I was blindsided at about six in the morning with a reference to the Snyder Cut on some Reddit thread somewhere, and I had to go look up what the fuck a Snyder cut was so I could understand what it was people were arguing about. Ah. the Justice League movie that a bunch of digital people seem to think would have been better the way Zack Snyder shot it. Before Joss Whedon got his accused sexual harasser fingers all over it. That movie came out when?
Justice League (2017)
2017? Why are we still talking about this? Oh, right. The Wonder Woman movie I didn’t see this year. I’ll watch it when it gets to a streaming service I already pay for. The first one was good, we’ll see what that one is like eventually. When I see it. As far as Justice League goes, I’d be willing to bet that either version will end up feeling about the same in the end, and Snyder’s version would have been far too long to be successful in theaters.
I wandered over to Facebook this afternoon, and they are bitching about Justice League there too. Now I’m thinking what the actual fuck is going on? Because this smacks of some serious evidence that we have too much time on our hands these days. It’s either than or an orchestrated campaign to get people to talk up the Snyder cut of Justice League right before the revised version of the movie drops.
You like a film you like a film…you don’t you don’t. Seriously, so what? Life is a lot less stressful saying ”so what?”
I think we have forgotten how to say “I don’t know” which is far more important than just ignoring the things that piss us off. You don’t have to say “so what” to just keep scrolling on.
For most people it is safe to say “Don’t like it? Don’t watch it and don’t dwell on it.” I myself will frequently queue a movie I like when some other movie I’ve just watched for the first time leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Bad images behind my eyes. But if you aspire to be a storyteller yourself, it is important to understand how the story doesn’t work and how it might be fixed. There is also a use for criticism when you are trying to describe to others what the film was about and why it did or didn’t work for you.
Criticism is at the same time all too easy and way harder than most people give it credit for being. How to talk about a thing without spoiling it? How to offer pointers that are constructive for the next person to pick up that script? I mean, if all you have to say is “it sucked” you probably shouldn’t bother to say anything. Scroll on. If you have more to say than that, then sharpen your pencils and get to work on it. Don’t expect to be thanked for your efforts, though.
As far as Justice League goes, I didn’t talk about it on the blog when it aired and I watched it, and I didn’t talk about it because it made no real impression on me. I’d rate the movie with a solid three stars. It was popcorn and it was enjoyable while it was on. I was never emotionally moved by DC characters in comic books, although Batman was a comic I would occasionally read. His movies have been hit and miss over the years, more misses than hits.
I never cared for Superman because there is no real story to be told when you have an invulnerable protagonist, which is why the writers had to invent so much Kryptonite to affect him that there is enough kryptonite in the DC universe to make a neutron star out of the stuff. Maybe that explains his strength? I watched his movies because they were on, and I liked the first two largely because I had a thing for Christopher Reeve whether I cared for the character of Superman or not. I’ve seen the later movies as well, and as someone who was not emotionally invested in the character, I have to say I liked the extended version of Batman vs. Superman. It had just the right amount of grim reality to it to make the story interesting to me. Aside from which, the ending sets us all up for the beginning of the Justice League movie. If you haven’t seen the extended version of Batman vs. Superman you won’t understand why there is no Superman at the beginning of Justice League, and that is going to throw anyone off the story right from the start.
Why are people bitching about Justice League anway? They should try watching Super Friends like I did with my sibs back in the 70’s. That show will stop anyone from ever taking those characters too seriously. I’ll happily watch the Snyder cut if it ever shows up somewhere I can watch it without having to expend too much effort, but I’m not so interested in seeing it that I’d start talking about it on social media everywhere, all the time. That smacks of obsession. If you are the one doing that, turn the screen off and go outside to breath for a few hours. Try some meditation. Come back when you’ve found your equilibrium again.
