Movie Critics Thread

[Lord_Zed]

The only person in BvS that could kill with charm is Henry Cavill.

I would have said blandness myself.

I find Cavil's Superman and Clark Kent pretty uninspiring.

[Gutsman Heavy]

Decided to check out Rogue One. Loved all the imperial scenes, and Krennic was a great villain. Lots of fun fan service but ultimately an average movie. 6/10

[SuspectimusPrime]

Watched Split last week, directed by M. Night Shyamalan and starring Professor X. Had higher hopes for this movie as James McAvoy's performance in the trailer was pretty good, and the imdb ratings was above average for both its genre as well as M. Night Shyamalan's average since Sixth Sense (haven't seen all his recent movies, but I did see After Earth). McAvoy's performance did turn out to be great, but unfortunately it's one of those where the trailer shows off everything that was good in the movie.

[Tetsuwan Convoy]

I watched Suicide Squad a bit ago. Damyum. I thought BvsS was a crap movie.... Suzie Squad makes it look like a masterpiece. I ended up pushing through the whole thing hoping it would get better. It didn't. I skipped through the credits to see if there was anything at the end, there wasn't. I breathed a sigh of relief.

Apparenltly the DVD version was a better version than the cinema version. It must have sucked watching it at the movies...

I do like grumpy old man bats. As long as he remains grumpy and ends up with an army of monster bat robots who patrol Gotham for him.

[M-bot]

I would have said blandness myself.

I find Cavil's Superman and Clark Kent pretty uninspiring.

I suspect that is more how Clark Kent/Supes is written rather than what Cavill brought to the role. I think that ultimately, the writers of MOS and BVS and Zack Snyder just don't understand the character and made him morose, depressed, hopeless, unsympathetic, and conflicted. His motivations are muddled and the bon mots of "wisdom" shared by Jonathan Kent in both films just muddied the character even more.

Think of it this way, the difference between Christopher Reeve's Superman (noble, gentle, kind, heroic) and Cavill's is a bit like the difference between the Optimus Prime we know from various fictions (principled, noble, heroic) and Bay's OP (violent, vengeful, even sadistic). May as well be considered different characters.

Cavill was plenty of fun in Guy Ritchie's The Man From UNCLE, playing a charming and suave action hero, so I'm saying the writing and direction was the issue, rather than the actor.

I watched Suicide Squad a bit ago. Damyum. I thought BvsS was a crap movie.... Suzie Squad makes it look like a masterpiece. I ended up pushing through the whole thing hoping it would get better. It didn't. I skipped through the credits to see if there was anything at the end, there wasn't. I breathed a sigh of relief.

Apparenltly the DVD version was a better version than the cinema version. It must have sucked watching it at the movies...

I do like grumpy old man bats. As long as he remains grumpy and ends up with an army of monster bat robots who patrol Gotham for him.

I don't think SS was quite as bad as BVS, but yeah, pretty damned close. A baffling and wasted time at the cinema, that's for sure. In a world where Marvel Studios can bring out fun, popular and successful movies, that at the very least are entertaining, using properties as obscure as Guardians of the Galaxy and Dr Strange, it's perplexing that DC/WB with its iconic slate of properties, can't seem to find a way to use them in a way that isn't cringe-worthingly bad (at least since Nolan's The Dark Knight).

[shockNwave]

I suspect that is more how Clark Kent/Supes is written rather than what Cavill brought to the role. I think that ultimately, the writers of MOS and BVS and Zack Snyder just don't understand the character and made him morose, depressed, hopeless, unsympathetic, and conflicted. His motivations are muddled and the bon mots of "wisdom" shared by Jonathan Kent in both films just muddied the character even more.

Think of it this way, the difference between Christopher Reeve's Superman (noble, gentle, kind, heroic) and Cavill's is a bit like the difference between the Optimus Prime we know from various fictions (principled, noble, heroic) and Bay's OP (violent, vengeful, even sadistic). May as well be considered different characters.

Cavill was plenty of fun in Guy Ritchie's The Man From UNCLE, playing a charming and suave action hero, so I'm saying the writing and direction was the issue, rather than the actor.

I'll say this though, Cavill did a compelling and humorous job as the cocky vegan villain; Todd Ingram in Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World. Although I haven't read the graphic novel so I can't say if he did an accurate portrayal.

[Ralph Wiggum]

That wasn't Henry Cavill in Scott Pilgrim, it was Brandon Routh who played Supes in Bryan Singer's movie

I think Snyder tried to emulate the grittier and darker tone of Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy but couldn't pull it off. Superman IMO is a pain in the ass character to create a 'grounded' movie for because he's so OP in the real world. The moment you try to bring something to match him (Doomsday) you lose the gritty edgy tone.

[Lord_Zed]

I suspect that is more how Clark Kent/Supes is written rather than what Cavill brought to the role. I think that ultimately, the writers of MOS and BVS and Zack Snyder just don't understand the character and made him morose, depressed, hopeless, unsympathetic, and conflicted. His motivations are muddled and the bon mots of "wisdom" shared by Jonathan Kent in both films just muddied the character even more.

Think of it this way, the difference between Christopher Reeve's Superman (noble, gentle, kind, heroic) and Cavill's is a bit like the difference between the Optimus Prime we know from various fictions (principled, noble, heroic) and Bay's OP (violent, vengeful, even sadistic). May as well be considered different characters.

Cavill was plenty of fun in Guy Ritchie's The Man From UNCLE, playing a charming and suave action hero, so I'm saying the writing and direction was the issue, rather than the actor.

Each to their own possibly, I didn't find Cavil's performance particularly memorable in that film either, I much prefer the other actors who were in it. Not saying he can't act, just saying I have yet to see him give any sort of stand out performance. He's got the look, but that's all I see.

[GoktimusPrime]

The thing that I love about Christopher Reeve's Superman/Clark Kent is that he portrayed both characters very differently from each other. Reeve's Superman was heroic, utterly fearless and exuded a powerful yet compassionate presence. His Clark Kent on the other hand was a bumbling, naïve and appeared to be socially awkward and lost. It really helped to sell the Clark Kent persona to the audience, cos let's face it, a pair of glasses aren't the greatest disguise* in the world.

Cavill doesn't even make an effort to really behave differently as Clark or Superman. Lois was able to see through his disguise instantly when Clark first rocked up with his specs on at the Daily Planet (as the Man of Steel ended with the two of them giving each other a knowing smile) - and it was simple enough for Luthor to discover his identity, kidnap Mrs. Kent... you know, the precise reason why superheroes have secret identities in the first place! Not just for their own protection but also for the protection of their loved ones. #Martha

Reeve's mannerisms completely change when he's Clark. Even his voice is at a higher octave and becomes deeper when he's Superman. There's that scene in Superman II when Clark tries to tell Lois the truth (at the hotel at Niagara Falls); we see Clark remove his glasses and speak to Lois with a lower voice, then he quickly changes his mind, puts his glasses back on and his voice goes higher and he starts speaking awkwardly etc. There's a lot more theatrics that go behind Reeve's Clark Kent persona.

With most other superheroes, their superhero identity is the false identity and their secret identity is who they really are. e.g. Bruce Wayne is the true identity and Batman is the created one. But Superman is Kal-El's true identity whereas the post-Smallville Clark Kent persona which he presents to those around him is the constructed one. Superman wears no mask, whereas Clark's glasses acts as a mask. Having a different persona in Clark also acts as a psychological mask - and both the Reeve Superman films and Superman Returns makes light of this as there are moments where people start to wonder if Clark might be Superman, only to think, "Naaaah!" because despite the physical similarities there's just no way that someone has daggy as Clark Kent could be Superman. And this is all deliberate on Kal-El's part in the way that he behaves as Clark.

This is a quality that I find completely absent in Cavill's Clark Kent. e.g. when he confronts Bruce Wayne at Luthor's party, he is basically behaving like Superman. He's strong, resilient etc., not the bumbling dork that we saw Reeve and even Routh play. It's even parodied in the Jimmy Kimmel version of that scene where Kimmel points out that there is no difference between Clark and Superman. Batffleck at least has a different voice!

-----------------------------------
*rivalled only by Prince Adam/He-Man's pasty vs bronzed skin.

[Bartrim]

I watched Suicide Squad a bit ago. Damyum. I thought BvsS was a crap movie.... Suzie Squad makes it look like a masterpiece. I ended up pushing through the whole thing hoping it would get better. It didn't. I skipped through the credits to see if there was anything at the end, there wasn't. I breathed a sigh of relief.

Apparenltly the DVD version was a better version than the cinema version. It must have sucked watching it at the movies...

I do like grumpy old man bats. As long as he remains grumpy and ends up with an army of monster bat robots who patrol Gotham for him.

The extended version of Suicide Squad is a lot better. There are a couple of extra scenes of the squad walking through Midway City that shows them interacting together that are enjoyable. I honestly am enjoying the DCEU. I loved stage 1 of the MCU but it's starting to leave a wash, rinse and repeat taste in my mouth. Watched Doctor Strange the other night. I was impressed that they could hold my interest in the movie for as long as they did but how he beat the big bad guy at the end was down right ridiculous. Give me the more serious DCEU.