I don't think the DCU is that bad...

[Hussar]

Ok, put down those rotten fruit baskets. Just hear me out. Out of boredom over the Netflix Japan offerings, I went back and started rewatching a couple of movies. I started out with the old Green Lantern movie (yes, I was that bored).

Funny thing is, I didn't think it was that bad. Now, out of the gate, I've never been a DC fan so my exposure to Green Lantern was largely from TV - Justice League and a few other odds and sods. But, I thought the movie was nowhere near as bad as people say. It was a fun couple of hours. High art? Oh, hell no. But, it was fun, made me giggle, had some pretty cool scenes and was a pretty decent superhero origin movie. I'm not sure what all the angst is about.

Anyway, later on, I watched the extended Batman Vs Superman. Now, again, I didn't see the theatrical version, only the longer one. And, I thought it was pretty good. Yeah, a bit more dark than it needed to be and I was pretty surprised to see Batman whacking bad guys, but, hey, it's not like it's the first time. Again, a fun time was had. Maybe I just have really low standards. That's entirely possible.

Lastly, I just watched Suicide Squad this week. And, again, I don't see what the problem is. Fun movie. Some seriously funny lines and pretty decent action flick. What's the problem?

Am I alone here? I really don't think these movies are half as bad as people have dogpiled onto them.

 

[ccs]

Am I alone here? I really don't think these movies are half as bad as people have dogpiled onto them.

Hmm. Other than the steaming pile that is BvS I think 1/2 as bad is pretty accurate.
As bad as everyone says? No.
Anywhere near the quality of the MCU? Not even close.
So 1/2.

 

[Hussar]

Hmm. Other than the steaming pile that is BvS I think 1/2 as bad is pretty accurate.
As bad as everyone says? No.
Anywhere near the quality of the MCU? Not even close.
So 1/2.

See, that's the thing though. I was thinking about this and that thought occurred to me too. DCU looks bad by comparison. Only thing is, I'm not sure that holds. There's a lot of pretty mediocre MCU movies. Sure, Iron Man was fantastic. Great movie. But, Iron Man 3? That was pretty bad. The two Thor movies are, IMO, entirely forgettable. We spend 2/3rds of the first one with Thor not actually being Thor and sitting around in a coffee shop bemoaning the fact that he isn't Thor. Captain America was great. But (again, IMO) Winter Soldier was... boring? Again, largely forgettable. Let's not forget Ed Norton's The Incredible Hulk. Not exactly covering the series in glory.

And, if we want to get technical about it, there's still the X-Men movies (very hit and miss) and the Spider Man movies (again, completely hit or miss). I know they aren't MCU movies, but, kinda sorta?

While there have been stellar MCU movies (and there certainly haven't been any stellar DCU movies) there's been more than a few movies that have largely been carried by the brand.

Maybe that's the difference. MCU movies, even the meh ones, are still buoyed up by the great MCU movies. Whereas DCU just hasn't bought that kind of goodwill by having a really good DCU movie.

OTOH, DCU on the small screen is kicking ass and taking names.

 

[Tonguez]

Green Lantern is okay as a movie, not great but fine in a dumb fantasy way

BS (Theatrical) was an incoherent mess that tried to stuff in too much and thus becomes bloated (the Flash back and email were dumb). in BS Superman is given no motivation and so becomes a plot device and Luthors plan has no logical scheme. As a Batman movie BS works okay, and Wonder Womans interactions were good too.
The BvS (Extended) cut improves things by explaining Supermans actions in Africa and by showing Clarks work as a journalist makes his animosity to the Bat a bit more believable.

go and watch Sinister Squad, the knock-off parody from The Asylum and realise that it is a better film than Suicide Squad where characters are better developed and the plot actually makes more sense. Suicide Squad is all flash without substance, wasteful of its premise, has a ridiculous villain doing the hula and bad guys who never do bad things and are only bad because we kept being told they are bad. Perhaps if Marvel didn't exist, the DC movies would have coped better but audiences have seen what the big budget studios can produce and so the standard is set.

Everything Marvel has done - including Thor (which was boring), The Hulk and X-Men movies (which I personally didn't enjoy) has justified the notion of being a big budget hollywood movie. In comparison BS took the worlds two most iconic heroes and gave us an angsty kick in the nuts and with suicide squad served up a bad parody.

I am hoping that Wonder Woman is enjoyable but we will see...

 

[Joker]

The MCU movies are solid in that they found a formula that works and tick most of the boxes every time. They're not particularly challenging or interesting movies, kind of bland, but it's easy to watch because it makes everything clear to the audience.
Man of Steel, BvS and Suicide Squad all have the same basic problem. The fail to make scenes connect in a movie in a really intelligible way. Snyder's movies all have very beautiful shots but poor structure in and between scenes.
Not to sound pretentious but there's a certain grammar in the visual language of films. There are "rules" to making a film understandable for a neutral viewer. You can subvert and invert these rules but for the most part you follow them if you want your movie to be accessible.

That said, I enjoyed MoS and BvS more than most of the MCU films, with the exception of Winter Soldier and a lot of Civil War. I prefer the action, music and emotion in those DCU films.

 

[Ed Laprade]

I am hoping that Wonder Woman is enjoyable but we will see...

The trailers for WW look good, but that doesn't mean a lot. However, the German general who seems to be the main villain obviously isn't what he seems... because he doesn't have a Magnificent Mustache! (All the generals in WWI, on both sides, had them.)

 

[ccs]

The trailers for WW look good, but that doesn't mean a lot. However, the German general who seems to be the main villain obviously isn't what he seems... because he doesn't have a Magnificent Mustache! (All the generals in WWI, on both sides, had them.)

Well, I'd imagine that the main villain is Ares.

 

[Kramodlog]

Lastly, I just watched Suicide Squad this week. And, again, I don't see what the problem is. Fun movie. Some seriously funny lines and pretty decent action flick. What's the problem?

Not funny. Boring action scenes. Muddle plot. Lame dialogues. Terrible editing. The reshoot shows. Bland vilain. We do not care about the stakes. Swirly CGI thing that is dangerous and will kill everyone we already scene many times. To many characters. Super charactes who aren't super and just shoot guns. And a boomerang. The joker is garbage.

 

[cmad1977]

Suicide squad is an abysmal and embarrassing abomination of filmmaking/editing/writing.
The other movies are fine but could have been much better.


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[billd91]

Captain America was great. But (again, IMO) Winter Soldier was... boring? Again, largely forgettable.

Well, now I know you're insane. That's one of the MCU's best offerings.

It's fine that you like the DCU stuff, I've been lukewarm on them at best. I'm hoping Wonder Woman turns out OK because so much leading up to it has been really disappointing. If WW fails to deliver for me, I'm not even bothering with the JLA.