Thursdays at the Theater XV: The Re-Return
Long time no see! It may have been an incredibly short amount of time since we’ve seen each other - a totally inconsequential 4 months! - but it’s time to get back to work again.
The world of cinema is starting to kick off into summer season again, as the big-budget blockbusters begin to roll around with Batman vs Superman having kicked off the festivities, the momentum being carried onwards by Jungle Book, and pretty soon Captain America Civil War. But as for what is opening this weekend, let’s take a look.
We have the third movie in the Barbershop series starring Ice Cube returning this weekend, which is a sequel to the 12-year old Barbershop 2. The previous two opened to somewhat positive reviews, but I can only say that I’m curious to see what the response to this film is. We have Kevin Costner’s latest action flick Criminal, pumping itself into theaters, which is about when the memories of a deceased CIA agent are imprinted into an ex-convict (Costner) in order to finish a mission that has not been completed. And lastly, we have the Jungle Book, the live-action/CG remake of the animated classic and another adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s Jungle Book. You should go out and see this one for sure guys. I have heard nothing but amazing things about it from critics who got to see it, and it is a must-watch in the movie theater. Everything you see aside from Mowgli is completely CGI, so remember that while you’re watching it. What’s amazing about the movie is that the actor that they got for the kid had to act on a soundstage with almost no props and a rather stale environment but he was able to pull off carrying the movie on his shoulders. So we can chalk this up as a win for Disney.
And we get to the review segment of Thursdays at the Theater! Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice is in theaters right now, and features the Man of Steel fighting the Dark Knight in a battle of ideological differences. Or at least, that’s what they sell you on to get you in the theater. The movie itself is actually very different, and not for the better.
I’ll say it: It’s a mess. It’s a mess I loved watching, but a mess nevertheless.
For the most part the performances were great. Henry Cavill continues to be good as Superman, Gal Gadot thankfully does justice to Wonder Woman, and Ben Affleck’s portrayal of Batman may have been the best we’ve ever gotten. As for the other characters, there’s not nearly enough of Jeremy Irons’ Alfred in this film, Holly Hunter is great as a US Senator, and Amy Adams as Lois Lane is still great even if the script struggles to keep her character relevant throughout the entire movie. The one I was not so hot on was Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor. I understand that comic book characters are open to different interpretations, but this really is not Lex Luthor. He’s manic, weird, socially awkward and obviously out of his mind, but he comes across more as a Riddler type. And upon hearing that originally Eisenberg was up to play either the Riddler or Jimmy Olsen in this movie, it suddenly made more sense to me how he ended up being involved in production.
The action is, no doubt, incredible, and for the most part the effects really do impress. There are some scenes that feel unfinished, but I think that’s more due to director Zack Snyder wanting to give more style than he probably should’ve. I’ve also heard a lot of complaints about the tone of the movie, but that was one of the things that I really liked about it. It is dark, it is dreary, but all because it’s dealing with questions like: how to trust a god-like alien who says he wants to help but could destroy everything we held dear if he really wanted to.
A lot of these types of movies, like Iron Man 2 or The Amazing Spider-Man 2, that try to set up their own universes just feel lacking. While I like Batman vs Superman better than those two movies, I think it’s plagued by some of the same problems. Ironically, setting up a larger universe really isn’t what bogs this movie down, it’s only present in a couple scenes. What messes it all up is all of the unnecessary information. There’s an entire plotline involving Superman and an accident he’s involved with in Africa that just does not work, and would’ve been better off being removed. Wonder Woman is running around because the script needs her to look at a certain e-mail that lazily throws in character cameos, and there are entire segments that feel like they’re from a director’s cut rather than a theatrical version. It’s just so bizarrely put together. I’ll say that I did really love the first half aside from a few scenes, but from there it devolves as it adds more and more, never stopping to wonder when enough was enough.
But my biggest issue with this film is that the film-makers do certain things that they haven’t really earned the right to do yet. They have not developed and fleshed out this new cinematic universe as they should’ve, instead opting to play catch-up with Marvel in an attempt to get their big-names out to the public in future movies. This movie honestly feels like a Frankenstein’s amalgamation of 5 different movies, and not in a good way. Something happens at the end of this film that, while undoubtedly daring, is completely unnecessary and really idiotic to do in the DC Extended Universe’s second movie. I have a feeling I know where they’re going, leading into Justice League which releases in November of next year, and I really do not like it. It just does not carry the weight that it could’ve, had it been built up for several movies.
I’m going to be generous with my score here because I love these characters, and I really want to see these DC movies thrive. Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice gets a super “meh” 3.25 out of 5 stars. I think you should see it for the spectacle, for the novelty of seeing Batman, Wonder Woman and Superman all on screen together, even in IMAX. But that is a lot of money, so you have to decide if you want to invest in that. I wanted to really love this movie, especially since I love Man of Steel, but I just can’t lie. It’s how I feel about it.
On a side-note though, you know how I talked about Jungle Book getting rave reviews? Well, Captain America: Civil War, another superhero showdown, is getting universal praise from critics, and I was already super excited for it but this just cranks the anticipation up to 11. Disney has been killing it with Marvel, so I think it’s safe to say that you should reserve your seating right now. It opens on May 6th.
I hope you guys enjoyed this edition of Thursdays at the Theater, we are looking to maintain the segment for these last couple of months, so I can assure you that staying dead in the water is not our intention. Remember to like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter @TheTitanTimesHT, and I will be signing off for now. Thanks, Titans!
