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  • I liked it quite a bit. I never saw Batman v. Superman, but I think it pivots from a point of despair (which is my uninformed impression of where that movie leaves us) and a point of hope quite nicely. They do a good job with the characters, I think -- Flash was funny, I liked Cyborg as well (especially after he loosens up a bit), Aquaman was a blast, and they got Superman right! And Wonder Woman is just a joy to watch. I don't know it I'll ever be completely satisfied with a movie Batman (man, for a guy who likes guns, he sure doesn't have a problem putting them on cars!), but that's a minor quibble: Affleck himself does a nice job. 

    The plot was a bit clunky, but I definitely liked it! MORE, PLEASE.

  • I found it enjoyable, despite some tonal incoherence. Actually, the disjointed beginning felt a lot like a DC Crossover Event Comic.

    I didn’t expect to like a very different version of Barry Allen, but they did a good job making him the New Kid.

    Superman finally gets to be Superman!

    The finale (and the epilogues) finally feel like a DCU movie.

    DC is courting problematic accusations of being derivative by setting up Darkseid as the future Big Bad, and using the Mother Boxes much as Marvel has been using the Soul Gems Infinity Stones– even though the DC versions came first in the comics.

    Fortunately, they’ve also set up some version of the Legion of Doom, which is a better play for a Big Bad. I hope they do that first.

    Some questions:

    -How will they explain Clark's return?

    -It's clear that Luthor should know that Superman is Clark Kent. Will that still be in play in the forthcoming Legion of Doom (or whatever they call it) confrontation?

    -When will the Green Lantern show up? The film establishes the Lanterns exist.

    -Did anyone else feel like yelling out "Martha"?

    -Did we also witness the Power of Shazam in that flashback? For that matter, did anyone else get a (and I'm probably off my Mark) Strong Sivana vibe from the guy in Luthor's cell?

  • I hadn't considered the guy in the cell might be something other than a decoy. Good question.

    I was disappointed that we didn't see Green Lantern as a founding member, especially after the preview showed a scene of Alfred saying "He said you might come" with something or someone green reflecting on his chair. That scene didn't appear in the movie, so GL must be some or all of the 30 minutes Whedon cut. But yes, we saw them in action (and the way the ring searches for a new host) in the flashback to Steppenwolf's first invasion.

    Speaking of which, that scene seemed to owe more to Lord of the Rings than the Infinity Stones. Various races combining to fight a big bad, objects of power split between the major powers to be hidden, the ancient enemy returning as the various races are no longer united. Even the CGI of the big battle looked familiar.

    I didn't find the movie as jumbled as critics are saying at all. Superman's return didn't feel like a huge surprise, but then, the audience knew it was coming. I enjoyed the ride and didn't feel any major bumps.

    Superman was definitely the League's big gun. That was really reinforced over and over. He didn't seem to have much trouble with Steppenwolf.

    Which I was kinda glad about. The third act in superhero movies have gotten to big, too loud, too violent, too pointless. Man of Steel is a good example. Here there was a good fight -- everyone got to show their stuff before Superman showed up -- and the bad guy was definitively beaten by the good guys. Then, wonder of wonders, we got a good five minutes of aftermath so we can spend some time with our new friends. Lovely.

    Gal Gadot is still a marvel. I guess they've learned to keep the camera on her, because her facial expressions are great counterpoints or reinforcement to whatever the conversation is. And something about her is really friendly and reassuring -- as you'd want Wonder Woman to be. She's joyful even in battle. Gadot is so good I keep forgetting how gorgeous she is. She feels like a friend I haven't met yet.

    Speaking of the word gorgeous, I loved the bit with Aquaman sitting on the lasso. He's the one we knew the least about, so we needed to see what was behind the bravado.

    Were Aquaman's powers better than his comics counterpart? Yes they were, and I'm delighted. I'm not quite sure how he held the waters back -- it might have been the "pitchfork" that he borrowed from Atlantis, because the effect didn't resemble Mera's aquakinesis (which we also saw, to my delight). I loved the line "the water does the talking." I also loved that Atlanteans don't swim -- they fly, just like Superman, but underwater. Like they're jet-propelled. That salves an itch I've had my whole life in that "swims fast" doesn't seem possible on some instinctive level. Humans are really awkward in water, and even Olympic swimmers can only go a short distance very fast, and it takes tremendous effort (while a shark could probably go that distance twice as fast with very little effort). Strangely, showing them rocketing about without moving their arms and legs makes some sort of instinctive sense in a world where Superman does the same in the air.

    Yes, Flash was funny, and the DCEU needs more funny. But more importantly, he was our POV with the super-guys. It's hard to relate to these godlike beings, but Flash put us in the room. Also, being a newbie meant that his godlike power was kept in check and didn't overshadow the others, as it could.

    Cyborg had some good moments, but not great ones. They really need to work on making him a stronger character. One problem he has that the others don't is that the screenwriters don't have 70 years of material to crib from. That work has to be done now, and on the fly.

    CGI bad guys keep yanking me out of the movie. They look like video game characters. But as Rob said above, whatevs. We'll probably never see him again, and I'd much rather they got the heroes right, and they do. The human bad guys -- Luthor, Deathstroke -- look great, too.

    Affleck's Batman is just OK. He doesn't seem athletic enough to convince me -- he lands heavily, he moves a little stiffly. That may, actually, be a factor of age -- Affleck is in his 40s. I can attest as a guy in his 50s that the easy, limber movement I had in my 20s is no longer present, and it didn't happen overnight. It may be time to re-cast the Bat. Maybe Flashpoint will make that painless. (And not Gyllenhall, please. Get someone in the 20s who is in great shape. And, for God's sake, someone invent a Bat-suit that allows the actor to turn his damn head!)

    My niece said "Batman is DC's Tony Stark." And she's kinda right, the way his toys come when he calls.

    The Flash/Superman race at the end was cute. I don't need to know who won.

    The promise of an Injustice League (or Legion of Doom) means we'll eventually move away from cosmic bad guys for more earthbound ones. Good. I'm already tired of CGI bad guys, and I haven't even seen the Thanos and Darkseid movies yet.

    I'm not surprised at the critical drubbing, because critics hate popcorn movies. I bet they'd give the Marvel movies similar disdain if the public opinion wasn't already so firmly in Marvel's camp. BUt DC got a bad rep from Man of Steel and Batman v Superman, so I think they're saying about this movie what they'd like to say about all of them.

    Me, I had a good time. Looking forward to 2018, and the dozen or so super-movies in the pipeline!

  • For a DC movie, I have to say "not bad". Not great, but, not bad. Batman was the man with plan, but "My way or the highway" wasn't a factor. I've come to expect that of the charactor in a team setting. Afflec played the ageing hero well, in spite of having been softened. Gal Gadot was flawless. Period. I agree with the consensus on Henry Cavil's Superman: he got it right. Sadly the Flash was annoying. This was a kid I wanted to see flipping burgers when Batman found him. I will say Batman'S "management" of the Flash was well done. Cyborg seemed more of a plot device than a charactor, but he had one great line: "funny you thought I was refering to myself". Then there's Aquaman. He was much more Arthur Curry then Atlantean royalty. I didn't expect that. I did like that. For me the charactors made the film. The plot didn't really add much.
  • MORE IMPORTANT: During the credits Bill Finger was acknowledged as Batman's co-creator! It was worth the price of admission to finally see that.
  • Missed that -- awesome!

    I did notice that Kirby got a credit separated from the others to emphasize it:

    "Fourth World created by Jack Kirby."

  • I heard that the film critics did not like this movie. That is usually a good sign that I better go see it, which I did. I liked Superman and Wonder Woman the best. I mean both of their performances did not disappoint. The Flash seemed to be a bit nerdy and more high schoolish to me. He was definitely in awe standing in the presence of most of the other members of the Justic League. The Superman/Flash race in the end was great. It reminded me of the classic crossover of the silver age. I believe that the race started in Superman went to Flash and ended up in World's Finest. I probably have the order mixed up but it was a great race. In the comic book race I thought that Superman did not fly? In the film he is flying. Anyway glad to see it. I was told that Superman was still dead and would not appear in this film. Glad that part was wrong! I liked that Ben Affleck/Bruce Wayne did a good job on helping out in the financial issues that the various member encounted. The one thing that perplexed me is why does Clark Kent/Superman need help financially from Bruce Wayne to help his mother regain the old farmstead? I mean Clark could go into the barn with a sack load of charcoil and squeeze out a bunch of diamonds. But this Clark seems to be more concerned with helping everyone except himself ? Bruce/Batman has some great lines. In reference to what is his super power..."I'm rich" and in reference to how did he get the house note back from the bank.."I bought the bank." Great movie. Is this the last movie for Ben Affleck as Batman?

  • There's been a lot of churn since the "failure" of Justice League. Aquaman has finished filming, so it will come out next winter as scheduled, and Flashpoint (with Batfleck) is still seen as likely. But I wouldn't bet on it.

  • So Flashpoint may not be made due to the problems of Justice League?  So Ben Affleck may be replaced in Flashpoint?

  • It's still officially in the works, but there was a recent shakeup in the leadership of WB's DCE films, so changes are possible. 

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