Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (Oh dear...)

[trappedslider]

Films don't even need to be good to be a franchise-launching success: look at the Transformers franchise for proof of that.

I'm gonna quote myself here but this fits with your statement Mecha

I don't blame Bay*, I blame the tons of people that go to watch his movies... if we could just get people to stop going to see crappy movies,Bay* would stop making them.

*inset director or producer or actor that you dislike

 

[delericho]

Currently at 39% at Rotten Tomatoes.

That's a shame. I'll be going to see this on Friday anyway, but I guess I'll need to re-lower my expectations - initially I hadn't expected anything, but the trailers had brought me around, and now...

Then again...

Jim Vejvoda, IGNBvS is carried by a brutal Batfleck, but as a whole it offers more philosophical drama than superhero escapism.

Actually, I'm quite happy to see philosophical drama wrapped up in superhero trappings. There's more to comic books than just "Hulk Smash!", and I'm happy to see the films reflect that. So maybe, just maybe, the critics are down on this simply because it just wasn't what they expected rather than because it was truly bad. Or maybe not - I guess I'll find out on Friday.

 

[horacethegrey]

Actually, I'm quite happy to see philosophical drama wrapped up in superhero trappings. There's more to comic books than just "Hulk Smash!", and I'm happy to see the films reflect that. So maybe, just maybe, the critics are down on this simply because it just wasn't what they expected rather than because it was truly bad. Or maybe not - I guess I'll find out on Friday.

For me there's nothing wrong with a comicbook movie to have deep philosophical themes, as long as it's done well. 'Done well' being the key phrase here, since I've seen a number of comic book films attempt this and fall short becoming pretentious messes. Ang Lee's Hulk from 2003 is a classic example. That movie was a bore and despite Lee's skill as a dramatic auteur I couldn't care for the characters and just wanted more 'Hulk Smash' scenes.

The Batman films of Christopber Nolan are also guilty of this. Now let me state that I like Chris Nolan's trilogy, but the dramatic exposition could get a bit heavy handed at times, fortunately the action and suspense that Nolan is known for more than makes up for it.

Zack Snyder is already guilty of this with adaptation of Watchmen. His bombastic style completely failed to convey the complexity and moral ambiguity of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbon's book. And I'm pretty sure he's made the same mistakes here in BvS.

 

[delericho]

For me there's nothing wrong with a comicbook movie to have deep philosophical themes, as long as it's done well. 'Done well' being the key phrase here...

Absolutely. I'm reserving judgement on BvS until I see it, but I'm entirely aware it may well suck.

 

[Ryujin]

I don't get the Snyder hate. I liked Watchmen and 300 (they weren't masterpieces, but they were enjoyable) and I love Man of Steel. I've never seen Sucker Punch though, and I don't really know what else he's done. But, of the stuff that I know that he's done and that I've seen, I like or love all of it.

I will point out that the DCCU and the MCU are not and will not be competing. Plenty of fans like some heroes from both companies. The companies both just want money, and to do that they have to make films that entice a lot of people to see them. Films don't even need to be good to be a franchise-launching success: look at the Transformers franchise for proof of that.

Well, first we have to wait to see if there's even one dud. I can't speak to whether not not Suicide Squad will be better than BvS, but I have seen nothing about Suicide Squad that would make me doubt it's quality.

"Sucker Punch" stars several beautiful women, who are objectively objectified (if that's a thing), and has far too much CGI. The story could have been done with more real life imagery, but I understand why it was done. With that said when you realize what "Sucker Punch" really is, it becomes an interesting film. No "Citizen Kane", but watchable.

RT can suck it. Critics, from my perspective, get films right less than 33% of the time.

Also, I've seen one reviewer compare BvS' quality to Kubrick's work.

Additionally, I think a lot of the critics were expecting the usual superhero fare and didn't know what to do when they got something different set on their plate.

Edit: It's at 9.1/10 on IMDB. In other words, don't let critics think for you, because they have no idea what you actually might like.

There are two newspapers in Toronto whose critics I read, if I want to know if a movie will be good. If they both agree that it's crap, I make it a 'must watch.'

 

[delericho]

There are two newspapers in Toronto whose critics I read, if I want to know if a movie will be good. If they both agree that it's crap, I make it a 'must watch.'

My general rule with reviews is to ignore individual reviews other than from particular individuals whose tastes generally match my own - if they like a film then that means I probably will.

I do pay some attention to review-aggregation sites, but only where there's a fairly large number of reviews - the "wisdom of crowds" effect. But that's only a rough guide, and even then only if there are plenty of reviews.

 

[megamania]

In many cases, if a certain critic "hates" a movie, it is a guarantee that I will enjoy it.

As a comic book fanboy I am sure I will enjoy it at least on that level.

Hope to see it next week regardless of what the critics say. I'll judge it then.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

FWIW, I try not to discount or elevate the opinions of critics- or anyone else- out if hand. I pay attention to what they say and how they say it.

Usually, if someone has general hate for something or someone, it comes across in the reviews. Ditto fanbois. And then there are reviews that miss the point of a plot element or even the whole piece. To this day, I remember the Siskel & Ebert review of Shwarzenegger's Running Man. The fact that portions of the movie were over-the-top lampoons of the NFL and the various televised wrestling shows completely evaded Roger Ebert, and his highlighting of those elements while ridiculing the film made it a must watch for me.

Enjoyed it, too.

But it isn't like I discounted S&E in general. I actually enjoyed their show, and thought they got it right more often than not.

...that said, I have seen nothing in the ads for any of the most recent crop of DC movies- or most of the Marvel ones- that makes me want to see them.

 

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Here's a sampling of reviews from non-critics it http://www.newsarama.com/28529-newsarama-readers-review-batman-v-superman-dawn-of-justice.html

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

The more i thought about the casting over the last few months, I actually came to expect Afflek to do well in the role. I'm glad his performance is being well received. I'm also glad for Gal Godot's reception.

Still, not going to see this one.