As I write this, Doctor Strange sits with a wonderful 90% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. If critics are to believe, Marvel has done it once again by giving us a truly entertaining motion picture. Marvel isn’t really a stranger to great reviews so it may come as no surprise at this point but when we look over at the other big comic book entity, DC Comics, things appear to be a bit different.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice sits with a rotten score of 27% on Rotten Tomatoes. When it was released earlier this year, it was met with scathing reviews from critics and even though it did make some nice coin, one thinks it could’ve made more if it had good reviews and word of mouth behind it. Most will tell you not to listen to the critics and just see it (I did!) and I came to the decision myself that it was a mediocre film. There were some nice moments but it was ultimately a mess of bad editing and tone.
I thought things would be a bit different with Suicide Squad. This could’ve been DC’s answer to Marvel’s Deadpool (84% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) but ultimately that was not meant to be. It was pretty much on par with the last DC release with its 26% rotten rating on Rotten Tomatoes and it ultimately was viewed as something that wasn’t as cool as it wanted to be. If we’re being fair, I found it to be way more entertaining than Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice but it was still lacking. A stellar first act and solid performances were let down by an overblown climax that was riddled with comic book cliches.
So what’s the deal here? Why does Marvel get embraced by critics while DC tends to be viewed as the rotten stepchild as of late? I’m going to go with two words: time and care.
If we go back to Iron Man and even more prevalent in Iron Man 2, we can tell that meticulous planning went into creating the Marvel Cinematic Universe. None of the films that set up the ultimate Marvel team-up (The Avengers) felt like a rush job. You can tell that people were talking to each other across the films and that the end goal would be massively epic if done right. Even their lesser entries (The Incredible Hulk & Captain America: The First Avenger) seem to have more depth than what’s been given to us by the DC Extended Universe.
I can see DC’s desire to want to crank out their films. There is no doubt that they are behind the game a bit. Marvel is coming up on their third Avengers movie while we’re just upon their equivalent of that with the Justice League movie. Their need to play catch up is a tad too obvious; however, their last two films feel like rush jobs. It’s almost as if they were hoping for the best and just hid their mediocrity with big effects and shameless cameos (Wonder Woman worked decently in Dawn of Justice, the other Justice League cameos, not so much). This might satisfy some fans but when you see Marvel doing this so much better you almost want to say, “nice try.”
Oddly enough I see both companies having to deal with studio interference but Disney’s impression on Marvel seems a bit more positive than the hold Warner Bros. has over DC. Some accuse the Marvel films of being a bit too family friendly and not as dark as what DC can do because of the parent company behind it. There is no denying that the Marvel films are more fun but they can also go to some dark places as well (just look at certain moments in Captain America: Civil War to see my point). There is nothing wrong with dark comic book films. Hell, I love a good and gritty comic book adventure but dark can also be fun. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice had a great look and was suitably dark but it took itself way too seriously. This is a comic book film not grounded in the reality of the far superior Dark Knight Trilogy so it shouldn’t be trying to come off as more than what it was. It made it unintentionally funny at times.
Suicide Squad had a better handle on this but Warner Bros.’ hand in the pot is obvious when you look at how chopped up that film is as well. As we come upon their other standalone films there is a reason why Wonder Woman lost its original director before Patty Jenkins came on board and why their version of The Flash has just lost its director as well. The all too cliche reason of them not seeing eye to eye with the studio is just another example of them getting in the way of creativity that could make their films great. At this point, you’ve had two rotten films come out of the gate. Maybe the studio should take a step back and let the talent handle the material.
Believe me, I want to root for DC. I get no pleasure in seeing them fail. I’m not a pro-Marvel person over DC. I was a fan of both comic book properties growing up and I want to see great film adaptations of the material I grew up reading. DC has characters and story arcs that would make for true cinematic masterpieces if the right time and care is put into them. I get that money drives the rush behind these films but it’s a shame that some of these will be remembered as misses that some may hope to have remade years down the line because they just didn’t get it right the first time.
A new trailer for Wonder Woman debuted this week and it honestly looks pretty solid. I hope when reviews pour in before its June 2, 2017 release date that critics will be singing its praises rather than telling us to stay away. So far, Marvel draws us in before our butts are in the seats because word of mouth is so positive that we feel like we NEED to go see it now. DC hasn’t gotten there yet and while I hope they end their streak of sub-par material, my optimism is slowly fading in regards to what they have to offer.
