Posts Tagged ‘dceu’

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Shazam! (2019)

April 10, 2019

Shazam! (2019)

Director: David F. Sandberg (Annabelle: Creation, Lights Out)

Starring: Zachary Levi, Mark Strong, Asher Angel, Jack Dylan Grazer

Anticipation Level: Strong

How Was It? Eh. The critics have been very kind to Shazam! and I don’t get it. I thought the trailer looked great and the tone of the film looked like a lot of fun, but I wound up thinking it was a bit too corny and some of the jokes really didn’t land for me – I’m looking at you, Santa Claus.

There was a lot of potential in a story where a kid suddenly gets the powers and physique of a Superman-like superhero, but I felt like Shazam! left a lot of that potential untapped. Imagine you’re a teenage boy that can turn into Superman whenever you want. Are you going to spend your time charging people’s phones with your lighting fingers and taking selfies for money… or… doing literally anything else?

Also, while I thought the individual performances of Zachary Levi and Asher Angel were pretty entertaining as the child and superhero versions of Billy Batson, they didn’t seem congruent at all. Angel plays the teenage Billy with quite a bit of gravity and a sprinkle of comedy while Levi is in full-blown, over-the-top little kid in a candy shop mode. Entertaining? Sure. I just wasn’t buying the separate performances as the same character.

The villain in this movie is some dude that ends up housing the seven deadly sins in his body and the sins emerge as smoke monsters to help him wreak havoc. Do I need to say how dumb that is?

Jack Dylan Grazer and young Faithe Herman give really fun performances in supporting roles as fellow foster kids.

Overall, I was disappointed with Shazam! because it looked pretty good to me and it wound up leaving me cringing more often than it genuinely entertained me. It wasn’t terrible though. It definitely has funny moments and it was at least watchable. I’m sure lots of people will like it.

Replay Value: I’d probably watch it again just because, but I might wind up actually hating it.

Sequel Potential: Well duh.

Oscar Potential: None.

5/10 (Decent)

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Justice League (2017)

November 20, 2017

Starring: Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Ezra Miller, Ray Fisher, Jason Mamoa, Henry Cavill
Director: Zack Snyder (Man Of Steel, Watchmen, Batman vs Superman: Dawn Of Justice)

Bottom Line: I can’t believe it. I didn’t hate it. It’s a miracle! Seriously, I really thought I would never like Justice League. Zack Snyder already disappointed me beyond belief with his abysmal Batman Vs. Superman: Dawn Of Justice and I really thought the trailers for this movie looked like a total mess too. I had every expectation that it was going to suck and only a very small piece of me held out hope that it could be good.

I was so pleasantly surprised to enjoy this movie. I mean… it wasn’t amazing. It’s not going to crack my top 10 of 2017 and it’s not even in my top 3 superhero films of the year. But it didn’t suck! IT DIDN’T SUCK!!! YES!

All the members of the team get their moments to shine and the many concerns I had about Cyborg and Aquaman were quickly relieved. That’s not to say I’m looking forward to a Cyborg solo film – I really think that would do poorly – but he wasn’t cringe-worthy like I was expecting and I think he added to the film quite a bit. Jason Mamoa and Ezra Miller are great additions as Aquaman and The Flash, respectively.

Wonder Woman is still the star of this team. Gal Gadot is just perfect in that role and for whatever reason the filmmakers know how to make that character awesome.

I wish I could say the same for Batman. I like Affleck in the role, but in a lot of ways, I think Batman might be the weakest link in this crew – and it’s not because he’s a human being with no powers. Or maybe it is. A superhero like Batman worked amazingly well in the realistic world that Christopher Nolan crafted for his Dark Knight trilogy, but a movie like Justice League, which features heroes that can fly and aliens from other planets, well, Batman seems a little out of place. That seems to work just fine in an animated form, but something about seeing him involved in these crazy scenarios in live action form makes you think “maybe you should sit this one out, bud.” I dunno… maybe he will grow on me over time.

Justice League still has a really gloomy and grim setting, but there is a noticeable change in tone that adds quite a bit of humor and I think most of the jokes landed the laughs they were looking for. There are some great scenes involving Superman and Flash (weird… Superman returns – what a spoiler!) and another one with Wonder Woman’s lasso that you can’t help but think Joss Whedon added in post-production after Zack Snyder left the film due to a family tragedy. A little humor and charm certainly makes the movie far more enjoyable than its predecessor, which took itself so seriously it was almost comical.

Steppenwolf is the big baddie here and I’m honestly not familiar with him at all, despite watching the entire run of Justice League Unlimited and basically every animated film DC has released. Maybe I just missed him or forgot him, but I was pretty shocked when I heard a villain I’m completely unfamiliar with was who the JL would be battling in this movie. I thought he was okay. I guess he was believable as a formidable opponent for these superheroes, but there wasn’t anything particularly special or interesting about him.

All in all, I thought Justice League was a fun, but not great film. It certainly won’t convert anyone that’s anti-superhero movie, but it gives this fan of the genre hope for the DCEU going forward and it was honestly looking pretty grim last year. I am now looking forward to the next adventure. Bring on Darkseid!

Replay Value: I think I can enjoy this movie multiple times.
Sequel Potential: There are 19 movies in the pipeline for the DCEU at the moment, but only five of them have actual release dates and who knows how many of them will ever see the light of day. Aquaman comes out next year and Shazam! and Wonder Woman 2 are due out in 2019. A Justice League sequel will surely get made, but everything else DC has hinted at has to be taken with a grain of salt at this point.
Oscar Potential: None.

Grade: 6 (Recommended)

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