Justice League (The Snyder Cut)

Alright I get the affection for it now.

Color me impressed, for a movie I had some but not really too much interest to see and saw the tumultous uproar to even get it released, with zero real knowledge of how it came to be in existence as we see it now I thought it was great! Now I will say the enjoyment of Joss Whedon's version has waned a bit to the point I think it's just a average decent movie, but I don't deem it superflous or worthy of being erased. Considering this is an R rated movie and a firmly warranted one at that, it tells a much more dramatic and for lack of a better word "important" story, taking it seriously and trying to convey a story meant for grown ups means it can't fully be compared to the theatrical release which is bright, fun, and ultimately your typical popcorn superhero film. There is a place for both in comic movies, and while there is undoubtedly exact same shots and a mostly unchanged story, it's how the movie goes about it that makes a universe of difference. Presented in a quite honestly fascinating aspect ratio of 4:3, the likes of which last seen here in The Lighthouse, the story still involves Bruce leading the charge for a metahuman team combating the threat of Steppenwolf and more importantly Apokolips. The beauty of this movie is it takes what was there in the theatrical movie and expands upon it with an extended runtime and select new elements, after all that was the plan once upon another time the Justice League was going to be two movies and this delivers it in an unsual way. The story is split up into parts, not quite vignettes but more chapters of a book, an interesting idea that while not changing much is a unique and novel touch. It's actually a fascinating experience watching both versions back to back because it's so similar and yet so extremely different. I greatly enjoyed and loved how the story progressed, the additional character moments and backstory we get, the visual style is truly Zack Snyder which I feel helps the movie more than the brighter shades of the Whedon version. It truthfully lived up to the hype everyone was making it to be for me, and they need to continue this story. You started it way back in 2013, it's almost been a decade and if you just take several steps back WB and DC from current projects and start at square one you could have something a lot of people would like to see. I've been on board this ship since almost day 1 and this movie reminded me how excited I get seeing a new DC movie and can't wait to see the next one. I know they can do it and Black Adam looks pretty solid so far. The movie clearly has a vision, style, and story it wants to tell and I'd say it handled it all very strongly. I had to buy this movie cause I couldn't find a place to rent it, but I gotta say that was money well spent after seeing it. It's a truly tragic thing that happened to the Snyder family and lord knows there is countless people who give a lot of love and good thoughts to them, and the fact they could get their movie out there the way they wanted it is a pretty incredible thing in and of itself. And I will be just brutally honest guys, I was NOT in a good state of mind before watching this, feeling very bitter, disillusioned, and beyond apathetic to media, the world, and specifically people. Just really despising with uncalculable anger at how just vehement and pessimistic people can be over such frivolous things as entertainment, like a comic book adaptation or a movie series. But then I remembered that not only is revenge the most worthless of causes, but hate is the most useless of emotions. It did give me pause however if I should even continue after my 1,000th review. But there is world enough and time before we reach that day. 4 stars, 8.5/10, and just for comparison I would rate the theatrical version 2.5 stars, 6/10, and I can't believe I'm doing this. Next time, League Of The Super Pets. Ohhhhhh......

In Retrospect: Justice League

Yeah, I still really like this movie.

I gotta admit I was laughing my ass off at people who gave this movie 3 stars or lower on IMDB, that is a joke that will never get old! Really? If this is the worst movie you have ever seen you have either never been to the cinema in your life, don't know what a movie is, or have never seen movies like Manos The Hands Of Fate or The Room. You got off easy if this is the worst movie you have ever seen! Which is ridiculous because Justice League is a good movie. It is not great, perfect, or mind blowing. But it is a highly entertaining and cool movie for comic book fans and superhero movie fans. Every major character they did was brought to life and done justice. It's a shame Cyborg never got much screen time cause there is a lot to his character and I enjoyed him while he was on screen. Flash stole the movie for me, I absolutely adore Barry and I cannot wait to see him in future movies. I will not rant about the delayed Aquaman movie, at least we got it this year but I hate having to wait until Christmas to see quite possibly the greatest Aquaman in history. And the trinity of DC heroes, good work as always but of course special praise to Wonder Woman (I don't think Gal Gadot is her real name at this point...). Now is this the best adaptation of the Justice League? No. The animated series did everything right and is a classic, but I'll be damned if I said this movie sucked. Yeah, the villain was rubbish but honestly I have yet to see a recent comic book movie in the post-Dark Knight Rises world that had a really awesome villain. Lex was fine in the last movie, but he ain't no Tom Hardy. Both sides have suffered from this but I have faith in both companies to pull through. Ugh....now that I think about it I will be without a comic book movie until October. That sucks. Oh but many more movies, many more days. And we got one this Friday!

Justice League

Yep, I loved it.

Justice League is another hit in my book, dashing all insecurities and paranoia that this cinematic universe could not take shape. This film was awesome, everyone was perfectly casted even in supporting roles, the action was very well done, all the characters got their screen time to shine, they did not feel shoehorned in or forced in anyway which made me very happy. In fact let's talk superheroes. Batman is still done very well by Ben Affleck spearheading the charge to form the League, Wonder Woman is really the backbone and soul of the League holding it all together while really throwing her all into kicking ass, Flash is perfection, (No I have not seen the CW show yet, so currently Ezra Miller is my Flash.) and you can tell he is having the time of his life in this role, Jason Momoa is Aquaman (Need I even say more?) and the sad part is most of his best moments are in the trailer but screw it Aquaman is the King, Cyborg was done I thought incredibly well giving the character his struggle between man and machine and finding his new place in the world. However! You underused Mera, how dare you? You do not disrespect the Queen, and damn it I wish there was more of her! J.K. Simmons is really good as Jim Gordon, again terribly underused but it's great seeing him. And actually that's the thing, true these characters might not be seen much but there will be more movies so we can fully appreciate the potrayals of these beloved comic book characters. Now I must admit, I have never heard of Steppenwolf in the comics, quite frankly he sounds like a Norwegian metal band, and I'd be lying if though while he is a formidable foe for the League, he is not that great a villain. He's basically a "all he sees he conquers" type of villain, and the best part of his character was that he mentioned an even bigger, badder villain than himself. Though that reveal will be easily detected by any fan of the comics or their related media. So the villain was not that strong, but the actions scenes are so well done, though the slow motion has reached Zack Snyder levels over 9000 thanks to The Flash now, but regardless it is all framed and shot well so you can get a large scope of the battles. And it does do justice to the comics incredibly well, and I highly suggest you stay after the credits. It may not be what you are expecting, but I think you will like it. It's by no means incredible like The Dark Knight or the 1978 Superman movie, but it is worth your time and money if you love comic books and love the movies even more.

Batman V. Superman: Dawn Of Justice

I had great faith in this movie...and it did not disappoint!

What a great comic book movie! I loved it! Ben Affleck killed it as Batman, Henry Cavill is still a great Superman, even Gal Gadot whooped some serious ass as Wonder Woman! The cast, yes even Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor was fantastic. So what's the story? Well....it's a little bit more complex then Batman and Superman throw down and it's amazing. It sets up a lot of stuff, and some of it won't pay off until the future but it was still very well done! The best part of the movie in my opinion was the fact that this is a continuation of Man Of Steel. And some of the plot elements play strongly in this film. I dare not spoil how it all unfolds but I think it will thrill you. I think it will fascinate you about future DC movies. So for those of you who feel obligated to see this movie, despite my rave review I have to say you are very brave. Through all the hate, the doubt, the crazy choices it actually works. Would it make you happy? Would it make you think more? How come there were so many dream sequences? Well there's one thing you need to know: It's here. And it's a true marvel. So get your butts down to the movie theater right now!

Watchmen

I'm back! And I decided to review another comic book movie.

Watchmen is one of the most faithful adaptations of anything literary and putting a visual director like Zack Snyder as the main creator of this movie really makes the film more enjoyable and interesting. So the story of Watchmen is set in an alternate 1985 where superheroes have been forced to retire, Richard Nixon is still president, and one member of the Watchmen has been murdered forcing other members to come out of retirement and bring the killer to justice. Now what I like about this movie besides being very faithful to the graphic novel, is just really how the film was made. Who they chose to be the characters, how they created an alternate 1985 New York and how the environment looks, how they shot specific scenes, and how well the dialogue was written. Serious praise must go to Jackie Earl Haley and Jeffrey Dean Morgan for their outstanding performances, seriously these guys are the reason this film is so well remembered and talked about to this day. The music choices are believe it or not, perfect for the scenes they are in with the music choices spanning from Bob Dylan to Mozart and I can't imagine the movie without this soundtrack. The only real problem I really have for the movie is the ending. It's not the same ending in the book and I am fine with that, because with film you really do have to take artistic license so that's not the problem. The problem is it's a little ambiguous at the end, which I kinda like but I'm just not all for it. I love to speculate about movies but very rarely do I speculate after the movie is finished, I speculate more before the movie is even out. Like for instance, does the Suicide Squad movie take place before the Batman V. Superman movie or after? What's the relationship going to be between Harley and the Joker? Stuff like that. I shouldn't wonder about that after the movie not unless there is going to be a sequel, but with Watchmen it's a one-shot graphic novel, there will never be a continuation of it. So that's the only gripe with it and I honestly enjoyed the movie so much I bought the 3 hour director's cut. If you are a fan of comic book movies and likes to see blood and action but also like to speculate, Watchmen is the perfect movie for you.

I'm not sure what to review next, been kinda hankering for some giant monster movies and luckily I have a few of them. That sounds good, let's do that tomorrow.