Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)
I can see why a lot of people disliked it, but i actually liked it pretty well. it reminded me vaguely of the first book of the Khaavren Romances in that that whole book is pretty much a 300+ page setup for the next two books after that, and in a lot of eyes that would seem "boooooring" because it doesn't seem like a lot happens during that setup when that's not actually true and not quite the point.
It felt like the first hour of BvS was a setup and while i agree that it could have been trimmed lightly, i wouldn't want it to have gotten trimmed too much because the setup was still pretty immserive for me, and after that got the stage revving, the main act was pretty compelling. Sure, the main impetus for the BvS smackdown was pretty cliché as was the "oh, i guess we're friends now" moment, but i liked a lot of the orchestration outside of that.
If gripes need to be spoken, there's two: while i don't agree that the setup was problematic because i like long setups, the epilogue *was* problematic because it was too long of a fade that nuked any sense of immsersion by having too much of a navel-gazing complex.
The second gripe is more subtle and i'm too tired to articulate it properly since it also would seem to negate what i like about the movie. Let's just say that when it comes to the delicate balancing act of character focus, action, and story that can truly draw an audience in in a relatable way, none of the live-action DC stuff can compare to their animated counterparts that were driven by Bruce Timm. That may not be fair since Timm set the bar so high, but it sometimes it still baffles me how those cartoons that are primarily aimed at youth can be much more adult than the stuff that's meant for adults.
fails the bechdel test. two main female characters who never talked to each other.
It felt like the first hour of BvS was a setup and while i agree that it could have been trimmed lightly, i wouldn't want it to have gotten trimmed too much because the setup was still pretty immserive for me, and after that got the stage revving, the main act was pretty compelling. Sure, the main impetus for the BvS smackdown was pretty cliché as was the "oh, i guess we're friends now" moment, but i liked a lot of the orchestration outside of that.
If gripes need to be spoken, there's two: while i don't agree that the setup was problematic because i like long setups, the epilogue *was* problematic because it was too long of a fade that nuked any sense of immsersion by having too much of a navel-gazing complex.
The second gripe is more subtle and i'm too tired to articulate it properly since it also would seem to negate what i like about the movie. Let's just say that when it comes to the delicate balancing act of character focus, action, and story that can truly draw an audience in in a relatable way, none of the live-action DC stuff can compare to their animated counterparts that were driven by Bruce Timm. That may not be fair since Timm set the bar so high, but it sometimes it still baffles me how those cartoons that are primarily aimed at youth can be much more adult than the stuff that's meant for adults.
fails the bechdel test. two main female characters who never talked to each other.