2017年11月16日 星期四

A Review of Every DC Movie from 2005 to the Present (Revised as of November 16, 2017)

With various DC movies in various stages of production, I've decided to shorten this list.  It begins with Batman Begins.  For still older movies (and yes, I've seen them all!), look here.


****
Excellent!  Had to see it twice!
***
Good movie with a few flaws.
**
Not bad, but not great.
*
I’d watch it once if I was bored enough.
[no stars]
Just terrible.
@
So bad it’s kind of good.

2000s

18. Batman Begins (2005) ****

Hell yes.  This was a movie Batman as we always wanted to see him.  Not the neurotic guy with all the gadgets, but the kind of guy who could kick your ass.  The scarecrow is awesome here.

19. V for Vendetta (2005) ***

Great film, made by the Wachowskis of Matrix fame.  Hugo Weaving is fantastic, and even if they dumbed down the source material it's still worth your time.

20. Superman Returns (2006) **

Not as bad as some people make it out to be.  Yeah, Superman does come off as a stalker, and I don't know why they had to do so many of his flying scenes in CGI, but the part where Kevin Spacey and co. deliver a beatdown is excellent.

21. The Dark Knight (2008) ****

Still hands-down the best superhero movie ever made.  And yes, I liked The Avengers.  The plot is complex, the performances are amazing, and the direction is first-rate.  How could Nolan have ever topped this one?

22. The Spirit (2008)

Fuck this movie is bad.  I saw Sin City so many times I had the lines memorized, and with The Spirit I was hoping for something similarly classic.  Unfortunately Frank Miller isn't quite as good in the absence of Robert Rodriguez.

23. Watchmen (2009) ***

Two problems with this movie: the actors are too pretty, and way too much kung fu fighting.  Aside from these two problems, it is faithful to the comic book and works on many levels. Snyder might have bungled Sucker Punch, but this movie gave me hope for Man of Steel.

2010s

24. Jonah Hex (2010) *

Josh Brolin stars as an ex-confederate soldier who can talk to dead people.  John Malkovich is the villain.  It was almost a good movie, but the soundtrack ruins the better moments and it gets pretty corny near the end.

25. Green Lantern (2011)

This movie had everything going for it.  I'm not even a big fan of Green Lantern, but when I heard about the director and the cast I got really excited.  Unfortunately the road to Green Lantern is paved with good intentions.

26. The Dark Knight Rises (2012) **

This movie bored me.  It's over three hours long, and Bane is unintentionally hilarious at times.  Anne Hathaway makes a great Catwoman, but that's all I can say in favor of this film.

27. Man of Steel (2013) **

Half of a great movie, and half of a Michael Bay movie.  It starts out well, even though some of the details surrounding Krypton don't bear thinking about.  Henry Cavill is a great Superman, but Zack Snyder was trying too hard to please too large an audience.

28. Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice ***1/2

I don't care what the critics say - this is a great f*&king movie.  I was unimpressed by Man of Steel - but this?  This was the one I'd been waiting for.  Probably a bit slow - or even too dark - for some, but I loved it.  An extra 1/2 star for the Ultimate Edition, which improves upon the theatrical cut.  This is DC done well.

29. Suicide Squad (2016)*

I was disappointed by this movie.  There is WAY too much backstory and many of the characters are underdeveloped.  Harley Quinn seems entirely too sane to have earned her reputation, and as a character Deadshot is unconvincing.  Joel Kinnaman does a valiant job of keeping the whole thing together, Viola Davis and Jared Leto give memorable (if brief) performances, but there's just not enough script to hang a whole movie on.

30. Wonder Woman (2017)**

The Good News: 1) It's better than Suicide Squad, and 2) Gal Gadot is a good enough actress to carry this movie.  The Bad News: 1) There are moments where this movie stops dead in its tracks, 2) the villain is completely undeveloped, and 3) parts of this movie bear an unfortunate resemblance to Captain America: the First Avenger.  The best bits are those in which the characters reflect on the differences between our world and Diana's.  I'm sad to say, however, that these moments are sandwiched between two halves of an action movie that doesn't quite work.

31. Justice League (2017)**

I would put it above Wonder Woman, Suicide Squad, and Man of Steel.  It will at times remind you a lot of the Avengers, but certain similarities were unavoidable given both the superhero team-up format and the fact that Joss Whedon was involved.  I'd like to see Aquaman further developed in his solo film, and I'm still waiting for that Flashpoint film.  Definitely worth seeing, though I doubt it will rock your world.

On the Way  


NOTE: There are a TON of DC movies in various stages of development, but Warner Bros. plans change often and their statements regarding these projects are often contradictory.  What's listed below is what's listed on the Wikipedia article for the DCEU.

33. Aquaman (2018)

Jason Momoa stars as Aquaman, with Patrick Wilson appearing as his brother Orm, the Ocean Master.  With director James Wan at the helm I (and a lot of other people) have a lot of confidence in this movie, though it will be a long wait until December of next year.

34. Shazam (2018)

David F. Sandberg is directing, with Zachary Levi (Fandral in Thor: the Dark World) starring as the World's Mightiest Mortal.  At the time of writing Mark Strong is in negotiations to play the villain, Dr. Sivana.  I think it has the potential to be a really fun film, but we'll have to see how it all plays out closer to the release date.

35. Wonder Woman 2 (2019)

After the thundering success of the first Wonder Woman this sequel was an inevitability.  It's taking over Justice League 2's release date, with all the important people returning for this second round of Amazonian goodness.  Setting this film in the modern day will be a welcome change.

36. Cyborg (2020)

Ray Fisher will reprise his role as Cyborg, though little else is known about this movie.  I'm hoping that in the sequel they can dispense with some of the cgi in favor of practical effects.  I doubt, however, that this will happen.  Tackling some of the character's psychological aspects might make for an interesting movie, but an action blockbuster will probably be the order of the day.

37. Green Lantern Corps (2020)

This movie's been announced, and Warner Bros. seems firm on the release date, but aside from that it's a mystery.  Some Green Lanterns appear in one of the flashback scenes in Justice League, so at least we have some idea what they might look like.

38. Other Projects That May or May Not Ever Get Made

Batgirl, The Batman, Flashpoint, Nightwing, Lobo, Man of Steel 2, and a bunch of other movies might get made, but at this point who really knows?  I mention six movies by name because they seem the most likely to end up in local multiplex...  BUT with the reception awaiting Justice League uncertain, we'll just have to wait and see.  A Flashpoint movie is particularly dependent on how Justice League does at the box office.

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