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DC Extended Universe

The Suicide Squad

Published September 12, 2021

The Suicide Squad

As ever, Harley Quinn stole the entire show. There was about ten minutes in the middle where we might have been enjoying it, but then there was always something to ruin it - bad characters, graphic violence, and my god that starfish at the end was ridiculous. And so much to do with eyes. Bleurgh.

Shazam!

Published September 3, 2021

Shazam!

Generally speaking, this is actually an okay movie - there are some interesting themes in there, and it’s a different take on the normal superhero, secret identity, saving the world stuff. But it does have problems. The biggest is clearly the tone - what film is it trying to be? It lulls you into thinking it’s a kids movie but then has someone thrown out of a skyscraper window and a monster bite someone’s head off. Then there’s some larking about and school bullying shenanigans and back to kid’s movie, and then they start swearing. It’s jarring and not in a good way.

Aquaman

Published September 2, 2021

Aquaman

Once again, my expectations were low for this. Jason Mamoa didn’t have that much to do in Justice League although what we did see was kinda fun. And in the words of Raj Koothrappali ‘Aquaman sucks.’ But actually, in his own, standalone adventure, he didn’t suck. It wasn’t a great film overall - there were far too many legends, quite a few plot holes, and that awful ten minutes of pointless CGI towards the end.

Justice League

Published August 30, 2021

Justice League

My expectations going into this one were quite low because, well, because we have watched other DC movies. But of course also because Zack Snyder was so unsatisfied with the job JW did that he had to make a four version instead. But you know what? I thought it was okay. It’s not a patch on any of the Marvel movies but actually as a collection of DC heroes fighting a big bad, it was alright!

Suicide Squad

Published August 29, 2021

Suicide Squad

This was better than I thought it was going to be but it took a really long time to get going. The first half hour or so introducing far too many characters was kinda dull but also a lot to process at the same time. And doubly annoying when it seemed like we were only supposed to care about two of the characters anyway. The movie picked up once the action did, and the interactions between Quinn (Margot Robbie absolutely stealing the whole movie, no wonder she got her own spin-off) and Deadshot were good.

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

Published August 28, 2021

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

At first, I thought this movie might be okay, it wasn’t really making a heap of sense but it was really well shot and good to look at, and there seemed to be some proper moral debates at work. But it soon descended into nonsense and there is no better way of describing it than The Guardian’s review: ‘Batman v Superman is 153 minutes of a grown man whacking two dolls together.’

Wonder Woman 1984

Published January 16, 2021

Wonder Woman 1984

Well, the obvious review of this film is that it’s nowhere near as good as the first one. Gal Gadot is great, as always, and Pedro Pascal was amazing at that heightened caricature of a baddie. The good bits were really good, but there was a lot that wasn’t good. The story didn’t make a lot of sense, there was a lot unexplained, and it raised questions that were far bigger than the space of a movie allowed.

Birds Of Prey And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn

Published April 24, 2020

Birds Of Prey And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn

I took quite a long time to come round to this movie, and definitely considered stopping it at the twenty minute rule. But I’m glad I didn’t because after the first half hour or so, I started warming to it, and by the end I was completely on board.

Wonder Woman

Published September 24, 2017

Wonder Woman

Been waiting for this film ever since the first trailers appeared, and there was so much fuss over it - the first proper female led superhero movie in a long time. I was supremely glad to see it, and not only because it was a good film but also because it didn’t stand out for me for being a female superhero movie. In fact, it stood out only in so much as it was a great superhero film and certainly the best one that DC have made in a considerable amount of time.

Superman Returns

Published July 17, 2010

Superman Returns

Not the best film in the world, let’s be honest. The shuttle bit was the best scene in the whole film. The guy acting as Superman really was hired just for his looks and not acting ability, but the same can be said of everyone involved. Also, we didn’t really follow the beginning of the story - didn’t realise this was a continuation of a film and not necessarily accessible as a standalone.