• December 2025
    S M T W T F S
     123456
    78910111213
    14151617181920
    21222324252627
    28293031  

  • On Facebook

    On Facebook

  • Archives

  • Categories

  • Comic Blog Elite

    Comic Blogs - BlogCatalog Blog Directory

My Thoughts on Batman v Superman

Posted on March 28, 2016 by Walt

bvsbanner

[Be forewarned: this post is extremely lengthy, AND contains spoilers after the warnings, so if you don’t want stuff spoiled or don’t feel like reading much, you may not care for this post. I’m also not doing my usual formatting…this is just raw thoughts slightly organized, but not  really a formal/objective "review"]

Spoiler warning!

This post will contain explicit spoilers. I’m going to ramble a bit for a couple of brief paragraphs to add some "buffer space" for the spoilers, but consider this your warning.

I saw the film last Thursday evening after work. Left work, drove to the theater, and found that I had roughly forty minutes until the show was due to start. (Which meant including commercials and trailers, at least an HOUR). Show time was chosen as an "early" show while allowing some extra time for crummy traffic, as ridiculous traffic jams seem to crop up at least 2-3 times every week, forcing me to take alternative routes to avoid them.

(This post really does contain spoilers…this is your second warning!)

Though I’d tried to avoid trailers entirely for this film, I was exposed to a couple…I think at least one was in a theater, so not problematic the way I take issue with online trailers and so-called/supposedly "leaked" trailers. (Though that’s another post entirely) So I had some notion of what the film was going to entail, going in…plus observations from coworkers and others to whom I’m their "Superman guy."

So I was a bit annoyed by the time the film actually started, and felt a bit constrained: no one to see the film WITH, as well as the strong desire to see it ASAP in order to take it in myself, before taking in others’ opinions on it. I wanted to see and judge it for myself, separate from whatever influence others’ thoughts and analyses might have on my experience.

Final spoiler warning! If you read beyond this sentence, spoilers are on your own head!

Preamble and spoiler warnings out of the way…my initial thought as the end credits finished was simply "Really?" Like…"That’s how we’re gonna end?" And I felt a certain flat-out depression…the movie I’d just watched simply left me depressed. Both from the story itself, as well as my own thoughts on it…as it unfolded, and immediately following its conclusion.

batmanvsupermanimage2

Continue reading →

Filed under: 2016 posts, 2016 Reviews | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Man of Steel: Initial Thoughts

Posted on June 13, 2013 by Walt

manofsteelwalmartpremierenightfrontI’ve said for awhile now that based on the trailers alone, this film looks far better to me than “the last one.” While Superman Returns has its place, I never cared for the costume or the weirdly-stylized “S.” And the film was long, kinda dragged, and seemed too much like it was trying too hard to BE the ’78 Donner film.

And this new film?

There’s plenty of homage; I thought of a bunch of other films at different points throughout watching this. I saw what I interpreted as a number of influences–from Alex Ross’ art to The Matrix to Star Wars and Gladiator…some things more subtle than others.

But mostly, I saw Superman. I didn’t see an actor molded to be as similar as possible to another actor playing Superman. And because of that (at least in part) I enjoyed the film a lot more.

alexrosssupermanThere’s a lot of sci-fi to this film; more than I think I’ve ever seen in a live-action Superman film before. And a lot of it–especially early on–put me heavily in mind of Star Wars Episode III. Shortly after I was put in mind of moments from 2009’s Star Trek as well as (for what should be an obvious reason) Gladiator.

In large part due to the broad strokes of the conditions behind Superman’s reveal, I was put in mind of the Superman: Earth One graphic novel from a couple years back. As a fan of ’90s Superman, I certainly missed one character in particular…and yet, the way that gets handled by the end of the film leaves huge potential for the inevitable sequel, and I daresay I’d be highly interested in a comic series set in this film’s continuity.

After the film’s opening, I was a bit put off by what I imagined was the route the story was taking…and braced myself for a long off-putting film. This concern was quickly put aside as the story unfolded and things were presented contrary to my expectations.

manofsteelwalmartpremierenightbackI was honestly surprised by a couple of deaths in the film–though they certainly fit the story, and definitely leave things ripe for potential…and my own mental tying in of a digital prequel comic I read thanks to the Walmart Premiere Night ticket code makes me wonder at the possibility of even a loose adaptation of the first “current” Superman story I ever read (parts of) back in ’89.

You want out ‘n out spoilers? Plenty of those out there. And I’ll likely have other thoughts once I see the film at least one more time; to say nothing of how others’ thoughts will rub off on me and give me different perspectives to come at this with…as well as the simple passage of time. (I’ll be particularly looking forward to hearing what Michael Bailey and Raging Bullets have to say on the film!)

Filed under: QUASI-REVIEW CONTENT | Tagged: , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »