[George]

He's an experienced director with a number of critically-acclaimed films to his name, not a privileged young upstart being handed his career on a silver platter.

Being tormented and full of angst is perfectly in line with the way [Batman]'s been characterized in the comics at all times except the hated 60s/early 70s incarnation that was influenced by the campy TV show.

It was actually the other way around - the comics influenced the show.  Part of the reason why the show adopted such a goofy tone to begin with was to parody the comics it was based on.  Even before the show, we had Batman comics with covers like these:







The history of Batman is a truly fascinating subject.

[Roundy]

Wow, that last one might be my new favorite Batman cover ever.

[Rama Set]

He's an experienced director with a number of critically-acclaimed films to his name, not a privileged young upstart being handed his career on a silver platter.

Oh jesus

[Jura-Glenlivet]

He's an experienced director with a number of critically-acclaimed films to his name, not a privileged young upstart being handed his career on a silver platter.

If he’s in it for the money, fine. If he is looking for critical acclamation he’s moved into the wrong genre surely, steroidal men in gimp suits punching each other!

[Snupes]

Aren't most of his films received in the "okay" or "not bad" range? "Critically acclaimed" seems a bit much

[George]

Aren't most of his films received in the "okay" or "not bad" range? "Critically acclaimed" seems a bit much

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/rick_famuyiwa/

The Family Wedding looks to be his only major flop.  It's a more promising filmography than what Snyder has, at least.

Oh jesus

Please direct your exasperation towards the people behind Suicide Squad.  Their antics have made the news again:

https://uk.movies.yahoo.com/suicide-squad-david-ayer-made-the-cast-punch-each-171700255.html

In other news, it seems like some people have gotten to see BvS's "ultimate edition," or the director's cut including all the deleted scenes, early.  The whole movie hasn't been put online yet, at least not as far as I can tell, but all the extra scenes can be watched here.  I don't know where exactly in the film each of these new scenes are placed, but giving the movie the benefit of the doubt (which, based on the pacing and editing of the theatrical release, may be more than it deserves), I'd say that they make for a decent improvement on the final product.  The story makes a lot more sense now, at the very least.  The biggest plot hole of the movie - why anyone in the world would blame Superman for shooting all those people in Africa - is explained, along with a couple of other subplots, like the Senate bombing and Clark's investigation of Batman.

Of course, none of that fixes the main problem, that this is a movie ostensibly about Batman and Superman fighting that refuses to be about Batman and Superman fighting.  But still, it's something.

[George]

On the notion of BvS's best scene.  It's kind of a stretch that Batman can shrug off so many close-range gunshots, but if the alternative is him wearing a big clunky suit of armor that he can barely move in, let alone fight, then we had better just suspend our disbelief and suppose that this Batsuit is so tough that it can even absorb the impact of a gunshot.  That blood splatter was an extremely unnecessary touch, and the part with the grenade had me rolling my eyes as I remembered that Snyder thinks that this sort of killing "by proxy" is okay.  Aside from all that, though, this is a pretty gnarly fight.

http://io9.gizmodo.com/on-the-set-of-justice-league-the-movie-that-wants-to-s-1782290344

I raised an eyebrow at some of the wording from the Snyders, like the notion that the problem with BvS was that it was a deconstruction, but I suppose they're hardly going to come out and say, "Yeah, we fucked up, but we're going to do better this time around."  I like the scenes that we got a description of, too.

[Snupes]

“The main thing we learned [on Batman v Superman] is that people don’t like to see their heroes deconstructed,” said producer Deborah Snyder.

Ugh, fuck off. What people don't like to see is "their heroes" being useless, idiotic, whiny pieces of shit who make unfathomable decisions and brood so intensely that just seeing one of their films actually sends you into an existential depression.

“With Justice League, [Batman and Superman] have both been freed of the shackles of the responsibility to be in a place where they would fight each other,” the director explained. “That is liberating for us in making the movie [...]

You put the shackles on you fucking idiot. I hate how he seems to be acting like BvS was something that had to happen, Batman and Superman had to fight for retardedly convoluted reasons Snyder bent over backwards to manufacture in order to find a reason for them to do so (that still barely made sense!!).

People trying to accomplish goals together is the root of all great comedy in my view.

Boy, I can't wait to see Snyder's idea of comedy. Sounds like a hilarious guy.

Gordon then turns around and, in classic Batman fashion, Wonder Woman, Batman and Cyborg disappear, leaving the Flash alone.

“Wow, did they just do that?” wonders the fastest man alive. “How rude.”

Yep. Hilarious.

Does he have divots on the surface he's using his mouse on? Why???


Also, the Flash's humor in general seems like it's got a very good chance of being really cringeworthy in Snyder's style. So we'll see how Snyder handles that.


In general, though, this sounds like a step forward, so I'll peg myself as very, very, very cautiously optimistic I guess???

[Snupes]

http://birthmoviesdeath.com/2016/06/21/a-hater-tours-the-justice-league-set

Wow. This is a MUCH better article and has me a lot more optimistic.

[George]

If anyone's interested in seeing the ultimate cut, just let me know, and I'll be happy to share.

[Rama Set]

Well I watched it (thanks George) and I have to say it is definitely better than my first viewing of the movie. I am not sure if it is because of extra material or because I could follow it more easily on a second viewing, but the plot seemed to make more sense and have a more substantial development.

I still don't like the story. I think the characters are contradictory and the fights scenes only reinforce how little of a grasp Snyder had in them. I realize now that Diane Lane could have handled the scene where she advises Superman on his duty to the world much better. She chose to play it defiant and bitter instead of playing it as a mother who knew that her son had to choose for himself, even if she knew what would be best and he might choose incorrectly. I can't guess why she chose to make it a smaller-hearted moment, and it surely could have been written better, but it made me rethink that "it was all the writing and direct that made BvS terrible".

Fuck the score sucks. Fuck Jessie Eisenberg sucked. Was that Darkseid at the end?  Fuck that sucked.

[Rama Set]

Oh... And the flashbacks. Fuck they sucked.

[Snupes]

Fuck that movie sucked

[Rama Set]

It sucked like fuck

[George]

The downside to the story being made clearer is that it emphasizes just how dumb the story was to begin with.  One thing the ultimate cut really makes explicit is that Lex was behind literally every single aspect of Batman and Superman's enmity.  Even beyond the obvious things like the shenanigans in Africa and the Capitol bombing, there's also his specifically inviting Clark Kent to his party so that he would confront Bruce Wayne, smuggling shivs to prisoners so that they would kill anyone with Batman's brand on them, sending Clark the information about those prison stabbings that got him started on his investigation, etc.  Setting aside how convoluted and nonsensical his plan is, this fatally undermines the titular struggle.  It wasn't enough to only have Batman and Superman fight when they were tricked into it - their entire ideological conflict is based on them being tricked into it.  Well, I suppose Batman did hate Superman after Metropolis getting rekt during the events of MoS, but I think the movie kind of forgot about that as it went on.

[Rama Set]

You don't get it! Lex Luthor is a genius!

[George]

He must be, seeing how he so easily manipulated the world's greatest detective and discovered the secret identities of all the capeshitters off-screen.  It was very considerate of him to name those capeshitters and create their symbols, too.  Also, that was Steppenwolf at the end, not Darkseid.  He's going to be the villain for the Justice League movie.

In related news:

<George> Snupes: https://gfycat.com/AnyPiercingFennecfox
<Snupes> George: Yes
<Snupes> Perfect
<George> One of the most well-known German expressionist films is called Metropolis
<George> Coincidence? I think not
<Snupes> George: Is there a German expressionist film named "Gotham" next to it?
<George> I don't think so, but there are definitely some Gothic German expressionist films
<George> Close enough
<Snupes> Yeah that'll work

[beardo]

Where? Also, that was Steppenwolf at the end

Where?

[George]

[Blanko]

This thread doesn't really seem to be about the first look of Ben Affleck's Batman anymore, so I've renamed it to be about all things capeshit instead. It looks like that's what this thread was already being used for anyway.