Henry Cavill is a good dude, and handles news shifts like a pro. Ask any director, and they’ll tell you he is a “soldier” on a set. He does the … Continue reading The Film Buffa at the Movies: Henry Cavill loses Superman as DC Studios reboot commences
When I left “Man of Steel,” I knew audiences had found their new Superman, even if the movie wasn’t perfect. Unfortunately, the studio didn’t believe in him enough. Zack Snyder … Continue reading Henry Cavill deserves another shot at playing Superman
“Maybe Gotham and I share the same opinion. We have a bad history with freaks who dress like clowns.”
The tense face-off between Bruce Wayne(Ben Affleck) and Clark Kent(Henry Cavill) is the best part of this new slice of footage from 2016’s mega blockbuster, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. This is the big swing from DC in its response to Marvel, who has taken over the superhero movie scene the past few years. If David S. Goyer’s script has the juice of this verbal face-off, not even the erratic inconsistent filmmaking style of Zach Snyder can mess it up.
For all the people who hated Man of Steel’s over the top finale, where Sup and General Zod’s fight leveled a city, that is the exact definition of the thorn stuck in Wayne/Batman’s side as this movie opens up. The carnage in MOS’finale also leveled a Wayne Enterprises building, killing several of Wayne’s employees and friends. This makes Wayne question the new alien in town, someone who has the power to destroy it as much as nurture and protect it.
The new footage also introduces in depth other key players like Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman and Jesse Eisenberg’s Lex Luthor as well as a new villain, Doomsday. Any Superman comic book collector knows what the presence of this beast signifies. In the comics, he killed DC’s hero. His place in the movie seems to eventually align Bat and Sup each other instead of against each other.
It should be fun watching the human Wayne take on the otherworldly Superman. At the heart of these films is the ideals of each hero and how the heroism can lead to more death. It begs the question that is hammered down so well in the Captain America films. Are they heroes or vigilantes?
Wild theory time. Here’s something I’d love to see happen. Morgan Freeman makes an uncredited cameo as Lucius Fox at the beginning of this film and in a scene that evokes 9/11, is talking to Wayne when the Wayne Tower is struck by Superman and Zod. Fox is killed in the wreckage and that personally spikes Wayne’s anger. Just an idea that Snyder and Goyer could be hiding up their sleeve. Or Lois Lane(Amy Adams) being killed in wreckage by Doomsday and Wayne making a quip towards Superman, saying “now you know how it feels to lose someone you love to another’s madness”. Something sets Kent off into a mad descent of anger. The possibilities in this DC film universe shaping flick spring out in a number of directions.
I can’t get enough of Affleck’s Wayne/Bat. He is the perfect guy at this particular age to play this character in this story. An older, wearier and angrier hero who doesn’t trust what this new alien brings to the table.
This movie could be incredibly good or overstuffed. It’s hard to not think about Spider Man when you see all these characters at once. Then again, Joss Whedon pulled it off with Avengers so it’s not impossible.
Are you pumped for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice?
Watch the trailer for yourself.
Writer/director Guy Ritchie’s abilities have ripened well with age. While Snatch remains his masterpiece, his latest adventure, the “adapted” Man From UNCLE, shows how consistent he has gotten and how finely he has crafted his movie making ways. The film lays into you like a cool jazz tune. You may not think it was made for you, but you will smile and enjoy it.
Before I tell you the particulars, let’s take a brief moment to discuss the plot. Napoleon Solo(Henry Cavill, sleek, suave and muscled) is the CIA’s best agent/spy and he must join forces with a stern Russian KGB tank(Armie Hammer, not sucking for once) in order to track down some hot dame’s uncle, who supposedly knows the wherabouts to some nuclear warheads. Enough with the dull stuff. What worked?
The cast is aces. Cavill proves here he is more than a superhero, putting the “S” in suave. From the moment we see this handsome devil in a suit walking towards customs with a “I’m cool and you are not” glare, this much is known. When Cavill retires the cape, he will have his hands full with work. Maybe play someone called 007. Who knows? His future is bright and Solo proves he has some range to play with.
This is the first time I liked Hammer in anything, who up until this flick was only suited to play a piece of cardboard that moved and talked. Lone Ranger? Vomit. J. Edgar? Lost. Here, playing a fighting machine yet vulnerable man with a few secrets of his own, Hammer gets to unleash a little personality and displays a pretty decent Russian tongue. He shouldn’t join a Moscow steam room anytime soon, but he acquits himself well here. In other words, he didn’t stink up the joint.
The beautiful woman who makes the men run in circles here is Alicia Vikander, and if you weren’t paying attention earlier this year, she was the sophisticated robot in Ex Machina. Here, she toys with Hammer’s Prom King sledge hammer and trades barbs with Cavill’s slick agent like she’s been playing in the British Embassy cool school for years. If you didn’t know her name before this film, you will now. She joins Rogue Nation’s Rebecca Ferguson in the “pay attention to me now” train of thought.
The soundtrack is money here, perfectly placing in blues, jazz and hipster knee rattling tracks that never let the action overwhelm or the pace slow down too fast. You may want to get a hold of Daniel Pemberton’s wise guy score that never stops beating your ears up with easy joy.
Ritchie and Lionel Wigram’s script has enough historical reference(Russians, Americans, Nuclear warheads, the 1960’s) to mix in with its wild banging martini of an action flick that clears credibility by a few nose hairs.
The action is ripped from a comic book but has just enough realism to keep you from rolling your eyes. If James Bond had a sense of humor, he’d live in this world. And yes, you are not mistaken…that is Hugh Grant acting again and doing it quite well here as the one of the top suits playing these men of action like he has a remote control in his hand.
Ritchie doesn’t break any new ground here, but he crafted a fine action adventure with a tongue in cheek attitude about it. It’s like he mixed a few spices together that hadn’t been put together before and most of it tasted good. If you don’t take it too seriously or expect to be blown away, Man from U.N.C.L.E. may just put a smile on your face.
I know I’ll be in line for a sequel if these make believe jokers work together again.
After the initial teaser wet the lips earlier this year, Warner Brothers and Director Zack Snyder have dropped a bigger chunk of their 2016 cinematic blockbuster, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, at our feet. The Comic Con footage has been released. A new trailer that promises all kinds of mayhem next March. Let’s throw on the cape and fire out 5 quick instant reactions.
“20 years in Gotham. How many good guys are left? How many stayed that way?”-Bruce Wayne
1. Tying the story right back to Man of Steel. People were mad at the city being destroyed in the huge climax of MOS must know it plays a part here. The damage done to Metropolis is what causes Ben Affleck’s Batman to seek revenge on Superman. One of his buildings was destroyed that day and this kicks off the juiciest part of the plot.
2. I love the older wearier look on Affleck’s Batman. This isn’t your young rich guy crusader. This is an angry man. He’s lost more people than Superman can count and there will be justice. Hate on The Fleck all you want but he’s perfect for this role. A mix of all the previous Batman’s rolled into one good performance. The shot of Affleck’s Wayne running into the building crumbling dust cloud reminded me of 9/11 instantly. It’s a powerful shot that works while making you a bit cold and sending the focus to the world’s new hero…or alien. (more…)
Dose of Buffa 