Last week, I made an effort to clarify, address, and refute some of the most common complaints about Man of Steel, the DC Extended Universe's first of many, many films. But that was just the first of the series, dear readers. I still have two more entries up my sleeve, and this week, I'm here to discuss Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad. Both films have a ton of merit in cinematography, character moments, and writing. But, as the trend shows, both receive far more criticism than is logical or fair.
As we move forward to 2016, we find ourselves at the feet of the second movie in the DC Extended Universe, and probably the most divisive thus far: Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice. Whether this sequel was always intended or not, (some argue it was an afterthought) Zack Snyder did one heck of a job linking the two films and creating very real, very heavy consequences out of the events of Man of Steel. In a nutshell, BvS chronicles the increasing paranoia of Batman (who we discover witnessed the battle between Zod and Superman and the destruction therein) and his growing fear of what other kinds of destruction Superman might be capable of. At the same time, we see Superman becoming a hero and icon to some and someone to be vilified to others. Not only that, but we see him struggling to do the right thing and the best he can in a number of situations that make that increasingly difficult, which I think is something we can all sympathize with. Eventually, through a number of twists and turns, we discover that (MINOR SPOILERS hereafter) Lex Luthor was playing the two heroes against one another, making things even more difficult for our struggling Superman.
Again, this film was incredibly successful in the box office, albeit not as successful as WB may have anticipated, but was totally panned by most critics. Many of the criticisms were again, in my opinion, pretty silly. That's not to say, however, that I'm unaware of the flaws the film actually had: strange pacing at the beginning, an ending that seemed a little rushed, etc. But I know many fans believe those kinds of things were remedied in the Extended Cut. Beyond that, however, BvS received criticisms for being too dark, too complex, and inaccurate portrayals of characters throughout. To which I would reply: 'What?"
I, for one, am more than happy to see my superhero movies cover more serious, real-world subjects. In this case, those subjects happened to be terrorism, government corruption, and post-traumatic stress disorder, which I suppose I can understand not everyone wanting to experience through a superhero film. However, contrary to what some would have you believe, BvS is hardly devoid of hope. In fact, many of the characters create a sense of hopefulness despite the circumstances they're all put in. Lois Lane spends the entirety of the movie fighting against corruption and searching for truth. Batman has an incredible character arc where he regains his faith in humanity after being consumed by fear of Superman. And Superman himself, after trying so hard to just do the right thing throughout the last two films, makes peace with who he is, has to be, and what he represents. All of these things are leading into a far more hopeful Extended Universe in the future.
Because the "too complex/convoluted" criticism can be eliminated by just, well, paying attention, I'm going to move on to character criticisms. Specifically, I want to address the DCEU's Batman (portrayed by Ben Affleck) and everyone's complete and total distress at how he "kills" throughout the movie. First of all, that complaint is heavily exaggerated. At no point in the film (beyond the nightmare sequence, which, you know, doesn't actually happen) does Batman actually directly kill anyone. The closest we get to that is when he shoots at vehicles that have baddies in them, and even then, as far as I can remember, he only shoots the vehicles rather than the people themselves. They just happen to get caught in the crossfire. Beyond that, it's also justified in-film when Alfred practically outright says that Bruce hasn't been himself and has abandoned his morals since Superman arrived. In fact, they make the fact that Batman has become dangerous one of the biggest points of the film. Which is more than one can say for previous Batman films where they just pretended it didn't happen instead. (This includes both Michael Keaton films and the Dark Knight Trilogy.) So needless to say, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense.
A few months further into 2016 and we arrive at Suicide Squad. Honestly, I don't really have a whole lot to say about this film compared to the first two. It was far more successful financially than WB anticipated it would be, but again, critics shredded it for reasons I never really heard the specifics about. Beyond disliking specific portrayals of characters, (which, again, is completely subjective and hardly worth mentioning) the only real criticisms I heard beyond "I hated it" were that people were bothered by the fact that many of Jared Leto's scenes as the Joker were cut out of the theatrical cut. And really, the only thing I have to say to that is that if that hadn't come out in news report or if the scenes that were cut hadn't been used in the trailer, it's likely no one would have noticed the cuts in the first place. Even looking for them when I saw the movie, I struggled to find anywhere where a cut was obvious. As much as Jared Leto's Joker was used to advertise Suicide Squad, and as big of a deal as a new portrayal of this character was to see, he still wasn't meant to be the main focus of the film. He is not part of the film's titular group of characters, and the trailers were far from misleading in that.
As one can always expect these days, there was immense public outcry regardless of any logical reasoning. There were claims of "false advertising," twisting of Jared Leto's words from interviews to create more controversy around the film than actually existed, and a demand for some kind of extended cut similar to what Batman v. Superman received for the home release. So Warner Bros. delivered. Because fans and critics alike asked for an extended cut of some kind, WB and DC listened and announced one that's coming out this holiday season. And still, people got angry, claiming that WB was just trying to squeeze money out of their audience even though it was that audience who demanded it. It goes without saying that these criticisms are without legitimate foundation and, frankly, are simply absurd.
To recap: Much of what is said of these two films, like Man of Steel, is completely subjective, which makes it hard to take as serious or legitimate criticism. Is either movie perfect? No, but they deserve far more respect than they receive. A great many viewers realized this when the "Ultimate Edition" of Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice was released on Blu-ray, and I expect the extended cut of Suicide Squad will yield similar results.Coming up next week, I'll be talking about Wonder Woman, Justice League, and the future of the DC Extended Universe from that point onward. It may get a little feminist. I may just fanboy for half of the article. If you're willing to join me, I'm excited to get into it and write about my excessive excitement. Get ready, friends. Part 3 awaits!
