So it was just announced that Ben Affleck will be playing Batman in the new Batman/Superman movie set to come out in 2015. Regardless of whether or not this is a good casting call, it is extraordinarily early for a remake. The Dark Knight Rises finished the previous extremely successful Batman reboot in 2012. The previous Batman run ended in 1997 with Batman & Robin. Eight full years before Batman Begins.
Spider-Man 3 and The Amazing Spider-Man are five years apart (2007 & 2012 respectively) and even that was said to be too soon of a reboot.
The audience needs to be given time to cleanse it's pallet of the previous version before a new version can be introduced. An allowance can be made for when the new series is replacing a terrible series. No-one will argue the point that Batman Begins is worlds better than Batman & Robin, but given the improvement, they could have gone sooner than eight years. Probably closer to the Spider-Man five years. But Hollywood timing being what it is.
The problem is that the studio is trying to compete with Disney/Marvel's Avengers 2 Also slated to come out the summer of 2015. Despite the fact that DC has a losing record for summer releases. Everyone saw the insane amount of money that The Avengers made and they want a piece of the ridiculous blockbuster action.
But this is a terrible time for studios to be investing in blockbusters. One failed blockbuster often means the difference between whether or not a studio is going to live or die. They will likely be spending somewhere in excess of $300 million on the Batman/Superman movie, and if it's not a resounding success then they will lose their shirts. The Avengers was a safe bet because it was made up of pieces of other successful movies. Namely Iron Man, Thor, Captain America & to a lesser extent The Incredible Hulk. I was entirely safe for them to wager all their money on that movie because it was made up of pieces that they knew worked.
The S/B movie is under the impression that they have the same safety. They have Man of Steel, which wasn't a smash hit, but made quite respectable profit. And they are assuming that they are hanging onto the coat-tails of the Christopher Nolan Batman franchise. Only Nolan isn't involved. Nor is Christian Bale. None of the cast from those movies have been tagged for this new film. So as far as the audience is concerned, it's an entirely new Batman. A Batman who doesn't have his own stand-alone movie.
They are wagering all of their money on a gamble where 50% of their primary variables are untested. Not just untested, but walking in with a bad reputation. Affleck has a good solid rep for writing, directing, and mainstream acting roles, but his only foray into super-hero films was a colossal failure. That is not a good thing to be hanging over someone's head as they walk into a film that could make or break the studio.
Honestly, if it were me, I'd keep my money the hell away from this project. Especially the same summer as Avengers 2. That's like trying to fight Mike Tyson in your first ever boxing match while you already have a broken arm.
Friday, August 23, 2013
Thursday, August 8, 2013
The great and the terrible. (Movies)
Five movies to review today.
Pacific Rim
RIPD
Yakuza Weapon
Safety Not Assured
God Bless America
First up. Pacific Rim.
I love this movie. I went with a friend who had already seen the film and she was really enthusiastic about how good she thought it was. Within the first five minutes I was enthralled. I love that movie, I want to see it again, I want to own it as soon as it comes to Blue Ray. I will spoil nothing about it other than to state that I went in expecting it to be a special-effects movie with all flash and no substance and I was pleasantly surprised that there was substance to it.
RIPD
Skip this movie. It was a major let-down. It was Ryan Reynolds and Jeff Bridges as sheriffs of the afterlife. Reynolds was disappointingly wooden throughout the movie. Bridges had some great lines and some funny moments, but really, the whole thing was rather stupid. Save your money. I'd watch it again on cable, but I'm not going to buy the DVD.
Yakuza Weapon
This movie was a case of "So bad it's good". This Japanese movie with English subtitles is about the son of a Yakuza mob boss seeking to avenge his father's death. That's the premise. But that is probably the least important part of this movie. It features action sequences that are completely over the top. I won't spoil them because they are just too good. Ridiculous action sequences where everyone ends up covered in blood, and then magically clean the next scene. People running out of ammo in one sequence, then having limitless ammo in the next sequence. Truly a glorious film for those of us who enjoy campy films. If you liked "Wild Zero" then you'll love this. It's available on Netlflix, I'm tempted to buy it so I can share it with others. The one thing I will give away to sample the absurdity of the film is there is a moment where the hero travels to another killing spree by being propelled by a large stack of dynamite and a landmine. He then claims that "It's all about willpower". His literal premise is that he is entirely too bad-ass to be damaged by something as trivial as a landmine and a shitload of explosives. That happens near the beginning of the film, and it just gets better.
Safety Not Assured
This movie was somewhat disappointing, but still heartwarming. It was described as a movie about time travel, but that doesn't happen until literally the very last second of the film. It's really a love story that takes place in the weeks leading up to the time travel. Between the would-be time travelers. So if I had not been expecting a movie about time travel, I would have been enjoying it much more. But with my expectations set for sci-fi and action, I was left impatiently waiting for when the time travel would occur.
God Bless America
This movie was surprisingly good. If you have seen "Leon: The Professional" and liked it, this should be right up your alley. Same general premise, older man and younger girl go on a killing spree, but unlike Leon, the girl does her share of killing aswell. What I really liked was the motivation. In the film, our two killers do their murdering because they are disgusted with American Sensationalist "Mean TV". They hate how America has turned into MTV shows about spoiled reality TV stars and American Idol being all about making fun of the shitty singers rather than just celebrating the good singers. Clearly they are mentally disturbed for thinking that a killing spree is the proper solution for this problem, but it was an interesting portrayal of this problem.
Pacific Rim
RIPD
Yakuza Weapon
Safety Not Assured
God Bless America
First up. Pacific Rim.
I love this movie. I went with a friend who had already seen the film and she was really enthusiastic about how good she thought it was. Within the first five minutes I was enthralled. I love that movie, I want to see it again, I want to own it as soon as it comes to Blue Ray. I will spoil nothing about it other than to state that I went in expecting it to be a special-effects movie with all flash and no substance and I was pleasantly surprised that there was substance to it.
RIPD
Skip this movie. It was a major let-down. It was Ryan Reynolds and Jeff Bridges as sheriffs of the afterlife. Reynolds was disappointingly wooden throughout the movie. Bridges had some great lines and some funny moments, but really, the whole thing was rather stupid. Save your money. I'd watch it again on cable, but I'm not going to buy the DVD.
Yakuza Weapon
This movie was a case of "So bad it's good". This Japanese movie with English subtitles is about the son of a Yakuza mob boss seeking to avenge his father's death. That's the premise. But that is probably the least important part of this movie. It features action sequences that are completely over the top. I won't spoil them because they are just too good. Ridiculous action sequences where everyone ends up covered in blood, and then magically clean the next scene. People running out of ammo in one sequence, then having limitless ammo in the next sequence. Truly a glorious film for those of us who enjoy campy films. If you liked "Wild Zero" then you'll love this. It's available on Netlflix, I'm tempted to buy it so I can share it with others. The one thing I will give away to sample the absurdity of the film is there is a moment where the hero travels to another killing spree by being propelled by a large stack of dynamite and a landmine. He then claims that "It's all about willpower". His literal premise is that he is entirely too bad-ass to be damaged by something as trivial as a landmine and a shitload of explosives. That happens near the beginning of the film, and it just gets better.
Safety Not Assured
This movie was somewhat disappointing, but still heartwarming. It was described as a movie about time travel, but that doesn't happen until literally the very last second of the film. It's really a love story that takes place in the weeks leading up to the time travel. Between the would-be time travelers. So if I had not been expecting a movie about time travel, I would have been enjoying it much more. But with my expectations set for sci-fi and action, I was left impatiently waiting for when the time travel would occur.
God Bless America
This movie was surprisingly good. If you have seen "Leon: The Professional" and liked it, this should be right up your alley. Same general premise, older man and younger girl go on a killing spree, but unlike Leon, the girl does her share of killing aswell. What I really liked was the motivation. In the film, our two killers do their murdering because they are disgusted with American Sensationalist "Mean TV". They hate how America has turned into MTV shows about spoiled reality TV stars and American Idol being all about making fun of the shitty singers rather than just celebrating the good singers. Clearly they are mentally disturbed for thinking that a killing spree is the proper solution for this problem, but it was an interesting portrayal of this problem.
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