Zack Snyder's Justice League (2021) - Movie Review

So… yeah, it’s been pretty quiet around here lately. A lot of shit has happened over the past few months (in addition to the longer parade of shit that has happened over the last two years), and between everything happening in the real world and the drastic changes taking place within the film world… I gotta be honest, it’s not a particularly fun time to be writing about movies. I’ve been wrestling with quarantine brain for a while now, struggling to delve back into this profession that I have devoted so many years of my life to pursuing. Every time I thought I had bounced back, the malaise would resurface and I’d be stuck back in the same pit of inactivity.

But no more, I say. It is long past time for things to get back to normal (or whatever qualifies as “normal” around here), and to get things back into gear, I’ve decided to return with a rather unusual feature. I don’t usually make the time to review director’s cuts around here, but this is a once-in-a-lifetime example of such things.

Justice League (2017) - Movie Review

 

This is the film event of the year but for all the wrong reasons. After the far-from-impressive track record of the DC Extended Universe up to this point, we now have the big team-up feature to kick things into high gear. But then the production issues started to pop up: Avengers writer Joss Whedon was tapped by Zack Snyder to write scenes for reshoots, then Snyder left the project due to family medical issues so Whedon had to direct the reshoots himself... and then Snyder hit up the Internet after the film's release, practically begging the public to show interest in his original cut for the film, rather than the one in cinemas which was edited down.

 

Knowing how scattershot the production values of all the DCEU films have been so far, with the highly lauded exception of Wonder Woman, this kind of production background isn't making me hopeful that this will be the one to finally push DC out of the red. But, as I've said before, I've always had a soft spot for superhero and comic book-related films; hell, I still think that Suicide Squad is a decent, if flawed, feature. Maybe that will kick in again and I'll walk away from this happy. Maybe.

Wonder Woman (2017) - Movie Review

As a means to contrast the enduring sense of dread I had in the lead-up to the release of Baywatch (you know, before I ended up liking it), today’s film has been a long and steady process of chanting “please don’t suck” over and over again every time I saw the marketing for this film. Knowing what DC is capable of in terms of stories, and how much their recent efforts have been underwhelming (I didn’t give nearly enough flack for the whole Granny’s Peach Tea insanity from BvS: Dawn Of Justice when I first reviewed it), I seriously wish that they would stop falling under their own strain and just make the DC Extended Universe worth watching. The closest we’ve gotten so far is Suicide Squad, and even then it ranks up there in terms of the most bewildering fanboy rage quits in recent years; it honestly seems like I’m one of the few people who was willing to give that film a chance.

 

So, in the wake of this film’s alarmingly warm reception, am I going to join the crowd for once or am I going to be the lone jackass wondering what the hell everyone else is seeing? Only one way to find out.

Batman V. Superman: Dawn Of Justice (2016) - Movie Review

I briefly got into this same point when discussing The Death Of Superman Lives, but it bears repeating here: I seriously do not care about Superman. Whether it’s not being brought up in the right place or era where his brand of heroics would’ve left a proper impression, or just a general disdain for overpowered main characters in action films, Superman has never struck me as a character I should care to see on screen. This probably isn’t helped by how the only Superman film I’ve seen in full is 2013’s Man Of Steel, which might well be one of the most unheroic depictions of any superhero that doesn’t involve straight-up torture (Looking at you, unaired pilot of Wonder Woman). Anyway, to paraphrase fellow reviewer and frenemy of the blog Todd In The Shadows: “Being bulletproof is boring. I’d rather be the guy who gets shot and still keeps fighting.” Yeah, I’m backing Batman in this fight, in case it hasn’t already been made clear. There’s quite a bit riding on this film, considering it’s not only the latest reboot of the Caped Crusader but it’s also supposed to serve as the entry point for a DC cinematic universe… but since this is guaranteed to make money, I’m not going to pretend that that plan isn’t already going ahead. But should it, based on this initial outing?