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Doom Patrol, Vol. 3: Down Paradise Way
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Legendary writer Grant Morrison (ALL STAR SUPERMAN, BATMAN) finishes his fractured remake of this...
Connor Sheffield (293 KP) rated Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) in Movies
Apr 18, 2017
The Good, The Bad and The Editing
So...here's a movie that split so many fans and has caused COUNTLESS arguments online. My review may also cause arguments, but I'm willing to risk that as I have a fair bit to say about this movie, most importantly and foremost;
I enjoyed the movie!
The Good:
Let me start with what's good because I feel there's never enough positivity around this movie so here goes.
Ben Affleck and Gal Gadot were the two focuses of this movie because they had a lot of pressure on them to bring Batman and Wonder Woman to life and do the characters justice (terrible I know but I couldn't resist). All over the internet I saw hate for Ben Affleck and people saying Gal Gadot was too skinny. At first, I'll be honest, I did think Gal Gadot was really skinny and couldn't imagine her as Wonder Woman, BUT, unlike most people, I knew that before they would film her scenes, she would be 'buffing up' because I have faith in Zack Snyder because he is a fan and has made brilliant films. Man Of Steel made me like Superman, because of the way he was written as conflicted and the whole film made him more human and I loved it.
Here's where some people will disagree highly with me....I am not a big fan of the Nolan trilogy Batman. Now, before you throw a fit and verbally kick my ass, let me try and tell you why. The Voice! (it's not the only reason, but this is the reason I'm trying to make a point of) Batman a.k.a Bruce Wayne is a BILLIONAIRE, so who thought that the best way for him to disguise his voice would be to make him sound like he's fucked up his throat somehow? A billionaire with all those gadgets would surely think that what he needs is a voice modulator. Snyder brought in the voice modulator and I fell in love in that first trailer from hearing Batman talk through a voice modulator because I was sat there like "Hallelujah they finally worked out what a billionaire vigilante would do!" and I think it could be just me, but I honestly would prefer to think of Batman using one of those rather than grumbling his voice, because it just makes more sense.
So...Batfleck was incredible. My favourite portrayal so far and here's why:
- Arkham game fighting style
- Aged personality that says it all about why he's that violent
- He's definitely a great portrayal of the Dark Knight Returns version of Batman
- Ben Affleck is a great actor (in my opinion)
People's biggest complaint was 'Batman Kills' and I've had this discussion with my friends many times. Yes people died, IT'S HAPPENED BEFORE! It's rare but it's happened. You like the realism of Nolan's trilogy but there's a realism to Batfleck that you might not be seeing. He's been through all the same shit year in, year out for decades. Villains cause chaos, Batman fights villain, lets them live, puts them away, they break out, rinse repeat. Doing that for decades, losing people you love because of your choice not to kill, would surely cause a spark in your mind and Bruce Wayne says this in the movie through less words. "How many good guys are left? How many stay that way?"
If you think about it, he's essentially saying "I was a good guy but even I have had my boundaries pushed to the line and over". He's finally at the age where he has a state of mind that from his perspective...bad guys don't deserve to be shown mercy, but at the same time, he doesn't necessarily kill the bad guys directly.
Think of the warehouse scene. Bad Guy throws grenade, Batman kicks it back at him. Grenade goes BOOM. Bad guys die. BUT! If the guy hadn't have tried to throw the grenade, Batman wouldn't have kicked it back, and it wouldn't have ended in their death. Simple as that.
Let's move on though.
Superman is conflicted and the movie gets very political with a message of "Here's a God-Like figure. Should he be allowed to do what he wants or should we take away Choice by having under the Governments thumb?" and Superman personally is having internal issues of "I want this to be my home because it's the only home I've known, but these people don't want me and this stress is affecting both Clark Kent and Superman". He should have been able to see or hear the bomb in the wheelchair, but his mind was preoccupied with "Why does this government and these people hate me when I saved not only my city but the whole world?". Think about your stress with work, with college, school etc. and how it really does effect everything else around you. You might not want to go out with friends because you feel drained from the stress, now try to imagine that on the level of Superman! The poor guy just wanted to help.
My biggest enjoyment from this film was ALL OF THE DC REFERENCES! There were so many cool easter eggs, references etc. that I adored from Riddler Question Marks, to seeing Superman in a skeletal form after the Nuke explosion and then regaining his life force from the flowers through their Photosynthesis just like in the graphic novel! It was an incredible experience and I loved the film mainly for that.
The Bad:
Doomsday....I want to hope it's not the actual Doomsday and maybe just a failed experiment that Lex tried out but at the same time I know it probably is meant to be THE Doomsday.
The Editing:
The editing was jumpy and some cuts didn't make sense UNTIL the Ultimate Cut. The Ultimate Cut gives us some scenes with Clark Kent in Gotham BEFORE the big introduction to Batman in person, and hearing stories and investigating why people fear him, but also respect him. This would have worked so much better in the Theatrical Cut but sadly studios like to cut the film and people blame the Director for it which annoys me slightly.
Guaranteed this post might not change your mind, but I must say that you should try watching the film again if you've avoided it, watch the Ultimate Cut and really pay attention to how its being shown to the audience. Overall this is one of my favourite superhero movies and I will always stand up for it, BUT I'm not blind to it's faults.
I enjoyed the movie!
The Good:
Let me start with what's good because I feel there's never enough positivity around this movie so here goes.
Ben Affleck and Gal Gadot were the two focuses of this movie because they had a lot of pressure on them to bring Batman and Wonder Woman to life and do the characters justice (terrible I know but I couldn't resist). All over the internet I saw hate for Ben Affleck and people saying Gal Gadot was too skinny. At first, I'll be honest, I did think Gal Gadot was really skinny and couldn't imagine her as Wonder Woman, BUT, unlike most people, I knew that before they would film her scenes, she would be 'buffing up' because I have faith in Zack Snyder because he is a fan and has made brilliant films. Man Of Steel made me like Superman, because of the way he was written as conflicted and the whole film made him more human and I loved it.
Here's where some people will disagree highly with me....I am not a big fan of the Nolan trilogy Batman. Now, before you throw a fit and verbally kick my ass, let me try and tell you why. The Voice! (it's not the only reason, but this is the reason I'm trying to make a point of) Batman a.k.a Bruce Wayne is a BILLIONAIRE, so who thought that the best way for him to disguise his voice would be to make him sound like he's fucked up his throat somehow? A billionaire with all those gadgets would surely think that what he needs is a voice modulator. Snyder brought in the voice modulator and I fell in love in that first trailer from hearing Batman talk through a voice modulator because I was sat there like "Hallelujah they finally worked out what a billionaire vigilante would do!" and I think it could be just me, but I honestly would prefer to think of Batman using one of those rather than grumbling his voice, because it just makes more sense.
So...Batfleck was incredible. My favourite portrayal so far and here's why:
- Arkham game fighting style
- Aged personality that says it all about why he's that violent
- He's definitely a great portrayal of the Dark Knight Returns version of Batman
- Ben Affleck is a great actor (in my opinion)
People's biggest complaint was 'Batman Kills' and I've had this discussion with my friends many times. Yes people died, IT'S HAPPENED BEFORE! It's rare but it's happened. You like the realism of Nolan's trilogy but there's a realism to Batfleck that you might not be seeing. He's been through all the same shit year in, year out for decades. Villains cause chaos, Batman fights villain, lets them live, puts them away, they break out, rinse repeat. Doing that for decades, losing people you love because of your choice not to kill, would surely cause a spark in your mind and Bruce Wayne says this in the movie through less words. "How many good guys are left? How many stay that way?"
If you think about it, he's essentially saying "I was a good guy but even I have had my boundaries pushed to the line and over". He's finally at the age where he has a state of mind that from his perspective...bad guys don't deserve to be shown mercy, but at the same time, he doesn't necessarily kill the bad guys directly.
Think of the warehouse scene. Bad Guy throws grenade, Batman kicks it back at him. Grenade goes BOOM. Bad guys die. BUT! If the guy hadn't have tried to throw the grenade, Batman wouldn't have kicked it back, and it wouldn't have ended in their death. Simple as that.
Let's move on though.
Superman is conflicted and the movie gets very political with a message of "Here's a God-Like figure. Should he be allowed to do what he wants or should we take away Choice by having under the Governments thumb?" and Superman personally is having internal issues of "I want this to be my home because it's the only home I've known, but these people don't want me and this stress is affecting both Clark Kent and Superman". He should have been able to see or hear the bomb in the wheelchair, but his mind was preoccupied with "Why does this government and these people hate me when I saved not only my city but the whole world?". Think about your stress with work, with college, school etc. and how it really does effect everything else around you. You might not want to go out with friends because you feel drained from the stress, now try to imagine that on the level of Superman! The poor guy just wanted to help.
My biggest enjoyment from this film was ALL OF THE DC REFERENCES! There were so many cool easter eggs, references etc. that I adored from Riddler Question Marks, to seeing Superman in a skeletal form after the Nuke explosion and then regaining his life force from the flowers through their Photosynthesis just like in the graphic novel! It was an incredible experience and I loved the film mainly for that.
The Bad:
Doomsday....I want to hope it's not the actual Doomsday and maybe just a failed experiment that Lex tried out but at the same time I know it probably is meant to be THE Doomsday.
The Editing:
The editing was jumpy and some cuts didn't make sense UNTIL the Ultimate Cut. The Ultimate Cut gives us some scenes with Clark Kent in Gotham BEFORE the big introduction to Batman in person, and hearing stories and investigating why people fear him, but also respect him. This would have worked so much better in the Theatrical Cut but sadly studios like to cut the film and people blame the Director for it which annoys me slightly.
Guaranteed this post might not change your mind, but I must say that you should try watching the film again if you've avoided it, watch the Ultimate Cut and really pay attention to how its being shown to the audience. Overall this is one of my favourite superhero movies and I will always stand up for it, BUT I'm not blind to it's faults.
Jesters_folly (230 KP) rated Joker (2019) in Movies
Oct 21, 2019
Contains spoilers, click to show
Joker follows Arthur Fleck’s descent from a somewhat mentally troubled comedian to becoming the Joker, arch Batman villain and force for chaos.
Joker is not a superhero film, there are no super powers, no gimmick arrows, no trained fighters like Black Widow and, most defiantly NO batman. Arthur is a normal, if somewhat strange man who is slowly pushed to breaking point by the world around him. He doesn’t even fall into a vat of acid ala Jack Nicholson or Jared Leto’s characters. There is little to link this film to anything DC when it starts except the fact that it is set in Gotham as the film focus mainly on Arthur, the troubles he has working as a clown and the society around him. As the film continues we hear that Thomas Wayne (Bruce’s dad) is running for mayor and we do meet Bruce which helps the viewer know when the film is set although it does cause a slight problem in that the Joker would be around 60+ when he finally fights Batman (Something that doesn’t happen in this film) but the problem may be sorted depending on how you translate the final scene, but that’s something I’ll get to later.
The tone of Joker is dark, probably darker than the latest Batman/Superman films due to the fact that is a lot more ‘real’. As I said there is no ‘falling in acid’ or any other type of super villain/hero origin, just the tale of a man pushed over the edge. The film is, in style part ‘Falling Down’, part ‘Taxi Driver’ and part ‘V for Vendetta’ with a bit of DC (comics) law sprinkled on top and you can see why Jared Leto’s Joker was not used. I have nothing against the Jared Joker, I think It fit the feel ‘Suicide Squad’ but it was cartoony for this gritty version that was based more in reality, this Joker would have fit better as a villain in one of the earlier films like Batman v Superman.
There are Major Spoilers from this point on
There are a couple of odd things in this film, one is who is Arthur’s dad, the film could have worked without this storyline but I think it was added for two reasons; 1 to help tie the movie into the DC universe and 2 to keep a bit of mystery about the Jokers origin.
I have already mentioned that the Jokers age doesn’t seem to fit with the traditional Batman story but the film gives us two ways this could be handled. DC comics have (sometimes) said that there is more than one Joker, this is a way of the comics explaining the number of different origin stories, time lines and other contradiction caused by over 60 years of comics and this could also happen in this movies universe, many citizens of Gotham are seen in clown makeup so it’s would be easy for other people to take on the mantel.
The other solution ties into the last odd thing about the film. The last scene has the Joker in Arkham Hospital (probably Arkham Asylum in the comics), we don’t know how he got there and he is being interviewed by a nurse, he smiles and when asked what’s funny he replies ‘I just thought of a joke’. The nurse asks him tell her the joke and he replies ‘You wouldn’t get it’. I’ve read a lot of people say that this shows that the whole film is just happening in Arthur's imagination but I feel that it’s more likely to be him remembering what happened especially as it’s shown over the murder of Thomas and Martha Wayne. This means that the events of the film are what led up to the shooting in the ally (not by Arthur), so, if the film is just in Jokers imagination then the shooting wouldn’t have happened so there would be no Batman and we have to remember that this is a DC movie.
Joker is not a superhero film, there are no super powers, no gimmick arrows, no trained fighters like Black Widow and, most defiantly NO batman. Arthur is a normal, if somewhat strange man who is slowly pushed to breaking point by the world around him. He doesn’t even fall into a vat of acid ala Jack Nicholson or Jared Leto’s characters. There is little to link this film to anything DC when it starts except the fact that it is set in Gotham as the film focus mainly on Arthur, the troubles he has working as a clown and the society around him. As the film continues we hear that Thomas Wayne (Bruce’s dad) is running for mayor and we do meet Bruce which helps the viewer know when the film is set although it does cause a slight problem in that the Joker would be around 60+ when he finally fights Batman (Something that doesn’t happen in this film) but the problem may be sorted depending on how you translate the final scene, but that’s something I’ll get to later.
The tone of Joker is dark, probably darker than the latest Batman/Superman films due to the fact that is a lot more ‘real’. As I said there is no ‘falling in acid’ or any other type of super villain/hero origin, just the tale of a man pushed over the edge. The film is, in style part ‘Falling Down’, part ‘Taxi Driver’ and part ‘V for Vendetta’ with a bit of DC (comics) law sprinkled on top and you can see why Jared Leto’s Joker was not used. I have nothing against the Jared Joker, I think It fit the feel ‘Suicide Squad’ but it was cartoony for this gritty version that was based more in reality, this Joker would have fit better as a villain in one of the earlier films like Batman v Superman.
There are Major Spoilers from this point on
There are a couple of odd things in this film, one is who is Arthur’s dad, the film could have worked without this storyline but I think it was added for two reasons; 1 to help tie the movie into the DC universe and 2 to keep a bit of mystery about the Jokers origin.
I have already mentioned that the Jokers age doesn’t seem to fit with the traditional Batman story but the film gives us two ways this could be handled. DC comics have (sometimes) said that there is more than one Joker, this is a way of the comics explaining the number of different origin stories, time lines and other contradiction caused by over 60 years of comics and this could also happen in this movies universe, many citizens of Gotham are seen in clown makeup so it’s would be easy for other people to take on the mantel.
The other solution ties into the last odd thing about the film. The last scene has the Joker in Arkham Hospital (probably Arkham Asylum in the comics), we don’t know how he got there and he is being interviewed by a nurse, he smiles and when asked what’s funny he replies ‘I just thought of a joke’. The nurse asks him tell her the joke and he replies ‘You wouldn’t get it’. I’ve read a lot of people say that this shows that the whole film is just happening in Arthur's imagination but I feel that it’s more likely to be him remembering what happened especially as it’s shown over the murder of Thomas and Martha Wayne. This means that the events of the film are what led up to the shooting in the ally (not by Arthur), so, if the film is just in Jokers imagination then the shooting wouldn’t have happened so there would be no Batman and we have to remember that this is a DC movie.
Andy K (10823 KP) rated Batman: The Killing Joke (2016) in Movies
Dec 27, 2017
Visuals on par with the comic (2 more)
True to the source material
Superb voice talent
Using R rating incorrectly (1 more)
Batgirl
Missed opportunity
Contains spoilers, click to show
I remember reading the source graphic novel when it was first released in 1988 thinking "this would make a cool movie". This was even before the 1989 Michael Keaton-Tim Burton film in 1989.
In the modern world of the R rated Logan and Deadpool, it's now possible to push the envelope; however, not sure about an animated film. The character of Batman certainly is very dark and some of his emotional issues and those of the Joker could venture into those realms, but the tone of this film seem wrong.
The character of Batgirl seemed to be a victim rather than the strong character she is normally, and the "sex" scene between them seemed a little unusual. The brutality inflicted upon her at the hands of the Joker also was a bit much.
The highlight of the experience was listening to Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill reprise their now infamous Batman and Joker characters once again.
Overall, the film may have been better off to take "inspiration" from the novel rather than trying to reproduce it 100%.
In the modern world of the R rated Logan and Deadpool, it's now possible to push the envelope; however, not sure about an animated film. The character of Batman certainly is very dark and some of his emotional issues and those of the Joker could venture into those realms, but the tone of this film seem wrong.
The character of Batgirl seemed to be a victim rather than the strong character she is normally, and the "sex" scene between them seemed a little unusual. The brutality inflicted upon her at the hands of the Joker also was a bit much.
The highlight of the experience was listening to Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill reprise their now infamous Batman and Joker characters once again.
Overall, the film may have been better off to take "inspiration" from the novel rather than trying to reproduce it 100%.
Dean Connelly (17 KP) rated Batman: Return to Arkham in Video Games
Jan 10, 2018
You get to be Batman (3 more)
Voices of Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill
Both storylines are worthy of any comic book or movie
Just everything about it
I’ll get committed to this Asylum any day.
Contains spoilers, click to show
I was never a fan of these sort of games but it came out and I love it. You’ve got the best Batman and the best Joker in 2 of the best games I’ve ever played. Asylum you are stuck to Arkham Island and there isnt much you can do, City I feel is the best, more characters, more gadgets, more abilities, bigger environment, bigger bad guys to fight, loads more trophies. There also is side missions ranging from helping Bane to facing off against Deadshot. What I really love is that no character is the same from previous movies or TV series, I mean Poison Ivy is seriously fit, Freeze looks futuristic, Catwoman looks like a prostitute, you can play as Catwoman, challenges on both Games are good, city’s is tougher though. If you love a good game or a fan of the Dark Knight like me, you won’t be disappointed
Ross (3284 KP) rated Batman: The Killing Joke (2016) in Movies
Nov 9, 2018
The 2016 adaptation of one of the best-known, most iconic graphic novels of all time had massive shoes to fill. For me, it fell a little short, but was saved by the voice-acting and by, largely, sticking to the storyline it had to work with.
Before we get into the Killing Joke story proper, there is an added storyline following the relationship between Batman and Batgirl. This, plus the more cartoon-y style of the animation were a definite downer for a first 20 minutes. It doesn't really add anything to the overall piece, there is no apparent impact on Batman's actions as a result of their relationship.
That aside, this is a thrilling, gripping adaptation of the book, which sticks close to it. We learn about the Joker's backstory and first interaction with Batman, and we see that he has got into Batman's head as he always wanted.
The use of Mark Hamill as Mr J is excellent, his voice totally captures the Joker's madness, softness and violence.
A great spend of an hour, but something of a let-down from the book.
Before we get into the Killing Joke story proper, there is an added storyline following the relationship between Batman and Batgirl. This, plus the more cartoon-y style of the animation were a definite downer for a first 20 minutes. It doesn't really add anything to the overall piece, there is no apparent impact on Batman's actions as a result of their relationship.
That aside, this is a thrilling, gripping adaptation of the book, which sticks close to it. We learn about the Joker's backstory and first interaction with Batman, and we see that he has got into Batman's head as he always wanted.
The use of Mark Hamill as Mr J is excellent, his voice totally captures the Joker's madness, softness and violence.
A great spend of an hour, but something of a let-down from the book.
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David McK (3623 KP) rated Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) in Movies
Nov 28, 2021
Martha!
The secind entry in what-was-then the burgeoning Extended Universe, following on from 2013's Man of Steel - the finale of which (re. seemingly half of Metropolis getting destroyed) has repercussions in this.
I remember the film was also hotly anticipated, with lots of speculation on who it would adopt the graphic novel 'The Dark Knight Returns', a portion of which features a showdown between the Man of Steel and Batman.
So, this introduces Ben Affleck's (aka 'Batfleck') during the prologue.
It's also - unfortunately - the movie with the infamous 'save Martha!' scene, and with the very ineptly handed expansion of the DCEU via video clips played on a laptop.
This version of Batman also seems to have completely abandoned his famous 'no killing' rule, dispatching goons left, right and centre during several key moments of the film, while Henry Cavill's Superman still needs to, well, 'lighten up' quite a bit to be closer to how the Man of Steel is more commonly viewed.
And don't start me on Jesse Eisenberg's Lex Luthor, or on the completely extraneous final 'Doomsday' act ...
(still, at least the Directors Cut manages to salvage it somewhat)
I remember the film was also hotly anticipated, with lots of speculation on who it would adopt the graphic novel 'The Dark Knight Returns', a portion of which features a showdown between the Man of Steel and Batman.
So, this introduces Ben Affleck's (aka 'Batfleck') during the prologue.
It's also - unfortunately - the movie with the infamous 'save Martha!' scene, and with the very ineptly handed expansion of the DCEU via video clips played on a laptop.
This version of Batman also seems to have completely abandoned his famous 'no killing' rule, dispatching goons left, right and centre during several key moments of the film, while Henry Cavill's Superman still needs to, well, 'lighten up' quite a bit to be closer to how the Man of Steel is more commonly viewed.
And don't start me on Jesse Eisenberg's Lex Luthor, or on the completely extraneous final 'Doomsday' act ...
(still, at least the Directors Cut manages to salvage it somewhat)
Blazing Minds (92 KP) rated Wonder Woman (2017) in Movies
Nov 2, 2021 (Updated Nov 3, 2021)
With Marvel already dominating the superhero movie market, Wonder Woman steps up to the plate and knocks it out the park in DC’s new movie that takes us further towards The Justice League.
So a few years ago we had Man of Steel, which had mixed reviews and was a movie that had an extremely long and all out good vs evil battle with Superman vs General Zod over Metropolis!
Then came Batman V Superman, a movie that I personally was hoping would be a version of my favourite Batman comic book, The Dark Knight Returns, sadly this was not to be and although the extended cut is a better version the film was another in the DCEU (DC Extended Universe) that had mixed reviews and a rather long good vs evil battle, it did introduce us to Wonder Woman.
Following on was the next in the franchise, Suicide Squad, again this was another movie that didn’t really go down well with movie fans, which also had a good vs evil fight at the end (I see a pattern) it certainly looked like DC had hit three strikes! So all hope rested on Wonder Woman.
So a few years ago we had Man of Steel, which had mixed reviews and was a movie that had an extremely long and all out good vs evil battle with Superman vs General Zod over Metropolis!
Then came Batman V Superman, a movie that I personally was hoping would be a version of my favourite Batman comic book, The Dark Knight Returns, sadly this was not to be and although the extended cut is a better version the film was another in the DCEU (DC Extended Universe) that had mixed reviews and a rather long good vs evil battle, it did introduce us to Wonder Woman.
Following on was the next in the franchise, Suicide Squad, again this was another movie that didn’t really go down well with movie fans, which also had a good vs evil fight at the end (I see a pattern) it certainly looked like DC had hit three strikes! So all hope rested on Wonder Woman.
Katie Loves Movies (134 KP) Apr 18, 2017