The DCEU Goes From Churning Out Massive Disasters To Churning Out Major Messes With Justice League

MILD SPOILERS AHEAD 

 

And so, to quote the opening line of the Christina Aguilera cover of Car Wash from the movie Shark Tale...here we go again.

Well Now, Ben Affleck May Not Even Make A Batman Movie, How About That?

Ben Affleck has a new movie entitled Live By Night opening in wide release next weekend, so naturally, all of the press interviews he's done for the movie concern reporters asking him question about why he chose to tell a story like Live By Night that is set in the Prohibition era, how he's grown as a director over the past decade and maybe his thoughts on the bigger picture of cinema in the world in 2016. Nah, just messing with ya, everyone's been asking him about that stand-alone Batman he's set to star in and direct. Previously, Affleck himself had said conflicting reports about the status the movie; he recently said it was aiming to start filming in the Spring (something actor Joe Manganiello backed up) while other times it was still in the development phase. 

What The Hell Is Going On With The DC Extended Universe?

I was so excited for Man Of Steel. My God, me and my buddies absolutely couldn't wait. We were all superhero movie geeks and in love with Christopher Nolan's take on The Dark Knight, so the idea of him shepherding Superman into the modern age just sounded like a recipe for pure gold as far as we were concerned. And those trailers! They inspired a sense of awe that we couldn't wait to see in the movie itself. So, on Friday June 14th, we all met up at our local Cinemark and excitedly sat in our seats, prepared to see Superman's newest motion picture.

We went in hoping for awe-inspiring spectacle. What we got was Shaky-Cam: The Movie that managed to waste Kevin Costner, Amy Adams and Michael Shannon in one movie.

Batman: The Killing Joke Is A Melting Pot Of Very Bad Ideas

Batman: The Killing Joke has been mired in praise for its 28 year existence, but it's also experienced heavy and well-deserved criticism throughout the decades, primarily for its treatment of Barbara Gordon, the sole notable female character in the graphic novel whose shot and sexually assaulted by The Joker solely so said actions can motivate the other male characters in the tale. It's fairly obvious the first 25-ish minutes of the animated movie adaptation of Batman: The Killing Joke is intended as a mea culpa by the filmmakers as they attempt to boost up Barbara's role prior to her encounter with The Joker (yeah, they still leave her being sexually assaulted by The Joker instead of just cutting that icky bit from the graphic novel out).

There's A Trailer Now For That Extended R-Rated Cut Of Batman v. Superman. This Calls For A Sarcasm Coated "Excelsior!"

It's the punching bag of the media this year. The very word "MARTHA!!" has gone from being a common name to a term that inspires titters of laughter from individuals across the planet. It's one of the most front-loaded blockbusters of all-time at the domestic box office, even more so than the likes of Ang Lee's Hulk and last year's Fantastic Four debacle. Hell, even actor Jeremy Irons has already declared that the movie was "deservedly so" torn to shreds by critics. To say the reputation of Batman v. Superman: Dawn Of Justice has slipped down to one of the lowest levels possible of a major American blockbuster is a gross understatement indeed.

The Villain For Justice League Has Been Revealed And He Was Born To Be Wild

It's hard to believe Batman v. Superman: Dawn Of Justice was a real movie. Did a film with such haphazard editing really get released by one of the biggest movie studios on the planet? Did a bunch of high-profile studio executives really think the film's complete lack of a cohesive story structure or even the barest semi-competent character arc would turn BvS into the next Avengers? Christ, what a disaster. And now we have the first ever live-action Justice League movie to look forward to next year, which is being written and directed by the same folks (Chris Terrio and Zack Snyder respectively) who held those positions on Batman v. Superman. Lovely.

Captain America: Civil War Grosses $181 Million This Weekend, Making A Lot More Money For Marvel To Use To Bribe Critics #SupportDCFilms

Considering audiences have spent over $871 million on superhero movies in the past 87 days alone, I think it's fairly apparent that superhero fatigue has set in and the genre is doomed. I mean, Captain America: Civil War made "only" $181.7 million this weekend! That's only the fifth-highest grossing weekend ever! Obviously, the MCU is doomed and audiences have given up on a style of storytelling that has existed prominently in pop culture for nearly 80 years (if one were to say the modern pop culture pop of superheroes started with the comic book debut of Superman). Well, pack it up folks.

The Jungle Book Is The Box Office VIP While Barbershop 3 Serves A Solid Amount of Customers

It's pretty apparent at this point that Disney's live-action adaptations of their classic animated features are as close to guaranteed money-makers as you'll find at the domestic box office. After the likes of Alice In Wonderland, Maleficent and Cinderella made bug bucks for the Mouse House, the newest entry in this subgenre, The Jungle Book, debuted to reviews far more positive than the ones given to its kin and also garnered one of the biggest opening weekends for any movie released by Disney. Mowgli and his jungle pals claimed $103.5 million in its first domestic opening weekend, waaay bigger than the bows of Maleficent and Cinderella and the second biggest opening weekend ever for April.

Batman And Superman Are No Match For The Boss While Hardcore Henry Gets Slaughtered

Twas not Doomsday nor Lex Luthor nor Darkseid that took down Batman v. Superman at the box office. No, Melissa McCarthy was the one to end the box office reign of those two superheroes, with her newest movie taking the number one spot at the box office with $24.5 million. That's a 15% increase from the opening weekend of Tammy, though that one burned off demand by opening on a Wednesday. It is noticeably lower than the bows of Spy, Identity Thief and The Heat, though the smaller $29 million budget of The Boss means Universal probably aren't sweating bullets over this box office performance.

Batman v. Superman Descends By 68% In Second Weekend While God's Not Dead 2 Gets Crucified At The Box Office

After having one of the best opening weekends in history, Batman v. Superman: Dawn Of Justice had a massive second-weekend decline, losing 68% from its debut opening weekend for a $52.3 million second weekend gross. That's a larger second-weekend dip than superhero movies like Man Of Steel (64%) and Green Lantern (66%) and on par with the second-weekend decline of Fantastic Four (2015) (69%). In terms of overall second weekends, it's the twenty-sixth biggest second weekend ever, putting it just ahead of the second weekend gross of Inside Out and just behind the second-weekend cumes of Shrek The Third and The Passion Of The Christ. It's worth noting also that, while the $27.7 million BvS grossed at Thursday night last weekend certainly boosted its opening weekend, last year's Avengers: Age Of Ultron made only $100,000 less at Thursday night showings and lost only 59% in its second weekend.

Where Does The DC Extended Universe Go From Here?

Batman v. Superman: Dawn Of Justice is a big fat hit. Grossing over $420 million worldwide in just a few days, this thing is easily headed to over a billion dollars worldwide and has fulfilled the faith Warner Bros. had in this franchise when they announce half-a-decades worth of movies based on various DC Comics characters back in October 2014. The DC Extended Universe, as it's being called, is here to stay. And, as someone who hated Batman v. Superman, I have some mixed feelings about this whole thing, to say the least.

Batman v. Superman Breaks Box Office Records In Its Gargantuan Opening Weekend

It is done. Batman v. Superman now has the biggest March opening weekend of all-time, the biggest opening weekend for a Batman movie ever and the second biggest debut weekend ever for a Warner Bros. title. How much did this gargantuan tentpole make this weekend? About $170.1 million, the sixth biggest opening weekend in history as well as the largest opening weekend ever for a Warner Bros. motion picture. It also gobbled up an enormous $424.1 million worldwide in its opening weekend, the fourth biggest worldwide opening in history. The DC Extended Universe is finally up and rolling, despite the best efforts from the critics who were all part of a very much real (and not at all something fictitious conjured up by mentally and emotionally disturbed individuals on Reddit) conspiracy against the movie.

Batman v. Superman Gets Off To Massive Box Office Start At Thursday Night Showings

Night (or should I say knight) has fallen on the box office as Batman v. Superman: Dawn Of Justice got off to a massive $27.7 million start last night at Thursday night screenings that began at 6 PM. That's the second biggest gross for a superhero movie at these kind of screenings, only behind the $30 million sum garnered by The Dark Knight Rises at Midnight showings back in July 2012. This $27,7 million sum puts Batman v. Superman puts this Zack Snyder film ahead of The Avengers, Man Of Steel (which grossed $21 million at 7PM screenings, tickets to which could only be bought at Wal-Mart, and midnight showings) and Avengers: Age Of Ultron. It's also, just from these screenings alone, already the eighth highest grossing movie of Jesse Eisenberg's career.

Batman v. Superman Review

"She's talking to angels
Counting the stars
Waiting for Superman to pick her up
In his arms" - Daughtry 

In the final scene of the 1959 Francois Truffaut film The 400 Blows, the lead character, a young boy named Antoine Doinel, finally makes it the beach, a serene domain full of the kind of peace and tranquility he's been yearning for. Yes, he's made it...but at what cost? He's alienated his parents, turned to a life of crime, sullied his reputation, he's sacrificed so much to get here. The closing shot of the motion picture focuses solely on the face of Antoine Doinel, an expression of remorse and confusion over realizing all that has been lost in his pursuit of escaping his demanding life. It's a haunting facial expression....and the very same one that was etched onto my face when I emerged from my Thursday night screening of Batman v. Superman: Dawn Of Justice.

Motion Picture Starring Batman And Superman To Receive An R Rating

Last night, word broke out across the interwebs that Zack Snyder's forthcoming motion picture, Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, would receive an R-rated cut on its Blu-Ray release. This wasn't an unprecedented move, considering that the Warner Bros. blockbuster, The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies, had received an R-rated cut on home video. It's also worth noting that past Zack Snyder features like Watchmen, Dawn of The Dead and Sucker Punch have all received extended cuts on DVD/Blu-Ray. So, is this the most unexpected development of all-time? No. And it's also one that likely pre-dated the success of R-rated superhero movie Deadpool too, given the aforementioned Hobbit feature receiving an R-rated version this past November.

The Final Batman v. Superman Trailer Brings Brawny Batman Busting Bones. Plus, Wonder Woman Speaks!

It's been ten long months since the first Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice trailer was unleashed onto the public. That's keeping in tune with (skipping over Jonah Hex, the two Red movies, Green Lantern and Watchmen) the marketing campaigns for the last three DC Comics features, Man of Steel, The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises. Both of those movies had year long marketing campaigns that stretched onto eternity. However, Batman v. Superman had, well, it's had to tackle a bit more negative buzz in its trailers than those three titles. For every trailer (the Comic-Con promo) that goes over well, another piece of the marketing puzzle (the April 2015 teaser trailer and the spoiler heavy December 2015 trailer) just falls flat.

New Batman v. Superman Trailer Is Full Of Deliciously Hammy Jesse Eisenberg, Ben Affleck Grumbling And Spoilerz

Everyone's been talking about the R-rated "true-to-the-comic-books" irreverence of Deadpool and the gravitas-infused epicness of Captain America: Civil War, but now Warner Bros. has stepped up to the plate to generate more buzz for Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice. The past two trailers for this new Zack Snyder film have their share of devotees to be sure, but they haven't quite resonate in the public consensus like, say, the trailers for Age of Ultron, Jurassic World or The Force Awakens did. Will that change with this new trailer? We shall see.

Watch it below and then read my thoughts on this new trailer, which does contain some hefty spoilers.

New Batman v. Superman Trailer Edits Down Comic-Con Footage Awkwardly

Ya think someone at the marketing department at Warner Bros. would have put a bit more effort into the newest trailer for Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, which is out exclusively on IMAX screenings of Ant-Man this weekend. I assume it'll be shown on conventional screenings of upcoming summer blockbusters like Pixels and Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation starting next weekend, but lucky for you, I've used the magic of the official Warner Bros. YouTube channel to bring you the newest trailer of Batman v. Superman and discover why I think more effort should have been put into it.

Entertainment Weekly Has Unleashed Tons Of New Images From Batman v. Superman!

Comic-Con is coming up next week, and Warner Bros. is bringing the heat by showing off their two DC Comics motion pictures next year. One of those films is Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, a film that has generated an enormous amount of debate, ranging from the casting to the quality of the new Batman suit to the lack of color in promo images for the movie. Entertainment Weekly, as part of their annual Comic-Con issue, is not only putting Batman v. Superman on the cover of the magazine, but also a number of images from the movie, as well as my analysis of each image, that you can view below!

The Official Batman v. Superman Trailer Is Here To Ask...Do You Bleed?

The trailer for Batman v. Superman leaked last night, and for some reason, major publications like The AV Club and Variety decided to run this bootleg version of the trailer instead of waiting for Warner Bros. to release something official. The studio has done just that now, with a teaser trailer (emphasis on teaser) for the 2016 film that you can watch below.