Ghostbusters: Answer The Call Review (Spoilers - Plot/Characters Discussion)

(For the purposes of criticism and really expressing the positives and negatives of the film, I have to issue a SPOILER ALERT for this review. At this point, the majority would have seen this film by now and it has been massively spoiled by the trailers and online forums for all of the major plot beats but without the connective scenes to put them into context.  Be forewarned on that and if you want to get my overall reaction, read the last two paragraphs that sum up and express my overall thoughts of the film.  Give it a read and I hope you find this review informative.)

It has been close to 32 years since a particular surprise of a film came out called Ghostbusters, a comedy/horror/sci-fi/disaster film that blends genres of stories and troupes so seamlessly together along with a cast that was truly at the top of their A game, and a pretty clever way to tell a larger than life story with grounded characters to help make us believe in the fiction.  Now, with the passing of Harold Ramis about 2 years ago and a new creative team along with Sony taking control of the series,  they decided to remake the film from scratch to create a Marvel styled cinematic universe of all things Ghostbusters from sequels to spinoffs of popular characters in this revamped cinematic vision of the series.  However, it hinges on the success of this latest reboot of 80’s films known as Ghostbusters: Answer The Call with Paul Feig as the director/writer with the other writer being Katie Dippold (The Heat) along with a cast of actresses/comedians like Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon, and Leslie Jones donning the suits and proton packs in this origin/retread of the other film entries in this series.  With all of the controversy surrounding this film regarding sexism and legit criticism regarding its very existence, is this creative team along with a different yet familiar take on an iconic horror/comedy classic enough to justify its reason for being made?  Let’s get right into as we explore each element of the film from what it does right and where it misses the mark.

The story follows Professor Erin Gilbert (Kristen Wiig), as she is about to get tenure at Colombia University (a callback to the origins of the original film) until she is approached by a museum curator of the Albright Manor in midtown Manhattan about a recent haunting that has occurred there after scaring a tour guide to a bowel movement (Zach Woods, an ensemble actor from Silicon Valley) and reading a book called “Ghosts of Our Past” that she co-wrote with her former colleague and friend Professor Abby Yates (Melissa McCarthy), who has continued to research paranormal activities and phenomenon with an eccentric, mad scientist Dr. Jillian Holtzmann (Kate McKinnon).  They eventually encounter a ghost that has been brought into our world by a villainous, creepy hotel janitor named Rowan North (Neil Casey) who seeks to rip the very barriers of the living and dead dimensions to bring about an end to the world literally, with MTA worker/NYC Historian Hobbyist Patty Tolan (Leslie Jones) to join the team for her streets smarts and historical knowledge of the city.  Together, they form the Ghostbusters just as they have to contain a growing paranormal threat that no one takes seriously despite the skepticism surrounding their work and their very existence.  It is up to the team to work together to not only be a reliable force of defense against the supernatural but to stop the fourth cataclysm from happening in New York.

This narrative tries to not only be different in its characters, their development, and overall plot but to also homage and repeat familiar beats of the original film along with its sequel in certain places of the film.  This leads to confusion as to what this film is trying to be on its own as it does neither of these elements well enough to mesh them together.    However, the story shows it potential when it strikes its own chord with the plot beats and character chemistry at least for the first half of this film.  There is a very light, cartoony tone present throughout the film that may be refreshing to see from a blockbuster film despite being the complete opposite to the grounded yet believably sarcastically dry witty fun of the original film.  So, it’s not all really flawed until you get to not only the massive plot holes/contradictions but the nonsensical, noisy and weightless second half of this film.     

When they don the suits and go on their first job as the Ghostbusters, the very moment we get to the second half, when the entire film starts to tear at the seams with major flaws in its designs and execution of them.  The film has a very sluggish pacing and rhythm to it by the time they capture their first ghost.  It does not help that the tone of the scenes are all over the place from being juvenile to mean spirited and brutal with some of the deaths that occur in this film.  There are scenes that are missing in this film that have butchered the connective parts of the story that make certain story/character arcs make no sense and just further question the legitimacy of this world.  This is also where the film slows down for too long before it picks up with the possession scene (the start of the last act) and it seems to have suffered the most in the editing stage of this film.  Those were the issues with the second act of this film, as the climax is where the film takes a nosedive off a cliff dramatically and emotionally.

The last act of this film is where the built in issues of the script and production finally show up with an overblown, unengaging finale that is both ludicrously childish and moronic all the way through it.  They actually ignore the established rules of their weapons that were only able to wrangle the ghost but now work like laser guns that can blow away ghosts into dead slime as well as being surprisingly acrobatic for an average woman that hasn’t exercised or trained to move like soldiers/special agents with heavy equipment.  It throws the believability of the world out the window with moments like that, all topped off with a really ridiculous 2D animation of the logo coming to life as a CGI monstrosity that was out of place and just really lame to watch this questionable idea come to life.  It all leads to an convenient fix of the carnage and mayhem done to the city as well as the escape out of the vortex being dumb and just nonsensical as to how they got out of that vortex from another dimension to the lobby of the Empire State Building.  The climax tosses everything at you to see what sticks and a majority of it does not work other than the look of the effects in tandem with the goofy, ridiculousness of the action set pieces being the only fun to be had from this act.

Let’s allow for some time to be dedicated to the style of comedy used for this film as this is the complete opposite of the original film’s style driven by dry wit and character interactions.  It tends to be more along the lines of SNL (Saturday Night Live) and Family Guy with the joke a minute technique with every scene having a character throw out different jokes, to see which one will stick.  The problem with this is that it does not allow for the story or characters to be developed and ultimately reduces them into caricatures of themselves.  It does not help that the humor is very crass and low brow consistently, coupled with Seinfeld style of bickering comedy with Abby and Erin that does not land any genuine laughs for this viewer.  There will be fans of this humor but this writer along with a few others was not one of them and it is a shame the film relies on this type of comedy instead of being cleverly written and witty with the material. 

With the emphasis on having two writers work out the characters for the actresses with possibly no meaningful input to their characters from them, this is a distinctive difference that evidently lies at the core problem of this remake where the original film had the writers be the characters and fine tune every one of the performances on set with the director, allowing for the improvisation to work in sync with the actors.  This is an important critique to bring up as it does explain the changes in the tone throughout this film as well as being too insistent on being a comedy but only loosely parodying the other genres of story from Horror to Sci-Fi.  This approach may click with people but for others, it will be alienating at times and ultimately unfunny with very few funny moments sprinkled too far apart from each other.      

Before we get into the performances properly, let’s go into the character actions and motivations that made no sense at all and really brought this viewer out of the film other than the cameos.  There are numerous plot holes with the characters actions specifically with Rowan regarding his ability to create the dimension ripper technology from a book as well as the power he attains later on in the film (how does he have the ability to shape into a form of the destructor like Gozer?).  There is also the question of how Holtzmann is creating these destructive weapons so easily and quickly other than being a quirk of the character.  It is also apparent that a decent chunk of the friendship story between Erin and Abby has been severely edited with a missing plot point from that story-line that makes the climax nonsensical and emotionally unengaging.  There is also the questionable plot point of the Ghostbusters being made into frauds that seems like it would be a big part of the film and give an excuse to stretch out this storyline for sequels but it never feels like it has any meaningful impact on the characters or the world as everyone ends up loving and respecting the Ghostbusters by the end of the film.  But that’s not the only problem with the writing for this film as it serves to represent how this film was problematic from the moment the script was finished and no one decided to do another pass with a possibility for a re-write or two. 

The motivations for each character is also another element of the script that is not properly developed as well as being flimsy and weak for a certain villain to be threatening to the heroes or the city.  In all honesty, Rowan’s motivation to take out everyone because they bullied him as a kid and he wants to make their lives a living hell was perhaps the most lazy, childish means to make a character into the bad guy.  It also seems odd that Erin would jump on board with being a Ghostbuster especially when she seem to have tension with Abby that ultimately feels pointless to develop as the film does not allow for that storyline to develop for the emotional climax of it near the end of the Times Square battle.  The detailed analysis and critique of the writing, plot, and characters was necessary as it represents the core problem of the film with the other components either being average in effort or very poor looking in art direction and visual effects.

On a side note, this film also fails to be a New York film as well.  That is important to bring up since the setting is a major character of the original films and represents the city in a way that it becomes a part of the story and way for it to be grounded within reality.  This film feels like it was made in a generic metropolis that happens to have this location or that.  The way the filmmakers convey space and distance of each location in this film is lazily done and is used for the sake of the cool shot which every blockbuster film falls into doing constantly without really considering how a frame of a shot conveys the importance of a location to the story itself.  It may not faze certain viewers but for fans of the series in live action or animated form, that is a major letdown on the parts of filmmakers and writers to not really convey the life and character of New York City in this film as it is a part of the iconography for this series.

We can now get to the performances from the main leads, supporting players, and cameo cast with the characters they played and how they performed overall.  We start with the leads with Kristen Wiig who plays Erin Gilbert as a smart yet awkward professor of Particle Physics and its relation to paranormal dimensions.  She does the best with the material provided to her usual character type from Bridesmaid and is decent in the film as the lead character to follow with one moment of dramatic heft that gets dropped in lieu of more jokes, making her the typical heroine with personal issues.  While Melissa McCarthy as Abby is very understated in her role as well as been given the fat, hungry comedic stereotype that is repeated constantly throughout the film for her need of Chinese food.  She falls into that caricature due to poor writing and the need for low brow humor to separate how similar and uninteresting her character is to Erin whereas Kate McKinnon as Holtzmann and Leslie Jones as Patty Tolan at least give their best shot at really differentiating their characters from the other generic, shallowly written protagonists of the group.  McKinnon is endearing at times as the crazed scientist/weapon specialist who has a few funny moments but she tends to be annoying after the tenth time she exaggerates her lines, jokes or mannerisms for the sake of getting a laugh.  As for Jones, she is the most grounded of the characters ironically enough and actually does deliver some decent, natural humor despite the loud nature of her performance at times.  The lead cast are pretty decent in the film and their talents show in giving the half-cooked material some life despite how questionable the writing is with its creative choices in developing the characters and plot.

As for the supporting cast and villain, they are a mixed bag with one being surprisingly humorous and everyone else having one note with their characters as well as a creepy yet uninteresting villain.  The one that at least got some humor from this writer was Chris Hemsworth as the blonde ditzy secretary David.  His earnest performance provides some surprisingly funny moments at the expense of the running gag/attitude towards many of the male characters as being alpha male bullies, snobs, loners, and being ambivalently dumb.  As for the villain of Rowan by Neil Cassey, he is very generic and just another disposable villain in the veins of Marvel with a cheap yet dull reason for his evil plans as well as just being forgettable.  Andy Garcia and Cecily Strong round out the remaining cast that are a part of this story with Garcia just giving a bland yet annoyed performance while Strong is supposed to be the bureaucrat that has a love/hate relationship with the Ghostbusters but turns in a boring, unfunny performance as well.  This is the majority of the performances from the cast themselves and they are very talented but they have to work with a mediocre script and a very loose style of direction.

Now the cameos featured in this film, were absolutely unnecessary and seemed a bit forced as well as uncomfortable for a few of the actors that came back to give their “approval” of this reboot.  Bill Murray shows up as a skeptic for at least 2 scenes and his performance mirrors so much of Venkmann that it is distracting to watch him be this skeptic to the Ghostbuster’s actions before being killed in a unceremoniously, insulting way.  Dan Aykroyd is a taxi driver that gives Erin some sass in taking her to the climactic battle, with him speaking of a class 5 entity and how he “ain’t afraid of no ghost” before leaving her to just run to Time Square with her suit and equipment on for some reason (she was in regular clothes and yet, shows up fully dressed and loaded to fight ghosts in another scene which is another example of sloppy editing). Annie Potts is ironically a receptionist for the hotel Rowan works in, with the Ghostbusters talking to her briefly before their first encounter with him and her appearance was the only one that was cool and fun to see.  Ernie Hudson is Patty Tolan’s uncle who happens to be a funeral home owner that gives the girls their vehicle and he still looks cool and awesome for a man of his age.  Harold Ramis is given a memorial bust in the Colombia University scenes to honor him in respect which was kind of cool to see.  As for Sigourney Weaver,  she only shows up in the end credits as Holtzmann's mentor and it is a charming small bit that is sort of redundant and adds a small character moment between the two characters. There are also one or two celebrity cameos that are just out of place and really meaningless as it did nothing for this writer or for other people in the audience. 

It is time to wind down with the last components of this review with the technical aspects from art direction, visual effects, editing (needs to be discuss more clearly), and the music soundtrack/score featured in this film.  We can start with the art direction as the film seems to have fallen into the same trappings as the second original film by making the ghosts’ kid friendly and more in line with Scooby Doo (live action/cartoon show alike).  That does not mean there are not some really cool looking ghosts in this film with the parade balloons being the only ones that were the standouts of the designs with everything else feeling generic and uninspired.  However, the reliance on exaggerated designs makes the ghosts not so terrifying or creepy to see as the original film was able to pull off both, which might not be a problem for some but for others,  it does not leave much of an impression for the story or world established in this film.  So, the visual effects are not really the problem here but the designs are and the creative use of them is very questionable and does not leave any room for the director/writer to really blend the different genres of stories seamlessly.

The visual effects along with the editing are competently done with the effects looking surprisingly polished in contrast to the chunky look of the ghosts in the trailers while the editing does get the story from point A to B, it's not without some messy, creative choices made in conveying the character arcs and motivations along with the thin plotline itself.  The effects look good for the most part but it does get a little too synthetic by the end of the film and it comes across as lifeless and just not amazing to watch especially with the dumb resolution of the climax.  The editing is where the film does showcase its major problems with the plot and humor of the film as it actually holds on the jokes for too long to be funny or even cuts off the punchline to them as well as the lack of character development or arcs not given the time to develop at all.  This means the film was heavily edited with scenes that were in the trailer but were not featured in the film at all, along with scenes that were questionably cut, making different plot points with the character and threat of the film not connecting in the right place.  So in this regard, it was decent in the work put into cleaning up the mess of the script and making it look bright, colorful, and a visual feast to the eyes despite not leaving an impression on you with its unremarkable art designs of the ghost as well as the erratic nature of the editing.

Where the film further falls into mediocre territory is with its music arrangement and soundtrack featured in this film.  The score is very cookie cutter generic with the typical loud flourishes and choruses that only deviates from the norm when they do remixes of the theme that were cool to hear with the exception of the song remixes of that theme.  This soundtrack does nothing to really give the film its own voice by having a slew of songs from rock, electronica pop, and rap throughout the film that just feels forced and cringe worthy to be hip and cool with this generation of viewers just like the sequel of the original film Ghostbusters II.  This is a contrast to the films before this one where Elmer Bernstein for the original film injected so much character and genre styles of horror and comedy with elements of sci-fi themes within the compositional score that it really made it unique and still remarkable to hear to this day. 

After everything that has been explored and analyzed, the main question that Ghostbusters: Answer The Call fails to provide an answer to, was if it was a film that needed to be rebooted in the first place.  There is fun to be had with the set pieces and the leads are decent despite the writing of their characters as well as the editing of their storylines failing to make them more than just a series of caricature and quirks.  However, the film does not give a compelling enough reason to justify its existence as it repeats familiar beats found in the original film within this remake as they desperately try to stretch this out into a series of sequels and spinoffs that could correct the mistakes made here but could just expand on the problems present in this film.  This falls into the same quality of films in the veins of Total Recall, Robocop, and even The Amazing Spider-Man (shoddy editing, misleading marketing present, cut scenes not featured in the film but in the trailer) in that it may have ticked all the right boxes but the passion, love, and energy that made those original films captivating, memorable, and timeless to an extent is completely absent here.  It is a shame this film does not do enough to justify or even do something different with a cool premise but stick to a proven formula that we have already seen before done better by the original and other films that found a way to change it up a bit.

Score: ** out of *****

Now, the overall thoughts of this film and the reboot is not one of anger or despise for it but one of disappointment and indifference to it as Ghostbusters: Answer The Call does not do enough differently in plot and characters as well as the action and humor to really stand on its own or even be a genuine tribute to the original 2 films.  This has watered down the genuinely unique qualities of this premise and made it more juvenile towards its humor, which means this tends to be mediocre family entertainment when the film could have been so much more than a summation of parts.  The performances were meh to really annoying specifically from the male characters ironically enough and the writing is extremely underdeveloped with its character motivations/arcs along with a very thin plot that is reliant on jokes and gags to carry it along, when that humor does not deliver in any meaningful way.   The effects are decent despite the exaggerated art direction and the editing does get the film from point A to B but it is still messy in connecting plot points together and really ruining quite a few of the jokes as well as including some that do not work at all.  The music is absolutely forgettable and typical junk music that tries to appeal to a younger crowd in a very annoying way.  This is another remake in the veins of the other Sony driven remakes of the 80’s/90’s (Total Recall, Robocop) that might have been competently made but was ultimately forgettable and pointless for just being a lazy, retread of the original film but not even committing enough of itself to deviate on its own to justify its existence.  This film does none of that and it will be forgotten like most blockbuster films while the original films will still be looked upon and enjoyed for years to come.

Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice Review

(Minor Spoiler Alert – I won’t reveal the big plot points but will discuss my reaction to it as well as give a general gist of the different plot lines throughout the film but other than that, it will still only provide my viewpoints on the film as a whole)

With Marvel having a tight grip on cinemas with their successful string of films financially and/or critically, there had to be competition sooner or later and whom better than Detective Comics with Warner Bros. to challenge the dominance of comic book films.  This begins with the push forward for Zach Synder, David S. Goyer, and the same creative team after the reasonably financial success yet critically divisive reboot of the iconic hero from DC, Superman called Man of Steel team up again to bring together two of the most recognizable heroes of the DC Universe, Batman and Superman in live action form.  It brings those heroes and a slew of not-so subtle hints of a larger world/universe being developed for real in Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice.  The question on everyone’s mind is whether or not the film can be the cinematic universe starter for DC Comics’ fans and moviegoers were hoping for or if it lands with a resounding thud, could it give pause to the overall game plan for future installments on the horizon?  Let’s get into and discuss the film properly in all of its aspects, starting with the plot for this throw down, team up comic book adventure.

This starts off with an origin story of Batman (Ben Affleck) explaining his ideology of dealing with criminals and his weariness towards the world as we see the death of his parents in front of the Monarch Theater.  We get the first of many dream sequences where Bruce ends up in a bat cave after his parents are placed in the family crypt and is surrounded by it, only to be lifted up from the ground from a tornado as if to symbolize in a heavy handed way, his ascension from boy to man.  This leads to him dealing with the destruction and civilian casualties of citizens and his employees on the day Superman (Henry Cavill) had his explosive fight with General Zod (Michael Shannon) in Metropolis.  Bruce Wayne is shocked and devastated by the destruction that transpired only to see in the horizon, the battle between Superman and Zod in the distance which plants the seeds of doubt and fear that will motivate him back into the cowl once more to bring justice to this unknown alien from above. 

About 18 month passes, (because an entire city can be rebuilt in that time frame along with a monument for Superman despite his role in the city’s destruction) where Batman is deploying brutal tactics on child/immigrant smugglers, sexual predators, and criminals in search of Superman by branding certain criminal deviants to be brutalized and indirectly get them killed in prison.  Clark Kent gets a wind of this and starts to investigate who this vigilante is while dealing with the heavy responsibility of being a god like figure to the world that loves and hates the presences of Superman.  This is also the crux of his inner conflict of whether he should truly accept this responsibility as a public heroic figure or remain in the shadows to help people without the glory or public’s approval.  He intervenes in the public affairs of other countries and it has caused controversy with the public about the need for such a being of extraordinary capability.  In the middle of all this, Alexander Lex Luthor Jr. (Jessie Eisenberg) discovers through his contacts in CIA and shadow groups that a particularly meteor was discovered near the world engine remains from the Indian Ocean that turns out to be Kryptonite. He wants to get his hands on it, to use as a deterrent against Superman and any meta-humans that might utilize their power for destructive intent.  This eventually gets all of the principal characters with side characters like Lois Lane (Amy Adams) to play a deceptive cat and mouse game that will drive both of these mythological individuals of ideologies into a showdown that could very well bring about a war that may do more harm to the world than good. 

That is the slew of major plot beats present in the film so far and that does not count the plethora of side plots and out of context scenes that really eat up the run time with the anticipated showdown taking place in the last 20-30 minutes of the film.  This is a major problem right out of the gate with the juggling act being performed with this film’s narrative.  There does not seem to be any clear focus on any one of these plot lines and it leads to a lot of much needed continuity to be missing throughout this film.  This could be addressed in the extended cut but this issue surrounds this theatrical cut of the film and this comes down to the questionable, disjointed editing that is apparent throughout this entire film.  This means that there seems to be an emphasis on visual metaphors and symbolism to develop each of the character’s fears and anxiety for why they are trying to fight one another, which unfortunately comes across as heavy handed and surprisingly goofy in its execution of these ideas.  That is ultimately the tragic disconnect with this film that can be summed up as ambitious and exceptionally inventive with its ideas but the overall approach with the direction of them are half-heartedly done and just confused with what kind of film it wants to be as a whole.

There seems to be 3-4 different films fighting for time here in tone and delivery but it ultimately is a Batman film with a mini Superman sequel pushed more into a secondary role as well as a setup for the overall DC Cinematic Universe and it utilizes too much of the runtime to do this instead of being a well-rounded, standalone film.  It has to be said though that the first act is a strong opener and really is effective in introducing Bruce Wayne/Batman into this universe as well as empathizing with his anger and desire to take Superman down.  The problems start to show up though as each new plot line is introduced and fighting for time to be developed only to be dropped without any form of resolution (we are talking major plot beats as well particularly no repercussions of a certain bombing that only served to shock the audience with sudden violence).  This is interrupted constantly with abrupt dream sequences that really added nothing to the main plot other than pretentious symbology and an ill-conceived attempt to serve as setup for their planned sequels to be made in the future.  There are good, thought provoking moments that aspire for greatness or expand this universe in an interesting matter but it rings hollow throughout the film and it comes across as corporate interference at work here especially with the next element of this film that brings down the overall enjoyment of it. 

That story element is tone and this film does not know which one to settle into as it competes with the myriad of plotlines that do not gel together.  It is consistently dark and disturbing throughout the whole film that can border on being mean spirited and obsessed with its grim dark nature.  Then, there are moments when it becomes a big, b-movie monster experiment film that borders on being campy to the extreme while trying to maintain a sense of grounded reality to this world which leads to clear contradictions as to what these filmmakers and storytellers want to establish with the DC cinematic universe.  This is exacerbated even more with dialogue that is completely inane in its delivery and writing as well as reeking of self-importance and sheer childish quips/insults that does not allow these actors to make these characters their own.  It is for that reason that while it does maintain a very dreary, palpably grim tone throughout the film, it is mixed with extremely campy/goofy elements from the writing, acting, and direction that only serves to confuse viewers and really expose how unfocused this film really is in allowing the viewers to really care about the world these characters have to live in and save from evil.

Now, we get to the actors/actresses of this cast along with the characters they played and the development of them in the writing process from David S. Goyer and Chris Terrio (with some uncredited possible collaboration with Ben Affleck regarding the rewrites).  It seems only fair to start with the main positive of this cast with Ben Affleck taking up the mantle of the Dark Knight himself.  It is safe to say that he not only gives it his all in becoming this character physically but also in portraying both Bruce Wayne and Batman effortlessly with complete focus.  He is one of the finest adaptations of the character so far despite the hackney writing and messy, contradictory approach to his origin story as well as developing this older version of Batman.  Despite the material that eventually underutilize him in regards to his actions in the narrative as well as making conveniently moronic choices with his investigative and aggressive methods, Affleck really portrays the Dark Knight with honesty and completely embodies this character with an ironic sense of realism when you factor his personal life into his performance. 

This leads us to finally talking about the individual characters as some of them are being introduced for the first time and share little to a huge amount of screen time to develop them into the interpretations that will be prevalent in future installments.  While Affleck is tremendously memorable in the role of Batman, the character written and displayed here is quite brutal and downright homicidal albeit in an indirect way but still, kind of psychotic if you reflect upon his action scenes throughout this film.  This would not be a problem if there was a reason for it but they merely shrug at the moral conundrum of his violent ways as if we are meant to celebrate it but it serves to shock and horrify how merciless he is against criminals that it conflicts with the little references to his backstories and past history as Batman.  He does get called to tasked by Alfred Pennyworth (Jeremy Irons) who is snarky, kind of dickish in his older years to Wayne about his violent streak but it is completely left unanswered, leading us through this story with a crazed vigilante that does all this for sheer spectacle with little regard given to morality, justice, or even life.  This is ultimately Batman being at the mercy of lazy/insipid writing that he can either be smart or dumb according to the script, making him really into a very unpleasant person that believes that violence and vengeance is the only way to force the world to make sense.

With the Dark Knight fully examined, we lead in with the Man of Steel himself portrayed by Henry Cavill who returns into the role of DC’s first superhero.  He was merely fine and serviceable for the character and it is clearly a completely different take on this heroic figure that is insecure and unsure of his purpose in this world.  Unfortunately, the script gives him very little to work with, that it is not surprising that his performance lacks any sense of personality or humanity to it, making the romance between him and Lois Lane ring falsely as well as being awkward to watch.  He does not exhibit any emotional depth that he attempted to convey in the previous film which unfortunately makes him a secondary character to the one this film seems more interested in developing which is Batman.  An interpretation that has its own set of problems and honestly makes this conflict between Batman and Superman sort of redundant but Cavill does okay in the role even though his performance does not leave much of an impression.

As for the character of Clark Kent/Superman, he has suffered so much regression in character arc and ultimately feels like a complete antithesis of what the character is that he ends up being just another version of Batman but with superpowers instead of gadgets, physical combat skills, and money.  There are numerous times in this film where he questions his role as a hero at every corner and eventually walks away from it, to confusingly reflect on his choices while threats in Metropolis get more perilous and the world calls Superman into question for his actions as well as his role in the destruction of that city 2 years ago.  He is written to be very selfish and quite egocentric towards only his love Lois and his surrogate mother Martha Kent (Diane Lane), which only makes him unlikable in the process and really difficult to call him a hero at all, more like a subjugated vagabond that only does good for his loved ones and everyone else be damned.  Hence, he has become another version of Batman that has his own set of parental issues and cannot seem to be the original incarnation of hope, optimism, and moral values that made him the main leader of the Justice League and the hero everyone can aspire to be like as kids and adults.

As for the rest of the cast, they are either only there to drive the narrative forward which characters like Lois Lane, Perry White (Laurence Fishburne), and Martha Kent or are just there as a walking, talking cameo/teaser for future films like the introduction of the Amazonian hero Wonder Woman/Diana Prince (Gal Gadot).  While their performances are perfectly adequate throughout the film, they are written very shallowly to drive a plot point in a very forcibly unsubtle way or just to inconveniences the conflict for added tension or drama (Lois Lane and her questionable actions throughout the film particularly in the climax).  Her characters suffers the most in this rather large, labyrinth of a plot where she seems to be a pro-active reporter in one part of the story and ends up being a useless, pretty damsel in distress as the story is about to wrap up.  The other cast members are just there to sprout different character motivations or moral conflict that which both Perry White and Martha Kent do throughout the little screen time they are given, already feeling like the odd people out of this already huge cast of characters.

There is not much to write up on with Wonder Woman other than the costume design as well as the hint of her character in the minor role she has in this film.  Gal Gadot seems to be a bit wooden though particularly in her exchange with Bruce Wayne during the middle parts of the film.  While she might be concerning in regards to her acting chops in her origin story film coming soon, her physicality as well as her demeanor in action is actually refreshingly fun to see as if there was a small bright spot within a very stormy, dark cloud that hangs over this entire film’s tone.  Despite the gripes with her line delivery, she really seems capable to handle the character well and it does give some level of intrigue with how she will do in the role in about a year or 2.  

This is nothing compared to what is arguably the most drastic, completely different changes made to one of the most prominent characters in the DC universe in casting/performances and writing, it is the main villain of the film Alexander Lex Luthor Jr. (Jessie Eisenberg) with a villain that seems both comically and diabolically confused about his motivations for taking out Superman and Batman.  His interpretation is going to be seen as very divisive but in this case, it is a complete contrast and contradiction to the tone of this story constantly by relying heavily on mannerisms to convey just how awkward and crazy his character is with people too close minded to understand him.  He hams up the performance to the extreme and it comes across like a joke in in this case which is the result of questionable direction given to Eisenberg over his portrayal of the character.  His performance was out of place with the other characters and incredulously miscast and placed with the other actors that he makes this character more like a joke rather than a credible threat to these heroes.  

The way the character is written is highly questionable and makes very little sense as to why a younger version of this character is inclined to go up against these “mature” heroes.  His motivations is all over the place starting with jealously towards Superman, defying god, has abusive daddy issues, and wanting to control the world to his will.  This is yet again another insecure, psychological train wreck of a human being trying to content with his inadequacy against these Meta Humans and it feels like two characters mashed into one.  This felt more like an imitation of another villain called The Joker rather than the cold, smartly calculating businessman that has been predominant in other interpretations of the character in comics, games, and animated shows/films.  It is a far cry to how this character is written in previous incarnations especially with the most iconic interpretation in animated form, voiced by Clancy Brown which makes this new version of this villain all the more lackluster with the final performance we saw in the film along with the convoluted writing on display here for this character and many other elements of this film.

As for Doomsday (revealed in the trailers), he is brutish dumb lug of a monster that is only in this film to have a climax that was non-existent in the film until someone had the idea to bring in a monster film to bookend this story.  His creation is by far the most inane, ludicrously moronic use of plot convenience on display especially with placing every element needed to create this threat placed in one location.  As for the climactic set piece with him, it is loud and confusing with numerous explosions on display for the majority of the time fighting him that it is honestly difficult to watch with any sense of danger or care for the characters at all.  The way it is wrapped up is the most contrived, asinine narrative choice ever used for adaptation on film that it feels unearned and meaningless in what it was supposed to convey in that moment (that’s just the overall thoughts on the ending without spoilers, hopefully).  In other words, they managed to duplicate Marvel’s cinematic formula all right and that means we may have the first of many forgettable, goofy as well as generic brute like villains that do not leave much of an impression by the end of a film.

Which leads into the action set pieces for the film which are present but do not actually dominant the majority of the run time here surprisingly since the film relies more on dialogue and exposition rather than actions from character to inform or drive the story forward.  When the action does go down, it does look relatively big in scale and concept as well but it is in the execution of the set pieces where the film does run into problems to be entertaining.  While the fisticuff battles do look hard hitting and the actors/performers are on point for each of the fights, it is surprising just how brutal each conflict is with its excessive approval of brutal violence and the unfortunate body count from both Batman and Superman (the terrorist leader possibly in the beginning acts) that is present throughout this film.  There is also a sense of stiffness to the fights particularly with Batman that while choreographed well enough, it is the shoddy editing along with sound design failing to capture the kinetic energy needed for the action especially with the hand to hand combat.  

The car chase sequences in this film are completely excessive in its destructive stunts and explosions as well as the lack of purpose for them as it just makes the characters really look like idiots for even racking up the damage and body count in the first place (Batman places a tracker on a vehicle yet he seems compelled to get into a battle with that very same vehicle and its escorts before learning of its destination, very stealthy).  These action set pieces will satisfy on a visual level but it lacks any form of emotional engagement for the character’s motivations to get into these battles in the first place.

This brings up the very last point to make with the action set pieces before we get to the other technical aspects of this film and that is the main showdown between Batman and Superman.  It seems like it is a spiritual successor to the comic book battle featured in The Dark Knight Returns with Batman’s use of every trick in the book to slow down and disorient Superman from Sonic Blasts to Machine guns and finally deception.  However, the way they get into this battle is not only lazy in its execution but it truly showcases how the script has to make each character into a gullible moron when it is convenient to get these characters to fight.  The fight is nothing more than a squabble that almost escalates until darker territories until one single piece of information allows both characters to set their differences asides to take down the real villain.  When this moment happened, it is hard not to roll your eyes at this very point in the film as well as being one of the most questionable written plot points in the film thus far.  From this perspective, this fight was flashy, destructive, and ultimately anticlimactic when there could have been more at stake instead of being a very forced, tensionless squabble.

Now, this is where the film really does shine in quality with its inspired cinematography as well as the music score of the film to a certain extent.  Each of the shots throughout this film are like living works of art come to life by really creating that visual decorum of what we may have read in the comic books.  There are some really unique designs with the locales especially with one dream sequence out in the wasteland as well as the world feeling very grounded with the appropriate look of the film feeling very much real.  There is also a changed in Director of Photography with Larry Fong taking helm and it clearly shows as the shots are now stable and clear to see in comparison to the frantic, disorienting look of the previous film.  There are still some use of the shaky cam mainly in the action set pieces near the end but it is more visible and allows the shot compositions to be seen.  So, the film does at least look visually lovely and enamored in being a comic book film brought to life with the real world.

As with the previous film, Han Zimmer returns to score this film along with Junkie XL after their collaboration with a previous Superhero film called The Amazing Spider-Man 2 as well as XL’s solo work on the post-apocalyptic action adventure reboot/sequel Mad Max: Fury Road.  The score seems to utilize a blend of acoustic and synthetic sounds extensively by shaping and warping familiar instruments like the violin to something ethereal.  The standout is Wonder Woman’s theme which is great mix of guitar riffs and classic orchestral allowing for the music to be distinctively owned by that character allow just like the previous themes from the last film fits Superman (which is underutilized here again).  It does work to the action beats as well as certain dramatic moments but on its own, it lacks any sense of character or reason for it to heard out of context of the main film.

It is finally time to get more in depth with the overall editing of the film and how it dictates the pacing present in this theatrical cut of the film.  Many of the problems with the narrative structure in this film is both the result of a compromised script and the choices made here for each scene that leads into one another.  There are constant uses of hard cuts to black and it is used so often that it feels like chunks of this film are missing that could connect each plot point to each other.  Because of these cuts, there is an extremely loose connective lines with each scenes that jumble up the development of characters as well as not really making the geography of each scene clear.  An example of this is how it seems like Gotham City and Metropolis are one in the same as far as cityscapes go and any interesting visual characteristics that could be seen in showcasing these cities is lost because the film is more concern about its spectacle rather than making sure the plot points develop each other.  It is unfortunate that this cut of the film is disjointed, lacks any sense of structure to each scenes, and feels completely all over the place with each plot line that either get underdeveloped or dropped completely from the rather thin, directionless story.

   

The last thing that has to be addressed is the sheer violence and brutal, dark nature of the film as well as its appropriateness for children that go see this film.  There are numerous deaths that occur throughout this entire film that are out of character and compete contradiction of their supposed traits known by fans of these characters from the comics and other incarnations.  The problem is that they treat this kind of vigilantism violence as a triumph and heroic when it comes across as being oddly grim and horrific to see how the film just revels in each of these so called “heroes” brutal actions with those lingering shots during the car chases after the Batmobile directly shoots and blows up numerous cars with bad guys inside them as well as Superman punching a terrorist through 3 sets of concrete wall for touching a hair on his lover, Lois Lane.  There is a clear disconnect with the character development of these heroes as well as the need for sheer spectacle out of violence which means that a kid might actually get startled by what they may see throughout this film.  It does not help that you have hints of torture, prostitution, sexual abuse, war crimes, suicide, bombing, and justification of Vigilantism paint a very ugly, exceedingly cruel view of the world within this story that it does sap any kind of entertainment to be had in this film on top of the characters being one dimensional caricatures that do not get a chance to convey any sense of humor or humane connection with any of the other characters for viewers to be invested in.

If this felt overly long and drawn out, the film does a perfectly good job of that by taking the most iconic superheroes of the past 80 years and making this extremely overstuffed, confused messy film.  For DC’s attempt to bring their own cinematic universe, they utilized one of the most divisive takes on the iconic Superman and used that world along with its darker tone for the foundation of a team that has to represent the best ideals of humanity in each of these heroes.  However, it is made difficult to really be excited for future installments when our protagonists are incredibly indecisive, moronic when the plot needs them to be, and just unlikeable or selfish for their own needs and we expect them to really become the heroes we are supposed to follow.  It was described best that this is what Synder’s previous film from a while back called Watchmen, another adaptation of a DC comic book series where the world is cynical towards the time when superheroes were more than just stopping the bad guys and saving the day but really, that our heroes are just as flawed as us mere human being.  These heroes are psychologically complex and motivated for different, personal reasons to dress up and play hero to the world which is what this film seems to get perfectly but it ultimately feels out of place with characters that have been around for a long time and part of the public culture for close to a century.

This means that this film was going to divide people from the get-go and there are always going to be spirited arguments from both sides regarding the merits and quality of the final cut.  But in this case, Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice is a very disjointed and extremely shaky start to the DC cinematic universe that juggles with 4 different types of films at once with Batman being the main focus but ultimately the most memorable part of this film as well as changing the fundamentals of every one of these characters (with the exception of Wonder Woman) to fit this darker, grounded take of these iconic characters.  There are times when the story does have some value of themes and character building to give insight to how they have been developed in this incarnation but it has been compromised by the shoddy editing along with the deficient script that lacks any substantive content to allow characters to be developed or have motivation for their actions by putting the set pieces and visual overload of CGI/comic book imagery first with complete disregard for simple storytelling writing to give reason and purpose for it.  The performances are relatively fine from everyone with Ben Affleck really bringing his A game to the role of Batman and Jessie Eisenberg being a cheesy, unintentionally laughable version of Lex Luthor but are let down by the lacking, mediocre screenplay from Goyer and Terrio as well as director Synder not putting in some form of attention to the acting talents to really make these characters into their own.  This was simply a film that does too much with very little conviction in the material and has too many creative elements that feel compromised to satisfy both comic book fans and filmgoers, only to end up dividing everyone critically as a result.

Addendum For Extended Cut
This is an addition to the review to express the overall thoughts on what was added and fixed in the Extension of the runtime.  The major changes are seen in the beginning into the middle act, with very little changes to the big CGI climax of the film.  It adds further context to the call to arms towards Superman and his powers, from his continuing interference in world events from saving lives from natural disasters to providing assistance to potential dangers.  This is expressed from Luthor's thorough attempt to pin the war crimes on him as well as manipulative attempts to force a conflict between Batman and Superman.  The investigation of Batman and Superman is provided more time to breath, especially Supes using his Clark Kent persona to learn more about Batman via Gotham City.  There is also more brutality and violent moments throughout the film to further extrapolate Luthor as a dangerous mastermind and further provide better understanding for Superman's choices in the story.  As for the last changes, it involves more dialogue references, corny joke monologue from Jon Stewart as an awkward world building transition, and it barely changes the bloated yet incomprehensibly over the top final battle with Doomsday.

Overall, it provides a better and more concrete setup to the story pieces that eventually move and transpire in the main film.  There is a clearer context to the character actions, specifically Batman and beneficially, Superman as they investigate each other and commit to actions that lead to their eventual showdown.  However, it doesn't either further clarify or enhance the fundamental creative choices made in the theater cut to make it an overall better film.  It still leads to one defined end and arcs to each character in the cast, still feels overly crowded with sub-plots and references that now lead to nowhere or disappointing results in future films, and that doesn't make the climax better at all, as it still remains rushed, contrived, and falls flat emotionally.  While the extended cut does make an effort to fix what was wrong with the connective tissues of the film (not as many cut to blacks in this one at least), it still can't fix what is fundamentally wrong with the film's interpretation of these iconic characters as well as escape its deconstructive, satirical critique of the genre as a whole.

Score: ** out of *****

Score ** out of *****

Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice is a very big, ambitious attempt to jumpstart the cinematic universe for DC that ultimately end up being visually inspired but vapidly hollow and lacking on a narrative/emotional level for the story and action set pieces when it comes to its adaptation of established comic book classics with these two iconic heroes.  The cameos and references to other films on the slate to develop the Justice League feel forced and convenient for the sake of setup that it ultimately does not allow this film to do its own story justice.  The performances are commendable (Affleck really shines in this film) but ultimately fall flat particularly with the majority of the supporting cast, Superman, and Wonder Woman from the unfocused direction and writing on display here.  The script tries to do too much and ends up mishandling any interesting story elements that could have worked under a more attentive, skilled director regarding storytelling through structure and visual interpretation.  It is disheartening to see this clearly manufactured piece of pop culture imagination in comic books come to fruition and ultimately be middle of the road overall which does not instill enthusiasm or care for what lies ahead in this series of films.    

Deadpool Review

(MINOR SPOILERS, I have to put this disclaimer up since I describe the main gist of the plot but I will not go into details about surprises and jokes utilized in this film, just how I felt about the delivery and writing went into making this film become a reality, skip paragraph 2 if you want to cut to my thoughts on the film all the way to my final thoughts)

It seems like irony, looking back on my childhood heroes that I looked up to the straightforward heroes like Spider-Man or even the X-Men.  Now in my older years, I look towards the more complex, shady characters that run amok in the world and one such character is the Merc With A Mouth himself, Deadpool.  Created as a villain that fought against the New Mutants team, he eventually got his own comic book series that planted the seed for his popularity as the wise cracking, mercilessly insane mutant with healing abilities more powerful than Wolverine and the mental capacity of an insane asylum mixed with idiot-savant to go with his skills as a Mercenary for hire.  With close to 25 years of comic books, numerous appearances in different comic series and TV shows/animated films, his own video game, and the fan’s call for a film adaptation, he has finally made it to the big screen with first time director Tim Miller spearheading this film along with Ryan Reynolds playing the self-titled character.  Does this adaptation rise above the status quo and give the sub-genre of superhero films that injection of freshness it needs to be relevant? Well, let’s get right into the neat and gritty of what makes this film work as well as the little faults that it misses the mark on.

This is the origin/revenge story of Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds), a very efficient yet drifting Mercenary that takes up the unusual odd jobs that helps out the little guy or girl depending on who pays the bill.  He finally finds his center with a stripper name Vanessa Carlysle (Morena Baccarin) and they truly fall in love with each other for years until an unexpected event occurs.  Wilson is diagnosis with an advanced stage of cancer that is inoperable and untreatable, forcing him to take up an offer to cure himself completely by unlocking his ability to be a “hero” by participating in an experimental project.  He abandons everyone he cares about to take part in this experiment that not only turns out to be worse than expected but brings out his mutation for the purpose of being a mindless mutant powered assassin for the highest bidder, run by Ajax (Ed Skrein) and Angel Dust (Gina Carano).  Eventually, he escapes and is left for dead by Ajax, forcing him to confront his new abilities and take out all his rage towards the one man who did this to him, Ajax with the hope that he can reverse his transformation. 

That’s just the main beats, the story is a very faithful, absolutely funny and engaging adaptation of Deadpool’s origins with a few references, comic book plot lines, and characters thrown in for good measure and surprisingly well thought out ways.  It is also exceptionally written with a very tight balance of action, drama, and crude yet sharp comedy that is just as 4th wall breaking, referential as you would expect from this rightfully popular anti-hero.  It moves briskly for its runtime, hitting all the major beats of the character without feeling like wasted time which is due in part to the writers Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese as well as the director Tim Miller maintain the consistence with the tone throughout the film.  It is brutal, crude, and juvenile that revels in it and uses it to really develop Deadpool as a fully realized character compared to his previous, misguided adaptation in another so called “origin” story.  For fans and new comers, this film hits the right buttons and comes out as a satisfying, entertainingly fun start to a promising series that has room for more stories to tell especially with the possibility of team ups with the X-Men/X-Force/New Mutants series.

The performances are absolutely great from everyone all around especially from the head line character as well as a cast of funny, amazing supporting characters that expand and set up the world Deadpool lives and operates in.  Everyone seems appropriately cast and game for their characters especially TJ Miller as one of Wilson’s buddies, Weasel along with numerous other characters from the comic book series that make a small appearance or cameo that was handled quite well and admittedly got me excited for what they could explore in the future installments.  Vanessa Carlysle played by Morena Baccarin actually plays the love interest quite well and the scenes she has with Reynolds brims with the right amount of chemistry to really make what could have been a very cheesy, routine romance plotline fit well into developing Deadpool as a character rather than detract from it.  As we all know, Colossus makes an appearance and without going into details, he is literally spot on from his comic book counterpart thanks to the great performance from the physical (Andre Tricoteux) to the voice over (Stefan Kapičić) as well as the fantastic satirical writing that really makes him a part of some really great jokes and visual gags.  The entire cast is great all around but the main one deserves some solo attention for he really is the heart and soul of this film and its existence.

Ryan Reynolds as the Merc With The Mouth absolutely embodies the crazy, wacked out sociopathic genius of a killer that is Deadpool throughout out the entire film from start to finish.  He not only understands the personal ticks of the character but his own persona embodies this through his performance along with being game for breaking the 4th wall in really clever, inventive ways from addressing the audience to making throwaway lines that refers other Marvel Universes in exceptionally surprising ways.  This is a once in a while creative choice that really showcases how one actor can truly fit the role magnificently like a glove with little to no doubt that this actor truly is the character he is playing.  That’s why Reynolds needed this section to himself because he drives the film forward and makes it memorable and exciting to watch with the direction and writing allowing him to bring the character to life for fans of the comic books as well as new comers being introduced to him for the first time.

Let’s finally get to the technical aspects of the film from the action set pieces with the visual effects to the overall look and design of the settings in this film as well as the use of music both original and licensed.  The action is absolutely inventive in its brutality and wackiness that not only fits the character like a glove but also, creates some of the most exciting action set pieces in the genre.  Despite clearly having to scale back due to a budget that got cut by a quarter, it looks great through the way it was shot and choreographed in showcasing each characters abilities and efficiency in making bad guys dead.  It’s fast, stylized, and thoroughly entertaining to see the how varied each of the set pieces are and how it encapsulates the brutal yet wacky dark humor of the action set pieces in this film.

The look of the film embodies both a grounded yet gritty and dirty sensibility to the art direction as well as the look of the characters.  The standouts in sets being the apartments Wade Wilson lives in both before and as Deadpool with the blind roommate Sweet Al (Leslie Uggams) with both exhibiting such great level of attention to the little details throughout each apartment.  The same could be said about the use of licensed music throughout at such opportune times to maximum comedic effect.  It was also amazing to see the costumes of the prominent hero characters donning the classic looks of the comic series especially the iconic look of Deadpool.  This film nails it in all the areas that matter and then some.

There are only some minor gripes with the film from some narrative choices as well as changes to the characters that were annoying but could be rectified later on.  The film does feel like a proof of concept at times meaning it doesn’t go too far from the traditional formula you expect from a comic book film.  They also made changes to both Weasel and Vanessa themselves with TJ Miller being himself as well as Vanessa not exhibiting any of her character traits or personality from the series which is a shame since it could have set up a plotline regarding the romance storyline (which is done quite well in this film but this is just a minor gripe with the film).  The climax is a bit meh as well and it could have been more inventive with the set pieces in that sequence but it’s understandable when you learn about the budget cut to keep this film rated R and at reasonable lengths.  As it was stated, these are just minor gripes that did not detract from how fun and entertaining this film is overall.

On a side note, the marketing for this film has been absolutely brilliant in parodying and absolutely making sharp satire on all things pop culture or real life afflictions.  This team needs to be given props for really embodying the character through these ads and making it irresistible to watch. Here is a video link of such genius at work in utilizing advertising to your advantage in a fun, endearing way!

To cap this off, Deadpool breathes some vibrant creative energy into a sub-genre of films that have felt a bit stagnant for some time now especially from Disney’s offering of Marvel films since Iron Man 3.  The brutal, darkly funny action sequences as well as writing really hit the mark where it counts and truly develop this wise cracking anti-hero into a fully realized character without compromising the important elements that make him endearing to fans of the comic book series.  Ryan Reynolds and Tim Miller really brought their A game on this project as well as their love for this character and the X-Men/Deadpool universe making the future of this series burn extremely bright and help ease the eventual departure of Hugh Jackman as Wolverine with this smart ass of a Merc bringing us into a newly revamped film universe for Mutants.

Score ***** out of *****
Deadpool is a film made by fans, for fans of the character as well as being a generally well made film with a tightly structured screenplay and sharp, inspired direction from Tim Miller who makes this outlandishly, 4th wall breaking anti-hero fit work in live action as well as making him a part of the new X-Men film universe that will be established this summer.  The performances are great from everyone especially from Ryan Reynolds as well as the film truly living up to the rating with inventively brutal violence and juvinelle humor to really set this apart from the pack.  This is one “Date” film who should definitely see in the theaters.  Until then, check it out and be on the lookout for Deadpool 2: Deadpool Harder!