Superhero Cinematic Civil War - - - - - - - - - Part 49

[UltimatePyro9]

Eh, I've never been a fan of Venom and this trailer... did nothing.

 

[Saitou Hajime]

Seeing the culmination of a decade of hard work for Marvel Studios, and I can't help but wish for a peek into the parallel world where Justice League was deified event film instead of the culmination of terrible superhero movie production.

 

[Timebomb]

So the early social media reactions are in and apparently IW delivers and Thanos seems to work really well. I am getting the vibe that something happens at the end that will be shocking in either a good or bad way depending. Welp, that's it for me. Will not be looking at reviews tomorrow but wanted to get a feel for first reactions.

 

[The Joker]

Eh, I've never been a fan of Venom and this trailer... did nothing.

Ditto. It looks like another Sony stinker to me.

 

[Ryuzakirir]

His accents a bit off. Is that supposed be American accent?

I really like the design of Venom though.

The dialogue though, oh my God. The worst.

 

[OutOfBoose]

Venom looks straight to Netflix, but somewhat I'm still interested.

 

[BaelaTargaryen]

Armond White's latest article about Snyder

https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2017/12/superheroic-testimonies

Chosen bits:

The most extraordinary image in any movie this century appears in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. It depicts the moment when Superman flies to rescue a child caught in an urban disaster in Mexico. The native folk crowd around Superman, reaching out to him, their faces expressing thanks beneath the makeup of their interrupted Day of the Dead celebration. Superman looks startled. He is surprised by the vast display of gratitude and humbled (as I was) by the unexpected spectacle of worship.

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice isn’t necessarily a religious film—but that scene reminds us of the awe that Hollywood religious movies used to provide long ago, when we (or our parents) were children. The sincerity of that scene counters the snark and nihilism that overwhelm contemporary movies and popular culture. Director Zack Snyder puts modern audiences back in touch with the wonder and trepidation formerly associated with biblical films, though he is working through the less vaunted text of comic book mythology.

The Marvel films (Iron Man, Captain America, X-Men, The Avengers) are decidedly secular items, and are preferred as such in high numbers. Marvel makes astonishment banal and miracles unmiraculous. In this, it differs from the movies derived from the D.C. comic book brand that Zack Snyder oversees.

The Snyder-D.C. films Man of Steel, Batman v Superman, and Justice League are serious (as opposed to Marvel’s hipster playfulness) without opposing the idea of comic book fantasy and wonder. If you dismiss them as kid stuff, you’ll miss the last remaining expression of skillful, thoughtful, even spiritual popular culture. Like the early Christians who recognized each other by the sign of the fish, defenders of the Snyder-D.C. films have faced down reproach by fanboys who hate everything but Marvel-brand cynicism. These cultural philistines reject what Snyder and D.C. have made unexpectedly beautiful and weighty out of our adolescent fantasies.

The conflict between two superhero figures also symbolizes the modern theological struggle, a battle between belief and non-belief in which the superheroes ultimately unite to combat the evil mastermind Lex Luthor and an ogre he creates. The fight reveals their shared values (touching on a way of thinking that evokes Mariology), and the film concludes with Superman’s apparent death.

The plot of the follow-up, Justice League, involves Superman’s resurrection—a metaphor for the fundamental Christian belief that is Snyder’s boldest-yet proposition. This narrative turn is built upon the century’s second-most extraordinary movie image: At the end of Batman v Superman, Snyder showed a close-up of Superman’s coffin lowered into a just-dug grave, and the soil freshly tossed upon the casket rolled and levitated as the scene faded out.

That trembling soil (la terra trema) is the most surprising movie climax since the end of Spielberg’s E.T. The Extraterrestrial (1982), where the protagonist’s symbolic significance is authenticated when God’s rainbow sign streaks across the night sky.

Spielberg, once Hollywood’s most ecumenical filmmaker, has recently turned explicitly political. But Snyder continues a serious interest in pop-culture mythology. His emphasis on superheroes, particularly their expressive physicality, harkens to the vivid sensuality of Renaissance painting, recalling Michelangelo and Caravaggio’s dramatic gestures and Tiepolo’s ecstasy. Snyder’s religious pop-art marks a significant, lonely pursuit of the mass audience and what should bring it together.

 

[Greens]

Could have done without the strong religious slant. JL can be about a resurrection, but it's still crap.

 

[OutOfBoose]

^What in God's Holy Name did I just read...

 

[flickchick85]

I stopped reading at "Armond White's."

 

[OutOfBoose]

Looks like I'll remember this name too from now on...

 

[MadVillainy]

Venom looks fine. Im not saying it's going to be great, but it doesn't look like it'll be anything terrible or special.

Venom design looks good. Hardy sounds really weird. Even by American accent standards. The trailer also makes it seem like the rumor of Hardy not being Venom fully suited and booted for most of the movie is true

I think people are kinda crying about it too much in regards to it not being in the MCU. Yeah I get it, Venom is a Spider-Man villain, but it's whatever.

I also don't see what there is to hate about the trailer. I get not liking it, but people saying it looks terrible I think are just saying that because a) they don't like the idea of the movie not being in the MCU or 2) They just don't like Venom as a character.

But anyway, yeah it looks fine. If its bad I won't really care. It's not like they're messing up Spider-Man and it's not like the MCU has/had immediate plans for Venom

 

[OutOfBoose]

It feels like I'll watch anything that isn't MCU or DCFU at this point.

 

[Mjölnir]

The trailer looks fine, but I'm still not sure what will be the villain that requires a super"hero" like Venom to fight. I guess the risk is that it's just a symbiote vs symbiote fight. Not that it's terrible to have two similar characters going at it, but since this is standalone it does feel more small and constricted than that concept usually would.

 

[Flint Marko]

Watching Tom Hardy flail around while CG tendrils extend from his body looked more than a little stupid.

 

[TeeKay]

Venom looked better in SM3 imo

 

[RomanticPenguin]

*googles tendrils*

 

[Spider-Fan]

I am going to have to be in the minority on this I guess...I actually like the Venom trailer. Yes, it looks like a B-movie, but I think that is fitting for Venom actually. Also, while we only get the 1 money shot of Venom, I love the design. I imagine he will become Venom roughly 1hr into the movie, and movie likely will be under 2hrs (so he won't be full Venom much). But that said, the movie looks fun. I actually have more hope it can at least be decent. Will it be MCU quality? Likely no, but If this movie is as good as The Wolverine, I would take that as a win.

 

[Flint Marko]

I didn't dislike the trailer. The venom voice sounds pretty cool and the design of the suit is on point, even if the CG could use some work.

Everything else looks bland. I'm not interested in watching Tom Hardy as an investigative reporter fight guys on motorcycles with tendrils and I think it's a safe bet that's 90% of the movie. If I'm wrong I'm wrong, but I have a feeling Venom isn't going to be in Venom all that much.

What it boils down to for me is, even if the MCU/Spider-man: Homecoming didn't exist, I have zero interest in watching a Venom origin movie that doesn't have anything to do with Spider-man, let alone a Venom origin movie from the studio that has been sucking this franchise dry for over a decade. This trailer didn't change my mind.

 

[StarLord]

Venom looked better in SM3 imo

The face was alright, but he was far too small.

 

[OutOfBoose]

The face was alright, but he was far too small.

Agree. I like when Venom look Bane-sized.

 

[OutOfBoose]

What's also appealing to me about Venom solo, is that we don't have any bad guy centered CBMs right now (and I love that kind of stories), not counting Deadpool. Oscar-winning SS sucked ass. Joker solo - we don't know if it will happen at all. Of course, nothing really speaks about quality except for horrifying symbiote of Pascal and Arad, but I can hope at least.

 

[Spider-Fan]

I put an asterisk on Venom being a villain centered movie. Venom within the movie is clearly going to be an anti-hero along the lines of Punisher or Batman (like in Lethal Protector).

 

[OutOfBoose]

I get that it's an anti-hero movie, no crimes and stuff most likely. But he isn't a nice guy either.

 

[MadVillainy]

I am going to have to be in the minority on this I guess...I actually like the Venom trailer. Yes, it looks like a B-movie, but I think that is fitting for Venom actually. Also, while we only get the 1 money shot of Venom, I love the design. I imagine he will become Venom roughly 1hr into the movie, and movie likely will be under 2hrs (so he won't be full Venom much). But that said, the movie looks fun. I actually have more hope it can at least be decent. Will it be MCU quality? Likely no, but If this movie is as good as The Wolverine, I would take that as a win.

I'm a little more negative, but this pretty much echoes my thoughts.