As Evangeline Lilly’s Hope Van Dyne says in Ant-Man, staring at her own super suit: “It’s about time.”

Wonder Woman has been around for 75 years. There are multiple reasons a movie hasn’t been made about one of the most famous superheroes of all time, including:

1. Wonder Woman’s origins have changed over the years, making a definitive version of the character hard to find.
2. Her brand of pantless feminism has been controversial and ever-changing.
3. Good old-fashioned movie sexism. The reasoning being, if two female-led superhero films from 2005 (Elektra and Catwoman) don’t do well, than no one can succeed. (Never mind that if we used that logic, Batman would never have a film after Batman and Robin, and Batman V. Superman would be where the DCEU stopped.)

Luckily, this Wonder Woman ends all of those debates once and for all. First, Diana Prince now has a definitive origin and personality. We have seen her start, we’ve seen her years later in Batman V. Superman, and hopefully we’ll keep seeing her grow.

Second, Wonder Woman feminism is just that- feminism. Men and women are equal, and should be partners. If you’re a superheroine god who can throw a tank over your head and have a sword that can literally end wars, then you should probably go into battle in front of all the other soldiers. It’s just common sense. And if she doesn’t want to wear pants because she’s been living on an island where everyone wears Victoria Secret Greco-Roman armor, then you let her do that. You don’t want that tank thrown at you.

And third, that double standard for female-led movies versus male-led movies shouldn’t exist, period. But if the critics and box office say anything, it’s that execs can’t use those old movies as excuses anymore.

Wonder Woman begins with young Diana (Gal Gadot), the only child to ever be born on an island of all Amazonian women, called the Themyscira. These warrior women were given the paradise after fighting against their creators, the Greek gods. They were created to protect humanity, but instead decide to spend their days training to fight, should anyone ever find them.

When an American spy, Steve Trevor (Chris Pine), wrecks on their shore and tells them about World War I, Diana decides she must go as her people’s champion to end the war. To end the war, she must defeat Ares, god of War. Steve, eager to return to his commanding officers to deliver important intel and continue fighting, isn’t one to dissuade Diana. Any help is good help. But little does he know the full extent of Diana’s powers. In fact, she doesn’t know them either.

So now that we have the plot and the externals out of the way, let’s get into what makes this a great superhero movie. First, is its pacing. At two hours and nineteen minutes, it’s a little long, and a little slow. However, that slower pace, with only three action sequences to its name, is different. There is a distinct focus on quieter, emotional moments in the film, which is a breath of fresh air from other films of its kind. While there may be a few too many turns the movies takes that add to its run time, the plot and the mission of the movie’s characters are clear and precise, which is a relief for a genre known for its plot holes and muddled motivations.

But what steals the show more than an exciting story, the WWI setting, an overabundance of slo-mo, fish out of water humor, and naked Chris Pine? It’s clothed Chris Pine and Gal Gadot! Gal Gadot is Wonder Woman/Diana Prince. She owns the character arc. She takes Diana from a place of idealistic naivete, to a more grounded, still optimistic and persistent heroine. Little details in her portrayal add to the groundedness of the character. She embraces Wonder Woman’s femininity, from shyly accepting a compliment on her clothes to excitedly seeing a baby, but also embraces in the same hug Wonder Woman’s boldness and courage, her righteous anger and her romantic passion, and her empathy towards all of the people around her. Because, who knew, you can be all of those things! She is one of the most sincere heroes I’ve ever seen in an age of angsty brooding, and it is fantastic.

The moment I best understood what Wonder Woman stood for was in the middle of the film. Diana is in the trenches, following Steve to their next location, when a woman with her baby cries out to her. Diana sits down and listens to the woman tell her about a village overtaken by German soldiers across the enemy lines. Diana then shrugs off her coat, revealing her armor. Steve tells her it’s too dangerous. But Diana, surging with passion, climbs up onto the field, and starts running across. Steve and his fellow soldiers watch. Then, they follow too.

Wonder Woman is not a Batman-esque hero that fights her own fights. As she says, she fights for those who cannot fight for themselves. And more importantly, she inspires others to find the courage within themselves to do the same. That is what a real hero does, and that is why the character has been around for so long.

And, as much as Gal Gadot and director Patty Jenkins nail Diana, they also nail Steve Trevor equally. Chris Pine oozes charisma and charm, but in a much more genuine way than would be expected for his kind of character. And what is ultimately most impressive about his role, besides sharing equal heroism with Wonder Woman, is that it redeems the romantic interest character as it is known to film.

How so? See, the role of romantic interest has been under attack. It has always been classically filled by women. So recently, moviegoers and critics, working to become more conscious about gender portrayal in film, have begun crucifying it. Some of that criticism and anger is necessary. There are a lot of cliches, tropes, and toxic examples of romantic interests in films.

But romance in a film is not necessarily a bad thing on its own. What we really want when we criticize romantic interests is for them to be their own character. Not just a crutch for the main hero. Not just there, waiting to be kissed in the corner. We want them to have their own storylines, or be involved with the action. And Chris Pine’s Steve Trevor is just that. He has his own motivations, missions, friends, background, and desires. He teaches and encourages Diana, but he also accepts teaching and grows and changes himself. He is what a romantic interest character should be- a partner. Just like in real life.

The greatest thing about Wonder Woman is that it is a good movie. It defies tropes of the genre, it tells a compelling origin story about a hero that everyone should aspire to, and leaves a departing viewer with some things to consider. Are people inherently good or bad? What would we sacrifice our lives for? How can we protect the people around us? Where is the line between fighting for protection and bloodlust?

These are things all good movies do. And that is all Wonder Woman had to be. It didn’t need to be a feminist Citizen Kane that had the complexities of The Dark Knight and the genre upheaval of Logan. It just needed to be a movie everyone could get behind. And just like its heroine, it is. I left the theater content, and wanting to be like Diana Prince and Steve Trevor. Compassionate, bold, thoughtful, idealistic, brave, sacrificial, principled, wise, and full of wonder

-Madeleine D

Spoiler-free review

I didn’t like the first Guardians of the Galaxy.

Sorry! Almost everyone loved it. People who hate Marvel loved it. People who hate studio films loved it. People who hate puppies loved it. It was loved.

Now I don’t say that to be a special snowflake. Just to say that this movie had to earn my trust back. It had to convince me that these characters were different, worth watching, not total heathens (that’s right, I didn’t find any of the characters likeable, even Chris Pratt) and this franchise wasn’t, in the words of Drax, a giant turd (with good tunes).

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 picks up where the 2014 one left off, with the team being heroes of the galaxy, now mercenaries for hire. You’ve got Gamora (Zoe Saldana), a deadly assassin who, previously, only had two emotions- screaming and annoyed. You’ve got Rocket Racoon (voiced by Bradley Cooper), who is lashing out against his team because he is afraid of caring too much. There’s Drax (Dave Bautista), who is either really sweet or really mean or making a poop joke, so don’t expect much nuance there. There’s Baby Groot, the miniature version of the one-phrase talking tree voiced by Vin Diesel (yeah you work those acting muscles bud). And then you have Star-Lord aka Peter Quill aka Chris Pratt, who takes a bit of a charisma backseat in this film despite it being all about him.

You see, Peter’s mom is human, but Peter is half… something. You’ve gotta be half something awesome to be able to win a dance battle with an alien and then hold an infinity stone in your hand.

Turns out, Peter’s dad is Ego (Kurt Russell) the living planet. A god. And dear old dad has a few tricks up his sleeve to show his prodigal son.

There is a trend happening in movies these days that I have mixed feelings about. These days, corporate America is trying to be your friend. Not just your friend, but your community. Not just your community, but your family. You’re family if you are a rewards customer. You’re family if you come into our store. Come on into our Family Sale. We are flesh and blood, the automated coupon email that spells my name wrong says.

The same thing is happening in movies. You start hearing more and more in trailers and promos and actor interviews the words, “we’re family.” The characters are family. The team is a family. The Fast and The Furious is best known for this, and after eight movies, I’m going to give them a pass. I can imagine sixteen years would result in strong ties.

I’m a big sucker for the family dynamic in films, too. If, by the end of a film, the characters seem to be family-like I’ll be into it (see Now You See Me 2 review). I’m really relaxed about this cliche. However, there are movies that I just cannot get behind. No, Transformers, you can’t be family with some pieces of scrap metal. No, Justice League, you’re not a family. “Martha” is not a strong enough foundation. Avengers, I get you, and I sympathize, but you’ve got some stuff to figure out. Pitch Perfect, stop it.

Guardians of the Galaxy tries to go this family route. The characters call themselves a family. They use the word. They bicker and fight and hug and date each other. Peter goes through his daddy issues and comes back, saying he already found his real family.

Hmmmmm.

There were a lot of good parts in the film, where the script, directing, and acting came together to create something a little magical. The chemistry between the cast is good. They look like they’re having a blast, which makes me want to have a blast, too. So sometimes I could buy that they were a family. Maybe not the likeable family next door. Maybe the one in the sketchy house at the end of the street. But nonetheless.

However, the biggest problem with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is its inconsistency. In one scene magic is being created, and in the next scene my entire row and I are cringing. And there are some really, really bad scenes in here. Some of it has to do with director James Gunn’s cocky script. Nothing wrong with being secure in your work, but sometimes Gunn writes something that you wonder, how did the suits let him get away with something so bad and  distasteful? Then you realize, he probably did get notes. He just tore them up and did what he wanted, then stopped the suits from retaliating by throwing all the cash the first Galaxy movie made at them.

Then some of it is the acting. Now, I don’t think it is too much to expect that my Marvel movies be well acted. This is the same studio that has Robert Downey Jr, Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Johansson, and Mark Ruffalo in leading roles. This is the same studio that has had Robert Redford, Michael Douglas, Cate Blanchett, Natalie Portman, Benedict Cumberbatch, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and numerous other celebrated actors join their ranks.

But boy, there are some weak performances here. Maybe the worst offender is Gamora. As I said before, Zoe Saldana does nothing but scream or be a frustrated party-pooper. While the script doesn’t do her any favors, her “emotional” scenes are hard to get through. And most of those scenes are shared with the other worst performer of the group, Karen Gillan as Gamora’s sister Nebula. Her entire performance is basically the following lines, and I encourage you to read them as she does, in a huffy, grunting, teeth-gritted fashion, “I (grrrr) already told you (spit) GAMORA, SISTER OF MINE (pulls out gun) I HATE YOU (does a sexy pose with gun) and I am evil! FEAR ME!” (does not shoot gun. Walks away, but like, in a super cool leather-bound fashion.) (While watching these scenes of sisterly bonding, I had the sobering realization that this is the first Marvel movie, out of 15, where two women have had any lengthy screen time together that passes the Bechdel test. This is why we can’t have nice things)

On a positive note though, this film feels different, at least in structure, from other Marvel movies. In the second act, the characters split off into three mini-missions, and by the end, reunite for a truly unique battle. This is the fourth in a series of Marvel movies that have had unique endings, starting, I think, with 2015’s Ant Man. That is a positive trend. While this film did have the galaxy at stake, it showed the battle more small scale size-wise, and more large scale emotion-wise.

Overall,  the film is uneven. It succeeded in some parts, not in others. It makes up for the first movie for me, but isn’t able to springboard me into a pile of superfans. By the end, I was satisfied. But not hungry for more, thanks. I have my fill. It’s been a meal full of meat seared in I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter and microwaved potatoes and something I can’t quite identify, covered in Sweet’n Low, but for the most part, it works.

Oh, and it’s family-style, of course.

-Madeleine D

Logan is the second R-rated comic book film from Fox, studio of the X-Men, following up on the success of Deadpool last year. Logan is also said to be Hugh Jackman’s last outing as Wolverine after doing eight films as the character, to which Robert Downey Jr flexes his muscles and says, You gotta be kidding! Whimp. I’m just getting started.

Full disclaimer, I have not seen any of the other X-men movies (I know, crazy!). However, I knew enough solid facts about Wolverine going into Logan to not be lost. I would suggest anyone who wants to see the film and hasn’t seen the others, do at least a quick scroll through Wikipedia before diving in.

Logan starts in the year 2029. The mutants are almost extinct. Logan is working as a chauffeur and is caring for an elderly Charles Xavier, who is suffering from a brain disease. After a deal goes wrong, he learns about an underground human experimentation group called Transigen that has created a group of child mutants, including a young girl named Laura with the same powers as him. He, Laura, and Charles Xavier go on the run to take Laura to a place called “Eden,” where she swears she and the other mutant children will be safe. Logan is reluctant, but right now he’s only living for Charles, who insists Laura and the other mutants are the future.

This was my first rated R film in theatres, and I saw it with my dad. Near the very end, as a character’s chest gets driven into a wooden spike for the second time, my dad turned to me and asked,

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” I said, as I adjusted my hands over my eyes. “I can handle it.”

“I don’t know if I can.”

So it’s not a kid’s movie. If you’re the parent who took their kid to see Sausage Party because it was animated and Deadpool because it had a guy in a red costume, please take my warning and at least look at why something is rated as it is. Unless you’re training your child to be a doctor and want to expose them early to brain matter and gaping wounds, in which case I have some questions, please wait, no matter how great this film is.

And why is Logan great? Because it introduces new elements to the superhero genre that haven’t been done before.

Logan has some uncanny similarities to last month’s release, The Lego Batman Movie. While I won’t be reviewing it because its window has passed, I really enjoyed it. Both films are about tough, individualistic, rugged macho men learning to care about other people and let them in. They both find themselves in a parental role, and become great mentors and teachers in their own rights. While one has a climax that ends with a problem being solved by the power of abs and friendships, and the other is a more depressing look at age, alcoholism, immigration, and inner demons, both represent a new turn in franchise filmmaking.

In both Logan and 2015’s Mad Mad: Fury Road, the hero who has been the center of a film series for years gives their mantle to someone who represents the future. In Fury Road, it’s Furiosa and the Wives. In Logan, it’s Laura and the other mutants. This idea of passing the mantle to the future generation, which in both of these films are represented by female/minority/immigrants, is a striking commentary. Logan and Fury Road have also been critical hits, which might mean that more highbrow blockbuster films will follow the same path.

Logan is able to balance action and character, all within its Western feel. The film revels in being able to use Wolverine’s claws to their full effect. It doesn’t just stop with slashes, though. It innovatively incorporates the settings and locations to make unique action sequences.

But it is the quiet moments in the film that pull it into great territory. Watching Logan have to carry Charles Xavier to bed, hearing Charles rage at him in his senile moments about how much of a disappointment he is, bonded me to the characters, even though this is the only film I’ve seen them in. This film is a gift to Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart, giving them an opportunity to strip down their characters, build them up, and then set them in stone.

Now, most of us know that Patrick Stewart and Hugh Jackman can act. It’s Dafne Keen as Laura/X-23 that stuns and amazes. She not only performs her action sequences to a professional degree, but she is able to build up her own character’s legacy in a short amount of time. I can’t wait to see more from her.

Ultimately, what Logan does that is revolutionary is this: It has consequences, stakes, and follows through with them. That is something no major franchise is doing right now. Maybe it’s because of Logan’s finality, or the creative forces of director James Mangold and Hugh Jackman, but Logan’s greatest accomplishment is that it is okay with ending.

Except I enjoyed the film so much, I didn’t want it to.

-Madeleine D

Happy Thanksgiving! This Thanksgiving, I hope you will spend time appreciating your friends and family, eating delicious food, and supporting your local indie films, like this one.

There are some (cough, Alejandro Iñárritu, cough) who say we should write off the entire comic book/superhero genre. These people say the genre is ruining our humanity, is devoid of meaning, supports right-wing ideology, and is “cultural genocide.”

I am firmly against that idea. Why not take the interesting conventions of the genre, which are the equivalent of Greek mythology for modern audiences, and use them in creative ways? The wonderful thing about the comic book genre is that it has a rich history of being used to express radical ideas throughout history. There are a multitude of ways that genre staples can be twisted and adapted to fit thousands of stories. To say an entire genre cannot be elevated isn’t the sentiment of a genius filmmaker, it’s pretentious and lazy and simply a way to ignore the interesting things that have been, and are being, done with a genre.

So that raises the question of Doctor Strange, the newest comic book superhero movie to grace the silver screen, and the 14th movie to join the MCU. How is it advancing the genre?

First off, it’s not through the story. Not that the story of a rich, successful, egotistical jerk who loses something important to him and discovers his calling as a superhero isn’t interesting. It’s just been done before. You may be able to come up with a few examples. I guess we can’t blame the filmmakers for that, though. I mean, what isn’t appealing about a white man going to an East Asian city that he doesn’t respect or know anything about, where he almost instantly masters a magical art that is special to the area, through a white teacher who has known it longer than him, but he still surpasses the teacher because.. Chosen One?

It’s probably not through the characters either. They’ve all been done before. You know the Exasperated, Long Suffering Girlfriend™. You know the equally Exasperated Black Friend™. You know the Wise Old Master™. You know the Student-Turned-To-The-Dark-Side™. You even know the Cranky Librarian™. You might even know the locations! Generic London Street™. Hospital That Doesn’t Follow Protocol™. Special Dojo in Mountains™. Space Thrown in a Time Loop.

Okay, maybe that last one is different.

However, maybe it’s through the special effects. Cities with streets that are filled with cities are folding into themselves as people run around on the folding cities within more cities in portals. Whew. It’s quite a ride. Trippy, and a little dizzying, but fun. It’s Inception on steroids.

But wait- we can’t just say the only thing this movie brings to the table are the special effects. If that is all there is to add to the genre, then maybe the doubters are right.

Except- there is a little more meat on this bone that it may be given credit for. So let’s dig in deeper.

Doctor Strange opens with Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) a stuck up, Beyonce-savvy, “oh come on, we barely dated,” quippy one-liners, totally 100% apple-pie American doctor with occasionally a British accent that wants to be let loose. He’s so famous he can handpick his patients based on whose case is more severe and who he could use to win more awards. He drives a fancy car, uses a fancy phone, and then gets in a horrific car wreck.

No longer able to use his hands to do his work, Strange loses everything. He learns about a mystical place that is known to heal people. He travels to Kamar-Taj and meets the Ancient One (Tilda Swinton) who begins to reveal to him the secret art of magic and alternate dimensions. The Avengers may be fighting to save the earth, we’re fighting to save our universe, she tells him. A little more than he signed up for. But hey, he’s got nothing to lose.

One of the best things about Doctor Strange is its performances. I think bringing talented actors to the comic-book genre is a great way to not only elevate the movie, but make sure the arcs of the characters are portrayed correctly and with often more depth then the script may provide. Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy was great because of Christopher Nolan, but would it have been the same if he had cast a lower-grade genre actor instead of Christian Bale? Actors who treat their material seriously will always have my respect, and this cast earned my respect. Rachel McAdams, Tilda Swinton, Benedict Wong, and especially Chiwetel Ejiofor take their roles that aren’t all that new or original, and make them feel very real and genuine. And Benedict Cumberbatch makes an empathetic Strange who, while he may not have the rough, thoroughly dislikable edges Tony Stark does, makes you really feel like he’s at the end of his rope. That emotional punch makes the film work.

The other star of the movie- magic- is good and bad. The bad is that if you want to really understand the magic of the movie, too bad for you. Watching the movie, I never understood how someone got from hand waving to opening a portal. That is never explained. I can’t imagine what it feels like to create magic with your hands, because the movie never shows me how it feels. The Ancient One gives a monologue about other worlds, dimensions, and magic, but the actual physicality of the magic is never revealed. And that’s a shame, because now would be a good time, MCU, to decide if you’re going to stick with your pseudo-intellectualism science, or try and really define what is science and what is magic in your world.

The creators (including veteran horror director Scott Derrickson) seem to have chosen the latter. While that’s a bummer, the special effects are undeniably dazzling. Their innovation is what makes them stand out because good special effects are a given these days. But using them to their full potential is what this movie does. I didn’t see it in Imax or 3D, but if you’re into that, I would think this would be a good film to spend the extra money on.

What is so interesting about Doctor Strange is how detached it seems from the rest of the MCU. The Avengers are mentioned once. Strange lives in New York City, but nothing gets name dropped. The film’s third act is very different from the third acts of other superhero movies. Interestingly enough, that is where a lot of its strengths lie. It’s a great stand-alone film, which is a nice relief for those who don’t geek out over remembering facts from 13 other movies. The world is familiar, but also more fantastical than the normal MCU World.

The quote I used for the title of this review isn’t from Doctor Strange. It’s from The Avengers, in a scene between Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow and Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye. The two characters are agents. Very skilled agents, but still, just human. They’re thrust into a world with larger-than-life superheroes and monsters that they’ve never seen before. Doctor Strange is less about Doctor Strange being thrust into a new world as it is the audience being thrown not just a new section of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but into a new world created by breathtaking special effects, inhabited by actors who make it feel real. Sure, as audience members, we’re expecting some of the familiar stuff. But overall, there are elements that feel very new.

Maybe we weren’t trained for it, and maybe it’s a little off-putting sometimes, but it sure is something exciting.

-Madeleine D

Hello readers!

In honor of Dr. Strange coming out this week, I’m here to lay out for you what you should expect in 13 of my reviews in the next 4 years. That’s right, I’m talking about The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), that, whether you love it or hate it, is defining this movie-going generation and changing Hollywood forever.

Marvel has 13 movies planned through 2020 for Phase 3 of the MCU. I’m going to go through each one of them and discuss what we know, should expect, and hope for. As a full disclaimer, while I have done my research for these movies, I’m not a comic book reader. If you want to know more of those origins, along with other information about these movies, check out this website: http://www.denofgeek.com/us/movies/marvel/237462/full-marvel-movie-release-calendar

Dr. Strange- November 4th, 2016

Dr. Strange will star Benedict Cumberbatch as the title character, along with Tilda Swinton, Rachel McAdams, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Mads Mikkelsen. The film is about Stephen Strange, a brilliant surgeon who, after a car accident, can no longer use his hands. When he meets The Ancient One, he learns about the world of magic.

Marvel has been setting up this movie since Dr. Strange’s first name-drop in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. The cosmic world was set up in Guardians of the Galaxy, and inter-dimensional space was shown in Ant-Man. The idea of magic in the MCU has often been explained with mumbo-jumbo science. In fact, in Thor, Thor explains that “magic is just science we don’t understand yet.” Scarlet Witch, though, has some kind of telekinesis powers that resembles magic. We’ll see how they use magic in a more realistic comic-book world.

The film is also already inciting controversy. In the comics, The Ancient One is a Tibetan man. In the film he will be played by Tilda Swinton, who is neither Tibetan nor a man. Marvel has blamed this on the fact that they need China as a box-office source, and China has a rough relationship with Tibet. I think it’s interesting, though, that audiences call for diversity, yet even though this film race-bends and gender-bends a character, audiences only want progression on their own terms.

A lot of people are worried that since this film is so out-of-the-box, it could be a big misstep. But if Marvel is able to make a movie like Ant-Man work, I’m sure a movie about a white man with superpowers, a fellow co-worker as his girlfriend, a black friend, and a face-painted villain is not going to be much of a problem. In fact, it sounds pretty familiar, don’t you think?

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2- May 5th, 2017

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is the sequel to the 2014 mega-hit. The film is said to go more in depth on Peter Quill’s relationship with his father. Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, and the voices of Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel return, along with the addition of Kurt Russell to the cast.

I feel like I’m one of only about four people on the planet who didn’t love the first movie. But this movie is important, because supposedly it will feature even more Thanos (the big, ultimate bad guy of the MCU) and explore more of the space aspect of the MCU, where the Avengers: Infinity War movies will take place. The first one was a mega-hit, so I’m sure this one won’t be a disappointment in that regard.

Spider-Man: Homecoming – July 7th, 2017

Spider-Man: Homecoming is also going to be an important movie. Sure, it sounds like a John Hughes prom movie, even more so considering it’s a surprisingly young cast, that it takes place in high-school, and is a part of the family-friendly Disney/Marvel family. But this new reincarnation of Spider-Man is important from a business perspective. It is the first joint-movie production of Sony and Marvel. Spider-Man was originally a Marvel property, and a comic book property, but after they went bankrupt in the early 2000’s, they sold the rights to Sony. That’s why we have the original Spider-Man trilogy with Tobey Maguire and the reboot, The Amazing Spider-Man with Andrew Garfield as the title character. But Sony is going downhill, and needs to make the character great again. They now are sharing the character with Marvel. So now Spider-Man is in the MCU, but the character/movie is still Sony, and Marvel is mostly just in charge of the character creatively. This partnership is one of the first of its kind, and it will be interesting to see how it will turn out. One thing that will be important to note is how much the film will be affected by the end of Captain America: Civil War. Will Tony Stark be tortured? Will the gang still be separated? Does Peter Parker have PTSD or a conflict of conscience about his choices? What does it mean for a minor to be a vigilante?

Spider-Man: Homecoming’s cast includes Tom Holland (reprising the role after his cameo debut in Captain America: Civil War), Robert Downey Jr returning as Iron Man, Michael Keaton (as probably villain Vulture, but still unconfirmed), former Disney star Zendaya as a new character named Michelle (although there is still some mystery as to whether that is true), and Marisa Tomei returning as Aunt May.

We don’t have a lot of information on the film yet, but I’d like to point out some things about the cast. First is that everyone is playing almost the correct age, which is nice for a change. There is a strong possibility that Zendaya is playing Mary Jane or Gwen Stacy, which is cool. Having a black actress, along with some more diverse casting choices, will hopefully be more reflective of New York today. Having Michael Keaton go back to superhero movies, especially after Birdman, a movie that had a disdainful message towards comic-book movies, seems like an interesting (and slightly desperate) choice. Then we have RDJ, who showed a mentor/father figure side of Tony Stark in Civil War in his interactions with Spider-Man. I assume this will continue in this film.

Hopefully this film will use the positive reception of Holland’s portrayal of the character to its advantage and be a different film for the MCU. Guardians of the Galaxy was a space opera, Captain America: The Winter Soldier was a political thriller, maybe Spider-Man: Homecoming can be a mature coming of age story. Being a smart movie could also solve Michael Keaton’s life-long problem of artistry vs. getting work.

Thor: Ragnarok- November 3rd, 2017

Thor: Ragnarok (Ragnarok basically means apocalypse) is the third and last movie in the Thor trilogy. This movie will bring back Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Tom Hiddleston as Loki, and Jaimie Alexander as Lady Sif, along with Idris Elba as Heimdall and Anthony Hopkins as Odin. New to the cast is Mark Ruffalo as fellow Avenger Bruce Banner/Hulk, Cate Blanchett as villainess Hela, Karl Urban as Skruge, Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie, and Jeff Goldblum as Grandmaster. The film has been described as “a cosmic buddy road trip.”

I’m not gonna lie, this is my most anticipated movie of 2017. Why a Thor movie? Because Hulk, that’s why. Hulk, and Cate Blanchett as a supervillainess. And a cosmic buddy road trip. And Jeff Goldblum. That sounds like the perfect pitch to me. This movie will probably set up Infinity War the most, with it being in space and also being about the apocalypse. Yet Mark Ruffalo has said it will be basically a comedy, particularly with director Taika Waiti (What We Do in the Shadows, Hunt for the Wilderpeople). So with the Shakespearean language, space, buddy-comedy, and the end of the world, this might be the greatest Marvel movie yet. If not, at least it will be the best Thor movie.

Black Panther- February 16th, 2018

Black Panther is going to be one of the biggest movies of 2018. Not just one of the biggest, but one of the most important. Directed by Ryan Coogler (Fruitvale Station and Creed) the film is set to star Chadwick Boseman returning as Black Panther/King T’Challa, along with Lupita Nyong’o, Michael B. Jordan, and Andy Serkis. The movie is said to have a 90% black cast, with promise of plenty more prestigious actors to join.

Black Panther will be about King T’Challa, who after his introduction in Captain America: Civil War, is taking over as King of Wakanda for his late father, T’Chaka. Wakanda is a fictional African Country. It is technologically advanced. T’Challa is a genius, higher I.Q than Tony Stark and far richer. His country is rich in vibranium, the metal to make Captain America’s shield. Black Panther has been described as “African Batman”; his intellect and abilities make him a deadly foe, and his neutrality makes him a powerful political player.

This will be the first movie out of all the MCU movies to have a person of color in the lead title (the first movie not starring a white man, after 17 movies). To prove this point even further, Marvel is making sure to release the movie during Black History month, so you won’t forget it’s for black audiences.

This poses a problem to me personally. If Marvel regularly released movies in February, it wouldn’t be a big deal. But they never do. And February isn’t a great movie-releasing season. This, and the fact it’s going to be released during Black History month, makes me feel like Marvel doesn’t have a lot of faith in the movie. That’s ridiculous. It has a critically acclaimed director and cast, and an amazing concept with a great superhero. I just hope they won’t focus too much on making it for black audiences only. It should be a movie for everyone. Marvel should not use this as a way to say, “Here’s your diversity movie. Stop complaining.” Think about it. If this movie is a huge success, this could be a big game-changer for Hollywood at large.

Avengers: Infinity War – May 4th, 2018

Originally, the two Avengers films on this list were supposed to be a two-parter called Avengers: Infinity War. However, after Comic Con 2016 the news broke they were going to be separate (but still very interconnected) films. I personally am glad they are splitting the films up. Movies like Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 1 & 2 and Twilight: Breaking Dawn part 1 & 2 make a lot of money, but end up with a whole slew of issues from a fan and critic perspective. It also makes it even harder for casual fans to keep up, and with a franchise like the MCU, you want to make it as easy as possible for viewers.

I think this movie, despite not being the same movie as the next Avengers film, will be very much a precursor to the bigger conflict in Avengers: Untitled. This movie will be about assembling the gang, and collecting things. Thanos, the big bad guys of the MCU, is trying to collect the six Infinity Stones (the ones that fit onto his gauntlet, introduced at the end of Avengers: Age of Ultron). So far we have three, and three more are left to find. Thanos will be trying to find those, and the Avengers will be assembling the whole team to fight him. I expect some kind of scene between Captain America and Iron Man that reunites them, and then they will go and find the rest of the team. They’ll get Black Panther, Dr. Strange, Black Widow, War Machine, Scarlet Witch, Vision, Falcon, Thor, Hulk, Ant Man, Wasp, The Guardians of the Galaxy, and possibly Captain Marvel. I’m expecting big reunions if they haven’t already happened in the other movies, and a convoluted plot about finding the stones, ending with a big fight that will probably end poorly for the original Avengers. Why? I’ll explain later.

What’s interesting about this is that by the time this film comes out, Justice League Part 1 will have already come out. That’s a 2-part superhero crossover film, like this one was supposed to be. Is Marvel feeling the DC heat? DC has a lot less fan alliance after Batman v. Superman than Marvel does (Let’s see how Wonder Woman turns out), and so it may be unfair to judge how the two will be received. But it will be important to see how the Justice League two-parter will be structured in comparison to the two closely-related Avengers movies.

Ant-Man and The Wasp- July 6th, 2018

It’s about damn time.

After Hope van Dyne whispered those words in the after-credit scene of 2015’s Ant-Man, a legion of comic-book fans and moviegoers cried out for the time The Wasp would finally be able to don the suit and be the superheroine we deserve. Because Captain Marvel has been pushed back to 2019, Ant-Man and The Wasp will be the first movie with a leading lady from Marvel. They are also the first super-couple, as shown by the end of Ant-Man. Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly will return in the title roles, along with Michael Douglas as Hank Pym. It will be directed once again by Peyton Reed, the replacement for Edgar Wright after the infamous fall-out between Wright and the studio.

Not much else is known about the film, but let’s hope it looks less like Iron Man this time and more like its own original story. Or it could continue in the Iron Man footsteps and be about Ant-Man having a midlife crisis and Louis (brilliant Michael Pena) taking up the suit, which I would actually be okay with.

Captain Marvel- March 8th, 2019

Protip- don’t go on the internet for all of March 2019 and a few months afterward looking for Captain Marvel stuff, unless you want to walk into a proverbial warzone. Yes, the internet has a terrible relationship with lady superheroes. Everything they do is under impossible scrutiny, with loose definitions of feminism thrown everywhere, mixed with anger, bitterness, and of course, bad grammar.

But besides that issue, this movie will determine a lot about Marvel and their ability to please a prickly fan base, and also make their first lady-led movie, this movie also has some acute similarities to the Black Panther movie. Captain Marvel is being released on International Women’s day, and if that doesn’t scream “Shut up female fans, here’s your movie, leave us alone but still give us money,” I don’t know what does.

Meanwhile, while we don’t know much about the film, we do know our casting. 2016 Best Actress winner Brie Larson will be playing Carol Danvers, a military pilot who gets cosmic powers. She’s more powerful than Wonder Woman, and in the comics has been a member of the Avengers lineup for years.

Basically, this movie might be a ticking bomb, but if done well, could change lots of things for the better. I hope it is a great movie for everyone, a new flavor for the MCU, and Captain Marvel will be an amazing, unique superhero for people to look up to.

Avengers: (Untitled)- May 3rd, 2019

Or: Everyone You Love Will Probably Die: The Movie.

Now that the gang is back together, and have had their butts kicked, I think the old Avengers team will retire and pass the reins to the newer members of the team, and defeat Thanos once and for all. If everyone is not assembled in the first movie, expect some more in this movie. It is rumored that up to 67 characters could appear in this movie. This could either be a bloated disaster, or handled well. I’m not sure yet how it will turn out, but I do have faith in the Russos, who helmed Captain America: Civil War, which also had a huge cast. But 67? This movie really should be called Glorified Cameos: Because Even Critically Acclaimed Actors Need Money.

The only other thing we know about this film is that it will be shot completely on an Imax camera.

Once this film is over, I’m worried about what kind of state the MCU will be in for Phase 3. Thanos is the MCU version of a god. What bigger villain is there to fight than a god? What villains are left after something so big? Haven’t we seen it all by then?

Inhumans- July 12th, 2019

I feel like I’m in the minority here, but I feel like the Marvel Netflix (Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and Luke Cage) and ABC shows (Agents of Shield) should not mix with the movies. They are drastically different in tone, not as many people have seen the shows as the movies, and it would mess with the timeline and continuity like crazy. Plus, it is hard to get big talent to go to TV. An Inhumans movie will basically be like the show Agents of Shield, the lowest-ranking MCU TV show, who are already doing Inhumans. There’s a very small chance this movie will actually come to fruition, though, considering the behind-the-scenes drama at Marvel.

Here’s the short version. Before Captain America: Civil War came out, so late 2015, Kevin Feige, the head honcho of the Marvel movie division, decided he wanted to stop reporting to Isaac Perlmutter, the CEO of Marvel. Fiege wanted to instead report straight to Disney CEO Alan Horn, giving Fiege more power. So the company split. Now Perlmutter is in charge of the comic books and TV shows, while Fiege is in charge of the movies, and Horn is still owner of both. Making an Inhumans movie is directly tied to the comic books and tv shows, which means Perlmutter and Fiege would have to work together. People don’t generally split up just so that they can work together more. Besides, an Inhumans movie would be very X-Men-y, and while we might see what a Marvel-made X-Men movie might look like, it could also just be a huge retread.

TBA:

May 1st, 2020

Kevin Feige, head of Marvel movie studios, has said he and the company are “emotionally and creatively committed to a Black Widow movie.” Now I’m not holding my breath, because he has said these kind of things before, but there is still always hope.

It would be interesting where they would take a Black Widow movie. To do her origin story, as interesting as it is, would only be a backtrack for the Cinematic Universe. Her doing her own solo mission might be interesting as well, but this is after Infinity War, where everyone might die or retire.

I personally think it is a little too late for this character. While Scarlett Johansson has done a phenomenal job with the character, and has shown in films like Lucy she can hold an action film by herself, I just don’t think it is the best move. Just keep having her be a co-lead in various movies. Let this go to someone else, and let the ghost of Black Widow be a cautionary tale.

July 10th, 2020

(Quiet chanting) She-Hulk, She-Hulk, She-Hulk, She-Hulk

November 6th, 2020

I can imagine a Guardians of the Galaxy 3, Dr. Strange 2, Ant-Man 3, or Captain Marvel 2. Or Iron Man 4-ever.

So there you have it. 13 movies in 4 years (14 if you count Civil War). Can this even be done? Are you tired of the superhero genre? And remember, this is from only one studio. Don’t forget about Fox with X-Men, Warner Bros with DC, and Sony, along with all sorts of indies, animation, and spoofs that will follow. Can the genre change at all? With these movies in the forefront of the genre, I think how they progress will say a lot about superhero movies and Hollywood at large. No matter your opinion on them, they are important for any serious movie-goer and pop culture guru to know about.

-Madeleine D

Warning: Spoilers Below

You had one job, Suicide Squad. One job.

After the catastrophe that was Batman v Superman, Warner Bros. and DC studios had one last hope for 2016: Suicide Squad, the movie with an all-star cast about a group of bad guys that save the world. This movie was supposed to have everything moviegoers like. Superheroes! Supervillains! Hot new stars! Style! Pizazz! A slick new album starring the biggest bands of today’s hits! The Joker!

The stage was set for the biggest potential hit of the summer. While film after film let people down, there was still an attitude of, “Well, at least we have Suicide Squad.”

If there’s one things we now know, it’s that high expectations =  disappointment.

Suicide Squad starts out with Amanda Waller (Viola Davis), evil granddaughter of Nick Fury, pitching an idea to some government heads. What if we had a group of supervillains that could do the stuff superheroes couldn’t do? Superheroes have moral codes. Let’s get some bad guys who can do the dirty work.

It’s an interesting idea, and that’s the kicker with this movie. It is full of interesting, out-of-the box ideas that have amazing creative potential. What if Harley’s gun says love and hate? What if El Diablo tells his backstory through flames? What if we have an awesome soundtrack? What if we make the Joker a mob-boss character to update and modernize him? What if Captain Boomerang has a… pink… unicorn fetish..??? (maybe not the best idea, whatever)

However, that is also the film’s biggest weakness. The small stylistic details of this film are fantastic. The overall movie is messy, chaotic, and boring. The only explanation I can make for this is that David Ayer, the director, got too caught up in his little spurts of genius that he forgot to make a coherent movie with a story.

Why does the story fail? Here’s the rest of the plot. After Amanda Waller gives baseball-card origin story intros (i.e, a still frame giving quick intros to the characters and a flashback) to the two biggest stars, Deadshot (Will Smith) and Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), and name drops the others, the government says yes. When you live in a world where Batman and Superman destroy cities and kill people in the name of justice, you can basically justify anything.

So Amanda Waller goes to the Belle Reve prison and introduces us to each of the characters with a theme song playing in the background. When you see Deadshot hitting a punching bag, you get a sample of “House of The Rising Sun” (can you guess where the prison is located, maybe “down in New Orleans”?). Then we see Harley Quinn doing gymnastics, and hear “You Don’t Own Me.” It’s perfect because she’s a strong independent woman. Get it? No? Here’s a shot of her butt to distract you. Yay girlpower!

So on and so forth. Once the team is assembled, with a cameo by Slipknot, a certified redshirt, and the only lines of dialogue you’ll hear from Killer Croc, Captain Boomerang, and Katana for a while, they are sent into the city. The city looks exactly like a normal DC city, one devoid of life, light, color, and hope.

Why must they go into the city? If you’ve seen The Avengers, Ghostbusters, etc, you know there’s a monster creating a portal in the city that creates a faceless, bloodless army. In this case, the monster is Enchantress (Cara Delevingne), an evil spirit that invades mild-mannered archeologist June Moone.

The first part of this movie is fast-paced and jumpy, but it works. It has a style, and I admire that. I was enjoying the film. Then comes the middle. The middle is all about getting to the portal in the city and destroying bad guys along the way, but the film makes no effort to make that interesting. We never understand what these faceless soldiers are or their strengths and weaknesses. We never understand why June Moone and Rick Flag are in love. We never understand why after an hour and a half of not talking to anyone, El Diablo calls the squad his family. We don’t understand why Joker and Harley are in love, except that they are both crazy. This middle section relies on what the director thinks audiences think is interesting, which is half-executed, lazily repetitive action sequences that don’t do anything except move the squad a little towards point B. The style of the first part of the film vanishes.

The whole film plays like a video game. Introduce the characters. Choose which character you want to be (Deadshot or Harley). Joker cameo! Curveball. Move towards portal. Fight. Take a break. Exchange one-liner. Fight. Get in elevator. Fight. Leave elevator. Joker cameo. One-liner. Get to portal. Power up. Each shot only lasts 5-10 seconds, each scene no longer than a minute.

The film sells its audiences on its bizarre trailers and the idea that bad guys get to have more fun. This begs the question: What makes a bad guy more fun? Is it the gun wielding, murder-fest? Because if so, this movie delivers in an untimely, tone-deft way. Is it because bad guys get the one-liners and tough talk? If you want that, head over to Stark Tower, because there are no memorable lines here. Do we like bad guys because they appeal to our own flawed character? If there is something to be said for the DC movies so far, it is that it makes its heroes more morally ambiguous. To foil those characters, these villains must be completely bad. In this film, though, they aren’t. They want to be normal, in a wet blanket sort of way, and they can’t commit to being completely evil. Will Smith never lets Deadshot be unlikable. Harley Quinn tells El Diablo to wear his tragic, murderous backstory on his sleeve, and yet her perfect ending is to be a housewife with curlers in her hair, taking care of a baby and the Joker. These “villains” are more heroic than bad, at least by this cinematic universe’s standards, so why should we think they’re more fun anyway?

If the film decided to go into depth on any topic, it would be a much better film. Explain to me the psychology of a villain. Show me how messed up people can bond. Tell me why even bad guys can be better than the good guys, and the frailty of those labels. Instead, the film just insults the audience’s intelligence over and over again, giving us no message and getting mad we don’t get its “high artistic vision.”

Now I know that there was studio meddling involved. David Ayer has confirmed there were 6-7 cuts of this film before this theatrical version. However, as the director, he has to take responsibility for what this film is, which is a film that had potential but poor execution. When the film was finished I was bored, exhausted, annoyed, and saddened all at the same time. I can’t imagine what it is like for DC comic books fans, who see their favorite characters made into racist and sexist stereotypes, lacking the depth and interest of their on-page counterparts. My message to the Suicide Squad team? Enjoy your ideas, but make sure they are good ones, and be sure you can actually deliver, or else you will have an empty gun-shell of a movie.

-Madeleine D

*incoherent screaming*

Oh hello there. I didn’t notice you over the sound of my screaming. How are you? Oh good. I’m doing well too. I just saw Captain America: Civil War after counting down the days since June 29th, 2015. It was pretty good.

Just kidding. It was amazing. And we’re going to go in depth on why, because me screaming about the importance of protecting Tony Stark is not going to be of much help.

Full disclosure: I am a huge Marvel fan. But I am also an aspiring critic, and I will do my best to balance the two. Admittedly, I haven’t always done my best with that (Avengers: Age of Ultron is a movie I loved, but I recognize that I was a little monotone in the review because other critics were harsh). But I want to balance approaching this movie as a Marvel-nerd and as a normal moviegoer. Also, there are not really spoilers in this review, but if you haven’t seen it yet and you want to be surprised at character reveals, you should probably stop reading (and why haven’t you seen the movie yet?!?).

Captain America: Civil War is both a sequel to Avengers: Age Of Ultron and Captain America: The Winter Soldier. It deals with the consequences of the Avengers actions around the globe. Captain America/Steve Rogers thinks the Avengers do not need accountability, and Iron Man/Tony Stark believes they do. It is based off the famous 2006-2007 comic book title of the same name.

The film is directed by Joe and Anthony Russo, who helmed Winter Soldier. Age of Ultron was directed by Joss Whedon, who after having his spirit broken by the film, has quit Marvel for good, giving up directing Infinity War pt. 1 and 2, which is now going to the Russos.

Now why I bring this up is that as the Marvel movies increase, a bigger and bigger checklist appears. Age of Ultron included a checklist for Whedon that included introducing two new superheroes, foreshadowing Civil War, setting up the Infinity Stones for Infinity War, expanding the cinematic universe, and sticking to a comic book storyline, along with also being a worthy predecessor to one of the most successful movies of all time.

Now with Civil War, the Russos must restore the faith of the fans unhappy with Ultron, do more extending of the universe, foreshadow Infinity War, add two new characters, one who is almost hated and half-owned by another studio, and include another ten characters not usually in a Captain America movie, as well as convince everyone that Captain America is not gay, even though he literally starts a war for a guy.

So while I loved Age of Ultron, I understand not everything Joss Whedon was asked to do was handled well. It seems like he gave up in parts, the parts he didn’t care about. The Russos, on the other hand, do their darndest on everything, making it seem like everything they are given is exciting and new. There is an attitude difference towards the films from the filmmakers that really shows through, and is a big part of the success of the film overall.

But there are also some other factors that contribute to the success of the film.

1. The motivations were clear and earned. Unlike with Batman v. Superman v. Rotten Tomatoes, the characters listen to each other and hear each other out. These problems and the breaking of spirits and psyches have been evolving for the past 12 movies. This is why a cinematic universe works when it’s well done. Each decision made in the movie is a deeply personal one for each character. If we hadn’t had those other movies, there would be no way we would be able to understand why each character is making the decisions they are making.
2. Every character gets to shine. For a movie that is so crowded that not even all the main characters get their names on the poster, everyone gets a few moments. Yes, some of these characters are fan-service, Easter eggs, or serve as setting up future movies, but everyone gets a time to shine, and it is very well-balanced. It’s a huge movie, but it doesn’t feel over-stuffed or rushed.
3. The new additions are amazing. Chadwick Boseman as Black Panther is incredible. He has a very thoughtful introduction, and is very different from all the other Avengers. He is the real righteous superhero, not Captain America. He goes from seeking revenge to wanting true justice. He saves people on a worldwide and personal level, which is the exact problem between Ironman and Captain America. Tony Stark has a bigger vision than Captain America, but Captain America cares very much about individual people. T’Challa (Black Panther) cares about both, and I loved seeing such a good role model. Tom Holland as Spiderman was also great. Those who have Spiderman fatigue, never fear. This Spiderman is different. He acted like a real high schooler, not a super-model pretending to be dorky high schooler. An actual high schooler who can’t fight a battle because he has homework. I can’t wait for his and Black Panther’s upcoming solo movies.
4. They made the old characters fresh again. After a fifth or sixth time playing a character, it can be tiring for the audience to see the same thing. But this movie really took the arcs of the characters that have been developing for a while, and used them to evolve the characters. For example, one thing they did was change up Black Widow’s fighting style. Up until now, she has used a lot of agility, like wrapping herself around a person or flipping them over. It’s usually how women in film are portrayed with a fighting style- more about grace than brute force. But in this movie, she fights much more with brute strength. She uses her whole body to attack someone, which was a reflection of her character in the movie. She’s done, she’s tired. She helped build this little family after she lost everything, and now they’re tearing themselves apart. She wants it to end, she doesn’t want to fight anymore, and her aggression shows it. Little details like this really make me appreciate the Russo’s artistry.
5. It’s just a really, really good movie. The pacing, character arcs, balance of humor and suspense, action, and just overall production values and acting are phenomenal.

Now if you are a casual movie-goer, I don’t think this movie is going to hit home for you as much as it does for for me and my fellow nerds. There are a lot of emotional punches that relate back to old MCU movies. There are ties that go back to the first Iron Man and Captain America movie from Phase 1. But, if you’ve seen most of the movies and kinda remember them, then it’s going to be a good experience, especially if you have a good grasp on The Winter Soldier and Age of Ultron.

But as someone who has committed to all 13 movies, I was over the moon. I was geeking out about the movie with the people I went with. The whole audience was alive. It really reminds you how movies, especially big blockbusters like this movie, can bring people together.

Because united we stand, divided we fall.

-Madeleine D will return in another review

This review contains spoilers.

From the very beginning, people had their doubts about Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

    The title is too long!

    I don’t like Zac Snyder!

    I hated Man of Steel!

    Gal Gadot?

    Jesse Eisenberg??

    BEN AFFLECK??????

    Marvel is way better.

    They just want to make money!

After the trailers came out, very few people were comforted.

The Batman suit looks stupid.

    They showed too much!

    It looks confusing.

    BEN AFFLECK??????

And now the event of the century has come. Two of the biggest American icons fighting. But to add to the doubts, turns out Batman v Superman has its work cut out for it, seeing as it’s not the only superhero movie about a genius billionaire vigilante asking for accountability against the boy-scout of the people with superhuman abilities (Civil War, anyone?).

Batman v Superman is set up, at least in its first act, as an essay of sorts. The claim: Superman and Batman must fight to decide who is a true hero. Evidence is first about Superman. We see the controversial fight in Metropolis from Man of Steel from the perspective of Bruce Wayne. We see the people dying, orphaned, losing everything. Bruce watches this all. His anger is justified. Then we see the next set of evidence. Batman has his own reign of terror, so much so that the people he saves fear him. He brands villains, kills easily, and calls himself a criminal. Then we go back to Clark Kent, who is just a confused young man trying to decide whether he wants to keep his calling to be a god. Then we go back to Bruce Wayne. He’s lost the people he cares about. He’s tired. He just wants to leave behind a legacy. And he finds that in Superman. His legacy could not be just getting rid of criminals, whom, he argues, are like weeds: they keep coming back. But to take down Superman? The god? That is something permanent. As for Superman though, the Batman is a threat to justice, working outside the law. Not that Superman can say much to that. He himself has gone outside the law to save Lois Lane, even destroying a village in the process.

But Batman isn’t the only person out to kill Superman, and that’s where the second act begins. A wrench gets thrown in. Lex Luthor.

This is a complicated plot, with various other ones I haven’t even touched on thrown in. There is at least one side plot that could have been eliminated without hurting the story, world-building, or characters. Then, if you wanted to get rid of the DC Cinematic Universe building there goes another three side plots. And if you wanted to rid of the half-Man of Steel sequel, and the beginning Batman movie, you have only one story left- the actual fight.

I have a lot of respect for the movie for trying to fit that many stories into one film. Some of it works and fits together. I like that they took their mistakes from Man of Steel and confronted them, basically making a movie out of it. Later in the film they completely remake those same mistakes, but hey, effort.

As for the building of the DC cinematic universe, it doesn’t succeed in getting me excited. (Never mind the fact that this world-building is so comic-book based to the point that I had to look up what certain symbols meant and who certain characters were.) Warner Bros is rushing it, to replicate what Marvel took years to do. I think they should focus on hitting each beat. They don’t need to have a two part epic, they don’t need solo films for a dozen characters in between. That will come. If the DC movies don’t want to be compared to Marvel, they shouldn’t be following them so closely.

But since I can’t blame them for wanting to replicate a design that has made billions of dollars and fan love worldwide, we need to deal with the movie we have. One that is messy, brilliant at times, but overall very….

Empty. It’s a movie that has an elaborate, beautiful, seemingly intelligent cover. But when you dig down, it’s very empty. The world-building is there, but the world still feels dark and soulless. The cinematography is gorgeous but there is nothing on screen that hits me emotionally. The characters, while well-acted, don’t relate to me. I don’t understand Superman’s pain because it is so far removed. I don’t have Batman’s anger, because I didn’t know the people who died. The talk of gods and monsters are never resolved. We never get an answer if Superman is a god or not. And while that might spark debate, it seems more like lazy writing. Pseudo-intellectualism.

Much of that talk comes from Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg.) He was a controversial pick from the start. People have criticized his performance for being too much like his performance as Mark Zuckerberg from The Social Network, or an imitation of Heath Ledger from The Dark Knight. This might have some truth in it. But I’d much rather see a film take a risk, try something new and reinterpret the character than just make another reincarnation of it. A reboot needs things to redo. So I enjoyed Jesse Eisenberg’s take on it. His eccentricity made sense. A man who is able to convince two superheroes to fight each other, orchestrate a bombing at a State Senate, and kidnap various people needs to be on the crazy side.

Ben Affleck is a very good Batman, and an even better Bruce Wayne. This Batman is more murderous than any incarnation before, but it doesn’t seem out of place in this universe. And his Bruce Wayne is more proactive and exciting than Christian Bale’s before him. Jeremy Irons as Alfred is good too, but has very little to do.

Henry Cavill as Superman has all the tools to be a great Superman and Clark Kent. This is an interesting Superman. Not a boy scout but a torn young man wrestling with his powers. His relationships with his mom, ghost of his dad, Lois, Perry White, and Batman are very defined. Once he comes back (he’s confirmed for Justice League) I hope to see even more development for him.

Amy Adams tries extremely hard to make Lois Lane a great character. She has more to do here than in Man of Steel. But, she is still being used as a plot device and grows very little as a character.

Wonder Woman was one of the biggest wild cards in the movie. While she doesn’t get a whole lot of screen time, she makes a very good impression. Gal Gadot makes Diana Prince relatable, (she checks her email! Just like us!) and Wonder Woman’s entrance is fantastic. Her theme song is an electric guitar solo for heaven’s sake! (the whole score by Hans Zimmer and Junkie XL is fantastic) I’m very excited for her upcoming movie. As long as they make it a point to sell the movies to men and women, not just making her “the female superhero,” it should be a great start to hopefully a new wave of more diverse superhero movies.

There are some other good things about the film. The actual fight between Batman and Superman is chillingly dark. Watching Batman completely brutalize Superman, the way he was brutalized by Bane in The Dark Knight Rises, had me cringing, sitting on the edge of my seat. Especially because, for the first and last time in the movie, I was emotionally invested. I cared that Martha Kent was saved.

Now in a perfect world, the movie would have ended there. I really liked the connection between Martha Kent and Martha Wayne, I had never made that connection before. There is some really good writing. Holly Hunter takes a throwaway role and makes it great. The bombing of the Senate scene was breathtaking. But since it is not a perfect world and not a perfect movie, it keeps going.

Now I understand movies feel the need to get bigger and better. But when your bigger and better is a slug monster that looks like a cross between The Abomination and a Cave Troll, a fairly generic fight isn’t the ending we needed.

The true problem of Batman v Superman is that it is a wanna-be prestige picture that is the geekiest (and I mean that in the most endearing way, my fellow nerds) comic book movie that has ever been on screen. You have to know these storylines, characters, vague references, and symbolism from the comics to understand a lot of what is going on, because unlike other cinematic universes like Marvel, there is only one other movie to give you any background. At the same time, you have to have an appetite for a lot of often empty talk about gods, monsters, men, and the meaning of life. A lot of people can do both. This movie however, cannot. This leaves us with a movie that wants to be a lot of things, and while it succeeds at a lot, utilizing everything off its bucket list, it never fully resonates with the audience. At least, the audience who is still on the fringes of whether they want to get into this world at all.

-Madeleine D