything you said. I am not a Snyderverse fan. I really enjoyed his Justice League, but that's about it. But they could have built off that and just gone in a different direction than Snyder had planned, and it could have been great. One thing I do appreciate with the Snyderverse is it took the heroes seriously. Marvel has gotten to the point where they can't let even one second of dramatic tension pass without cracking a stupid joke. Cavill is the perfect Superman. One of the rumors circulating around now is that it wasn't actually Gunn's call to axe Cavill. It was Zazlav (new head of WB). WB is apparently in BIG trouble financially, and keeping Affleck, Cavill, Gadot, and Momoa on would have cost a ton of money just for their salaries. By going back to a young Supes and resetting, they can hire a bunch of no-namers and save millions. That actually makes a lot of sense to me. Gunn seems to have his pulse on what fans want. I don't think he would have reset if he didn't have to. You're right about the 4 remaining films to come for DC. There is zero chance I watch them, not even on HBO. Why would I waste 8-9 hours watching movies that tease a future that we will never see? It's almost like going to a strip club. Get all riled up and then no satisfaction. I think the bigger issue Gunn will have to contend with is Superhero fatigue. I have it. Most of my friends have it. Marvel is releasing 4 or 5 shows a year with 2 or 3 movies. I'm over it. I don't care about following it. I watched Spiderman No Way Home because I'm of the age where Tobey is my Spiderman. But that is the only Phase 4 movie I watched, and I only watched two of the shows. When this new universe finally launches we are probably talking 2025 or even 2026. That's another few years of being drowned with Superhero content by Marvel. Superman will essentially be arriving at a raging party with a keg of beer...at 4:00 am when only 5 or so people are left, and they'll all be passed out on the couch. Edit: I also watched Shang Chi. Totally forgot that movie happened. That's not a good sign for Marvel though if I don't even remember a movie I watched.
I'll probably watch the Aquaman movie because I like Mamoa. No way I watch the Flash until they replace the lead weirdo. I think it was super smart to bring in Gunn, but I'm also not really interested in the young Superman focus. Hard pass on Shazam.
That's what I don't get about the decision since we are at least 3-4 years from seeing the new look DC. Bring up the release date of the 3 they have in the can, they've been done for awhile. Fast track a final WW to make it a trilogy, get Cavill Supes 2 and then whatever battle with Black Adam and Shazaam. Shoot those back to back. Wrap everything up in a tidy little bow and end that era with those actors on a high note. I truly don't get the budget issues. With the opportunities now available with Favreau's Volume, that should be slicing a lot of these costs even if you have increasing actors salaries.
Sure...but why not cut costs in both areas? It falls in line with what we know about Zaslav. He is a ruthless, cost-cutting machine who doesn't care about anybody's feelings. The dude axed a completed movie because it could save them money as a tax write off. Also listen to Gunn's description of the new Superman movie. It sounds way more grounded if it's focusing on his early days as a reporter...grounded is typically cheap. I would not be surprised if that Superman movie comes in at under 150 million in terms of budget. Batman might come in even less since he doesn't have powers that would need massive effect sequences. Hollywood is about to go through a massive overhaul. All the money is drying up because these streaming services didn't turn out to be nearly as profitable as they thought they'd be. Marvel will feel it too. They spend 250 million on movies like Thor 4 and Multiverse of Madness, and they make 800 million. That's a pretty bad ROI when the theater takes half and they spend another 100 million in marketing and distribution. You don't spend 250 million to come away with a 50 million dollar profit.
Because they'll find out at some point people will care about who's behind those glasses/under the cowl/in the suit. I don't think another Brandon Routh casting is going to bring in the draw. Marketing is another area of such wasted money, especially domestically. Feels outdated and not in touch with ways today's audience get their ads. Social media ad buys should be lower. Hell, Ryan Reynolds was a one man marketing department for Deadpool and that's all it needed. I do think it is going to be interesting to see what's next and where cinema lands. I think there has to be a place for movies that aren't comic book, IP, sequel, or remake. Those $35m-$50m movies that came out weekly in the 90s- early 00s either don't get made, end up on a streamer and is instantly forgotten, or gets stretched and chopped into a 8-10 episode thing. The very thing that killed them, needs them so people have viewing diversity and the multiplex isn't only superhero movies. When the oversaturation has reached its breaking point, where does that leave things? I think the success of a things like Yellowstone and Top Gun Maverick both show just how clueless studios are currently. I still don't think they know what to make of Yellowstone or how to monetize what the numbers are showing. Then in Maverick's case, story still matters. These big properties could take some notes. You can deliver on both. Good on Tom for sticking to that being a theatrical release because Paramount was pushing for that to be a streamer after covid delays. They should give him a healthy Christmas bonus for overriding them.
Just to be clear, I don't disagree with you. I'm just commenting on what seems to be going on with WB. I think the new DCU will ultimately fail. And even if it does make some money, it will be nothing compared to Marvel's prime.
