Tag Archive: zack snyder


Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice

Filed under: Cinema by thefriedgold — Leave a comment
March 30, 2016

Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)

Directed by Zack Snyder

Starring Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Jesse Eisenberg and Gal Gadot

batvsup

 

Bruce Wayne believes that the world are looking through rose tinted glasses at Superman, a false god from another planet who has the capability of destroying Earth. So he takes it upon his alter ego of Batman to take him down for good and prove to be the real hero that everyone needs.

 

It’s Batman against Superman. Actually its bad angry Batman against Superman. Well it is until he, and everyone else, realise that both of their (earth) mothers are called Martha so they forget all the troubles and become best friends. Really that’s exactly what happens. Then a big bad comes along and they have to team up to defeat it, as well as throwing in Wonder Woman for girl power and a change of atmosphere with the beat of the drum.

I have always been a massive fan of both Batman and Superman and I had hope for this film. I didn’t think Man of Steel was as bad as people say and I was in hope that the DC film universe could follow in the footsteps of the Marvel film universe and what that has done for comic book films. The problem they have is that they want to be different and create their own universe that fans can get in to while not following the same processes as Marvel. Unfortunately the film appeared to have quite a few missing parts. Yes we don’t need to see a Batman origin story again but why and how is Bruce Wayne the way he is being angry with everyone, thinks he is the only good guy left, Wayne Manor is burnt down, what happened to Robin and the constant frowning. Oh and that’s not just him, it seemed like every character in the film spent most of their screen time frowning.

A quick note on Jesse Eisenberg’s performance as Lex Luthor. I enjoyed most scenes with him in but didn’t really see him as Lex. It’s as if Jesse might have auditioned and missed out on the part of the Joker, to which Jared Leto is playing in the Suicide Squad film, so he decided to play Lex a bit pre joker in the maniacal sense. He just came across a little too crazy. Peeing into a glass to make someone drink it does not sound like Lex.

 

Something that the Marvel films have done very well is the introduction of new characters or small cameos teasing them for future appearances by having the post credit scenes that everyone knows to stay behind for. It adds an extra excitement and intrigue into what to expect. The team behind Batman vs Superman came out before the release of the film and said for fans not to bother waiting around as there will be nothing in the credits. What they attempted to do was introduce all the future characters in one quick 5 minutes scene via some secret files that Lex had showing what they can do. This unfortunately just didn’t have the same excitement that you would have expected especially with it coming half way through the film.

Don’t get me wrong there were some good bits to the film. The fight between Batman and Superman was pretty cool and what some fan boys and girls have been waiting for, for a long time. And having Wonder Woman turn up to save the guys was pretty cool, even though we had seen that in the trailer. However for a film that has been in the making for a long time there were a few too many issues with it and when I try to picture my favorite part of the film I struggle. And what was with Bruce’s dream? Mental, old age, or a vision of things to come? It was just a bit weird.

Oh and the ending (slight spoiler alert) If you know the DC comic universe and certain characters you know what is going to happen and what will happen afterwards. Maybe because I’m in that boat that the final scene of the film wasn’t a surprise!

 

Recommend

If you are a loyal follower of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and were hoping of something similar with DC I’m afraid it hasn’t started off all that well. Is it worth seeing at the cinema? Not really especially when it clocks in at a whopping 151 minutes and half of that is all the frowning. Will I watch it again? Doubtful, although I have heard some people say it is better on a second watch.

I am excited to see Suicide Squad and to see Leto’s take on The Joker not to mention Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn but as for Aquaman and The Flash and other Justice League members, I have no feelings for them at all. As a big fan of the DC TV shows of Arrow and The Flash, to which they will be completely ignoring for the film franchise, I am more than happy to stick with them as my DC needs.

 

TheFriedGold rating – 4/10 – Time to turn that Bat signal off

 

Film Thought

Who knew Gotham and Metropolis were so close……….

batvsup2

 

 

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Man of Steel

Filed under: Cinema by thefriedgold — 1 Comment
June 22, 2013

Man of Steel (2013)

Directed by Zack Snyder

Starring Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Michael Shannon and Russell Crowe

Man-of-Steel-poster

 

Having landed on earth and adopted by his earth parents, Clark/Kal-El must embrace his Kryptonion heritage to do battle against the war criminal Zod and his henchmen to become Earths saviour.

 

The film is an origins story which flashes back and forward between Clark’s/Kal-El’s life and how he has had to grow up on earth knowing that he is different to everyone else. The film does come across darker than any other superman film we have seen in the past, this could be to do with Nolan having a hand in it, but doesn’t take anything away from his history.

The fight scenes in the film are very fast paced but look excellent and not too CGI-ie. There are a few things that have been changed in the film to freshen things up a bit, like no red pants on the outside of the suit (very minor)and how Jonathan Kent dies (how Clark lives his life going forward), but they don’t detract from the feeling that this is a very good origins story.

My only niggle I have with the film is the flying scenes which didn’t look great and looked very green screeny. I’m glad I didn’t see this is 3D either as I think it might have produce some motion sickness.

As for character portrayals Henry Cavill, who is born on the exact same day as me (I could have been Superman), looks the part as Superman and fit in to the role perfectly. Michael Shannon was very good as Zod although Terrance Stamp will always be Zod to me and Russell Crowe (I’ve never been his biggest fan) as Jor-El was brilliant and came across as the father that everyone would wish to have.

Obviously this film is hoping to be the beginning in a Justice League franchise so it will be interesting to see if those plans go ahead and how they will do them. They did throw a couple of easter eggs in for fans with something written on a satellite in space but a more obvious one was the LexCorp logos which showed up. Could this be a glimpse of what a possible sequel would entail?

 

Recommend

The film is ultimately an origins film and is all about how Clark wants to grow up and what kind of man he wants to be. They play with that during the film and by the end he definitely decides his future and what matters most to him. Superhero films are all the rage at the moment with the expert job that Marvel are doing and the hopes are that this will help start the DC revival. The film was very enjoyable and I recommend this as a big summer blockbuster film that fans of old and new will enjoy.

TheFriedGold rating – 8.5/10 – Hope has returned to the Superman franchise

 

 

 

Film Fact

Russell Crowe (Jor-El) and Kevin Costner (Jonathan Kent), who play both of Superman’s fathers, have shared the role of Robin Hood. Costner in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves and Crowe in Robin Hood.

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Sucker Punch

Filed under: Sky/Television by thefriedgold — 1 Comment
April 30, 2012

Sucker Punch (2011)

Directed by Zack Snyder

Starring Emily Browning and Vanessa Hudgens

 

 

A young girl, played by Emily Browning, is put in a nut house by her abusive step-father. Her only thought is to escape the mental home.

The film plays out as a girl pretending to be in a fantasy land to take away from the negativity of the mental home. The film offers great visual effects and sexy ladies, all of which were the main points behind the film. Zack Snyder usually gives you something spectacular to watch and he loves to use the green screen. However this film seems to miss the point on the story. It became a bit boring in places and seemed a little slow.

This film, ironically, lacked that ‘sucker punch’ to make this film great. With Snyder currently working on Man of Steel, the new Superman film, I’m hoping that the story side of things won’t be let down by the great action and graphics that are usually on offer in his films.

Worth a watch but do not expect anything ground-breaking

 

Film Fact

Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon album and Sucker Punch sync in a compilation titled, “Dark Side of the Sucker Punch”. A fan discovered the synchronicity and has revealed all details including the compilation itself through the internet. A similar thing happened with The Wizard Of Oz (Dark Side Of The Rainbow). The Wizard Of Oz, Dark Side Of The Moon, and Sucker Punch share similar themes.

 

 

 
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