Critical Writ: Batman v. Superman

As the superhero movie genre has gotten bigger, the absence of Wonder Woman has only gotten harder and harder to bear. I mean, the dearth of any real female leads pisses me off, but Wonder Woman especially sticks in my craw. Not just the most famous superheroine, but one of the most famous characters in the genre, period. And yet she remained absent while much smaller, less famous characters got their time in the limelight. You wanna tell me how Ghost Rider got 2 movies or Daredevil got a movie and 2 seasons of a TV show, while Wonder Woman is still waiting in the wings?

Which makes her film adaptation finally arriving in theaters a goddamn miracle all on its own. Unfortunately, its attached to the increasingly terrible DCEU, Warner Bros' attempt at creating a cinematic universe that has, thus far, only succeeded in creating some of the worst the genre has to offer. And while Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman was easily the best part of Batman v. Superman, overcoming being attached to such a toxic franchise is a lot for one hero to overcome. Even a hero like Wonder Woman.

Our plot is devoted to the titular character, Diana of Themyscria (Gal Gadot), an Amazon living on an island of only women, who grows up being trained in being a warrior by her aunt Antiope (Robin Wright), despite the objections of her mother Queen Hippolyta (Connie Nielsen). She grows up to be a strong and powerful warrior, who everyone seems to know a mysterious secret about. Oh and they also talk about how humanity was created by Zeus to be good but Ares corrupted them and he's disappeared, and it's the Amazons' duty to track him down one day.

But her idyllic life is interrupted when Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) crash lands near the island, pursued by German soldiers. Turns out World War 1 is on outside the island and Steve stole the notes for a super weapon planned by German scientist Islabel Maru (Elena Anaya) and General Ludendorff (Danny Houston). So Diana has to leave the island and team up with Trevor and a small team of misfits to find the super weapon, although Diana is much more interested in finding Ares, who she believes is responsible for turning humanity against itself.

In case you were one of the 20 people who haven't heard yet, Wonder Woman is really, really good. It's not perfect, but frankly, it doesn't need to be. It's far and away the best thing DC has put out in years, and probably the best superhero movie of 2017 after Logan. It's the first real step in the right direction for DC and it gives me hope that the 2017 blockbuster season will be one to write home about.

"Alright, I'm gonna go over there and f**k everyone up."

The big central element, the one that anchors the whole movie is Gal Gadot. She was already really solid in Batman v. Superman, an incredible physical presence that effortlessly turned the garbage she was given to deliver into gold. Here she manages to do the same work with a much better script. Walking a line between Diana's warrior persona and her naivete, which gives her not just a great screen persona, but also an arc to go through. Gal Gadot is incredibly engaging as both though, and she never ceases to be a joy to watch on screen.

The rest of the cast isn't quite up to her level, but they all put in good work. Chris Pine hasn't been this engaging and likable...well ever, and while their band of misfits (Said Taghmoui, Ewen Bremner and Eugene Brave Rock) don't get a lot of screentime, they all do good work with the time they get. Even the villains, as cliche and silly as they are, are a lot of fun, hamming it up or just generally giving off intense vibes.

Of course the plot isn't the most unique (it's basically a cross between Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger, with the plot shunted back from WW2 to WW1) but that's not so much of an issue. I wish I could say that it's kind of subversive to have the most important superheroine have some cliches in her movie, now that it has finally arrived to show these young whippersnappers who's boss, but that doesn't feel like the intent. Instead, the intent feels like it was to simply go with a proven, rock solid foundation, and build the movie on top of it, focusing on a good script, engaging characters and solid action setpieces.

"Can I please participate in the action scenes? Please?"
"No. Now sit down."

That script is another one of the film's minor miracles, subtly acknowledging the madness and cruelty on all sides of the war it takes place during, while also never losing track of Diana's character arc. It also manages to slot in those solid action setpieces naturally, and they're all pretty excellent too. The standout is Diana's crossing of no man's land, but all the beats are well realized and they actually manage to advance the plot and tell us more about the characters, which is getting kind of unusual in superhero films (which are trending towards having action scenes for their own sake).

That's not to say the movie is without its flaws. Its opening act is a little on the long side, and I think it could have been cut down a little. It also can't resist turning into a CGI heavy, action showcase in the third act, which isn't a dealbreaker, but does feel a little disappointing, given that they kind of lose track of their human drama at the core of their story. Neither of these really hurt the film, but they do keep the movie from being perfect.

I'd complain they're still over-designing everything, but at least it's not like Superman's outfit with all the lines pointing at his crotch.

But not every movie needs to be perfect, and I'm just happy that a movie that could have been so very very bad turned out to be so very very good. The DCEU has been in a tailspin more or less from the moment it started, but now it finally has something good to lead the way forward. And more than that, it's fantastic to finally see Wonder Woman hit the big screen.

Do not miss Wonder Woman.

Elessar is a 27 year old Alaskan-born, Connecticut-based, cinephile with an obsession with The Room and a god complex.

Justice League is set to release on November 2017 and Warner Bros. has just released the film's logo and the official synopsis. First, let's take a look at the new logo:

Tova: What I feel when I look at the logo is basically "meh". I'm not sure it says anything about the movie itself, but it's some pretty lazy design work. Or are they going for a carefully constructed simple-as-hell look, and I just don't get it? I'm not usually one for fancy 3D logos with symbols and lots of colours, but this is just... Well, meh.

Adrian: I think by using a stark sans serif typeface, the message is that they're retaining the 'this is serious business' feel to the DCU; I'm sure you're not the only person who is underwhelmed and understandably so, but I may be the exception because I actually like it. The little star, plus the angled slash on the beaks on the 'S' and on the terminal of the 'J' made the whole lockup seem surprisingly cheery to me.

Tova: The star cut-out might be there to make us feel "American" and patriotic… But I'm not American, nor do I believe the US is an appropriate symbol for justice.

Zachary: For some reason, the logo reminds me of that "Elseworlds" tale where Superman grew up in Russia.

Adrian: That's Superman: Red Son, which also uses a display face that is sans serif, with little cuts and angles. There's potentially a totalitarian feel to the logo, but perhaps they only mean to convey strength. It also reminds me a bit of the new Star Trek logo.

With all that in mind, let's review the film's synopsis:

Fueled by his restored faith in humanity and inspired by Superman’s selfless act, Bruce Wayne enlists the help of his newfound ally, Diana Prince, to face an even greater enemy. Together, Batman and Wonder Woman work quickly to find and recruit a team of metahumans to stand against this newly awakened threat. But despite the formation of this unprecedented league of heroes—Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Cyborg and The Flash—it may already be too late to save the planet from an assault of catastrophic proportions.
Directed by Zack Snyder, this marks the big screen debut of the Justice League, featuring an all-star lineup: Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Gal Gadot, Jason Momoa, Ezra Miller and Ray Fisher.

Tova: It's very difficult to make sense of the synopsis if you haven't watched Batman v. Superman. What selfless act? Restored faith in humanity? And are we supposed to know who the "greater enemy" is?

Adrian: Warner Bros. has confirmed that the film's big bad is Steppenwolf, one of the New Gods, and uncle to the DC Comics world's biggest bad, Darkseid. But to your point, I think this is the struggle they face with franchise films, to presume or not if the audience is up-to-date with the latest events of their film universe. I think they’re fully-committed to the presumption.

A deleted scene from Batman v. Superman that features a 'hologram entity' that is presumed to be Steppenwolf

Zachary: The synopsis does not fill me with confidence. I just don't care about Batman or Diana Prince yet. As of now, everything that I've read about Batman v. Superman just sounds terrible and the images for Wonder Woman just look like a war movie. I just want to see happiness and joy in the DC movies.

Adrian: Despite Batman v. Superman making tons of money, the gossip coming out of Warner Bros. is that the tonal shift to something more positive and perhaps less ‘grimdark’ is happening; they seem to listening to critics. Geoff Johns has been appointed to an executive role in the new DC Films, and Ben Affleck has joined on as an executive producer; and given some of the details in the synopsis, it seems like Zack Snyder’s grimdark reign could be coming to a close.

Tova: Well, it sounds nice and I appreciate that the movie will start off with an optimistic Batman! The way every new superhero movie seems to contain an apocalypse or near-apocalypse bores me slightly, but I understand the attempt to go bigger and have bigger stakes in each film in order to catch the audience's attention. Not sure it's the way to go, but it makes sense on a basic level.

Adrian: I agree, I’m pleased to hear about some optimism in the DCU! Despite my disappointment in Batman v. Superman, I’m remaining oddly optimistic about the upcoming Justice League film. I love the characters of DC Comics and despite recent tonal missteps, I’m looking forward to the day I can recognize the characters on screen.

What do you think of the new logo and synopsis for Justice League? Sound off below in the comments!