Wonder Woman

It’s here, it’s finally here, Wonder Woman’s first live action feature debut. You may be worried that the latest entry into the DC Extended Universe would follow the trend of their less than great previous films, but worry no more, Wonder Woman is the superhero film the studio needs right now, but more importantly it’s film the world needs right now! Read on and find out why.

This film tells us the origins of Wonder Woman, a long time before the events of Batman V Superman, during WW1, when a pilot crashes on the mysterious island, Themiscyra, he tells the young warrior who saves him, Diana, of the war to end all wars and without hesitating she joins him to help bring an end to the fighting.

In the wide range of superhero films on offer today, Wonder Woman is kind of generic, it’s a good mix of Thor and Captain America but is able to stand on its own two feet. Its main strength lies in the films message, this is what makes it stand above the rest, delivering a solid superhero origin story that commentates and criticises our world, views and values. When Diana first ventures from her island, it’s her first interaction with ‘man’s’ world. She’s naïve and obviously there is comedy to go with that but there is also a fresh look on the way we do things, which in her eyes isn’t all that good and throughout the film she begins to learn that men aren’t all bad but they’re also not all good. Diana’s arc throughout this period of realisation is one that insights hope and joy within the viewer and that’s what brings this film home, elevating the formulaic superhero film into something more special.  

Playing the icon is Gal Gadot and boy does she bring her A game. She truly carries this film and breathes life into Diana, making the character her own and diminishing any doubts audiences may have had about her taking on the role. She owns Wonder Woman. Everybody in this film does a great job, even with the little amount that some characters get. Up there with Gadot though is Chris Pine as Steve Trevor, the two have amazing chemistry and together they steal the film, creating real emotional connections between the two characters in the space of a couple of hours, you care about these characters and what happens to them.

My favourite element of this film is the action. The action is so badass, it’s so cool, it looks beautiful with great cinematography and sounds awesome with an excellent score. The theme we heard first in BvS is truly earned in this film and when it arrives, it really does deliver. Wonder Woman in full costume, in all her glory, taking out bad guys is a moment to be experienced on the big screen, it gave me goosebumps and I have read barely any Wonder Woman comics.

No matter how much I’ve raved about this film, it’s not perfect. It’s a tad too long for a start and the CGI does not always hold up, which is shame considering previous DC films have been pretty good with this element to date. And as I’ve stated before, it’s a bit generic, it doesn’t take many risks or feel much different from previous superhero films, but also as I’ve mentioned, because it works the tropes so well and has a message worth spreading, it is still able to stand above many that have come before it. Talking of other DC films, if you liked the grim tone and serious nature of this films predecessors then you may not like where they take this one, this one has jokes, is uplifting and is a film where the hero is heroic.  

Patty Jenkins, the director, should be applauded for bringing Wonder Woman to the big screen in such glorious fashion, a job I’m sure brought a lot of pressure on getting it right. Finally, we have a female led superhero film that is great and will hopefully usher in a new era of equality within the genre. This truly is a film and a hero the world needs right now, not flawless but still great, a solid 4/5. Go see Wonder Woman now!

I'm actually a little excited for Justice League now, even if it is just to see Wonder Woman again!

What did you think of Wonder Woman? Have the DCEU taken a step forward or backwards, let me know in the comments below.

Thanks for reading!

Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice

Batman and Superman in a film together, what could go wrong? Well, a lot actually...

I went in with low expectations for this film, not just because of the critical backlash towards it, but also because I've never been a big fan of Zack Snyder's style of filmmaking, he's very much a style over substance kind of guy. I went in hoping to be entertained but I didn't even come out feeling that. I left the cinema just feeling a bit let down, this wasn't the Batman V Superman film I wanted to see. Read on to find out my SPOILER FREE thoughts on why that was.

The basic plot of the story goes like this, 'Fearing the actions of Superman are left unchecked, Batman takes on the man of steel, while the world wrestles with what kind of hero it really needs.' This is just a small amount of what the film is about, they also cram a whole lot more into it as well! And I use the word 'crammed' because this really feels like a bloated film that tries to rush its own world building for future outings. Elegance and subtlety are left on the cutting room floor.

I'm cool with seeing a 'different' kind of superhero film, I'm open to that and I can dig the kind of tone that Batman V Superman is trying to achieve, however it falls on its face a lot when trying to be 'grounded' and 'realistic' because the reasoning for everything that happens in this film is so weak. Batman should be dark and broody, but should Superman be the exact same way as well? Superman is the idealistic caricature of what a 'hero' should be, in a film about a man fighting a god the two characters should be polar opposites, but Superman is just as dark and broody as Batman! And you can tell Zack Snyder hates Superman because he isn't given anything to do in this film, whenever he appears he's just questioning his own existence, it's so boring. Superman should only have cared about saving people; he's the type of guy who has to get involved because he has the most power to do good, he shouldn’t care how people perceive him. Batman should just be wary of him, not hate him. When they actually fight, I spent the whole time thinking 'why are you fighting, you are two smart guys and you could just talk it out, but instead you just have to punch each other’? It didn't work for me. I wanted to feel goosebumps, I wanted to have a massive grin on my face when they met but I didn't, it left me feeling cold, these aren't the characters I know and love from the comics.

I was digging the opening of this film, it was cool and it looked great and then this weird thing happened, it felt like the editor gave up and put the system on autopilot. Here's a Batman scene, here's a Superman scene, here's a Lex Luthor scene, here's a Lois Lane scene... You never spend a large amount of time with anyone to care about them; it was like watching a soap opera where the producers think that audiences only have a two minute attention span per scene. The only scenes I liked were the ones with Batman and Lex Luthor. Batman because Ben Affleck does a brilliant job of bringing Bruce Wayne to life, whenever he was being Batman-like, it was awesome, but whenever he was written out of character it just didn't work. Lex Luthor I liked because Jesse Eisenberg was a breath of fresh air in the film (I'm surprised at this as well...), I'm not saying he was amazing but his take was a lot more interesting than the stone-cold faces of your two main characters. If Wonder Woman did more in this film I'm sure I would have liked her more as well.

I liked Man of Steel, I didn't love it but I think it still has some very cool scenes; I had some fun with it. All I can think of when leaving Batman V Superman is that I wanted something more. I wanted more Batman. I want to see a Batman film set in this world with less killing. I want more Superman but under the helm of a writer and director who understands the character. I want more from this world, from anybody but Zack Snyder because it has so much potential that’s unapologetically wasted. This film gives you so many interesting questions about what Superman's existence means to the world and never answers one of them. There was no outcome or point to this film. There's a lot of interesting stuff ready to be explored but it was cast out for shoehorning in sequels and mind numbing CGI punching.

I'm disappointed, more than I thought I would be. There's a lot of fat on this film that needs to be trimmed and action sequences that need to be spread throughout the film instead of leaving it all for the final act because I just got tired of it quick.

There is an interesting world here which I look forward to seeing other people take the reins of. Batman V Superman is not the kind of film I want from this world, it didn't work, and I wasn't entertained in the slightest which is crazy when this film is about two staples of pop culture battling it out. I'm giving Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice a 1.5/5.

I preferred Man of Steel.

Let me know what you thought of this film? It's been very divisive so far! Tell me what you think in the comments below.

Thanks for reading!

SDCC 2015 Thoughts #2

So a lot happened since my last post...

A lot of trailers from the con have been leaked, so I won't be linking them to my blog. However if you get chance to see one, they do look pretty sweet! One trailer that didn't leak but was posted officially to the Internet was Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice. The trailer is just full of crazy fan service and really builds up the epic feel to what is probably the biggest movie event of next year. It looks amazing and Batfleck looks incredible, I am loving the suit and can't wait to see it in action. Check it out below:



Footage for Suicide Squad, Deadpool and X-Men: Apocalypse was also shown but unfortunately nothing official online. All footage was said to look amazing though and they will all no doubt do well next year.

Also announced was the title of the Green Lantern reboot, named Green Lantern Corps. Lets all keep our fingers crossed that it turns out better than the Ryan Reynolds movie...

Audiences were treated to a special screening of Syfy's new show The Expanse. The show has already been compared to Game of Thrones, however if you are a fan of the books the new show is based on then you will no it's a little bit different. Either way they are some brilliant books and the show is shaping up to be great. Check out a behind the scenes video and new trailer below that was released online for those who couldn't make it to the con.


Finally, if you are a fan of the show Arrow, it turns out that Oliver has a new costume for next season, check out the image below to get a look at his new suit. Looks pretty cool and a lot more superhero-y than previous. Hopefully the show will improve after its pretty disappointing third season.

Well that's probably it for SDCC news this year. Check back soon though and I will hopefully have a review up for Ant-Man when it comes out this week!

Thanks for reading!

SDCC 2015 Thoughts #1

Another year, another San Diego Comic Con. Unfortunately I still haven't been able to make to the Con yet, but will still provide you with some of my thoughts on the news that has come out so far.

Lets start big with Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens. No huge news came from Star War's first Hall H panel, but we did get treated to a very powerful and emotional behind the scenes video for the upcoming film. I feel this video did more than a trailer ever could, it created excitement by making you feel like something big is coming up and the people involved with bringing a huge part of my childhood back to life, are just excited as I am! Good move Star Wars, good move. Check it out below:

After the panel, fans were treated to a special concert and were escorted out of the building to witness the amazing soundtrack played live. Although this sounds amazing it did mean that Star Wars screwed over Kevin Smith, whose panel followed theirs, meaning he was left with a smaller crowd to witness the trailer for his new film Yoga Hosers. Hopefully the trailer will be released online soon! To tide us Smith fans over though, here's a picture of Kevin as one of the villains in his new film, a bratwurst...

The Walking Dead also released trailers for there new season at the con, as well as their spin off show Fear The Walking Dead. The trailer for season 6 looks good but is nothing special in my eyes. Fear The Walking Dead looks really good though! It's a lot different to the original series and I look forward to seeing what the creators do with show since they aren't constricted by the comic books. It looks a lot like World War Z to me as well. Check them out below:

That's it for now but make sure to check back tomorrow for more SDCC news, especially since we still have the Batman V Superman panel coming up, fingers crossed for a new trailer!

Thanks for reading!

SDCC Thoughts #3

More news again today! This time round big news from Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, Tusk and Arrow.

Today we got the first reveal of Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman for the Batman/Superman film coming out in 2016. The costume looks very cool and Gal looks pretty badass in the image below.

The trio was also seen together for the fisrt time, but unfortuantely out of costume.

Footage from the film was also seen, descriptions said Batman was in an armoured suit similar to the one in The Dark Knight Returns with completely whited out eyes. Superman was also seen with his heat vision eyes lighting up ready to take him on. Interesting stuff indeed... Here's a leaked shot!

Now the  trailer for Kevin Smith's new film Tusk, based on GumTree advert that was the talking point in one of his Smodcast podcasts. I am a big fan of Kevin Smith and cannot wait to see more films made by him. Take a look at his weird horror comedy film trailer below:

Definitely looks weird and wonderful! Micheal Parks looks on form yet again! I cannot wait to hear more from Mr Smith when I go see his show Hollywood Babble-On next month when I vist LA. #WalrusYes!

Next is the trailer for Season 3 of Arrow. The latest season of this show was awesome and really embraced the superhero genre and the mythology of the comic books. Here's hoping they continue their good streak later this year! The trailer starts off with a lot of already seen footage but trust me, it is for season 3.

That's it for now but check back later for more posts!

Thanks for reading!

SDCC 2014 Thoughts #1

Last year I did a few posts on some of the news coming out of San Diego Comic Con and my thoughts on it. Since every SDCC is like a second Christmas, full of pop culture news and announcements for us nerds, I thought I would do the same this year as well. I'll be posting all things that I think are cool from the Con so not every piece of news from every angle of the event will be reported. Man do I wish I was there...

 It may just be the first day of the con but we have already been treated to some gems, beginning with a bunch of awesome exclusive posters including The Avengers: Age of Ultron, Ant-Man, Mockingjay Part 1 and The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies which can be seen below.

I especially love the Avengers ones, they are awesome! I'm keeping my fingers crossed that some form of teaser trailer will be released at SDCC and then online over the weekend! In other news Warner Brothers brought the cowl and cape of Batman from Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice to the show. It doesn't reveal much else to what we've already seen apart from the fact that it is dark grey and not a shade of blue that a lot of us fans would have liked to have seen. However I do still like the look they are going for with the Batfleck costume.

And if you wondering where the man himself was, well WB have just released a new official pic of The Batfleck.

Looking good! All this and it's still just Thursday, it's a good weekend to be a nerd.

Check back later for more updates on what going on at SDCC.

What do you think of all the latest SDCC news? Let me know in the comments below.

Thanks for reading!