Hello All!
Long time listener, first time caller here. DCypherD is the name, not an affiliate of DC, more like deciphered. Any who, back to the main event.
I normally observe versus speak but for these two movies I thought maybe I should help stand up for these films as they both, though one decidedly over the other, are getting hate. I’ve finally been able to see both Civil War and Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice. It was really hard to not have either movie spoiled thanks the awesome headline writing, or lack thereof, by the one and only Josh Wilding and the ever present and annoying trolls of the internet who like to post spoilers in the comments section of completely unrelated articles. Once the movie viewing had ended and I was back at my house, I decided to head over to comicbookmovie.com and catch up with all the articles, editorials, and the like I had ignored. I gotta say, you guys didn’t disappoint. I’m not gonna lie either, I read these next lines with J.K. Simmons as JJJ in my head. Batman vs Superman is the most stupidest movie ya ever did see cuz reasons. Zack Snyder sucks because as a fan I know what it takes to make a great cohesive story and translate it from a written medium to a visual one despite the fact I have no education, talent, or experience in doing just that; I could totally do a better job. Civil War is the greatest thing since ever for reasons.
Come on folks, we’re better than this. I’m all for you not liking something. You have that right. It is fact that not everyone will find the same things as pleasing or enjoyable as you or I do. However, it is ridiculous and uncalled for to break something down without providing a logical stand with evidence. That is the point of debate, and whether you realize it or not, by stating an opposing opinion/view you enter yourself into a debate. Debates are great and in this world of comic geekdom I say debate and have debated.
Disclaimer: I am a fan of both DC and Marvel. Batman is my favorite hero and Spider-Man is a very close second. The views written in this editorial are mine and you have every right to agree or debate them same as me with anything posted on this site or in life in general.
Here are my thoughts on the two movies. Feel free to comment in the usual place with your thoughts.
Batman vs Superman – 4 out of 5 stars
I’ll try not rehash what everyone else has said. I’ll just hit highlights for me.
Ben Affleck, much to my surprise, was an excellent Batman and Zack Snyder really nailed the feel of Batman in and out of combat. Batman was gritty and visceral, the way he was meant to be. Points lost for Batman’s disregard for human life, even if he is worn and broken. Batman at his essence does not kill without solid reason and even then tries to avoid it. Although I like Zack and Henry’s Superman, I concede that this iteration of Superman is a bit too dark for the character at heart. Wonder Woman was amazing. I feel that we need to see more of Ben’s Bruce and Gal’s Wonder Woman before we can say where they stand overall in quality but they have my interest. Points lost for naming Wonder Woman Diana Prince, just…ugh.
My biggest complaint is that of the blatant shoe horning of the other members of the Justice League. It was completely unnecessary to have Wonder Woman watch the video files for each of the three, especially Cyborg. Seeing the FLASHback, hee hee, was all the cameo I needed. Cyborg’s video should have been reserved for his solo and although it was nice to see Flash and Aquaman, just seeing their symbols on the drive from when BRUCE had it would have served enough justice – again? On a roll. Cutting out the video files eliminates it from the audience having to see the drive contains files and info on the other members TWICE but doesn’t take away the fact that we know that’s what it contains and what it means. Its purpose was to tell Bruce there were other Meta-Humans and explain to HIM that the woman he met is one of them as well as encourage him to find and unite them.
Overall the movie delivered what was promised. It was not perfect but laid a solid foundation for the upcoming films. Zack Snyder did a fairly good job with the monumental task at hand. As for everyone’s biggest complaint (Martha), I’ll get to that in a bit.
Captain America: Civil War – 4 out of 5 stars
Civil War was a great film for using the established universe to its advantage. It was a classic Marvel fun fest with a slightly darker tone; slightly. I’m having a hard time deciding whether I liked this or Winter Soldier better. And folks, we have our Spider-Man. I can't believe how well Tom Holland and the writers nailed both Peter Parker and Spider-Man. Tobey Maguire was too old and whiney as Peter Parker and not quite quick witted or annoying enough as Spider-Man. I loved Garfield's Spider-Man but his Peter Parker was absolutely horrible. Other than that I don’t really have much more to add on the film itself that wasn’t said elsewhere.
Anyone else really annoyed with the marketing for this movie? I went into the movie thinking something really bad must have happened to have Tony and Steve so at odds with each other. I mean, they're not the closest of friends but they're also FAR from enemies. Then I watched the movie and was like, so the new girl on the team made a rookie mistake but it was the last straw for the global governments so we now have the Sokovia Accords and Tony thinks it's a good idea but Steve doesn't agree but THEY ARE COMPLETELY AMICABLE!!! They don't actually hate each other at ANY POINT in this film, despite what the trailers would have you believe. And this is includes the final showdown between Tony, Capt, And Bucky. Tony only hates Bucky and just wants Capt out of his way.
Speaking of hating Bucky. My biggest complaint with Civil War is Tony suddenly and irrevocably losing his mind. I understand Tony finally finding out who killed his parents sends him into a blinding rage, I guess the Hulk was in the movie after all, but it felt really forced. It made ZERO sense in the grand scheme of the story. The base story of this movie is the classic former bad guy is framed by new bad guy, good guys believe former bad guy is the bad guy and chase him down, one sole member believes former bad guy is still FORMER bad guy and sets out to clear his name jeopardizing his own freedom. Good guys have an argument (with fists), good guys realize they’ve been chasing the wrong guy and team back up to catch actual bad guy. They could have ended the movie there and we would have a complete story arc. But no, they had to throw in the twist that Winter Soldier is in fact the killer of Tony’s parents. I am totally fine with having this in the movie, but they put it in the wrong place. This was Zemo’s ace in the hole and he played his hand too late. That should have been the first card he played to cement the divide between Tony and Steve. Having it at the end of the movie felt forced and way out of place.
Overall, I still enjoyed the film and look forward to seeing more Black Panther, what happens to Capt’s team, and how Tony will handle his new issues.
Phew, if you made it here, thanks for reading my two cents. But we’re not quite done. You see there’s that scene I said I’d talk more about. You know the one, MARTHA!!!!
There is simply only one explanation as to why someone would not understand why the name Martha would have such an effect on Bruce Wayne. Said person does not understand Batman and wasn’t paying attention to the movie. If you need it spoon fed to you check out the editorial by PrinceAwesome. He nailed it.
(http://www.comicbookmovie.com/comics/marvel_comics/on-civil-war-vs-batman-v-superman-lite-a141916) <> a="">
Speaking of this scene, let’s take a look at what started the final fight in Civil War. MOMMY!!!
If everyone had such a problem with Martha (the name of Bruce Wayne’s murdered mommy) then why is no one complaining about Tony’s Mommy? Tony finding out it was Winter Soldier that not only killed his parents (specifically HIS mother) but that it was in cold blood sends him over the edge. Just as in BvS it is setup at the beginning of the film that Tony like all teenagers was at odds with a dad that didn’t seem to appreciate him or wasn’t around that often but still loved him had a STRONG bond with his mother. Prior to this point Tony realized that it was not Winter Soldier causing issues for him and knows Winter Soldier is a programmed killer, he does not kill by his own choice. Tony is totally fine with Winter Soldier once he realizes he has the wrong guy. BUT, as soon as he finds out it was Winter Soldier aka wrong guy aka programmed killer aka guy with no choice in the matter aka VICTIM, he loses his mind. IT IS THE EXACT SAME SCENE AS THE MARTHA SCENE BUT WITH AN OPPOSITE OUTCOME - Rage over Peace.
It totally worked in BvS because we went into that movie knowing this was a broken bat, we knew watching this movie through interactions between Alfred and Bruce and Bruce himself that this is a broken bat. So on a psychological level Bruce hearing his mother’s name spoken by his enemy would break him further. If you don't want to get that deep with it then look at it this way. Clark speaking the name Martha, from Bruce's perspective (a weathered and broken man) that just as Bruce has deduced weaknesses of Clark's that Clark might have found Bruce's ONE AND ONLY true weakness, the memory of his parents. That memory is both his greatest strength and weakness. This is Batman 101 which is why I don't understand the argument made by only Marvel fans. If you are solely a Marvel fan, that's fine. But don't attack what you don't understand, you just sound uneducated.
It did not work in Civil War because they put too much in the movie to defeat their own argument. Tony can be upset with Bucky for having killed his parents, willingly or not. Maybe Tony gets a cheap shot or two on Bucky before Capt sets him straight. But it is completely uncalled for to have him Hulk out and not only try to kill Bucky but also to seriously injure or even kill Steve for standing up between his two friends after everything they’ve been through as a trio. Also the juxtaposition of Tony’s rage and T’Challa’s peace when they come face to face with their parents’ killers should have been a great moment in the story but again the former fails their part of that arrangement. As I said earlier, moving Tony’s rage scene to earlier in his pursuit of Bucky would have made this pay off much better as well as having the audience feel more for Tony and Capt. Instead I only felt that Capt was truly right. There wasn’t much going for Team Iron Man except Black Panther’s motivation. But hey, WE GOT SPIDER-MAN!!!!
All right folks, there you have it. Thanks for the read!