By Matt Fleming and Jarrod Jones. This is the ANTI-MONITOR podcast, where everyone has a mother named Martha. This week, in the depraved celebration of ‘Suicide Squad’, Jarrod and Matt struggle to comprehend Zack Snyder’s ‘Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice’, a movie just as ridiculous as its own title. But before they dive into this mess, they discuss the critical reaction to ‘Suicide Squad’, the fan reaction to the critics, and the broken culture of anticipation.
As always, be wary for spoilers throughout, and please enjoy.
ANTI-MONITOR: MATT — Although Man Of Steel should have been enough of a warning sign for DC Films, executives saw fit to allow Zack Snyder to create a fully-realized cinematic universe for their illustrious comic catalog. Between his subpar guidance, the ambivalence of Christopher Nolan, and the incompetence of David S. Goyer, audiences received the incomprehensible mess that is Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice. While the film seemed doomed from the beginning, what with the casting of Ben Affleck as freaking Batman, there were moments of hope during development. Chris Terrio, who gained acclaim with his Argo screenplay, was brought on by Batfleck himself to rein in the former guard (who had clearly no idea how to handle Superman). Unfortunately, his effort was wasted on a project that was already set to tank.
Superman is simultaneously the center of this movie yet completely unnecessary, rendering BvS more of a Batman flick than a sequel to Man Of Steel. Beyond such trivialities, the movie stinks on its own accord. Jesse Eisenberg, miscast and uninhibited, kills the future of Lex Luthor, and Doomsday is a debacle that disjoints the entire third act. Seriously, aside from the impossibly bad storytelling and the irreverence for the source material, the idea of killing off Superman two movies in is enough to make us cringe. Zack Snyder doesn’t just misunderstand Superman, he actively hates him, and no amount of Frank Miller fan-service can ever make up for such sleights.
ANTI-MONITOR: JARROD — From my original review: “When you consider all the bone-crunching, flesh-searing, fury-sating action that takes place in this movie, if you have a heart at all beating inside of you, you’ll begin to wonder how this brutal-ass movie about DC Comics’ most beloved heroes will affect how children receive them. (There’s an added indignity here, in that this — this — is the first live-action movie to ever feature Wonder Woman.) There is no message to be found here. For a film with “justice” in its title, it scarcely comprehends the definition of that word, let alone how to convey it responsibly to the millions of people who will undoubtedly watch it. That’s probably what hurts the most about Dawn of Justice. It’s a superhero movie without a message. (Unless that message is “come at me, bro.”)
“Some people, jaded film critics and grumpy comic book fans mostly, will say that the superhero movie renaissance is quickly careening towards an ignominious end. That, good intentions aside, all these ding-dang comic book movies are causing the great behemoth that is blockbuster film making to finally collapse into its grave. Well. If that’s the case, and it’s certainly difficult to argue against it right now, ‘Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice’ might be the one to bury it.”
CONSENSUS: Dawn of Justice is a bad idea wrapped in pretension, and should be avoided at all costs. — 1 out of 10
Before: “‘Star Trek Into Darkness’, Or, Y’know, Don’t”, here.
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