As a fan of all things pertaining to superheroes, I have seen every single movie in the past few years that Marvel and DC have released. So naturally, I found myself excitedly awaiting the new Marvel movie which hit theaters on November 3rd. By the way, this article does not involve any spoilers!
I was waiting for the new Thor movie the day I watched "Doctor Strange" (which I have to say was my favorite movie to date). The end scene introduced Thor asking Strange for help in looking for Odin. Strange happily agrees to help on the condition that Asgardians will go back at once. That being said, I also saw "Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice" that same year and it disappointed me greatly.
It seems to me as if DC takes an extra effort to drag out a story whereas Marvel is short and sweet with the execution of its plot. Whereas DC builds rigid characters that are fully focused on what they really are as superheroes, Marvel does not shy away from that. It highlights characters with a fluidity that engages them completely with their environment and other characters.
"Batman v Superman" ran in an environment in which the characters were distant and stoic and entailed of interactions that were almost mechanical. According to New York Times' writer A.O. Scott, "Its two-and-a-half-hour running time — not so much a 'dawn' as an entire morning spent watching the clock in anticipation of lunchtime — is peppered with teasers for coming sequels." Scott also adds that this movie "is less a free-standing film than the opening argument in a very long trial."
As far as "Doctor Strange" goes, the movie was vibrant with both its sets and the story. There was a lot of humor involved, as Marvel movies tend to include. Author Manohla Dargis describes the movie as "beautiful and nimble" via the New York Times. The story is anything but stoic for anyone who has yet to see the movie (no spoilers involved). It revolves around the rise and fall of a character who comes to terms and has to rise once more again. The same theme follows the newest Marvel film, "Thor: Ragnarok," and the movie is both funny and engaging.
There is, however, a new DC movie hitting the box office on November 17th and I don't really know if it will live up to its expectations. "Justice League" is something that "Batman v. Superman" set us up for as well and that's all it did. It foreshadowed new characters that DC was planning on unveiling. Although I was a huge fan of "Superman" before the movie I have yet to decide whether I will actually sit through another DC movie.
