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Yeah I can agree with that..
Personally I wish they would have his cape go in the front like the animated series.. kinda hiding his suit when he is lurking in the shadows. I had the chance to talk to Alex Ross which was on my bucket list! His artwork is exactly how I picture the DC universe..
Just via instagram not in person but I told him his artwork was how I pictured the DC universe. I said every superhero to me is godlike. I told him I loved how he painted them like they are 6’0 and 300 pounds. Even said it’s my dream to see an Alex Ross inspired DC movie franchise lol. He replies to comments every now and then on social media and will answer questions.
He literally replied back with “Yess!!!l Glad you agree! Thank you! ;)” Not exactly a super long convo but hey being a massive fan of his I was so excited about it!
Justice League after Sunday (day 31): $219,456,347
Last Jedi after Sunday (day 3): $220,009,584
Doesn't look like the former will even cross $700 million WW at this point.
If there was any indication about my feelings regarding these films at this point, it was that I waited over a month to see Justice League and wasn't really moved to seek it out. No matter the hope that Wonder Woman filled me with, I come away from this particular film extremely disappointed. It's not an atrocious film, or even a bad one, but Christ was it pedestrian, artificial (the CGI and endless green screens, namely), at times cringe-inducing (dialogues and character moments) and worst of all, forgettable as I struggle to retain so much of the experience that boredom has caused my brain to abandon.
I think 2017 has been a pretty good year for superhero films, and in a ranking of those that I've seen-Logan, Wonder Woman, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Justice League-I would easily put this one dead last. While I think the film regresses into a lot of repetition at times like Logan, it lacks that film's character depth and the way that those filmmakers were able to take a small budget and make a film that looked big budget in action and effects and that had a message to share that was intensely and beautifully tied to its characters and themes. Justice League additionally lacks Spider-Man: Homecoming's high comedic timing and physical "skits" or character interactions, often because the execution leaves a lot to be desired though the actors do their hardest to make the often lackluster and botched material work. And most crucially, while Justice League and Wonder Woman have issues with the depiction of their villains, I am most disappointed that this film didn't give me a fraction of the emotional concern that WW made me feel so effortlessly through the chemistry of the cast and the very smart and pitch perfect material. I cried my eyes out in Wonder Woman, I was so effected by the story before me, and in Justice League I was begging for a moment to feel even a slight twist of the heart. Outside of one small moment, nothing came.
So, what exactly went wrong here? From my standpoint there are a few larger issues, namely effects, writing and duration. First off, I don't want to spend a lot of time on the CGI effects of Justice League because the movie has been deservedly criticized for its visuals many times now and I won't hop on the pile. The visuals were horrid in the trailers but thankfully weren't an eyesore most of the time in the film itself, but at this point I think I've had my fill of these loud, explosions-every-second visual "spectacles" that end in twenty minutes of things flying into each other and other things blowing up that shouldn't even be able to blow up. It's a lot of loud visual noise that gets in its own way, and overwhelms a viewer that has seen it all before. Not to say Justice League is alone in this, as I criticize the Marvel films for slipping into the cacophany of CGI too that shows an audience you don't know how to balance action and create clarity in the execution of set pieces. If there's one thing to appreciate about a film like Homecoming that fits the superhero mold it's that it abandoned these predictable and tedious conclusions that, much like clichés, have been presented so many times they've lost all meaning and substance. If I'm slouching in my seat during the climax of a Justice League film, something has seriously gone awry.
The next item, the writing, is one of the more mixed items in Justice League's bag. While I was quite impressed with the start of the film and how each individual hero was presented as dealing with their personal loses and circumstances, these moments of promise are unfortunately minor to all the moments that result in narrative confusion or padding that gives the movie a pervading, empty feeling that speeds past instances where better writers would've prospected gold. Looking back on it, not much really happens in this movie and the finale lumbers to a close off the back of an extremely insulting plot development that makes zero sense even in the confines of this universe in order to manufacture a moment for unearned heroism to arrive just in the nick of time.
The biggest sin of the writing is with the villain Steppenwolf who, like most of the film, was strong at the start and lost his way as the movie went on. The story of the Mother Boxes was fascinating and engaging to me, but the movie never actually does anything with it beyond stringing together action around the boxes and giving the big bad barely any time to give us a reason to care about him. We hear his motive in choppy, infrequent sentences or expository flashbacks and often from the perspectives of other characters, leaving him a very hollow and inconsequential figure that really has no voice of his own. After Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight or Tom Hardy in The Dark Knight Rises it really appears as if we can't get a good goddamn villain in these movies anymore on both the DC or Marvel side. If you don't care about the villain and their threat against the world, what's the point? Part of why I feel so unmoved by Justice League is because there is no threat there. I don't feel that the end is near if the heroes don't get their shit together, and that isn't helped by the fact that we're given no reason to actively root against the cardboard cut-out Steppenwolf turns out to be. I'm not a massive fan of Marvel's The Avengers by any standpoint and still hold it as a massively overrated feature, but in that movie I at least felt the threat when New York was being attacked. When that giant space creature came through the portal and smashed through building after building, the danger was clear and because Loki had been given some time to shine (he was an actual character), I understood his motive and why he had to be stopped. On top of it I knew the heroes and liked them enough to root in their favor because the previous films had built them up.
And the inability I have to feel something for the heroes of Justice League is inherently connected to the issue of runtime. In our discussions about the Bond films there are sometimes those who condemn longer movies in the series because they see them as indulgent and bloated. My opinion is that the duration of a film should correspond to the weight of the story it must tell, and that is part of where Justice League really slips. This kind of movie, one that had to bring disparate heroes together, bring one back from the dead, build up the team dynamic credibly and introduce and develop the larger villain and threat for them to fight simply cannot be done in barely two hours, I'm sorry. Because so much content has to be smashed into the run time JL suffers from pacing issues, character development that is truncated, a severance of depth for the villain and a finale that just arrives instead of one that is beautifully built up to in a gripping climax.
Part of the issue is that WB decided not to put in the work to build their universe the right way, slowly growing the heroes as Darkseid looks in the background. We rush to the team film near immediately and because of that we have about as much context for the characters outside of Diana, Batman and Superman as you'd expect, and those last two haven't amazed by any stretch of the imagination as it is. I don't want to make this a DC vs. Marvel issue, but Marvel did it right and eased conflict into the heros' lives gradually. The threats mounted over time and they were all given space to grow individually so that when the big fight came we'd understand who they were and why it was important for them to fight as one. Justice League instead gives us characters we rush to know and does a backwards job of doing character development that doesn't earn the unity we see form as much as it should. In their apparent attempt to avoid being compared to Marvel, DC must've planned to introduce the characters collectively in their team film and build them out in subsequent solo movies where they'd be given more depth. The issue being that if this team film didn't adequately introduce them (which it never could in the time frame) that mistake impacts the chances of those characters catching on with audiences for later solo films. WB took a gigantic risk, traveled down a road that would inevitably lead to unearned character development, and seemingly expected people not to notice the artificial display transpiring before them. Why do it this way, moving from just two solo films and a botched lead-in to a full blown team film?
In consideration of all these issues, I just can't get in Justice League's corner and must be honest about the immense pitfalls it stumbles into that it really should've known better to avoid at this point. How many times do WB have to learn not to meddle in their films, mess with things in re-shoots and forcibly tweak the film to be more funny and "light," regardless of whether any of these choices make sense beyond trying to nail down the Marvel market? Instead of doing their own thing in their own way and with a natural approach, DC come off as posers so lost as to what to do with their own properties that at this point it is unbelievably sad. If Batman V. Superman didn't kick a lot of the hope I had for the universe out of me, perhaps I'd feel really upset at the moment. Instead I just feel disappointment, disappointment I not only was prepared for, but nearly expected. WB's incompetence makes it seem as if it's hard to tell stories with these heroes, but I know that's not the case because I've seen them executed before with narrative grace and heart. The only difference being that the stories that come to my mind where handled with a lot more awareness, deftness and care than the end product we have here that leaves oh so much to be desired.
I can hear the comments now, about how audiences aren't ready for smart or dark films (calling this movie smart would be an insult to truly smart films), that DC/WB can't get a pass in the Marvel market, and blah, blah, blah. That is utterly ridiculous but I understand why some will be driven in desperation to be apologists for DC's slate of films. They are cocking it up, plain and simple, and don't have the kind of foresight, common sense or wisdom to bring this franchise into any kind of port and have instead resigned themselves to driving the ship onto a beach and into the thick sand. I don't know how anyone, especially those who love these characters, could look at what this cinematic universe has amounted to and consider it a competent and overall satisfactory job from the top of WB on down.
The DCEU has been riddled with constant studio tinkering (I prefer to call it sabotage), the writing has been inconsistent, the creative forces have been pushed down and diminished in favor of heavy interference from WB, and all that the studio can think to do when a film of theirs fails is to release an extended cut and promise to reshuffle the slate of films to right their wrongs. How many times do we really have to hear fans begs for a longer cut of a film that WB cut up into an ill-paced, characterless and plotless mess because they don't know what the hell they're doing and don't let their directors do their jobs? Additionally, how many times are we going to have to hear them announce that the films coming in their line-up are being shuffled or put on hold? At this point the DCEU has been course corrected so many damn times I couldn't even tell you what films are actually coming in the next four years. So many have been axed, moved around, reconsidered or created out of nowhere in order to meet a fleeting market demand (Gotham Sirens, anyone?), and in other areas we've had directors dropping like flies from these projects again and again which leaves little confidence in any of these movies coming out sunny side up. But I digress.
Before closing out my post here, I'd like to at least address some of the things I did like about Justice League, despite those elements being drowned in so much disappointment.
*I never would've thought that I'd come out of this film liking Cyborg, but he may have been my favorite character as far as what we saw in the film. I liked what they were trying to address with his character, a man trying to return to himself while not being himself, and how his struggle mirrors Superman's in a way as he comes into his own through his acceptance of his current state. I also liked the fissure between him and his father, who by saving his son succumbed him to a quasi life of robotic imprisonment. The gray morality there was pleasing to me, and felt genuine.
*Wonder Woman doesn't get much to do, but when Gal was there she always made me happy. Part of my dismay about these films is that they frankly don't deserve her and I honestly worry that we'll never get to see her get some meaty material outside of her solo films if this is the best we can hope for. At least we have Patty working on WW 2 and most likely 3, since she's one of the only people on the DCEU line-up I could call truly talented and impressive. At least Gal with have time to shine in those films, and I'm happy to take that over nothing.
I also liked the little references here and there to Steve Trevor and Diana's abandonment of man's world, showing that she still works through her past demons and is always trying to rise to a better example.
*Ben Affleck was a mixed bag for me, unfortunately, and I think he was superior in BvS on the whole. I was terrified of him in that film, but here he's given a bit too much awkward comedy that I don't think entirely suits him because Ben isn't as dry with it as I'd have liked. That being said, Bruce had some interesting moments in the film that I didn't expect. I particularly was struck by his talk with Alfred where he confessed that Clark was more human than he was and stated that Clark found a way to have the happy life he basically cheated himself out of, showing the regret in his character and the kind of life he'd decided to give up to be Batman. I think Ben was at his best in the movie when working off Gal, as their chemistry carried over from BvS quite well and they bring out a lot of good in each other. The explosive fight they have over Steve and Diana leaving man's world was great, and engaged me for a moment. I wish there was more of that fiery passion in the rest of the interactions we saw.
I hope the reports of Ben exiting the role aren't true, but the moments where I saw him wane maybe make me think his departure wouldn't be the worst thing (I feel bad for admitting it). This Batman still isn't what I'd hoped for and I'm not at all attached to him, so maybe that's why it wouldn't be the end of the world to lose him. I like Ben but part of me feels that he doesn't have the kind of range he should and in some scenes he shows the seams popping in his portrayal as he struggles with some of the line deliveries both dramatically and comedically in a way that comes off as artificial. He doesn't ease into the brooding or the dryness as a certain other actor could whose name rhymes with Fistian Kale.
I'm not joking here, but I'd love to see George Clooney given a second chance and cast as an older Bruce/Batman if this change-up must happen. George can play that silent brooding of Bruce perfectly (his performance in films like The American confirmed this to me) and he really is the exact picture of what I see when I think of an older Bruce. Josh Brolin, who I think was in the running for the role against Ben, would also be an amazing, grisly fit for an older Batman if the role had to be recast.
*Henry Cavill was hit or miss for me too, but at the very least he was given Superman-like things to do. The movie almost had me when Clark and Ma meet again (as a Momma's Boy I'm a sucker for mother/son stuff), but it missed out on making me crack a tear by cutting their reunion off literally seconds into their hug. Superman's return deserved to be far more special and emotionally satisfying than that, and it's a shame that we didn't get the rousing resurrection I'd been hoping for. Maybe my vision of his return has been in my head so long that nothing could've satisfied me? Could be.
Henry shows a greater lightness in the film, which is good, and it was nice to see how the story tried to explore Lois and her life post-BvS as she struggles to get to grips with Clark's loss. The opening titles were powerful to me, showing the world without Superman in it and all that had been lost in his passing, showing us why that void needed to be filled again. My only compliant is that we never saw the public care about Superman until he was gone (those Mexican citizens in BvS aside) so their mourning felt very unearned. I guess the point the movie was trying to underscore was that the public realized they were wrong to judge Superman after he gave it all up for them to stop Doomsday, and in their guilt they celebrated his sacrifice once he was gone? Fine, I can work with that.
I really liked the playful dynamic with Superman and Flash too, and how the film played with their different speeds. I particularly loved Flash's shock following Superman's return in reaction to his discovery tht Superman could keep up with him even when he was in Speedforce mode, one of the times I genuinely smiled. This moment also sets up the amusing pre-credit scene where Superman and Flash finally race and test their abilities against one another, something oft presented in the comics and fun to see executed in live action.
*I really dug the Amazonian sections of the film and liked the sequence where the warriors are trying to get the box away from Steppenwolf. It's great to see female characters that are truly empowering, and boy do their kick some serious ass. I wish the island were real, as I'd happily crash my plane there on purpose.
*Despite it being a flashback, I also liked the story of Steppenwolf and how the various powers of the world in an older time joined together to stop him from uniting the boxes the first go around. It was the kind of epic fight I wish we'd gotten in the film's climax, and I was worried from the first moment I saw the trailer that the big battle was a flashback and not what the modern heroes would partake in during their fight with Steppenwolf. Oh well...
Additionally, if you'd ever told me that I'd see Maxie Freaking Zeus in a live action DC film, I'd have laughed in your face. Holy crap!
*Lex still grates on me, but the tease of what is the DCEU's "Legion of Doom" is interesting and has potential (but so much of this universe had potential, so I'm always going to be skeptical). I now know what Manta is in the Aquaman solo, and I expect the Wonder Woman solo will have a villain tying to the Legion to as another of Lex's future recruits.
P.S. Manganiello looks pretty cool as Deathstroke and I'm happy they bleached him to give him the full comic book treatment. I hope they get to put him to use even in light of big changes in the DCEU slate as a fight between him and Batman would be amazing to see if done right.
*Finally, this film actually had something to say, it had a message. The hope theme was actually presented and brought through and I liked how the film began with despair and ended with that redeemed hope. The core ideas of unity, understanding, acceptance of who you are and the responsibility you have to help those who need and deserve it was great to see just as it was to see each character find their place in the "new" world their partnership had created. The big takeaway and message of the film for me was basically, "You're stronger when you're not alone" and I truly believe that despite being a misanthropic and cynical prick.
Alright, that's enough blabbering from me for now. But I had a lot to say, so deal with it! (not that I expect anyone to get this far)
Fail to see why that's pretentiousness, they are the clear themes in the trilogy
It's not pretentious to make connections and say that BB and Scarecrow are about fear, TDK and Joker are about chaos and TDKR and Bane is about pain, that's just having your head on straight. ;) Those are clear through lines that are constantly signaled towards, but there's even greater themes that connect each adventure too. Morality, sacrifice, compromise, redemption, mourning, etc.
But I know from my time around the Bond community and through my enjoyment of the recent Craig films that it's looked down upon to suggest that the movies are anything more than shoot 'em ups and that there's any more meaning to them beyond mindless entertainment, despite the fact that I see so much more in them. It appears that the DCEU slate has made people forget that these films actually used to meaning something too, which is a damn shame.
I do like some of the recent Comic book films though many of them don't have anything to say, admittedly many are well made though there is little going on beneath the surface. The Dark Knight Trilogy is as much a commentary on the world he inhabits as it is about Bruce/Bats, everytime I watch the films I am locked in as the films keep me thinking.
http://observer.com/2017/12/ben-affleck-batman-future-update-dceu-rumors/
I am beginning to wonder if it's down to money if Batfleck stays on?
I have wondered in the past few days if I'd have liked Justice League more if it came out ten years ago, because it does nothing exceptionally and what is there is stuff we've seen in just about every superhero franchise going and all it has to say has been done in just the latest Marvel films with the Avengers. The movie is a great sign that the formula with which these movies are made is stale and needs to change desperately, because if all DC and WB have to offer is a recycled, uglier and less narratively interesting result than the superior products in the market, there's no point in throwing more money at the screen to lose additional funds. JL is now heading to be one of the least successful films that DC/WB have put out in the modern era, and that says it all.
As for Affleck, I honestly don't know what the hell to believe anymore. I've not yet read a report that convinced me he was out, and I have been firm in stating that I don't believe the rumors, but who knows if there's truth to them. After seeing his recent turn and its result, I wouldn't blame him for getting out now.
As I stated in my JL review, I would honestly love to see George Clooney as an older Bruce. Now that would be a sight to see, as he would succeed with material that I don't think Ben handles that well.
Quite frankly, it's the same reason I enjoy SF immensely. I couldn't care less about the themes Mendes shoves down our throats in that film. I just like it for all the same reasons I like Nolan's films. I find it entertaining and very well made pop corn entertainment which dared to be a little different and unpredictable (for a Bond film).
Overambitious is if ambitions are not met in the result.
Pretentious is when the result nevetheless has plastered over it, "Look, what great concepts I represent!"
I would easily settle for overambitious instead of pretentious for TDK and especially TDKR.
By no means would I call you a simpleton for that, because I think there is a lot of intelligence in that kind of simplicity. I wish those films had that kind of simplicity.
I may be too sensitive on the wrong side, but for me much of Nolan as well as Mendes´ Bond films (which are not very far from the former in my view) too openly carry certain objectives in front of them. I very much appreciate SF being different from other Bond films (although CR was quite impressive in that regard already), all the more so does it disturb me that the film constantly comes up with statements regarding the old ways, which undermines its very self.
I just want to reiterate that I (and perhaps some others) like the Bat trilogy (and many of Nolan's other films) as well as SF purely on a surface level. I certainly can understand and appreciate the themes and messaging, but it's not the primary reason I'm drawn to his films.
As an example, in TDK it's the bank heist, the Hong Kong snatch and the truck flip that come to mind when someone mentions that film, in addition to the Joker. Of course, I love the GF style bad guy meeting to introduce him as well.
In TDKR it's the opening LTK style stunt, The Cat, the score (yes, the score), Bane (I can't believe that's Hardy in that mask), the visceral back breaking fight, Cotillard and the Occupy and false prophet theme (prescient) that impressed me the most.
In SF it's the visuals, the score (yes folks, the score), Silva, Severine, the character interactions and humour which I like. That PTS is something else as well.
So the Nolan/Mendes films operate on multiple levels for viewers and that's why they make a lot of money. They are thematic, and they are also surface level entertainment. The highly rated Villeneueve has not demonstrated yet that he can do both.
And one of the other moments that I thoroughly loved was finally seeing Henry Cavill in a proper Clark Kent template, wearing a trench-coat and a proper suit underneath only to reveal his Superman insignia under the shirt when he's about to switch alter ego as he goes to save the day.
Joss Whedon did Supes justice.
I agree JL is a decade too late if it was released around the time of the Avengers I suspect it would have been better received, JL is quite generic and too basic for me. Supes was better though Bats was a none event. Looking at recent movies I think Logan is the way to go, or rather that's the type of Comic Book film I want to see.
Catching up on the site I'll read your review when at work, I recently watched War of the Planet of the Apes I hope Ben is involved in Reeves Batman he should get the Batman film he deserves with Matt.
I only got to see this once in the theatre, but I was really into it. I could see that Zak was 'trying' to make it right, but he was aiming to make it the first part of a two-part movie, and that would have kept me from seeing it at all. Getting Joss to make changes was probably the 2nd best decision Warner made (the first best being getting Jenkens to direct WW). I can't wait for the Blu Ray.
Well, pretentiousness would imply that those themes are not there and that fans are reading them into the source, therefore saying that the movies aren't as smart as @chrisisall, I purposefully stayed out of the loop regarding JL's development to avoid spoilers, so I can't comment on much of that. I did hear that a bit chunk of Henry's Superman performance was entirely reshot once Joss got on board, but I can't say if that's been substantiated.
I wasn't through the roof with Superman's presentation in the film, but it was a step up from the shell of a character we had in BvS so I was happy. I hated that they just had to make him hurt the other heroes for five minutes, thought the "Do you bleed" line was beyond cringey, and was absolutely beside myself with how they had Superman missing in action during the finale when all the other heroes went to try and stop Steppenwolf. Why would you write Superman to actively avoid helping his team when they're risking it all to save the entire planet from being a fresh Apocalypse? That was the most insulting part of the film for me, because it did Superman's character wrong.
I'm upset Superman only got to shine right at the end, something I just knew WB would do, but before that we got to see him with Lois and Ma again which was nice, even if I think his resurrection was extremely downplayed and not as satisfying as it could've been. I just want them to get on with it now and let Superman be Superman like in the final ten minutes of that movie and give us a great solo that honors the character and lets him carry his own damn film with no Diana (sorry, Gal, love you), no Bruce, no Flash, no anyone.
I still wonder what Snyder would've done if he had full control, as I don't view Joss's influence as this amazing gift either. That may be because I'm not a big fan of his or his Avengers films, I don't know, but I think one of the issues the film had was the constant pandering to very weak humor where the action literally stops for Barry to be annoying and I think Batman was made far too jokey instead of a solely dry and sarcastic character. I can live with it, it's just that I don't think the Marvel style works as well for these movies and the earnest tone has never been my issue when it's done properly. I want these films to have consequence and don't want the writers to feel like they have to write in a sketch comedy bit between the heroes every two seconds. BvS was soulless and very cynical, but a theme of unity could've been more pronounced to offset it as that same theme was present in JL too (but done much better this time).
I think future films in this franchise would do well to keep the hope theme while also showing the heroes going to hell and back to save the day, something that would really have impact on the screen. I just don't think we're going to see that kind of consequence or seriousness in these films now that WB take their movies' criticisms as people wanting more lightness. There are so many bigger issues they still haven't picked up on-having strongly written heroes and villains, good pacing and storytelling-and JL shows us that they have yet to learn so many lessons. This movie never ever should've been barely two hours and it hurt it fundamentally, crippling its ability to add depth to the characters and tell the ambitious story it needed to. Sometimes movies need to be meatier, because the story demands it. Could you imagine Nolan trying to tell his final Batman story in a movie that was two hours? It would've been a nightmare.
@Fire_and_Ice_Returns, generic is a very good way to describe JL from my viewpoint. Not by any means a train wreck or devastating entry, but about as average and predictable as it could've been every step of the way with nothing to it that makes it stand out from the competition.
I agree that we saw a much needed improvement on the Superman character, more of a return to how he was in MoS (which I really like as a film) but I also agree that Batman was very lost in the mix. He didn't really get to do much in the grand scheme, and that goes a long way towards the feeling I've had about the character for a long time. He just doesn't work in a team and taking him out of his loner lifestyle really cripples his character because he's much better as the sole focus of a film. All the other heroes have powers so while Superman is punching at the speed of sound, Diana is swinging her sword and lasso, Flash is going full Speedforce and Aquaman is stabbing with his trident while surfing on parademons Batman just gets to be there, driving a bit, punching here and there (he barely threw any punches in this entire movie) and throwing an explosive or two. Not anything that makes for great viewing for an audience that goes to these films to see him do his thing, unfortunately, and he seemed to get the least moments to shine out of all the other heroes during every major sequence. Oh my god...is Batman the Hawkeye of the League and not its Tony Stark? Christ...
I don't know about the Reeves and Batman situation right now, nor do I know why rumors of Ben leaving are heating up again. Are they substantiated or bullshit? I honestly can't tell. I would love to see Ben work under a director that actually gets the character and can give him a film to play in where he's the major focus without any other heroes distracting from him. That would be great. But JL also pointed out to me holes in Ben's performance and I wasn't at all impressed with what he did in the movie and was sometimes flinching during his deliveries. You can tell he artificially tried to deepen his voice to sound more like a monotone Bruce Wayne that is more pronounced than how he did it in BvS and that comes off as very forced.
Batman is my favorite so maybe I'm just harder on him than others, but Ben certainly didn't feel like the greatest live-action Batman that some fans call him in JL, a title I think he only earned for that warehouse fight scene in BvS because in every other way outside that fight and his size he's a grand departure from how the character should be played. He just doesn't have the control over both sides of the character that Bale did, for example, and I think that's because Ben just isn't at that level as a performer. I don't want to be mean here, but he's just not an actor's actor the way that Batman needs, especially the jaded take we have here where you need an actor who can make you feel he's seen and done bad things in the past. I felt it a bit in BvS, but never did in JL.
My big takeaway with future comic book films is simply that they need to mix it up and try to take influences that make them stand out from the pack. I don't think every movie has to be a Logan, as JL suffers from that movie's same issues-a non-villain, repetitious action that pads the film while doing little else-I just think that the coming superhero films should try to pull from sources of inspiration we've yet to see to make them more distinct. Marvel have done this a lot recently, for example, where Winter Solider was influenced by political thrillers and espionage films, the Guardians films pulled from the space opera toolbox and Spider-Man: Homecoming became the only Spider-Man film to really strip back the stakes to deliver a small town story that, in retrospect, made it more original and distinct from what we're used to seeing. I'd like to see DC take that same route, as we saw with Wonder Woman where war films influenced the story and grounded it in place and time. Give us characters we're used to seeing, but do something new with them that still honors them and their myths.
That opening moment with Superman felt awkward to me, and I'm glad I'm not the only one that was confused by it. I don't know what it was supposed to amount to? Superman liked kids so we should miss him? I would've preferred to see the public showing how guilty they felt for hating him senselessly, and that would've made it more possible for me to understand why everyone was mourning him just a day after they wanted him to go away from their planet.
I agree on Batman too, and that they should emphasis more cynicism in him in the future. If we ever get a JL2 (at this point, who knows), I would love to see a scene where Batman is confronted by the other team members when they uncover his contingency plans for taking them all out. That could plant some discord in the group, who think Bruce doesn't trust them, while it would also build up Batman's character as an honest and pragmatic tactician who must be prepared for everything, even his own friends going bad. It would also be a way to get Batman out of the League if Ben was done, as the heroes could oust him after finding that he's not a team player. But from reports there seems to be speculation that Ben would just leave the role entirely, and that's the issue.
The opening shot was a retcon trying to convince us Superman did Superman deeds before he died, the weird mouth I hope is improved on the Bluray version.
I quiet like Justice League DOOM it would make a decent film though I suspect we won't see a JL sequel any time soon, the DC slate does not inspire confidence.
The cliffhanger ending with Darkseid was also removed.
A true Zak version probably wouldn't be all that difficult to produce, but personally the material just isn't worth a 3 hour run time... or at least, not for me. I never even bothered seeing all of MOS or BVS...