A reflection on 2017 and a look into 2018

2017, what a year. I’m sorry it’s been rather a long time since I’ve been active here, but I promise, not all of that time has been procrastination. Balancing Christmas celebrations, essay deadlines due in early January and on top of it all, moving to Hong Kong for a semester abroad! In this time, there’s a lot I need to catch up on. My thoughts on Star Wars: The Last Jedi (spoilers, I was VERY disappointed), a reflection on 2017’s releases and discussing what I’m looking forward to in 2018.

Allow me to set the scene. I’ve finished my first end of semester essay, my room at uni is all packed up, Dad picks me up from Swansea so I can meet my friends for the midnight release of Star Wars: The Last Jedi in Oxford! The excitement had been building for months. I had watched the trailer and all the teasers countless times, the early reviews couldn’t find a bad thing to say about it, we sat down to watch it aaaannnnndddd… oh, was that it? I wanted to say that it was a ground-breaking film that challenged what it meant to be a ‘Star Wars’ movie, but I couldn’t. It gives me zero pleasure in say that The Last Jedi is not a good entry into the Star Wars canon, nor is it a great sequel within its own right. We should have known that Rian Johnson, the director, would take everything established in The Force Awakens and throw it out the window when it was announced he had been given a new, unrelated Star Wars trilogy to write and direct. He has forced unnecessary story on a new planet, created new characters and animals so that he can say, “Hey! Remember that casino planet? That’s my invention!”.

What is it with the Skywalker family
and their apprentices? 

Jack Howard, YouTuber and filmmaker, said that this film is “everything you are and aren’t expecting”, and he is right. Johnson took plenty of gambles in this project, and although it seemed to pay off with critics, the fans were not quite as happy. All I’ll say about the fan base is that a petition was started by the Star Wars fan base to remove The Last Jedi from the canon. Yeah, don’t piss off fan-bases. But there is good in this one! Adam Driver the best part of this film by far with his co-stars, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac and the late Carrie Fisher also giving some good performances. New characters such as Rose Tico, played by Kelly Marie Tran, and Laura Dern’s Vice Admiral Holdo are good additions, but aren’t without flaws. The same can be said about DJ, Benicio Del Toro’s hacker-man, and again I take no pleasure in saying he sucks! His character’s presence is a massive coincidence and getting someone as talented as Del Toro to play him was a huge waste. The visuals are jaw dropping, but that comes expected of a film that cost more than $200 million, unless you’re Justice League (not the only slam I’ll be making on Justice League, I promise).

I had started a full review on Star Wars: The Last Jedi, but with other pieces of writing that required my attention, I couldn’t bring myself to write too much on a film that disappointed me so much. In brief, where it’s good, it’s VERY good. Alas, where it’s bad, it’s also VERY bad. A good friend of mine encapsulated my feelings beautifully, “The more you like (and know) Star Wars, the more you will dislike The Last Jedi”. Let’s wait and see if JJ can fix this void Johnson created with episode IX. 6.9/10

"WHERE ARE THE NOMINATIONS
FOR BLADE RUNNER 2049?"

Now that’s out of the way, let us cast our minds back this year and remember how good this year was for film! I’ll start a film I loved so much that it persuaded me to begin this blog: La La Land. This was the benchmark, and it gives me pleasure to say that said-benchmark was met by gems such as Blade Runner 2049, Get Out and Moonlight. Let us not forget the surprises of this year either! With Thor: Ragnarok giving us the funniest Marvel film ever, and quite possibly the funniest film of the year, we also got Wonder Woman, a film that not only proves that the DCEU is not a total failure (a phrase I use VERY lightly) but gives women of all ages a hero to wholeheartedly look up to, and let us not forget Logan, a film that also challenged what it meant to be a superhero movie; I am ashamed to say I have only seen once having actually bought the Blu-Ray! There were also films that divided cinema go-ers and critics alike, such as: Darren Aronofsky’s Mother! that ended up being nominated for a Golden Raspberry award (otherwise known as Razzies), Alien: Covenant, with even more stupid scientists than Prometheus and let us not forget the fallout from the reviews regarding Justice League and, as mentioned above, Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Overall, 2017 was a fantastic year for film. With sequels worthy of their legendary originals, NOT looking at you Kingsman: The Golden Circle, and some true original phenomenon’s, we can only hope 2018 follows in its footsteps…

Anything but 'Fake News'

…and it does! The first film I saw at the cinema this year was Steven Spielberg’s The Post and, like La La Land did the previous year, the bar has been set astronomically high. In knowing nothing about this films premise, I will be brief in my thoughts as I will not give any major plot points away. Set in the 1970s, The Post focuses on the on-going war effort in Vietnam and life of The Washington Post as it struggles to compete with the other huge broadsheet papers, namely The New York Times. When news of a massive political scandal is leaked to every major paper, Tom Hanks’ Ben Bradlee, editor at the Post, presses for the papers that will not only inform the public of the countless lies they’ve be told by the government, but will make them one of the biggest newspapers in the America. Kay Graham, played by Meryl Streep, is the owner of The Washington Post and despite wanting to make her paper huge in the eyes of America, she must look past her connections with some of the most powerful men in government, some of which have had a personal hand in telling these lies. This is a well shot, well written, well directed jewel of a film that provides insight into a period of history clouded in uncertainty. Furthermore, it is plain scary how applicable the circumstances discussed are in reference to present day America. In saying this, I strongly recommend you check out The Post. 9/10

Now, looking forward into the first half 2018, there are number of films I am aching to see. We might as well talk about Marvel first, considering they look as if they’re looking to dominate the box office all year round:

Black Panther, I won’t lie, by the time I’ve posted this I’ll have seen Black Panther three times. For the time being, I’ll just say it is incredible and that everyone, Marvel fan or not, should see this film.

Avengers: Infinity War, it’s all been leading to this. Having grown up with the Marvel Cinematic Universe, this is the culmination of 10 years of spectacular film making, with some exceptions of course (ahem, The Incredible Hulk). Sorry, did I say something? With Earth’s mightiest heroes teaming up with The Guardians of The Galaxy to battle the Mad Titan Thanos, we’re on for a hell of a treat.

Ant-Man and The Wasp, taking place after Captain America: Civil War but before Infinity War, Scott Lang/Ant-Man must try and balance being a superhero as well as a father but is forced to team up with Hope Van Dyne/The Wasp and her father, Hank Pym, to uncover secrets about their past.

£10 on Cap getting the axe, or the fist but that doesn't
sound right does it...

All three look to all be outstanding films in their own right, but we cannot ignore the fact that these after 2018, the MCU might never be the same again after the arrival of Thanos. Ten whole years after the arrival of Iron Man, I, like many other people my age, will look back and say how lucky we were growing up with such gems. Moving on from one Disney owned studio to the next, Lucasfilm’s Solo looks to tell the origin story of the galaxies most notorious smuggler, Han Solo. With the firing of Phil Lord and Chris Miller, then the hiring of Ron Howard I pray this film comes out to please all, fans and critics alike. Despite many not wanting this story told, including Harrison Ford, there are fears the Star Wars franchise is becoming overly saturated with unnecessary films. I’d prefer if people didn’t tell me the odds when it comes to Solo.

Dat leg tho

Stepping away from the cinematic titan that is Disney, I am in fact excited about a number of films that aren’t dominated by the company set out to monopolise the film industry:

Ready Player One, directed by the directorial legend that is Steven Spielberg and on the novel with the same name by Ernest Cline, this film looks to tell the stories of a dystopic Ohio, as well as utopic Oasis. Following the story of Wade Watts, a 20-something year old looking for more than what reality can give him, he journeys into the creation of James Halliday, the Oasis, so that he might find the whereabouts of Halliday’s Easter Egg, thus granting Wade half a trillion dollars and total control over the Oasis. Lovers of pop-culture everywhere will want to swarm to this one and say, “Was that Tracer? OMG that’s Lara Croft! Hang about, is he driving the DeLorean from Back to The Future?”.

Isle of Dogs, a stop-motion animation from the genius that is Wes Anderson. To stop the spread of disease, corrupt Japanese Mayor Kobayashi forces new laws on his town stating that all dogs are to be sent to a trash island. His nephew embarks on a solo rescue mission to the Isle of Dogs to save his precious dog Spots. With the help from cast-out canines such as Chief, Rex Boss, and Duke, this looks to be as unique as it will be touching. Oh, and with this being a Wes Anderson movie, expect an astonishing ensemble cast of actors.

The Untitled Deadpool Sequel, yes this is the name for Wade Wilson’s next adventure. Don’t look at me, that’s what it says on IMDB! However, looking back on marketing for the previous film, it wouldn’t at all surprise me to see this as the actual name for the sequel. With no plot synopsis, apart from the joke one stating he’s on a journey looking “to discover the importance of family, friendship and flavour”. Again, I’m just quoting the synopsis on IMDB.

How did we get THREE
Cars films before this?!

Incredibles 2, about bloody time! Having waited 14 years for this, Pixar will have to pull out all the stops if they’re going to make it remotely as good as the original. With the trailers giving little to nothing away, little is known about the plot. If this suffers from the dreaded ‘Sequel Syndrome’, people of all ages will be in uproar.

Mission Impossible: Fallout, after a delay in the production, Tom Cruise’s broken ankle being the cause, Ethan Hunt is back! Following on from the events of Rogue Nation, Hunt and his team of IMF agents must deal with the aftermath of their actions. With the CIA and Henry Cavill’s moustache on their case, this entry in the franchise looks to surpass all actions set pieces to date!

Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, I’m only putting this here because I love a good ABBA sing along.

"That's amore!"

Moving away from films for a moment, it seems as though I’ve not been true to myself this past year. In my twitter bio and the introduction piece to this blog, I said that I’d also do pieces on television as well as films. Making up for this, I’ll do a quick run through of shows I watched in 2017 and what I thought of them. Just writing about Iron Fist is inexcusable and I apologise.

A Series of Unfortunate Events season 1, come for the story, stay for Neil Patrick-Harris’ outstanding performance as Count Olaf. While I enjoyed this adaptation of Lemony Snicket’s tale of the Baudelaire orphans, the forced secondary storyline, at times, detached me from the events involving Violet, Klaus and Sunny, characters you can’t help but love.

Master of None season 2, loved every second of it. Aziz, you’re a genius when it comes to the television industry, but please right the wrongs of the past by addressing the scandal that came to light this January.

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt season 3, I stopped watching just over half way through. A classic example of a show that was only good for one season, its first.

House of Cards season 5, this is cracking TV. With the election coming to its climax, we see the Underwood’s cling on to as much power as possible despite all the odds. Hard to believe stuff like this used to be purely fictional…

Defenders, how did this go so wrong? With a great cast of heroes, and Iron Fist, we should have been in for a real treat. We were promised a war waged between New York’s Defenders and The Hand, but we received a few light punch-ups. We were promised New York would fall, but all The Hand were after were a few bones so that they could extend their already long lifespans. What happened to all the ninjas from Daredevil season 2?! Nothing but bitter disappointment here.

One of the very few good moments
in the show

Game of Thrones season 7, sorry to say this word again but I was just disappointed when season 7 ended. Coming off the bat of season 6, the best season (debate me I dare you), expectations were astronomically high. Where it had some fantastic moments of action set-pieces and character writing, what was the point of making it 3 episodes shorter? There was far too much service for fan-boys and less of what made it good from the get-go: the human stories. With Season 8 not coming till 2019, and consisting of only 6 episodes, it seems D.B Weiss and David Benioff are making it harder on themselves to give Game of Thrones the ending it (and we!) deserve.

Adios Pablo.
Hola Gilberto.

Narcos season 3, don’t worry, I had the same fears it would inevitably get worse with the death of Escobar. It gives me pleasure in saying that does not happen! With the Cali cartel taking centre stage, these guys can and should be compared to Escobar. The consistency of the shows quality gives me faith that season 4 will continue to be just as good as its predecessors.

Jack Whitehall: Travels with My Father, I wouldn’t use this as a guide to how to do your gap year. Experiencing Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia together, Jack and his Father use this time together not only to visit a new part of the world, but to bond as father and son. With every touching moment however, there is also one of conflict between the two boys. Would highly recommend watching this with your parents if they every suggest a holiday to south-east Asia.

Stranger Things season 2, a word to summarise this season? Bitchin. With the odd moments that took away from the narrative, looking at you Eleven, it still retained a good amount of suspense. You continue to care for these characters and develop different feelings towards other ones you may not have liked as much in season 1, looking at you Papa Harrington. It’s safe to say these actors are going to be the next generation of awards contenders.

The Punisher season 1, a show that redeems the events of both Iron Fist and Defenders. From what could have easily been a show about Frank Castle’s tale of revenge, I’m glad that the writers made a story that is so much more. By tapping into the debate surrounding the 2^nd Amendment, in addition to delving into how PTSD can affect all kinds of soldiers, this is more than just Castle punishing, its him struggling with living in a world that wants to reject him. Not only this, but with fantastic supporting characters such as Micro, we are given sub-plots we are wholeheartedly invested in, outside of Frank’s fight.

Mr. Robot season 3, a successful update. I need to take a moment to say, “Stop what you’re doing and get watching Sam Esmail’s masterpiece”. I’m struggling on how to best describe this show without giving away major spoilers, so I’ll keep this brief: Go in with a clear mind with no preconceptions about the show and just let it tell its story. It can get technical with the hacking jargon but, with it centred in contemporary society, it is not hard to follow. Soon enough, you’ll be asking, “What will I do when the revolution comes?”.

"B0ns0ir, Elli0t"

Finally, Black Mirror season 4, a strangely triumphant season. The best way to describe Charlie Brooker’s hit show is by saying: it’s about the vices of technology and the corruptibility of the Human spirit. This is not entirely true for at least half of the fourth season. Where I did enjoy binging this show, there were episodes I felt were a little out of place in regard to Black Mirror having previously shown us the worst humanity has to offer.

I have consumed far too many hours of TV and film this year, haven’t I? Well I’m too far gone at this point, so I’ll continue devour as much entertainment as I can lay my hands upon. I’ll finish by addressing all those who have supported me during A Ginger’s Journal’s first year in action. To those who have proofread my pieces, to those who openly debated with me about our views on TV and film, and to those who have read any one of my reviews: thank you! I’d promise to try and be more punctual with my posts but as I’m publishing this in February, it wouldn’t mean much. Here’s to another year!

The Mother-load

Have you ever walked away from a film, having experienced all it has to offer, and walk away thinking, “I enjoyed that, but I don’t know why?” I know I have.

Mother! by Darren Aronofsky was showing at the theatre on campus so I’d thought I go and see it, after missing it at cinemas when it was released. I had heard from both critics and audiences that it was an odd one to say the least. With Aronofsky’s previous projects consisting of Black Swan and Requiem for a Dream, he is notorious for making dark and testing films. Mother! Is no exception. With Jennifer Lawrence playing the character of Mother and Javier Bardem, who is only ever referred to as Him or The Poet, the film takes place in a house that seems to be in the middle of nowhere with both our leads working to create the perfect house for Mother and The Poet to live in for the rest of their days. Everything is sunshine and roses until Ed Harris’ character of Man stumbles upon the house and disrupts the tranquil being of the house with his smoking and drinking. Before you know it, his wife, played by Michelle Pfeiffer, arrives at the house leading to what seems to be a never-ending string of events that begin to not only damage the paradise created by Mother, but her physical and mental wellbeing is also being damaged in the process. After the Man and Woman’s time in the house, there is a sudden influx of people who begin to swarm to thee house resulting in one of the most chaotic final acts to any film I’ve ever seen.

If I were reviewing this film I would give it a strong 8.5/10. Its excellent performances from Lawrence and Bardem, powerful storytelling combined with the immersive filming and sound design make for a thrilling ride. Alas, this is not a review as I think it would be more productive to discuss something else entirely, and that would be the divide between critics and audiences. I bring this up because it is apparent that general audiences did not receive this film well. Making only $44.4 million at the box office and averaging a 68% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, this shows that not only were people not going to see this film, but critics were also divided in their reactions to Mother!. So, let’s break this down, why was this film received with such mixed reception? I think it’s a mixture of different factors: the way in which the film was marketed, what the film actually represents and the gender politics inside the films meaning.

In case you didn't know, they're married.

Let’s begin with the posters and trailers. I, like most, believed Mother! to be a horror film. The typical strangers show up at the door with chaos slowly but surely ensuing is a common trope of horror. However, don’t sit down thinking you’ll be jumping out of your seat because this ain’t that kind of horror movie. It builds tension to the point where you could breathe on said tension and it would snap so suddenly you realise you are transported out of this paradise-like house and into a nightmare of a world that depicts the transgressions of modern day society. Didn’t expect that when you watched the trailer did you? I know I certainly didn’t, which takes us back to the way this was marketed. Of course, you can’t show any of this in the trailer because that would give away the entire premise of the film, but if you look back at the posters, it says so much more than any teaser trailer. So, from the start point, people do not know what they are going to get with Aronofsky’s new project, and I believe that to be a good thing! Too many times I have watched the trailer for a film, bought my ticket at the cinema and said, “I know exactly how this is going to pan out”, leading to an underwhelming experience. You do not get this with Mother! as it’s very much its own brand of film. So please don’t be put off by the ambiguous trailers, embrace them!

She is LITERALLY falling apart.

Following this is the struggle with gender politics. People know Jennifer Lawrence, typically, for being an empowered female actor who has portrayed a variety of strong female characters, such as: Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games franchise, Mystique in the new X-Men prequel trilogy and (some might debate on this one but) Tiffany from Silver Linings Playbook. Her character in Mother!, named Mother coincidentally, is treated as if she were a piece of dirt at the bottom of your shoe. She is dismissed constantly, disrespected by all and abused both mentally and physically by those who claim to love and worship her. It is a difficulty watching this unfold, as I said in the beginning, due to the fact that watching her be beaten and battered isn’t entertaining. But why do I still like this film? The message behind it, that Patriarchal dominance, be it completely toxic and amoral, is still a part of our society and happens every day. If 2017 has taught us anything about sexual misconduct however, it’s that we are standing against it. Again, all you need do is to look at one particular poster depicting Mother’s face deteriorating. From this, Aronofsky is compiling all the torment Lawrence’s character experiences and displays it in one image. Mother! takes note of all things women endure in life and compacts it into a tightly constructed narrative that, and I say again because I cannot stress this enough, makes it such a hard watch. This is not a film which is retrogressive in gender politics, nor is it progressive: it is realistic of how the world is and how some individuals see it as such.

Finally, what is the meaning behind Mother!? Well it’s all rather simple really: Think biblical allegory/religious criticism/socio-political thriller. A lot to take in I know but trust me it all comes together seamlessly. We have our two main characters, Him and Mother, working on building their dream house into a paradise (those familiar with Milton’s Paradise Lost will already be drawing connections) in the middle of nowhere. Soon enough Man and Woman arrive, Adam and Eve, who begin to cause trouble in paradise. They are rude, disrespectful and soon overstep their mark by disregarding the orders of the Poet by intruding in his office, otherwise known as eating an apple from the Tree of Knowledge. If things couldn’t get more tense, their sons, Cain and Able, show up. Causing more and more disruptions to the lives and house of Mother! and Him, they are cast out. Not only this, but when embraced by more of his people/fans of his work, he soon begins to ignore Mother and her needs leading to the breaking down of the dream of their house and any idea that they can live together. If you haven’t put these pieces together to form the puzzle that is Mother!, I’ll tell you that Javier Bardem’s character is portrayed as God and Lawrence’s Mother is in fact Mother Earth. It outlines the toxicity between the philosophies of both Mother Earth and God. One seeks approval and love from those he created to stimulate his ego whilst the other loves all unconditionally as well as patient until she is hurt by those she occupies so much, she finds she has no more love to give to those who do not reciprocate her love. Not only is this being a criticism of the Christian deity being a selfish being rather than benevolent, but is also a comment on what we are doing to our planet. War, pollution and civil differences are killing this planet that not only houses us, but cares for us. How do we repay Mother Earth? We take her love and turn it into hate. These themes are so profound and deep that I, an English Literature student, embrace often in the texts I study and the essays I write. This is a film designed to be discussed but I think audiences who want their cinematic experiences to be simple will not find the concept of Mother! appealing at all.

If you don't make a face that look remotely like this
at the end, you haven't been paying attention.

To conclude, Mother! is a great film. It tells a compelling story, creates excellent characters and its ending wants the audience to go away and think about what they just witnessed. It is just a shame that many find this film to be very divisive rather than entertaining. Therefore, if you love a good debate or discussion about film and want to delve deeper into what you just experienced in the last few hours, Mother! is built just for that.

Review: Justice League, All sword and no scales

Let’s begin this review with a question: Why are the executives at Warner Bros so intent on forcing a team up movie such as Justice League without fully developing each member of the team with their own individual films? I’ll tell you why, it’s because they want to properly see themselves as Marvel’s rivals in the industry. There’s one problem with this, the way the DCEU is headed at the moment is not giving Marvel anything to worry about. Justice League is a messy, incoherent at times and full on bore-fest, plain and simple. It does not give ample time to our new heroes’ individual backgrounds, nor does the story generate any real threat in possibly the most vanilla villain ever. Before I get started on breaking this movie down, please know that I honestly believe that Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice is better than Justice League. Do what you will with that information. Also, there will be comparisons to Marvel and their films and that’s not because I’m a fan-boy, it’s because cinematic universes about superheroes are going to get compared. It’s the way the world works: Birds fly, grass grows, the sun shines and the DCEU needs to sort itself out.

"Quick! Everyone look brooding for this group shot!"

Months after the death of Superman, the world is darker than ever. Queue the sudden appearance of Steppenwolf, a bad dude who wants to do bad stuff for the sake of these actions being bad. He wants to destroy Earth, as villains are one to do, so Batman and Wonder Woman must bring The Flash, Cyborg and Aquaman together so that they might stop Steppenwolf’s evil plan. That’s it, that’s the story. I wish I was kidding but this is the genuine plot of this film, without giving away spoilers of course.

This is where I struggle, because I find the only good things to say about this film come in the characters themselves and how the actors bring them across. Gal Gadot is the standout with her character bringing strength, compassion and leadership to the team whilst every other member either brings in an Ex Machina to the so-called plot or has the odd funny line. Spoilers, these aren’t always funny. So, putting Wonder Woman aside, who else did I like in Justice League? J.K Simmons was pretty cool I suppose. If only he were as ruthless as Fletcher from Whiplash, then we wouldn’t even need a Justice League, he’d just say “Not my tempo” to Steppenwolf and, out of fear of having a cymbal thrown at his head, would leave Earth to never again return. Back to a serious note, you can see how these heroes might make a good team. By having good chemistry on screen, there is potential for growth but let’s just all collectively remind Warner Bros to bring out movies for each individual hero before making another team up film.

"I'm serious guys, we really need to look menacing in
these group shots."

Following my last point about individual films, HOW ON EARTH ARE WE EXPECTED TO LIKE THE FLASH, CYBORG AND AQUAMAN IF WE KNOW NOTHING ABOUT THEM? We are told The Flash/Barry Allen has a Dad in prison for a crime he, possibly, did not commit. Cyborg/Victor Stone struggles with his new-found powers and rather than giving him a real origin story, which might have been a part of the film at one point if the trailers are anything to go by, it is glossed over how quickly he seems to pick up new abilities. Aquaman/Arthur Curry has supposedly never been to Atlantis and why is this not addressed is beyond me. The pattern you’re seeing here is by not having proper origin story films, we are left without the capacity to bond with these characters, be it with their motivations or emotions. Furthermore, do these characters have any weaknesses? Cyborg is a walking Swiss Army Knife as he solves any problem the plot requires, as noted above, and by even taking a hit from Steppenwolf’s axe, he can just immediately repair himself. Flash Aquaman also take multiple hits without picking up a scratch! If there are no weaknesses to exploit, then that takes any form danger and tosses it out the window, leaving the audience certain the heroes will succeed.  The only character I felt things for was Wonder Woman as we’ve had her standalone film! Justice League loves to remind us of that because it constantly has Bruce talking to Diana about Steve Trevor, and Diana talking to the team about his fate and how she then turned her back on the world… I just want to watch Wonder Woman again, at least that film had a plot and loveable characters. 

You might have noticed I haven’t spoken about the two, arguably the biggest, members of this league that serves justice with these two characters being Batman/Bruce Wayne and Superman/Clark Kent. It’s no spoiler that Superman comes back to life in this film. If you’ve seen any of the trailers, any of the press releases or clips from him on the red carpet then you cannot be surprised when he is resurrected by the members of the league after discovering that Steppenwolf is just too powerful for them to handle. I have to ask however; did he only discover that he was able to laugh and smile once he had died? He comes back, and after a brief period of readjustment in the land of the living, he just reassumes his old life as Clark? The Daily Planet published a piece on his death! You can’t then just rock up and say, “Oh hi I’m actually not as dead as you previously thought.” Then you have Ben Affleck’s Batman. Remember when Affleck was winning Academy Awards? I do, those were good times but they are long past. Affleck seems to have lost all enthusiasm in the role leading to a performance which left me asking, “Why does Batman have a death wish in this film?” Oh wait, he’s hating the negative criticism to these films that’s why.

Who's the real "primitive being" here I hear you ask?

Finally, let’s discuss the abomination that is the character of Steppenwolf. I previously noted him as a “vanilla villain” and this is due to the fact that he is one bland flavour: bad. Ciarán Hinds might provide a sinister voice for the character, but other than that there is nothing positive about his character. The only backstory we get is a small piece of exposition which is more focused on the small Easter eggs inside this sequence than it is on the motives of Steppenwolf. I’d also be remised if I didn’t talk about VERY poor CGI for his character. If you are going to make a character that is comprised of animation, please make it convincing. If this is the best Warner Bros and Snyder can do, I am not looking forward to Darkseid. Speaking of that certain ruler of Apokolips, this presents another flaw in the story telling on not only Justice League, but the DCEU as a whole. Why spend a credible amount of time, and quite possibly the most poignant part of BvS, setting up the invasion of Darkseid if you aren’t them going to tease him further for future films? This just helps support the fact that these films are being made as they go rather than planning how these films may impact future projects.

I am posting my thoughts on Justice League after its weekend at the box office and I have to say I am not surprised with how it faired in America. Pulling in $95 million for opening weekend with its budget being $300 million, I struggle to see how it is going to make money. That does not make happy however, don’t get me or my words wrong! I do not like this film, or the majority of the films in the DCEU, but I really want these films to succeed because I grew up watching the Justice League cartoons more than I did with Marvel. One of my first games on the PS3 was Batman: Arkham Asylum. I enjoyed Man of Steel because of its humanisation of Clark. I liked the dark tone of Batman vs Superman but what I don’t like is this meddling from higher ups forcing creative minds to rush projects through the door. Kevin Feige and all those who have worked at Marvel to create a coherent timeline for the MCU have taken their time and not rushed instalments in their cinematic universe. Therefore, I’ll finish and say that if this doesn’t spell the end for DCEU, I don’t know what will. I take no pleasure in saying this, but Justice League is a bad film. You’ll wonder the whole time why you aren’t watching Avengers Assemble instead.

3.5/10