The DC Extended Cinematic Universe

[Neon Ignition]

One thing I'd love, even if it's a more expensive way of making films, is for DC to embrace the world building.

Marvel has built a massive interdimensional world of characters but ultimately a lot of its events take place in places such as New York. For DC I want them to ditch the Nolan nonsense and embrace the imagery. If you're going to have Keaton appear then Gotham should look like some epic gothic city, Metropolis be an art deco wonder etc. Without going darker or more grounded or any other conscious attempt it would instantly make DC films look different from Marvels at a glance and make the action or any large scale events immediately more acceptable. Agreed about Superman, until a definitive modern incarnation of the classic character has been delivered there shouldn't be any what if alts deployed.

[prinnysquad]

Man of Steel - it’s ok. I really didn’t like the fighting scenes at the time, with absurdly long shots and silly camerawork creating some crummy MTV vibe. Cavill I like a lot, but the material is pretty anodyne and characterless, so he’s got very little to work with. The final baddie is all a bit meh and to tell the truth, I couldn’t distinguish it from the one in the MCU Hulk film when I first watched it.

Batman vs Superman - I quite enjoyed this in the sense of utterly brainless entertainment, but its issues are plentiful. The way the Justice League are introduced is alienating and meaningless to the majority of people. The dialogue is tepid, Mr Fawlty. Lex is a shambles of a character, played far too much like the Joker. I actually quite liked the way Batman held his own against Superman. It was plausible. Cavill and Affleck are fine. It’s just a film that threw too many ideas into the pan at once, too early, and didn’t do any of them particularly well.

I’ll do some more later. Meltdown from Mini Prinny because the Twirliwoos are buffering.

[Neon Ignition]

I can't stress how much I want a Batman film that leans to the nature of the Arkham games rather than always taking a grounded approach. It might work great for the character but it kills the villains appeal

[Cassius_Smoke]

I can't stress how much I want a Batman film that leans to the nature of the Arkham games rather than always taking a grounded approach. It might work great for the character but it kills the villains appeal

The new comic run is very much like that. It'd be interesting in movie form, if a little camp.

[prinnysquad]

Suicide Squad - Will Smith and Margot Robbie make this watchable, but it’s lower-average at best. There is potential all over the place, but some of the characters are utterly wasted. I saw it at the flicks and came out thinking ‘well that’s ok’ but an hour later, I could barely remember anything about it. I’ve watched it again since and I can barely remember a thing other than certain characters lasting about two minutes, a load of huff about zombies and a forgettable antagonist.

Wonder Woman - genuinely good. It establishes a backstory. Lines up all the genre tropes. Executes some good set pieces. Gal Gadot is inspired, and the film has a lot of heart. That’s the key. It feels like it’s relevant and wants the viewer to have a good time. The supporting cast are good, and the whole thing could slot into the MCU easily as an origin story. The ending is slightly weak, but at last it seemed like the DCEU had some direction. It pitches the tone well and appeals to families.

[Neon Ignition]

https://www.murphysmultiverse.com/development-has-been-halted-on-static-shock-and-supergirl/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=development-has-been-halted-on-static-shock-and-supergirl

They're not saying 'cancelled' but it sounds increasingly like the new heads of DC are aiming a strategy where the remaining films each get released over the coming year until we reach the last in the line: The Flash

When that film sets up the DCU timeline reboot we will get the effective in-canon restart of the universe but all the existing projects seem to now be being killed off making a completely new plan and line up slot right into place from 2025 onward.

[prinnysquad]

Justice League - ahem. Well, there’s one or two ok bits. I think. Maybe? I really can’t remember much, apart from an attack in an underground tunnel and an attack on an innocent East European city. Which is all a bit Ultron-lite (and that is by far the worst Avengers film). Once again we have three characters featured who haven’t had their own films yet, totally reducing all audience investment in their fates. The ending just felt like a big CGI mess, with the return of Superman lacking any impact because the part written for Cavill is so undercooked. It speaks volumes that Tyler Hoechlin’s Superman is so much more engaging. Nothing to do with Cavill, who is a very fine actor, and everything to do with the part being criminally underwritten. This should have been the film that tied together a cast after 2 Superman films, a Batfleck outing, and solo entries for most of the other characters.

Aquaman - benefits from being a film about fleshing out a character we have seen twice already. Mamoa is fantastically cast, and often the visuals are artistically lovely. At other times they’re a bit of an over-elaborate mess. I know some people have issues with the sheer volume of CGI, but I didn’t mind. It’s another Marvelesque entry that works quite well due to the lead.

[prinnysquad]

Shazam - affable and amusing, this is a well-cast distraction. It’s concise and entertaining, but I really don’t know where it fits into the grander scheme. It could be done by any studio, in any universe. As it’s meant to be part of the DCEU, there’s a lack of joined-up thinking evident. On the plus side, it’s a likeable film and I enjoyed it.

[Neon Ignition]

I'm not going to lie, everyones mini-reviews feel a tad vindicating
The films might not be well liked or loved but they underline the point about them not being the extent of awfulness that WB can recover the DCU from

->Open Spoiler<-

[prinnysquad]

Birds of Prey - ‘Ok, so SS wasn’t well-received, but Harley was a real hit. Let’s make another film with her.’
Yeah. Ahem. Opportunistic and pointless, I don’t know why this film exists. As it stands, it’s not a bad film, but it feels very much like WB’s focus at this point was to abandon any pretence of a plan and an integrated universe, put out a film, see what worked and what didn’t, and plan the next entry with that in mind. It just felt a waste of a character.

[prinnysquad]

I'm not going to lie, everyones mini-reviews feel a tad vindicating
The films might not be well liked or loved but they underline the point about them not being the extent of awfulness that WB can recover the DCU from

->Open Spoiler<-

Don’t think anyone disagreed, mate. On my part, at the start I felt that you were making excuses to some extent and clutching at straws. In subsequent posts, you’ve clarified your points, so…

It’s VITAL that WB understand what went wrong, and not to pretend that things were good, and only turned sour due to fanboys. I’ve always said on here that I like DC stuff. No axe to grind. I want them to do well. I want good films. I’ve enjoyed a lot of their output. It’s just that, as an extended universe, it’s failed. Nothing really works. It’s not joined up. It’s an anthology of largely unrelated stories, that seem increasingly like a slave to the success of the previous entries. Everything feels like it lacks impact and emotional connection, and a bit meh. It’s the difference between the MCU and the DCEU. The MCU feels like a journey with everything linked and high stakes, with characters getting some screen time. The DCEU feels like it was started with similar intentions, and in those terms, it’s been pretty disastrous.

[Neon Ignition]

That corporate led approach is also reflected in how disconnected the TV side of things is from the films. Whereas Marvel have been very slow to build any TV success from the MCU, DC have had all sorts of successful TV efforts and incarnations but seem to take zero lessons from that to apply to their films. We have so many Batman related shows yet it feels like the rogues gallery is still being largely unutilised properly.

Hearing that post-reboot films focused on Black Canary, Static Shock etc have all been cancelled is honestly a bit of a relief. It just feels like a very obvious thing that any reboot that doesn't lead with what are effectively quality definitive takes on Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman and Flash is going to stumble

[Neon Ignition]

"The Flash" Film Coming To A Crossroads - Dark Horizons
Now that the law has been more directly involved in the Ezra Miller fiasco it is being said that the pressure on Warner Bros to respond is continuing to grow so they are looking at three possible directions moving forward:

1 - Miller undergoes professional help and addresses the controversy before the films marketing begins

2 - Miller continues as is and Warner Bros cuts them out of the promotional drive, recasting the role in future films

3 - The situation with Miller gets worse and Warner Bros has to axe the film incurring a loss of hundreds of millions.

Unless Miller gets into a situation involving loss of life or some other extreme outcome it feels like the third option is incredibly unlikely. It was reported a few days ago that Miller had been working on marketing materials without issue for Warner Bros despite all the off-screen stuff going on so presumably the studio won't have any difficulty meeting and discussing things with to quickly establish which of the first two seems likely.


The Post-Batgirl Fate Of DC Films - Dark Horizons
A report on the state of DC films after the announcements repeats the anger over the change of direction within the studio but the new piece of information is the suggestion that Blue Beetle is safe from risk of cancellation.

[Dogg Thang]

It was reported a few days ago that Miller had been working on marketing materials without issue for Warner Bros despite all the off-screen stuff going on so presumably the studio won't have any difficulty meeting and discussing things with to quickly establish which of the first two seems likely..

And yet given what has been going on during this and all the stories, and I guess taking into account that Miller's first major issues began long before even filming this movie and everyone knew about them, this could be one hell of a bad look for them. He has put them into an almost no-win situation. I mean, they can win in that the film can make a load of money and I expect it will but I think there will be serious brand damage even in that scenario.

[Neon Ignition]

They seem to be riding out that the masses remain largely ignorant of all these stories but if it's still happening by the time the film has to eventually release it's inevitable that the media will air it very publicly, they will now even if Miller apologises and addresses it. It would be more forgivable if the studio wasn't aware of it going into it. Bet they're wishing they'd been able to stick to the original release date now