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    I was wrong about the DCEU

    By Matthew Martin
    | July 13, 2018
    Movie Blogs

    I am guilty of wearing rose-colored glasses when it comes to the things I love. Not always of course; it’s never clear exactly how I will react to a property I’ve grown up adoring. Sometimes when something is bad but I want it to be good, I will make every excuse under the sun in an attempt to give it the benefit of the doubt, and second, third and fourth chances to get things right.

    Other times I scream and rage and fly off the handle.

    It’s a crapshoot, I get that.

    Justice League Bg Batman Wonder Woman Superman Flash Aquaman Cyborg

    When it comes to Warner Bros. and DC’s attempt to fight Disney/Marvel, I have been firmly in the “I want this to succeed, let’s give it another chance” camp from the beginning. When everyone was jumping ship after the very first movie in the DCEU (Man of Steel), I was holding the line and telling everyone to try and see what they were going for. It wasn’t Marvel. It wasn’t even Superman as he used to be, but it was something and…to me it made sense:

    Of gods and pretenders: Why a world distrusting Superman makes perfect sense…for now

    As Batman v Superman approached and everyone seemed fully prepared for the movie to be a bomb, I remained “all-in” and penned what I hoped would be a persuasive defense of the DCEU as it was in its infancy, standing up for the rushed approach Warners was taking with the property, compared to Marvel, on account of DC’s heroes being far more renown than Marvel’s were at the time they launched their cinematic universe:

    Don’t Compare…because DC isn’t Marvel, and that’s a good thing.

    Then Batman v Superman came and went and it was largely disliked. It has its zealous defenders, but mostly its detractors. I gave it an 8/10, which—according to my rating logic—means I thought it was “good” (10 is “perfect” / 9 is “great” / 7 is “okay” / 6 is “flawed” / 5 is “bad” and so on). I pointed out some flaws but mostly I was making excuses, wearing my rose-colored glasses and hoping to see the franchise turn the corner and really take off:

    Batman v Superman (spoilerific review): For better or worse, the DCEU is here

    Then Suicide Squad released and it became very hard to defend anything in that movie. Most of the blame lies with the studio, which is even more disheartening because a bad director or a bad writer can be replaced a lot quicker than a bad executive:

    Suicide Squad Review: uh oh…

    Wonder Woman was an oasis, a delightful respite in a desert of mediocrity. It was charming, visually interesting, bright and vivid, and most of all it had the same feel of “effortless fun” that Marvel’s films enjoy. Marvel movies make it look so easy, you forget that you’re watching a talking Tree and his wise-cracking raccoon buddy. How is it Marvel can pull of Guardians of the Galaxy but DC can’t even get Superman to work right? Or BATMAN!?, a movie they had already figured out how to do! It’s baffling, but at least Wonder Woman showed that it could be done. DC just needed to (A) put its franchises in capable hands, and (B) leave those hands alone to do what they thought was best:

    WONDER WOMAN is the DCEU’s best film yet; here’s ten reasons why

    But then Justice League.

    I fully expect next year to write our review of Avengers 4 and use the words “It was exactly what you expected.” By that, I will mean “you were expecting them to stick the landing, to follow up one of the most ambitious, epic, dramatic and expectation-meeting movies ever with a movie that exceeds its own lofty expectations…and it does.” Because Marvel is so in the zone their fans aren’t just demanding hits, they’re expecting them and getting them.

    I don’t think DC fans are even bothering to demand hits anymore. All we want is competence. Just be good enough. Just look like you’re starting to figure it out. Just look like you care even a little bit.

    Justice League was exactly what I expected…but I didn’t expect competence. I expected tonal inconsistency, cheapness, rushed storylines and bad effects. That’s what DC movies are these days, and that’s what Justice League delivered. It had its moments, and once again my urge to want it to be good probably led to a one-point bump in the rating (like BvS, I gave it an 8 when it probably deserves a 7), but overall it was just a forgettable, empty nothing-burger of a movie. I wrote in the review that it’s “not bad, honest” but looking back on it, I can’t even say if the movie has held up to scrutiny. I can barely remember it.

    Review: JUSTICE LEAGUE is exactly what you expect

    So there. You broke me, DC. I started out a believer, became a defender, turned into a wishful thinker and now sit here battered, broken and beaten. Aquaman is coming next. It looks like more of the same. There’s hope with Wonder Woman 2 if only because the same people who made Wonder Woman are in charge. But beyond that? What even is there? Warner Bros. seems to have no idea what to do and their recent decisions have all the makings of a studio trying anything in a desperate attempt to stumble upon something that works. There’s no vision, no leadership, no Kevin Feige Godfathering the whole operation.

    It’s just…sad.

    So I’m off the bandwagon. I’ll see the movies, of course, but the rose-colored glasses are off. If Warners wants to do two (or is it three?) different movies about the Joker, starring different actors, set in different universes, let them. If they want to bring back sleepwalking, grey-haired Ben Affleck let them. If they want to continue with Superman’s PS3 upper lip, let them. But don’t expect any more goodwill from this lifetime fan. As far as I’m concerned, DC is no different than Sony.

    And there’s nothing worse I can say than that.

    Tags

    Comic Book MoviesDC UniverseDCEU

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    15 Comments
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    Roeli
    Roeli
    4 years ago

    I didn’t really like Justice League; something about it was just off. However, I wasn’t one of the people who disliked Batman v Superman. In fact, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

    0
    Reply
    JJFletcher
    JJFletcher
    5 years ago

    I am still on the bandwagon. I agree that Justice League was hyped up more than it delivered, but still good. I am looking forward to Aquaman, though I feel like it is also being hyped up a lot.

    0
    Reply
    MidNight
    MidNight
    5 years ago

    I recently saw a mash-up poster of the Aquaman and the Nemo gang. It may suppose to be a casual joke just like the other meme out there on the internet, but a part of me thought that it was rather pathetic.

    Many seem to have given up on the franchise for failing to reproduce the charm that we see on Wonder Woman. I really can’t understand why. It’s not like Nolan is the only talented director out there.

    0
    Reply
    Bigfoot
    Bigfoot
    5 years ago
    Reply to  MidNight

    I go with others stating that it is not the director’s fault. There are indeed many talented directors that DC executives can hire. However, unless these executives will give freedom to the directors on how they portray the movie, there will be no improvement at all.

    0
    Reply
    MidNight
    MidNight
    5 years ago
    Reply to  Bigfoot

    Honestly, that thought wouldn’t cross my mind before I read the articles on this website about DCEU and Star Wars/Trek. I still think that 75% of the final product is the responsibility of the creative team, though now I see how far the remaining 25% (which is the executives) can damage the end product. At least it seems that the DC executives are not directly hurting the franchise like Star Wars, are they?

    0
    Reply
    KeeperofUnicorns
    KeeperofUnicorns
    5 years ago

    Your take on these DC movies is charming. Ben Affleck was the worst! I’m in the minority, but I enjoyed Suicide Squad and thought it was funny – especially Harley Quinn.

    0
    Reply
    Rebel
    Rebel
    5 years ago
    Reply to  KeeperofUnicorns

    I don’t blame Ben for the failure of the franchise. If I’m going to point fingers, then the direction will be to the story in which they changed after Ben took over the character. I think it will still work if they continued with the story of Bale. They can make a twist where Batman did a plastic surgery to make him more incognito to his enemies.

    0
    Reply
    surfari
    surfari
    5 years ago

    This sums up my feelings about DC movies. I stuck with them until Suicide Squad and then I had to tap out. Wonder Woman was phenomenal but, as you pointed out, it’s the exception. I hope that the sequel turns out just as well but, as DC films have conditioned me to do, I’m not going in with super high expectations.

    0
    Reply
    Stargazer
    Stargazer
    5 years ago
    Reply to  surfari

    I’m with you surfari. We expect too much and then we get disappointed that much as well. When the corporate controls the creativity of directors and writers then everything will become a mess. DC is the best example of this problem.

    0
    Reply
    Rebel
    Rebel
    5 years ago

    I officially welcome you to the club, my friend. The truth shall set you free and now you are free to see things clearly in the light. I love the portrayal of Batman with Christian Bale. I was actually expecting him to lead the Justice League because that version of the Batman story was solid. The Dark Knight was the highly anticipated film in 2008, but whatever the reason the studio had, they did not continue with its momentum. Iron Man and the Incredible Hulk was just starting that same year.

    0
    Reply
    surfari
    surfari
    5 years ago
    Reply to  Rebel

    I read that Christopher Nolan refused to do any more Batman films because the studio wanted future films to be part of the Extended Universe. He didn’t think that the Batman films/storyline he created would be able to blend into other stories. I think there’s truth in that. I read somewhere that Nolan had stipulations about involving his Batman in crossover series too.

    Bale was a fantastic Batman but I’m pretty sure he said he didn’t want to do anymore Batman movies, especially without Nolan.

    So…I guess the reason is Christopher Nolan.

    0
    Reply
    Micah
    Micah
    5 years ago
    Reply to  surfari

    Christopher Nolan or not, DC universe has gone downhill. In my opinion, Batman can be incorporated well into the extended universe if they continued with the story that Bale has successfully portrayed. Changing the story with a new one doesn’t help in attracting the fans of the previous movie that was successful.

    0
    Reply
    surfari
    surfari
    5 years ago
    Reply to  Micah

    You’re right, changing the story to a new one doesn’t attract the fans in this kind of situation. I don’t think DC would have made that decision if Christopher Nolan had been okay with it. Although it’s hard to say whether fans would have been excited with a recast either. I’m not sure who could’ve filled Bale’s shoes.

    0
    Reply
    Rebel
    Rebel
    5 years ago
    Reply to  surfari

    I’ve researched a little bit and this is what I found. http://time.com/4253882/batman-v-superman-ben-affleck-christian-bale/

    Director Zack Snyder explains the thought process behind his casting decisions.
    “This is a total and opposite reality from the Chris Nolan movies,” he says. “It’s another universe, so we couldn’t hire Christian Bale if we wanted to, because he doesn’t exist in our world.”

    Micah is correct, the failure to incorporate the previous story made whole Batman a weak narrative.

    0
    Reply
    surfari
    surfari
    5 years ago
    Reply to  Rebel

    Yeah, that’s pretty much echoing what Christopher Nolan said about why he didn’t want his stories in a different universe. I was just saying that it seems like it was primarily his decision.

    Yup, I’m not disagreeing with that at all. Ben Affleck also wasn’t a great decision.

    0
    Reply

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