Aquaman and Shazam

This weekend graced comic book fans with two new trailers, one for Aquaman and one for Shazam.
Since the two trailers were released so close to one another I’d figure I’d just do one blog post for both.

I’m more excited about Aquaman so let’s start off with that one. First, I am still not sure how well Momoa will carry a film. I have heard that he’s good in some other shows where he has a substantial role e.g. Frontier but only time will tell with Aquaman. We don’t get too many lines from Momoa here, but the lines I have heard so far seem okay. Nothing cringeworthy yet, but I am sure the script will ask for a lot from the character emotionally.

The visuals look amazing. Obviously I hope that they are cleaned up over the next five months but the design of Atlantis, from the costumes to the architecture are all bursting with creativity and give something visually fresh. It looks like the underwater battle sequences will hopefully be something truly memorable, instead of a boring CGI fest. While Man of Steel had a great DragonBall Z-esque fight in its third act (which people still criticize for damage done, because they parrot criticisms they hear online and can’t think for themselves), the last fight in Batman v Superman fell very short. Doomsday was undeveloped, and felt tacked on and the fight had little emotional weight. If Aquaman builds its world and characters well leading up to its big fights, I am sure that a war between sharks, giant squids etc. will be a visual treat.

Black Manta and Ocean Master both look amazing. I never thought the bulbous helmet would work well in live action for Black Manta, I assumed the filmmakers might use a more streamlined design like the one in Young Justice.

Director James Wan has said Aquaman will focus on Ocean Master as the villain, but let’s hope that Black Manta has a strong showing to possibly be the villain in a sequel. Patrick Wilson is a great actor and I am hoping the writing does him justice, instead of giving us a generic evil brother. If done well, Ocean Master could surpass Loki.

I loved the trailer’s opening shot, since it tackles the “talks to fish” jokes that have been done to death. The CGI in that scene was probably one of the weaker shots but like I said, hopefully it gets cleaned up.

 

Now, this clip is actually one of my favourites from the trailer, because I love flossing. Also, this tweet segues well into some of the comments I can’t stand about this trailer. Yes, it is “light” and “fun.” That does not guarantee the film will be good. Suicide Squad was also light and fun. Also, just because Shazam is light and fun does not mean every single comic book film should have the same mold. This tone fits this character.

Anyways… It’s good to see Jack Dylan Grazer again, after his role in It. I haven’t seen Asher Angel in anything before but he seems like he’ll be good in the role. Zachary Levi captures the innocence of Billy well, truly coming across as a kid in a man’s body. However, a lot of the humour fell flat for me. Also, the suit looks cheap. It does not look like something bestowed upon someone by a wizard. It looks like a Value Village purchase. I honestly found the suit so distracting throughout that I had to rewatch the trailer again to really take in the dialogue.

Also, I wasn’t a fan of the music. I like Humble but I wasn’t a fan of this remix, or maybe I just didn’t think it fit this video. Then again, I rewatched the trailer and the music is growing on me a bit.

Originally, there was a lot of buzz about The Rock playing Black Adam but the cast list doesn’t even show him present. It appears Mark Strong will play the villain, and his character descriptions seems similar to Black Adam’s: Another person with previous experience with Shazam, who now seeks to reclaim power.

I did like the references to other heroes in the film. Some people are complaining about the batarang in Freddy’s room, but I don’t think it’s meant to be a real batarang. It may possibly just be a toy replica. If it’s the real thing, I’m sure the film will explain how he got it.

Since the film is still nearly a year away, I’m sure the next trailer will give us a better look at the villain. For a character like Shazam, who is not that well-known among the general public, it makes sense to focus on him in the advertising.

Aquaman Hype

I have been an Aquaman fan for over a decade now, and I trace my interest in the character to his appearances in the animated Justice League. Although Aquaman is still subjected to tired “talk to fish and nothing else” jokes (looking at you Family Guy) comic fans have known for a while that Aquaman is a badass. The DCEU’s take on the character might have converted some newcomers, or at the very least made them less skeptical about a Aquaman film.

Jason Momoa seemed like perfect casting to me. I know some fans were upset that the character wasn’t blonde like the comics, since his blonde hair was apparently important to his character(Atlanteans viewed the hair colour as an omen). I can understand the dismay but I am fine with that, as long as the character still retains the theme of being of two worlds: Human and Atlantean.

Momoa’s acting chops were the biggest question mark for me, and Justice League didn’t do too much to help assuage my concerns. After Momoa’s performance in that film, I am still left wondering if Momoa can successfully carry a film. Nevertheless, the film is still on track for a release late this year and the first poster was released today.

I love it but of course it’s drawn criticism. There are some valid points, like some fans still not liking the tattoos that this version of the character has. However, one critique that baffled me was a Finding Nemo comparison. Like I have discussed with my articles on IT and Stranger Things, and Dark and Stranger Things, people have a very narrow frame of reference: People compared Dark to Stranger Things simply because they both involve a missing kid.  Actually, a lot of online discussion didn’t just say the two properties had some similar elements, people argued Dark was a ripoff. If they actually bothered to watch the show they would know Dark and Stranger Things have completely different tones, time periods, characters and that their plots have no real comparison beyond the missing child. Using that logic, The Dark Knight and Leon the Professional are also really similar since they both involve a child losing parents. If we only compare creative properties based on their most basic element or plot point, then we’ll always find one thing a derivative of another.

Kristen Wiig as Cheetah

Kristen Wiig was rumoured to be in talks to play Wonder Woman villain, Cheetah, for a few days before it became official yesterday.

As expected, this led to a lot of discussion online and it appears that most of the supporters of this decision were either rabid Wiig fans or people who appealed to the “Heath Ledger” argument. When Heath Ledger was cast as The Joker many people, myself included, were very skeptical of the decision. Ledger then went on to blow most people away and deliver my favourite portrayal of The Joker.

What people need to realize is that Ledger was the exception to the rule. He is one of the very few questionable casting decisions that turned out to be a wise choice. For every Ledger Joker, we also get Jared Leto Joker (which has not aged well in my opinion).

Sorry Leto.

Another issue is that some actors or actresses are not suited for certain roles. Colin Firth is a great actor but I don’t think he’d make a good choice for Wolverine, or Jack Reacher. Wiig may have the acting chops for a serious role but that still does not mean that this is a good role for her.

I will hold out some hope for this casting since I thought Gal Gadot would fail to carry a movie as the lead. However, I am not going to jump on the bandwagon and put blind faith in this casting decision working out perfectly.

Ben Affleck’s Future as Batman

By now I am sure many of you have read one article after another declaring that Ben Affleck will likely retire his role as Batman, and that Jake Gyllenhaal is in talks to replace him. Clickbait is nothing new when it comes to news, but the DCEU in particular is overwhelmed by articles that twist words and then create sensationalist headlines.

Another recent example was the recent announcement that DC’s future films will fall into two categories following Justice League, the interconnected films and unrelated ones such as the Joker origin film. This news either gets misunderstood completely or is just twisted into a headline that generates more attention, such as this one.

Ben Affleck has apparently said that committing to the Batman solo film is “something I’m contemplating”. Of course, there is uncertainty here, but from what I was hearing it sounded like Affleck confirmed he was done after Justice League. With how easy it is to share information online nowadays, some purveyors of this information forget to fact check or even read the articles they retweet before they share them. The YouTuber Akasan was one of many people to share the “end of DCEU” article, apparently without reading it.

Another problem is that there are plenty of people who want the DCEU to fail, and confirmation bias makes it far too easy to either focus on such articles or extrapolate far too much from simple headlines. No one made articles saying “Is this the end of the MCU?” when Thor: Ragnarok underwent a script rewrite and a director change. Marvel has had much better critical success with its films and a more impressive track record so people aren’t so quick to pray for its end.

Many fans hated Affleck’s casting when it was announced, and many of those haters likely changed their mind when they saw him on screen in BatmanvSuperman (BvS). However, it seems that there are people who either still hate Affleck in the role or simply don’t like him enough to like the DCEU as a whole. Or perhaps people realize that the polarizing nature of the DCEU makes it a much better subject for clickbait articles than the MCU and other entertainment properties. After all, a headline saying “Another Marvel film is coming” or “Infinity War Trailer Released” may not get as many eyeballs as “Affleck out as Batman! Jake Gyllenhaal in?”.

Joker Origin Movie

Art by Bosslogic

Yesterday it was announced that Martin Scorsese will produce a Joker origin film.  Todd Phillips (The Hangover) will direct and co-write with Scott Silver (8 Mile, The Fighter).  The role of the Joker will be recast, with a different and likely younger actor portraying The Clown Prince of Crime.

Firstly, I have to say that Jared Leto’s portrayal of The Joker in Suicide Squad has not held up with repeat viewings. In terms of his mannerism and speech, his Joker comes across as a more muted version of Jim Carrey in Ace Ventura. The laugh was pretty good and the look grew on me, but aside from that I no longer look on his portrayal as favourably as I once did. This assessment isn’t in relation to Heath Ledger, Jack Nicholson or any other portrayal. It is just my subjective assessment of one actor’s performance.

Due to my critique of Leto’s performance I am more than happy to see someone else portray the character. Scorsese’s name is being used to hype this project, but I don’t want to get too excited about that since he is only a producer. Let’s not forget that Steven Spielberg produced Transformers. However, I am hoping that the film does take more cues from Scorsese since the filmmakers are apparently aiming to capture the gritty, hard-boiled feel of 80’s Scorsese classics like Taxi Driver. Let’s hope Scorsese actually has a more hands on role as producer if the film is actually inspired by his work.

I can already hear people complaining about the tone the film is aiming for, especially since a Deadline reporter has labelled it as “dark and gritty”. The “make it fun” mentality affect all characters, even ones where darkness is appropriate.  The Joker isn’t meant to be Tony Stark funny. Let’s ignore those people. I remember people saying Ben Affleck’s Batman looked too depressed when the first picture was released.

Now let’s move on Phillips, who seems like an odd choice. Aside from The Hangover trilogy, his most recent work is War Dogs (2016). I have not seen the film yet but I understand that it does delve into a more serious arena,  unlike some of his other work, such as Starsky and Hutch (2004) and Old School (2003). Now, I don’t want to judge a director just by his previous work but if War Dogs is Phillips’ most serious film to date, it makes me wonder why he was selected. Hopefully he is a fan of the material or is excited about who he gets to work with, which could give him the motivation to make something special. Some of Peter Jackson’s work prior to Lord of the Rings would probably have lead most people to think the (original) trilogy would be awful but Jackson created modern classics. I am hoping we can get some of the same magic here. Silver’s writing should also help the transition if The Fighter is any indication.

I have already seen some terrible fan castings for this film, including Taylor Lautner as the Joker. Everyone assumes that since Heath Ledger surprised us with his performance, ANY actor will do the same. Ledger was the exception to the rule. Don’t throw out awful choices and keep appealing to the same logic. One fan casting that I actually agree with is Jake Gyllenhaal. If you have not seen Nightcrawler, do yourself a favour and watch it right now. Gyllenhaal’s character isn’t as psychotic as The Joker is but the ingredients are definitely there. Aside from that, the film also demonstrates Gyllenhaal’s range as an actor. If the film is using The Killing Joke as its source material, or inspiration, then Gyllenhaal’s range can also bring Jack Napier to life. Alan Moore’s graphic novel gave us the most popular Joker origin story, showing us how Jack Napier, a failing comedian with a pregnant wife, had one bad day changed his life. The Killing Joke, aside from being popular source material, can work well with the hard-boiled crime film the filmmakers are aiming for.

What are your thoughts on this project?

Who would you love to see as The Joker?