So, Batman to appear in man of steel sequel...

[VinceFox]

MiniMan64 said:

They probably would have been fine if it wasn't for the Nolan trilogy, they cast a very very long shadow indeed, stunning films but a lesson to DC in how not to do it. Marvel tied up (nearly) all the rights to their main characters and a very clear path of where to go with their movie universe when they started.

DC are trying to jump on the same band wagon a bit late in the game and it all feels a little hodge-podged and rushed. It's going to have to be really good to stand apart from Nolan's films.

Anyone think it's true that Bale turned down really silly money to don the cap again?

Wouldnt surprise me. I think the other key factor was nolan ending his involvement. He leaves, bale leaves, even hans zimmer leaves. Then they get the dick from fashionably male to play batman, cram wonderwoman in (a character that's going to be a real stretch to present credibly) and top it off by getting some fking eight year old slamfaced fking kid to play luthor.

fk it, i'm going to go watch sarah and duck instead.

[Gun]

This film is sounding worse and worse, they should have cast Bryan Cranston as Luthor IMO.

[Halb]

I had to google Jesse Eisenberg...it just can't keep getting better!!!!
A 30 year old? He'll be a dot com IT whizz or something equally ridiculous.
Not that I am that bothered, since Lex Luthor is one of the sttest villains given airtime, the only time I ever had for him was when he was played by the maestro Gene Hackman.

---

Marvel, they own less than half their most popular characters.
They've done well with the Avengers, but if they don't get the X-Men and/or Spidey soon where do they go?
Personally I'd like the smaller chaps, like Moon-Knight, would love a film about him....but then I think of Daredevil/Punisher/Ghost Rider which have all been turds of the highest crimping order. Comic book films are so incredibly unoriginal (exceptions like Nolan's Bat and Watchmen stand out) they are just so tedious. Marvel had a chance to do a 'Nolan' if they had let the last Hulk star have his own way, but they flaked and churned out another indentikit film...albeit a decent one, but it could have been more.

[VinceFox]

I didnt rate watchmen, it was too big for snyder to handle.

Imagine if nolan had made that.

[Halb]

Is there a Superhero Team film that is better than it?

[VinceFox]

Halb said:

Is there a Superhero Team film that is better than it?

I'd say avengers is a better team film. And i say that as a huge fan of watchmen, the book.

[MiniMan64]

VinceFox said:

Halb said:

Is there a Superhero Team film that is better than it?

I'd say avengers is a better team film. And i say that as a huge fan of watchmen, the book.

I'm a big Avengers fan, it might be a bit by the numbers for the fan bois but I really thought it was a lesson in how to do an ensemble movie. Ultrons got a lot to follow on from.

[ajprice]

What happened to Bryan Cranston playing Lex Luthor??

[hairy]

VinceFox said:

Then they get the dick from fashionably male to play batman,

Ha! Maybe he will try and screw Wonder woman somewhere uncomfortable?

[Ved]

Like the back of a Volkswagen?

[highway]

Eisenberg to play young Lex? Who perhaps schooled with Clark?

The story line surely to centre around an angry Lex who is pissed at having seen 'his' town trashed by the neck snapper in MOS. Maybe Batman similarly pissed an decide to do something about it. Hence beginning of film, like an old team up book, features Batman vs Superman, until they decide they need to unite to battle Lex's (injustice) society.

Then again, I was convinced Bale would sign on again, even with Snyder. I am still vaguely traumatised by Man of Steel and if they go a similar direction for this I fear the suction will be immense.

[tori]

Meh, the "comic" films are now just one bloody bundle of cliches now. Still holding out for The Preacher to be filmed, a nice bit of anti hero. Colin Farrell would nail it as Cassidy and Chloe Sevigny as Tulip.
God abandoning post would have the Westgate Methodists throwing themselves under the nearest train too, what's not to like!

[Watchman]

VinceFox said:

I didnt rate watchmen, it was too big for snyder to handle.

Imagine if nolan had made that.

I'm a long-time Watchmen fan and I reckon Snyder nailed it, including making the ending more believable (although I'm not sure "believable" is the right word for a film about superheroes).

It worked for me. He struck exactly the right tone.

Opinions, opinions, of course, of course.

[VinceFox]

Watchman said:

VinceFox said:

I didnt rate watchmen, it was too big for snyder to handle.

Imagine if nolan had made that.

I'm a long-time Watchmen fan and I reckon Snyder nailed it, including making the ending more believable (although I'm not sure "believable" is the right word for a film about superheroes).

It worked for me. He struck exactly the right tone.

Opinions, opinions, of course, of course.

Of course



I think the other think about watchmen that didnt do it for me was the casting. Quite a few of them didnt quite feel right in the roles for me.

[VinceFox]

Watchman said:

VinceFox said:

I didnt rate watchmen, it was too big for snyder to handle.

Imagine if nolan had made that.

I'm a long-time Watchmen fan and I reckon Snyder nailed it, including making the ending more believable (although I'm not sure "believable" is the right word for a film about superheroes).

It worked for me. He struck exactly the right tone.

Opinions, opinions, of course, of course.

Of course



I think the other thing about watchmen that didnt do it for me was the casting. Quite a few of them didnt quite feel right in the roles for me.

[Watchman]

Admittedly, when discussing the potential for a Watchmen film in the 1980s with friends, we typically alighted upon Arnie as a suitable Doc Manhattan however as time passed I realised big names might have ruined it. The whole point was to approach the characters without any preconceptions, and Arnie plays the same character every time, just with different make-up.

So when I watched Snyder's film I concede that I was expecting Veidt to be taller, however Matthew Goode was suitably "cold" so I liked that. I thought Blake would be bigger (the comic portrayed him with comically large chest) however Jeffrey Dean Morgan got his cavalier-with-other-people's-lives character spot-on. And Jackie Earle Haley was definitely nasty enough for Rorschach.

Having subsequently seen Patrick Wilson in The A-Team, I would not have guessed he could have played Daniel Dreiberg as well as he did but now I can't think of Dreiberg as anyone else.

And I positively LOVED Malin Åkerman. Who wouldn't?

Ultimately I was slightly disappointed in Billy Crudup as Doc Manhattan though - he really wasn't big enough.


But what I loved most was that Snyder made it with all the horror, guts and gore and language that the book had. He didn't try to appeal to a younger audience for which I'm grateful, and it remains (high) on my list of top ten films.

[Guvernator]

Have to admit to also being a bit of a fan of the Watchman film, it isn't perfect but it got A LOT right IMO and is a very different and adult take on the Superhero movie genre. I think the problem was that it wasn't what people usually expect of a superhero movie, especially if they don't know the source material. Dare I use the words but a lot of people probably just didn't "get it".

[Alex]

Watchman said:

I'm a long-time Watchmen fan and I reckon Snyder nailed it, including making the ending more believable (although I'm not sure "believable" is the right word for a film about superheroes).

It worked for me. He struck exactly the right tone.

Opinions, opinions, of course, of course.

I agree. Snyder made the best possible Watchmen film. Nolan would have ruined it.

[Alex]

VinceFox said:

Of course

I think the other think about watchmen that didnt do it for me was the casting. Quite a few of them didnt quite feel right in the roles for me.

The only one that was wrong for me was Veidt/Ozymandias. In the book, he's a God-like character.

[Watchman]

Guvernator said:

Have to admit to also being a bit of a fan of the Watchman film, it isn't perfect but it got A LOT right IMO and is a very different and adult take on the Superhero movie genre. I think the problem was that it wasn't what people usually expect of a superhero movie, especially if they don't know the source material. Dare I use the words but a lot of people probably just didn't "get it".

I think that's a very fair assessment. You only need to solicit opinions in your own office to see there's a larger group of people who don't like it/don't get it. They go hand in hand. Some people don't want to have to "understand" the source material or the context or any number of little details in order to enjoy a film.

For me, the more detail the better. It encourages me to watch it time and again. I read the book a record number of times (for me).


Back to the topic in hand though... I sincerely fear for the quality of the Superman franchise which has never really been done properly. In the past people didn't really question his history. Instead they concentrated on his abilities on earth. Now, we want to know where he comes from, the science of why he can do what he can, and we want more than just smashing up cities - the Transformers have already done this.

I would like an exploration into him testing his limits because the comics have previously only limited him by his own imagination or self-belief. I'd like to explore how he manages not to fall in to the trap of believing he is a god. And I'd like to explore whether he actually ages or not, and what that means to him.

Adding Bale's successor to Batman into the mix (assuming same universe) seems pointless to me. I know they've managed to forge uneasy alliances in the comics but the MoS Superman is simply *too* far removed from humanity IMO. There simply is no need for them to work together. Superman is a giant amongst ants.