So you guys may not know, but I am an avid comic book/cinematic universe fan. I have a lot of opinions that Iāve shared with my friends offline but never so much here, mostly because Iāve been afraid to start any discourse. But the buck stops here. I have a lot to say and Iām gonna say it.Ā
FAIR WARNING TO DIEHARD DCEU FANS!!! If you choose to read this, please bear with me. Like Batman v Superman, itās a long, winding road to the end, but it may leave you with a strange twinge of optimism.
The reviews for Suicide Squad have begun to roll in, and they are NOT good. Like at all. This was the DCEUās third attempt to strut their stuff as a cinematic universe, and it seems theyāve failed to accomplish that yet again. Iām gonna refrain from pulling the MCU card here; the fault lies solely on directors who wonāt own up to their blunders.
What especially bothers me about the DCEU is the fansā response to criticism. Granted, some critics are more bloodthirsty than others. But the more diehard fans seem willing to make every single excuse in the book to defend these movies without understanding what actually makes superhero media good.
āItās for the fans.ā Certainly the weapon of choice for the defenders.This has been said ad nauseum by peopleānot to mention the directors themselvesāwho want a quick response to fend off naysayers. Guess what? Iām a DC fan. I have been for as long as I can remember. I wonāt claim to be the most knowledgeable, but I am a fan of comics, both Marvel and DC, and I know a crappy adaptation when I sees it. In my opinion, being a fan doesnāt mean blindly supporting a movie; it means appreciating the things a movie does well and understanding when there are flaws that need fixing.
Whatās more, did Zack Snyder and David Ayer seriously take on the daunting task of a cinematic universe so only the fans would enjoy it? There are so many people besides fans that are going to see these moviesāfriends that are bored and wanna see a blockbuster, couples looking for a good popcorn flick for date night, kids that are in it solely for the superpowered action and parents that want to share a good time with those kidsāthese people that may not be fans or have too much prior knowledge of the DC Universe. When you make a movie, you have to make it palatable for as many people as you can. When itās a gotdang cinematic universe, you have to ease the audience into that world. You donāt throw them to the wolves for three hours with nothing but a jar of urine and a faded printout of the DC Wiki for them to peruse when the wolves arenāt eating them. A cinematic universe takes time and careful storytelling, and people have to accept that. You want a movie for the fans? Call up Bruce Timm and be done with it.
The public isnāt ready for dark superheroes. Ā This couldnāt be further from the truth. There have been tons of dark heroes in the past. Netflixās DaredevilĀ and Jessica JonesĀ (sorry to mention Marvel) revel in the broodiness, and the audience eats it up. Chris Nolanās Dark Knight trilogy is probably the deepest Batmanās ever been, and set the standard for Batman as an icon for modern heroes. All of these stories are about very broken people trying to fix a broken world around them. The mature themes prevalent in these shows are handled wonderfully and in a way that makes extremely deep and real people that just happen to be super. Itās exactly what BvS tried to do with the Caped Kryptonian, but they refused to give him any guidance in his quest to understand himself. Even if Snyder meant for Superman to find the answer on his own, the movie didnāt even get that right. Dark superheroes are possible. I know that because itās been done. Zack Snyder just did a terrible job of it.
People hate that the cast for Suicide Squad is racially diverse. The fact that some people played the race card as soon as the film started getting bad reviews is just appalling to me. I know at this point itās āwhatever-it-takes-to-stop-the-hatersā time but to accuse critics of being racist is kinda low; the critics are there to call out the racism and stereotyping. If anything, the diverse cast is one of the best things Suicide Squad has going for it. Itās incredibly refreshing to see such a unique cast of lesser-known with the likes of Will Smith and Margot Robbie kicking ass as a team. And lord knows that diversity is still a big problem in Hollywood. But itās not their fault that their characters/screentime are bogged down by too much exposition at once. And even if the movie itself is bad, itās almost never the actorsā fault; itās the directors. I donāt have much else to say about this. Iām just incredibly grossed out that people went there that quickly.
People are jaded by the MCU. Okay, so I lied; Iām about to throw Marvel into the mix. But thatās only because itās worth talking about. Donāt worry, Iām not going to sayĀ āMarvel did it firstā orĀ ābetterā or anything like that. But thereās no denying that this titan of cinema has unintentionally played a huge part of the current state of things.
This is yet another weapon in the DCEU Defenderās arsenal. These people are very quick to say that moviegoers these days only care about talking raccoons and fourth-wall dick jokes, obvious nods to certain Marvel properties. (Deadpool isnāt part of the MCU, but thatās a whole other thing.) These diehard DCEU fans may actually believe that people arenāt capable of enjoying a superhero story or consider it to be good unless itās the aesthetic that Marvel has set for itself. But thatās not the case at all. Marvelās onset was shaky at best. Iron Man couldāve easily been bad and the prospects of an MCU mightāve been stopped in its tracks 8 years ago. But it wasnāt. It was great. And over time, Marvel earned its current seat as one of the biggest franchises in the film industry, and what a seat it is.
Marvelās reputation would no doubt be intimidating to anyone trying to get into the game. But thatās where the fatal flaw in the DCEU lies, at least from a marketing standpoint. Itās trying to be Marvel. Itās trying to force its way to being a contender for the throne alongside the likes of Star Wars. It shouldnāt have had to do that. DC has so much content and potential for great movies. As the Screen Junkiesā Honest Trailer for BvS put it, they stuffed at least SIX moviesā worth of material into one, and they ended up having very little to show for it. Suicide Squad is obviously the response to MarvelāsĀ Guardians of the Galaxy, but Marvel earned the right to take a chance on an obscure group from the comic archives.Ā If anything, the DCEU is the one most jaded by Marvel in thinking there should be a competition in the first place. Again, a cinematic universe takes time and careful storytelling. There are no shortcuts and you sacrifice quality in trying to make them. You also sacrifice the opportunity to make a good name for yourself.
Ironically, while copying the best parts of Marvelās reputation, it tried so hard to be the counterpoint to Marvelās fun and upbeat aesthetic with its failed attempts at being dark. David Ayerās utterance ofĀ āFuck Marvel!ā at the premiere perfectly summarizes the sentiment behind the DCEU. Itās not being DC. Itās trying to be Marvel from a marketing standpoint, while subverting it cinematically. Just ignore Marvel. Stop acting like you have to be anything other than the DCEU that comic book fans know youāre capable of being. Drop these directors that donāt know what theyāre doing and just have fun with it.
Welp, that took a while. I told you I have a lot to say. The DCEU is currently 0 for 3 and the future looks iffy. I can only hope that WB can get its act together and learn what it really means to make a cinematic universe. We have 10 months until Wonder Woman, the next film on the roster. Weāll see if they have it all figured out by then.
If anyone has any questions, Iāll gladly answer them.
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