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| Jubilee and Jean Grey, from X-Men: Apocalypse |
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| Archangel concept art, X-Men: Apocalypse |
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| Psylocke, Apocalypse, and Magneto, from X-Men: Apocalypse |
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| Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice |
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| Princess Diana and Bruce Wayne, from Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justic |
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| Bat-Hulk, er, Batman v. Superman, from Empire Magazine |
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| Dr. Doom, from Fantastic Four |
23 comments:
As far as X-Men-verse goes, what these stills tell me is that the producers have no clue whatsoever that there was a HUGE distinction between "popular" (i.e.--high-selling) and "good" for that title. Working the franchise "up" to things like Apocalypse, Psylocke, Archangel, and Jubilee is like the auto industry working its way "up" to a tricked-out Chevy Vega. Yeesh.
HB
I'm weirdly excited about X-Men Apocalypse. I don't want a steady diet of late-'80s & '90s X-Concepts but I like that they're adding elements from my younger days to the film franchise. Also, more Nightcrawler! Even if it's a glorified cameo, I'm glad they're bringing him back.
Batman v Superman... I just don't care. Every photo & plot rumor fills me with apathy.
FF... Well, my 10 yr-old son is really excited to see it, even if I would probably skip it otherwise. The comics have been trying and failing to match Kirby for decades now, and there's no way the movies are going to even try to come close.* Lots of people seem to be predicting doom (small d) for this movie. I'm inclined to think they might be right, and there will be plenty of "think" pieces about super-hero movie fatigue... At least until Cap: Civil War comes out and is a huge hit.
- Mike Loughliin
*Yes, there have been plenty of good FF comics since the Kirby days, by Byrne Simonson, & others. None of them have been able to get out from Kirby's shadow or find a better way of telling stories with the characters.
Sorry, but I just can't get excited about any of these. And I see the X-men flick is going with Ninja-fetish Psylocke. Yeesh...
I never thought I'd say this - after waiting for years and years...and years... for super-hero movies, I think I have super-hero movie fatigue myself. If you had asked me to guess what that first pic was I would have thought some new Disney tween show.
And what's with "Bat Hulk"? Is part of the plot of that movie that Batman will really physically fight Superman, a la Iron Man Hulkbuster armor?
Tom
Last couple of X-Men have continued to grow on me (I had originally written it off after X3), Michael Fassbender has surprised me as a really convincing younger Magneto, so I'm interested in this one.
Colin, I'm cautiously optimistic on Deadpool as well, you're right, they seem to really be going with the comic book on this one. The key is going to be not mailing in the dumb jokes (much like a lot of the writers over the last few years) and remembering that he's supposed to still have an edge to him besides the humor.
The DC stuff continues to look horrible (can't take Ben Affleck in this role, and the plot is just so tired at this point, enough with the negative heroes already). I'm more interested in their TV stuff these days, curious to see how the new Supergirl turns out.
And the FF movie I can't even take seriously.
I'm not looking forward to any of these. I'll probably see most of them, but I'm not exactly counting the days before they premier. When I hear the X-men director say things like "this is the beginning of the X-men" I wonder what the previous 6 X-movies were about. I quit reading comics when the Age of Apocalypse started so I have no sentimental attachment to the story. Also, Apocalypse looks dopey.
Likewise, I heard the Batfleck director say something like "Avengers had some funny moments, but don't expect that from Batman or Superman. They don't lend themselves to humor."
It is almost as if the pleasure of anticipation is supposed to make up for the disappointment of the actual film.
My other theory is that Hollywood has figured out some psychological trick in which the trailers and stills are meant to prepare the audience through the power of suggestion for what part of the movie they are supposed to like, since nothing NOT in the trailer will rise above the trailer's transparent mediocrity.
I love the internet for a lot of reasons, but the endless sneak peeks and "leaks" are not among them.
As for Age of Apocalypse: This stuff is after my time as well, but I understand that for folks about 10 to 15 years younger than I am (people in their 30s already!) it evokes the same feelings as the Dark Phoenix Saga, et al. . . I may not like it, but I try not to bash it (too much) because I remember that there are people (people who frequent these very boards) who think stuff I think of as classic was a bridge too far - like Gwen Stacy's death or the original clone saga or the Black costume, etc. . .
Sadly, I'm not really all that excited for any of these.
I guess the one I am looking forward to most is "Batman v Superman". And I can't believe I just wrote that, because I absolutely hated "Man of Steel". However, I am interested to see how they handle Batman in this one. I think Ben Affleck will do a decent job, and he looks like the most comic accurate version of Batman to ever hit the big screen (at least visually). I haven't heard enough of what the movie is about to make a real solid judgement, but some of the visuals have me intrigued.
The X-Men movie will probably be about as good as any of the others, which for the most part were all watchable. I liked "Days of Future Past" well enough. And I for one was very happy to see they are putting Psylocke in her comic book costume. It looks like they are trying to be more comic accurate than ever for this next one, and that's always a good thing in my book.
On the other hand, the new Fantastic Four movie looks to be a total train wreck. I loathe to even call them the FF because, from what I've seen, there is almost nothing related to the comics in this film at all. First, it appears that now, that not just Reed, but Sue and Johnny are also super geniuses. And it looks like they totally changed the way they get their powers too. No more going into space and getting bombarded by cosmic rays it appears. They are instead going with some kind of a convoluted plot involving inter-dimensional travel. (Hey it worked for Indiana Jones in his last movie). And their costumes look like nothing I've ever seen in a comic before either (not even an Ultimate Marvel comic). But the biggest offense this movie makes is having the Thing with no pants on. Come on!!! That's just wrong!!! Not to mention the fact, that he looks like a walking dung-heap.
I would like to emphatically state that I WILL NOT go to see the FF movie. But, I know me, and I'll probably get bored and break down and go see it, just so I can judge it for myself. The same thing happened with "The Dark Knight Rises". I didn't like Nolan's Bat-flicks and I avoided seeing the last one for at least three weeks after it came out. But then one rainy Saturday afternoon while my wife was working, I decided "what the heck?" and went to see it. And by chance, I got in to see it for free. But I still didn't like it.
Since Ewan mentioned the upcoming Supergirl TV series, I have to say that - based on the previews and other promotional spots I've seen - it looks like it's going to be pretty good and, most importantly, fun. Basically everything most of the DC movies of the recent past have been lacking...
This is what I typed in a conversation with Karen yesterday when she queried about my thoughts:
I don't think I'll see FF. I am not at all thrilled by the direction they've taken it.
I think I'll also skip Batman v Superman (at least in my head that's what I'm saying). It's a mish-mash of storylines, and like you I have no idea what DC is going for or how they'll make it work. Seems strange to me that they'd take their "face of the franchise" and do everything humanly possible to make him seem square, dangerous, even villainous. Sort of plays right into yesterday's conversation about Steve Rogers. Once upon a time, we'd have said all those things about Kal-el.
As far as the X-Men goes, that film series has just sort of blown up all over the place. First Class was a cool idea, cool period piece, but again was a mish-mash of X-continuity. Days of Future Past was a little better, but again pushed the continuity envelope. Now we're going to see Jubilee, Nightcrawler, Jean Grey, Cyclops, and Archangel all introduced at the same time. Not sure if or how all of this is supposed to tie into the first three X-films.
But what do I know?
Doug
Like J.A., my interest in X-Men waned around the time Apocalypse appeared (a guy with big blue lips? Archangel? No thanks) and I have no affection for that period or characters, so I'm not especially interested in this X-Men film, but since I enjoyed First class and Days of Future Past, I'll go see it. I appreciate Osvaldo's point about not discounting something just because it wasn't part of your "comics sweet spot."
The FF film looks dreadful and I don't want to see it, but if I don;t see it, I can't honestly critique it...the dilemma.
The one that concerns me is Batman v. Superman. Everything I hear about this just makes me wonder what the people in charge are thinking. The last article I read said that at the start of the film, Batman would be around 45 years old and have been active for 20 years. So they are going with half of the Dark Knight story -Batman will be old and bitter but he will have no real relationship with Superman...what? They say they are doing this so they can bring Superman in to shock Batman, a guy who can move mountains will make Batman question his efforts to fight crime, etc. But couldn't you do this without this tremendous difference in age and experience? It seems like they realize the Dark Knight is a cool visual and jumped on it, without really thinking about the repercussions of introducing a Batman who will be considerably older (and ready for retirement soon?) than his Justice League buddies.
The other thing that bothers me is, as J.A. mentions, the DC/Warners crew seems so determined to make these films as serious as possible without an ounce of humor or lightness. I read comments from director Zack Snyder where he said that Christopher Nolan's Batman films set the tone for the DC film universe. If that's the case, then I'm definitely not going to be too interested in these movies. Those films may have been technically well made, but boy, were they hard to sit through. Unrelentingly grim and unpleasant. What works for Batman doesn't work for Superman, or Wonder Woman, or most of the other heroes. I just think these folks are clueless about what makes these characters great.
Oh, by the way, for those of you who don't pay much attention to the links on the BAB sidebar, today's post at Super-Team Family: The Lost Issues is relevant to today's topic. I'd totally want to see that movie...
Thanks, Edo. I do usually visit Ross's site every day but hadn't been there yet. For anyone else who heads over there, be sure to click on the 4 or 5 links Ross provides at the bottom of his commentary.
Doug
I totally agree with Karen about the DC films and could not have said it better. It is okay if Batman is grim... but everybody is grim...why? That makes for a tiring and devastating experience. Part of the charm of DC is that the characters in the JLA balance each other. Superman should be the polar opposite of Batman, not some twisted mirror. I saw a clip where Clark's mother advises him (and I know I am just getting a splinter of dialogue, but she advises him to help or not help and that it is up to him... he doesn't owe anybody anything (I paraphrase). Huh? Ma Kent what happened to you?
We've talked about before about leaping to "big event" stories, and I get that feel from the Superman/Batman film. I wish that have some amiable teamups before they go to war. But I'll probably still see it; my expectations are low though.
I had high hopes for Suicide Squad, but I am not so sure now. I'm not sure about the casting or Joker in that one. That is such a good story in the comics, and I don't know if they are going to capture the feel.
Re. the first photo of Jean Grey and Jubilee... I'd say the casting looks good. Jubilee, and Apocalypse (yes what was with his lips? He always looked like a SpongeBob fish character to me), and the era was at the tail end of my hardcore collecting, so like others that time is not appealing. But I liked these recent X movies, and I also like the idea that they are costumed, and so far the casting has looked right. And I liked Quicksilver (even though he was drastically different than expected) in the last X film, so I look forward to more of that. And I've actually liked how Professor X and Magneto have been portrayed.
Hiya,
It's been reported that Fox has blacked out internet and print reviews of the Fantastic Four until just before the opening. Fans who see the film in one of the previews are still free to discuss it in their blogs and such.
It's so hard for me to comment on these photos because a small voice in the back of my head keeps telling me that a real human being in a superhero outfit looks ridiculous, no matter how convincing the uniform or physically impressive the actor. That photo of Gadot and Affleck might look like a still from The Great Gatsby, but it's an interesting photo.
The internet claims that the films are approaching something they've called "SuperHero Saturation", too much of the product. I don't see how this can be the case as there is still so few of these movies being made in comparison to the other genres. Maybe now the public just has the opportunity to pick and choose which films they want to see in the theater and which on dvd.
Just a last thought, does Forbes magazine have a grudge with Disney? I couldn't help notice that many of their articles regarding the acquisition of Marvel and the Lucas properties and their products have been aggressively negative!
Enjoy the weekend
pfgavigan
Arrgh!
Every time I watch any of the FF promo/trailer clips, I regret it! Gotta just LEAVE that scab alone, daggone it!
The pulsing, minor-key, string-heavy underscoring-- and it's so pat that it immediately comes off sounding like a parody. The "Everything we know is in danger" earnest-but-even-toned narration/warning.
Precious little dialog or true interaction-- and yet what they DO provide us with are gems like:
"This time, we do it. . . OUR way!" (Ooooooooooo! I'm a-tremblin'!)
or
(And this one I finished aloud before Reed got to his part):
Johnny: "He's stronger than any of us-!"
Reed: "But he's not stronger than ALL of us. . . "
I mean, I'd be hard-pressed to even let this level of fossilized cliche go by unchallenged in an old Scooby-Doo episode. . . And for heaven's sake, this is in the PROMOS-- the things that are supposed to make us WANT to see the film!
HB
I will speak to the Marvel movies since I am more familiar with those storylines than DC. To bounce off of HB's "popular" V "good" comment concerning the X-Men, the first movie's line-up was a hodge-podge of X-Men. And regardless of the other characters, there was going to have to be Wolverine. And, of course, when Wolverine became as "popular" in film as he did in the comics, there was no longer an X-Men franchise only a Wolverine franchise with guest spots for other characters. Once they, the movies peoples, tried to step back and retool/reboot, all the "popular" characters were taken so we had to have a First Class with kind of the X-Men origin story, you know, Cuba, a missile, a sub, etc etc etc and such, then the Days of Future Past which changed the future by changing the past but Wolverine ends up in 1986 and now we have possible alternate timelines and the whole mess we had in the comics. And now comes the EVENT!!!
And now for the Fant4tic film. We have yet another origin movie where we get so see how the new guys came to be who they are and how they band together to defeat their greatest foe Dr Doom!!! Just a small point to the movie people, those guys again, Dr Doom isn't in the FF's origin story.......AT ALL!!! To try to sell the point that these guys can gain their powers and defeat a foe like Doom makes Doom seem like not so much, not the FF coming across as WOAH!!!
Just saw the Ant-Man movie. Really liked it. Did I get the scene right? 1989 was post Hank's time as Ant-Man?
From what I've seen of the Supergirl show, I'm on the fence. More off than on. They tried the iconic scene where Supergirl is supposed to rip her shirt open revealing her uniform underneath. And she just gets three buttons and then runs off holding her shirt..... if you can only get three buttons, you may want to drop the "Super" part from your name.......I'm just saying.
(But you tell me
Over and over and over again my friend
Ah, you don't believe
We're on the eve of destruction)
Hmm I'm looking forward to seeing the X-Men and Batman vs Superman movies the most. FF? Egads, I love the FF to death (well, at least the Lee/Kirby/Sinnott comics version) but this latest film just doesn't do it for me. Sadly, like William said the Thing looks totally wrong to me somehow. I hope it does well, but my expectations are not very high for this one.
I for one like the idea of an older, bitter Batman. Ben Affleck joked that he got the part when the producers said he would be playing an older washed up superhero, so he would be ideal for the part!
So, until December when Star Wars comes around ....
- Mike 'saturated from food, not comics films' from Trinidad & Tobago.
Meh
I detested Man of Steel and I can't say I'm looking forward to Batman Vs Superman, because I don't think the creators have a clue about either character. And I didn't care overmuch for the Nolan Bat-movies either. So long and so miserable.
I will see the FF movie largely because it supports our local cinema, which is still in the Art Deco style and employs local kids. The tv ads here seem to suggest the film is a take on the Bendis/Millar Ultimate FF. My earliest memories are of the last two years of Lee and Kirby so it won't be MY FF but I'll give it a try. I thought the FF/Silver Surfer movie wasn't too bad.
I enjoyed Ant-Man more than I expected.
I'm with HB--when I see the ads for the new FF movie, I cringe. They are running some sort of advertisement angle that it's "younger and edgier." In my experience, if you have to say you're edgy you probably aren't. The ad comes off as desperate IMO.
Yahoo Movies is hosting a review of the FF picture, written for the Hollywood Reporter. "Turd blossom" might be a step up if this is true...
https://www.yahoo.com/movies/heres-the-thing-about-fantastic-four-its-125872066562.html
Doug
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