I don’t want to like this movie. I am a Marvel fanboy and think that Superman is rather lame. Even lamer is David Goyer, who I will forever remember as the many who killed ‘Blade,” and was too arrogant to say “I’m sorry. I f%cked up.”
Christopher Nolan produced the movie, whom I also don’t think too much of (despite him seeming very gracious when I was an extra on “The Dark Knight Rises”). I don’t want “realistic” superheroes. I live in reality , and don’t want too much of its influence spreading to my comicbook-based movies.
And Zach Snyder? He reminds me of Michael Bay, without the zeal, the passion that makes Bay more interesting than he has any right to be.
And yet this trailer has convinced me that I have to at least see this movie before I pan it.
Baby steps. Baby steps.
It appears that Nicholas Cage has finally come to his senses, and is putting the Ghost Rider behind him. 2007’s original, directed by Mark Steven Johnson, wasn’t terrible, but it made a sophomore mistake, namely that it was pretty tame for a movie about a character that’s possessed by a demon.
The original film should have been in the vein of 1998’s “Blade,” which was an action film that didn’t skimp on the horror. Guillermo del Toro’s “Blade II” upped the horror/action ante.
“Ghost Rider” took another route, and treated the character like a typical superhero (he’s been portrayed in both ways in the comics). The first film, based upon a screenplay by David Goyer (who also wrote “Blade”) was supposedly gorier than Johnson’s final film though despite such shortcomings, it earned over $228 million worldwide.
Zach Snyder’s “Man Of Steel” (and it isn’t an accident that it’s called that, as opposed to ‘Superman’ because I suspect that his humanity will be emphasized more than his virtual godhood, until things need to be blowed up good! Real good!) is supposedly going to be more “realistic” than past interpretations, though the only way that I can see that being possible is for the emotional side of things to be emphasized.
Because I suspect that the film makers understand that when you have a guy that’s almost invulnerable, can fly, and is from a planet named Krypton, then you have already thrown realism out the window (something Christopher Nolan and David Goyer seem to forget when making “The Dark Knight Rises.”)
The weakest links in this equation appear to be Snyder himself, who is a director not exactly known for subtlety; and David Goyer, whom seems to have reached the pinnacle of his career due mainly to connections, as opposed to the quality of his writing (if in doubt, check out Blade a bit before the climatic battle between Blade (Wesley Snipes) and Deacon Frost (Stephen Dorff) and a similar point in “The Crow: City Of Angels.”)
Notice how similar the two scenes are? I am willing to be that there’s even another scene just like it in another Goyer-written film.
By the way, why would anyone consider Goyer to direct “Hellboy?” Didn’t the producers see “Blade: Trinity” or “The Unborn?”
I don’t know how true this is, but supposedly Anthony Mackie is in the running to play the Falcon in “Captain America: The Winter Soldier, which reminded me that Marvel, in my humble opinion, has missed opportunities to introduce or use African-American characters before.
And I get that the Ultimates version of Nick Fury happens to be black. If anyone’s counting, there’s also Blade, before some idiot let David Goyer murder the franchise.
Another example is Heimdal, played by Idris Elba in 2011′s “Thor.” That was an interesting bit of casting, considering the character was generally portrayed as white, which made for a bit of controversy at the time.
In “The Avengers,” considering all the damage that the aliens were doing, that they wouldn’t have brought in War Machine didn’t quite make sense, if only because I was left wondering to myself: If Rhodes wasn’t there, where was he, and what could have possibly have to do that would have taken priority over an alien invasion of Earth?
A missed opportunity, if you ask me.
And yeah, I get that Joss Whedon was juggling quite a few characters, though it would have been at least cool for him to have at least been mentioned.
Another instance involves one of Spider-Man’s friends, Hobie Brown, who happens to be the Prowler. Now, the origin of the character in the comics is mildly offensive (he happens to be a window washer, despite having the engineering skills to design pneumatic devices that have offensive and defensive capability) though if it’s to take place in this economy, I guess whatever job pays–and is legal–is a good one.
“Green Lantern,” a film that should have been the first salvo of DC Comics assault on the box office, and Marvel Studios, has almost reached the $220 million mark worldwide.
That’s a lot of money, though when your production budget is $200 million, we aren’t necessarily talking about sequel material, despite what Warner Bros. says (by the way, “Green Lantern’s” problem wasn’t one of “edginess,” but mediocre writing and special effects. ”Captain America: The First Avenger” wasn’t exactly hip, but unlike GL, it worked because it was better written, cost less to produce and earned more).
Though I am writing this because I recently learned that Greg Berlanti, the writer of the aforementioned “Green Lantern” AND the upcoming “Booster Gold” TV show, is going to shepherd another superhero to life.
This time it’s Green Arrow, who will seemingly have no connection to the character as portrayed in “Smallville.”
What is it about Berlanti? Can’t anyone else write movies and television shows based upon DC Comics characters.
I should shut up while I am ahead, because I imagine that if it weren’t him, it would probably be David Goyer (walking testimony that it’s not what you know, but who).
Edited 8/25 2239
David Goyer is preparing a version of H.G Wells’ “The Invisible Man” for Universal. The problem with this is that he isn’t a very good director (I still haven’t recovered from the mess that was “Blade: Trinity“), and he tends to be an even worse one when he’s directing from his own writing, when there isn’t anyone to reign him in.
Which is why I am not exactly optimistic about “The Invisible Man.” I could be wrong, after all ZigZag was a pretty strong directoral debut, but “The Unborn” and the aforementioned “Blade: Trinity?”
Not so much.
By the way, can anyone inform me why it is that David Goyer is seemingly the go-to guy whenever someone wants to make a move about anything remotely fantastical? From Christopher Nolan’s ‘Batman’ films to television series like Fast Forward, it’s almost as if no one else exists.
Did anyone forget that this guy created a TV movie of Marvel’s Nick Fury (starring David Hasselhoff!)?
This review of “Green Lantern” contains a videoclip that could be considered as a spoiler. If you want to go into the film with as little knowledge as possible, please do not watch.
Anyone that says or implies that “Green Lantern” is worst film of the summer–so far–isn’t being entirely honest. To be the best at something–even if your ‘best’ is your ‘worse’–takes effort.
Not anyone could make a “Plan 9 From Outer Space.”
And while that film is probably not on too many people’s must-see lists, you have to admit that it’s remarkable that something so awful was ever made in the first place.
