DEAD ON SHOT
A Letter to DC and WB
Article by Justin Bowler
We are in a golden age of superherodom.
Movies are being made that we never thought would. Gone are the days when the only superhero names a child could utter were Batman, Wonder Woman, Superman, Hulk and Spider-Man. Lesser known heroes like Black Widow, Ant-Man and Guardians of the Galaxy now illuminate little boys and girls imaginations all over the planet. Furthermore, minor super villains are common names thrown about by kids during afternoon playtime: names like Diablo, Harley Quinn, Deadshot, and Thanos.
The new modern superhero boom essentially began in 2000 with the critical and financial success of Bryan Singer’s X-men. Then, in 2005, we received another critical and financial success story with Batman Begins, and the following year’s X-Men: United. Two years later, in 2008, comic book fans got a magnificent double whammy with one of the greatest superhero films of all time, The Dark Knight and another critical and financial hit, Iron Man. While both Batman films were phenomenal, and property of DC Comics, I believe Marvel Comics has done an amazing job leading the charge since then.
Unfortunately, I believe the current leadership of DC is going to be the downfall of the modern superhero boom. Were it not for die hard fans like myself…who insist on seeing your movies no matter what the critics say…and then further purchase the Blu-rays to see extended scenes, hoping that the movie will be better…Were it not for us, then your current DCEU would be nothing at all. So, my question is, how long do you think die hard fans will continue to do this? And once they stop, are you going to make better movies?
It absolutely amazes me that you insist on being different from Marvel (Marvel is doing a fantastic job by the way. Even die hard DC fans like myself have to admit that at least three of the Marvel movies are phenomenal superhero movies. PHENOMENAL superhero movies, and PHENOMENAL MOVIES. You think you are on the same level as Marvel, and as much as I hate to say this, YOU ARE NOT EVEN CLOSE). Yet, you do your best to absolutely differentiate yourself from them at every turn. You overcomplicate your characters (heroes and villains alike), then, by overcomplicating them, you overcomplicate and muddy the script. Did you learn nothing from The Dark Knight Rises?
There was so much to sift through in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice.
(THE TITLE ALONE IS OVERCOMPLICATED!!!!)
Tell a simple story. For example, try telling the story of Superman versus Lex Luthor. Let us know WHY Lex Luthor wants to kill Superman, and let us know why Superman should stop him. That’s it. That’s all you have to do. I find it absolutely amazing, when I ask people what Lex Luthor wanted in Batman v. Superman, no one can specifically tell me. Did he want Superman dead? Did he want Batman dead? Did he want Superman torn off of his pedestal? If he wanted those things, then why? I’ve asked more than two dozen people, many of which have seen the movie more than once. None of them could point to the part in the movie where those questions are specifically answered. How the eff does that happen? How the eff do you spend that much money to make a film and forget that part?
And Suicide Squad… while it is by far THE BEST MOVIE YOU HAVE PUT OUT, it is certainly not a great film. It had SOME good parts. Will Smith was great. That was excellent casting, and one of the only characters that was developed because you showed us WHY he did things and WHAT he wanted. Same thing with Diablo, it was great. He had just a little bit of backstory that answered all of our questions and we loved him for it (at least we loved him right up until he was misused at the end of the movie). Some of the imagery in the film was fantastic, just beautiful. It had one nice plot twist with Waller (and understand that VIOLA DAVIS AS WALLER WAS AWESOME), but then the script just meandered.
(Why wouldn’t you just stick to the story of the Suicide Squad? Why make up new overcomplicated bullshit? Rick Flag and June Moone?)
And what was up with the jumps in reason? Why did the bomb have to be placed directly under Enchantress’ brother? What happened to the soldier who had to set it off? Why didn’t that soldier want Killer Croc to set it off instead? And why have Killer Croc in the movie at all?
Margot Robbie was FANTASTIC as Harley, but I didn’t buy for a minute her flashbacks as a doctor. Show her as a capable doctor first, then show her enamored with Mista J. And speaking of Joker…
CONGRATULATIONS, you made me not want to see a movie with the Joker as the main heavy. Well done. I’m not sure how you take the most fascinating villain of all time and make him boring. So cheers on that. For example, and this is just one of many things, Joker is known for his smile. (Take a look at your t-shirts. You sell a lot of them!) How many times did Jared Leto smile in that movie? Twice? And neither were memorable. I guess you wanted to make him scary? But you made him dull and very one-dimensional. At no point was I scared of him. At NO point did you capture the tension, drama, and terror of Christoph Waltz in Inglourious Basterds. If you were going for scary, we never got it.
Overall, the movie was anti-climactic and un-fun. Was it as bad as the critics say? No, 29% on Rotten Tomatoes is not fair. But is it a good movie? Is it a win? No and NO!
For some reason, you think that just putting these characters in the movie is enough for us (and that should make fans happy) instead of creating a great story around them. Let’s not forget, it was the great stories around them that made us love these characters to begin with. Now please… pretty please… PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE get your head out of your ass, and make a decent movie. It can be done.
Greg Berlanti is killing it on TV. Let HIM take a stab at the films. Your feature animation is also great. Let them have a go. Both of them certainly couldn’t do any worse. Or if you want to just suck it up and admit your mistakes about trying NOT to be Marvel, then hire Jon Favreau or Joss Whedon to make a film. Offer them all of the money they want. Or God forbid, you bring back Chris Nolan!!! All of them have proven financial and critical success with superhero films. All of them have made fantastic superhero films, unlike Zack Snyder (yes, I realize you think Zack Snyder was a success).
THAT’S THE EXACT EFFING PROBLEM I AM REFERRING TO!!!
Did you read the open letter to you from Gracie Law?
If someone doesn’t deliver, then get rid of them and move on to someone who can. If you want, offer Zack a smaller, lesser-known hero and give him $40 million. If the movie is good, then everyone wins. If it isn’t, no big deal. But, let’s not sit around waiting for him to make a good movie. He has had more than enough opportunity already.
You say you have righted the ship. I call BS. You’re letting your fans down. And you need to stop it. Why? Not because you care about the fans. We know you don’t. Not because you care about the subject matter. It’s clear you don’t. Let me tell you in terms that make sense to you. If you don’t stop with the mediocre crappy films, then no one will pay to see them. That’s right. You won’t make any money!
So go ahead, piss off the people that love these properties! See what that does for you!
OR…
Start making better movies. I know you know people who are capable of it. As a fan, I am begging you. Don’t go down in history as the superhero movie studio that killed off superhero movies.
DC Movies:
Man of Steel – 2.25 stars
Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice – 2 stars
Suicide Squad – 2.5 stars
DC TV:
The Flash – 4 stars
Arrow – 3.5 stars
Legends of Tomorrow – 3.5 stars
DC Animated Movies:
Every single one of them – 3 stars or better.
I’m out,
Justin Bowler
@justintbowler on Twitter
@IndyFilmTwittic on IG
