Comic Book Movies

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I went into Across the Spider-Verse (and remember, Into the Spider-Verse is my favorite superhero movie of all time) with high expectations and also knowing that it was going to be a part one of two. I walked out being thoroughly exhillerated by the experience and that fucking cliffhanger ending still caught me off guard because I was so damn into the story that I completely forgot that the movie's runtime was coming up.

This was an awesome fucking movie that reminds me why superhero stories can still be great.

[Dr. Insomniac]

I loved the movie, felt too short even though it was 2 and half hours, but someone on Twitter pointed out something that's been annoying me.

Spoiler

Why was every single Spider-Man but Miles okay with a system where several of their loved ones have to die as a scientific law? I can get Miguel doing it because he's heavily pragmatic throughout the movie, but every Peter? Even the ones who would absolutely break the laws of physics or make pacts with the devil just to save their friends and family? You'd think one of them would at least ask about what essentially amounts to human sacrifices, especially since Miles saved Pavitr's loved ones from deaths they were apparently supposed to face, and that didn't lead to his universe unraveling or becoming some kind of incursion. And how the Spiderless Earth-42 we see at the end is still intact despite also breaking the rules.

On another note, I guess this means the Captain Stacy of SSM died and left Peter forlorn enough to implicitly agree with all the others that these premature deaths are a logical inevitability?

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[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Spoiler

In the case of a lot of these Spider-Men their tragic event has already happened, so I think it's easier for them to buy into the logic that the sacrifice was for a greater good since there was nothing they could do about it anyways. Miles is actively fighting to stop what hasn't happened yet regardless of what the consequences may be, so his perspective is different. And as we see by the end, several of his old friends from the first movie and even some new ones from this movie have changed their stance in favor of Miles.

That said, it is still a weird implication that seemingly nobody would object to this before Miles, as I definitely couldn't see TSSM Spider-Man ever being down with this himself. It would have been a better writing choice and made more sense if Miguel had a majority of the Spider-People in his organization dark to the part about the sacrifice being part of the canon except those closest to the top. As far as they were concerned the mission was just to stop anomalies like The Spot. Then in the third movie when the rest of them learned the truth, several of them would turn on Miguel. Though I predict that will happen anyways, just under different circumstances.

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[Dr. Insomniac]

Spoiler

Though I assume the Canon Events for every Spidey don't end, so it doesn't just stop at an Uncle Ben and a Captain Stacy, but a Gwen, a Jean DeWolff, a Harry, an Aunt May, etc. Miles had two mentors in his life die but that wasn't enough, so it's almost assured that even if he willingly let his dad be sacrificed, his mom or Ganke would eventually be next. And you'd think more of the Spider-Men would be open to the idea of preventing others from sharing that pain, especially for newer Spideys who've gone through less tragedy than the ones who've gone through it all. We know the Andrew Garfield Spider-Man certainly wouldn't have wanted that when he saved MCU MJ's life, and he and the other live-action Peters were all for changing predetermined fates.

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[Dr. Insomniac]

So how are the Authority gonna work in Superman Legacy? Adapting "What's So Funny About Truth, Justice, and the American Way?" wouldn't exactly work when you're trying to sell newcomers on the Authority since that whole story is just "Here's why these trademark-friendly Authority knockoffs are dumb and why Clark is right". But can't see a Superman and the Authority or a Change or Die adaptation happening either because those require an older, more tired Clark for the tone to work, and they fired Cavill and are doing tryouts with younger actors.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

After all of the hype and controversy and delays, The Flash is finally out. I genuinely didn't expect this movie to actually be made a few years back (probably even less than Black Adam, which was also in development hell). That said, now that it finally made it out to theaters, and being praised by all manners of individuals months before it's actual release, what do I think about it?

It's pretty decent. Not quite buying into the accolades so many people were giving this movie before release, but it's definitely enjoyable, and probably about on par with an above average MCU movie. Michael Keaton was fun to see again, some of the humor works, and I actually really like that this movie forgoes a main villain in favor of having the core conflict be with Barry trying to solve a problem that he created. That said, the movie has some gaping logical inconsistencies (as most time travel stories tend to have, to be fair), a good chunk of jokes fall flat outside of the bits that work, and the CG is really wonky in quite a few scenes.

I still enjoyed it on the whole, so it's worth watching, but it does feel like it treads a lot of familiar ground that other superhero movies have done better, IMO.

[Dr. Insomniac]

It's funny this movie's an ideological opposite to Across the Spider-Verse, right down to whether it's right or not to save your parents vs maintaining the multiverse.

Even ignoring all the Ezra Miller news and this film becoming one of the lynchpins of the ongoing Zaslav controversy, I have really mixed feelings. For what it's worth, it's more tonally coherent and interesting than Black Adam or WW1984, at least it wasn't boring. And Sacha Calle is good enough to make you wish she got a Supergirl movie. But I've said this before when talking about the Justice League movie, both versions, this version of Barry is so annoying. He acts and behaves like all the worst stereotypes of a wacky superhero. 2013 Barry's even worse because of his giggle and how he always does that "Blue skiddoo, we can too!" thing from Blue's Clues right before running. And besides a few small scenes with Iris and his dad, there's no supporting cast to ground him or make him seem like a person. Yeah, there's Bruce and Kara, but they're too alien or disconnected to really make a real emotional bond with Barry. Either of them.

Spoiler

I thought it's hilarious that out of all the actors from the CW show to cameo, they got the guy who played Zoom/the fake Jay Garrick.

So Reverse-Flash just doesn't exist in the DCEU and Barry's mom was killed by some guy? Because I can't imagine Eobard giving up and not doing anything thanks to one less shopping trip.

And I guess the Schumacher re-evalution is now in full swing if we're getting George Clooney cameos.

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[Avaitor]

I'm really not surprised that the movie is shooting below expectations. This is meant to be the grand finale to a franchise that audiences just aren't that enthused about, starring a character few consider a favorite to be the lynchpin. And I know that they were hoping on nostalgia for Michael Keaton to bring audiences in, but I think that they're ten years too late to properly capitalize on that, and are also ten years too early to do the same for Bale like others suggest (or, at least, it's ten years too early for him to feel nostalgic enough to put the cape and cowl back on).

That said, I might be able to squeeze it in on $5 Tuesday, based on my budget and schedule. It doesn't sound that bad, but also doesn't sound as good as Zaslav was hoping for.

[Dr. Insomniac]

I think what annoyed a lot of the audiences was how it wasn't meant to be the grand finale for a while. All the reports about this being the first of a string of "Guess what, Keaton's back!" Batman films with Batgirl and Beyond on the way, and Calle talking about how she was developing a good rapport with Cavill while in rehearsals, only for all that to get thrown in the trash after Black Adam bombed and Gunn got hired. And since that was big news last year, alongside all the shit with Ezra, even casual audiences knew all about this.

And what's going on with Gadot's contract? Diana just keeps randomly cameoing in these movies and then leaving after a minute.

[Avaitor]

I'm wondering if they have to burn off her contract with these pointless cameos now that Wonder Woman 3 was canceled.

Although if Gadot really isn't getting another solo WW film, you'd think that there would be an attempt to give her run as the character some sort of closure. I'm not even the biggest fan of her acting, but it would be disappointing and kind of weird if her era just went out with a whimper, considering how big of a deal her initial appearances were.

[Dr. Insomniac]

Doesn't help how she keeps flip-flopping on if she's done or not.

I wouldn't mind a 3rd WW movie, as long as it's less like the 2nd one and more focused. Like if it was like that recent Wonder Woman Historia comic in tone, I'd prefer that.

[Dr. Insomniac]

Bad news for anybody who wanted Nicholas Hoult as Clark.

[Avaitor]

I have no opinion on the guy playing Supes, but while I thought that Marvelous Mrs. Maisel wore itself thin pretty quickly, Brosnahan was always good and she seems fit for the punchy dialogue you'd want for Lois. I think her casting was a good call.

As for Perry White, it's almost a shame that Jeffrey Wright just played Gordon, because I think that he'd be a perfect fit.

Oh yeah, and I did see Flash last week. Maybe if we didn't recently have Across the Spiderverse or even No Way Home, it wouldn't feel so derivative and unimpressive, but I just spent the entire time not caring. But at the same time, Miller's Flash sucks, and they can't convincingly play straight.

[Dr. Insomniac]

Yeah, I'm sure having Ezra Miller play the straight man to another Ezra Miller sounded like a fun idea on paper, like on paper from before 2017, but actually seeing it...

And I'm trying to remember what Fishburne even did as Perry in MoS. 2/3rds of the cast in that movie were total ciphers.

[Dr. Insomniac]

At last.