I watched Justice League last night. Yes, I'm late to that party but I'm no pop culture obsessive, in fact I usually avoid superhero films or get bored halfway through. But as I was watching it, I found myself thinking repeatedly, 'Y'know, I don't care what anybody says, this is actually pretty good.'
For my money it really struck a great balance. It didn't take itself too seriously, but it did take itself seriously enough to make the characters interesting. The plot was fairly shallow but it was sufficient to get the action moving and to bring the characters together. The pacing, I thought, was really good - nothing was dwelt on for too long, but I got enough of an idea of what was happening and the character's motivations to satisfy me as a casual viewer (apparently the pacing was heavily criticised; I honestly can't see why). There was just enough light-heartedness to keep the mood up without descending into distracting glibness.
Most importantly, there was some real pathos. I farking LOVE Henry Cavill's Superman (indeed my main complaint of the film is that he wasn't in it more). He does a superb job of portraying that most under-utilised of Superman's traits: the implicit unease of a being so strong that he could be our greatest saviour... or our doom. And the other characters had elements that added their own pathos. I particularly liked the ambiguity around Cyborg's enhancements... blessing or curse? Benevolent gift, or malignant threat that even he cannot control or predict?
I'm not going to go into Batman vs Superman, I'm WAY too late to that party. I'll just say I loved it, for all its flaws. And Watchmen genuinely is my favourite superhero film of all time.
Apparently this is not a common viewpoint. In fact I know no one personally who agrees with me. But there's got to be someone out there who has a distinct preference for what Snyder's done, surely?
For my money it really struck a great balance. It didn't take itself too seriously, but it did take itself seriously enough to make the characters interesting. The plot was fairly shallow but it was sufficient to get the action moving and to bring the characters together. The pacing, I thought, was really good - nothing was dwelt on for too long, but I got enough of an idea of what was happening and the character's motivations to satisfy me as a casual viewer (apparently the pacing was heavily criticised; I honestly can't see why). There was just enough light-heartedness to keep the mood up without descending into distracting glibness.
Most importantly, there was some real pathos. I farking LOVE Henry Cavill's Superman (indeed my main complaint of the film is that he wasn't in it more). He does a superb job of portraying that most under-utilised of Superman's traits: the implicit unease of a being so strong that he could be our greatest saviour... or our doom. And the other characters had elements that added their own pathos. I particularly liked the ambiguity around Cyborg's enhancements... blessing or curse? Benevolent gift, or malignant threat that even he cannot control or predict?
I'm not going to go into Batman vs Superman, I'm WAY too late to that party. I'll just say I loved it, for all its flaws. And Watchmen genuinely is my favourite superhero film of all time.
Apparently this is not a common viewpoint. In fact I know no one personally who agrees with me. But there's got to be someone out there who has a distinct preference for what Snyder's done, surely?