Tag: Henry Cavill

The Snyder Cut is Finally Here and It Delivers

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I originally intended to watch Zack Snyder’s definitive edition of Justice League in multiple viewings due to its ungodly 242 minute runtime. But I have to admit, once I got going it sucked me in and I ended up banging out the entire #SnyderCut in one sitting because it delivers big time.

The difference between the Joss Whedon theatrical release (which some people that are more clever than I have dubbed Josstice League) and the Snyder Cut is night and day. Granted it’s twice as long, but it’s broken up into six parts (not including the prologue and epilogue) which lend some credence to the rumors that HBO Max considered releasing it in weekly installments rather than all at once. Now if you’ve never seen the theatrical release you may just think this is a four hour masturbatory act from Snyder and I wouldn’t necessarily fault you for that assumption, but this just may replace Blade Runner’s Final Cut as the definitive example of a Director’s Cut.

So we all know by now that DC was trying to replicate the massive success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which continues to run laps around DC with the also massive success of WandaVision on Disney+. However, this is 13 years in the making with the first Iron Man coming out all the way back in 2008 followed by The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, Thor, Captain America THEN the first Avengers movie.

The biggest misstep DC made was releasing a very strong Man of Steel movie, an OK Batman vs Superman movie (that I often forget Wonder Woman is actually in), and then immediately jumping into Justice League with the addition of Aquaman, the Flash, and Cyborg. With only two of the six characters fully developed it was kind of a tall task to jump straight into team movie, introduce a new villain, and then bang it all out in 2 hours. Now I’m not saying you need to painstakingly recreate every single character arc because we all know Bruce Wayne’s parents were gunned down in front of him as a kid, and Peter Parker’s Uncle Ben was killed because of Spider Man’s carelessness. We don’t need to see that explained all over again, but Batman, Superman, and Spider Man are the three biggest superheroes in the entire history of the comic book genre. Not everyone knows the back story of Aquaman (all my knowledge is from the Vinny Chase movie in Entourage), the Flash (unless you’re a big CW fan), or Cyborg (best known from the cartoon Teen Titans, IMO).

In the original theatrical version all three of those characters get put on the back burner so you never really have time to care about them. With the opportunity presented by a four hour movie, Snyder really dives into the back story of all three, particularly Cyborg, and gives you a reason to want to see these characters succeed. Plus it also does a much better job teasing the Aquaman and Flash standalone films.

It’s hard to get into too much detail as to why the Snyder Cut is so much better without spoiling a lot of what made the cut so enjoyable so I encourage you to watch it before Twitter spoils it. I can say that the quippy Joss Whedon dialogue got axed, the motivations of many characters have changed (for the better), Darkseid is actually, ya know, in this movie, and gone is the unsightly red sky plastering the final act in the original. The new cut is overall darker (both visually and thematically), more violent, more serious, and is even rated R (yay F bombs!). So it is much truer to Snyder’s original version. But to be fair even if he had finished the movie originally, Snyder would have never been allowed to release a four hour R-rated tentpole superhero flick. So while what he has accomplished here is huge, it’s important to keep in mind that he was able to move the goal posts a bit, a luxury which he or Whedon would not typically have had.

I cannot believe how different this movie is after Snyder allegedly filmed only four minutes of additional footage in his reshoots. Granted Snyder had a whole series of DC films planned for what was dubbed the Snyder Verse so there was a lot left on the cutting room floor that he was able to just pick back up. There are also tons of easter eggs and threads (like what actually happened to Robin) that are finally pulled on here just to tease viewers in the name of fan service. 

Now comes the inevitable question of “what if?” What if Joss Whedon never came on board and Snyder had been able to finish his original vision? Would the DCEU have never collapsed on itself and would we already be discussing Justice League 3, the Ben Affleck standalone Batman film, and a potential Jared Leto Joker spinoff? DC has to have known (hoped?) this would be the case and provide new life to an IP that was on ice after critical and commercial indifference. It is kind of a bummer because Snyder fully pulls back the curtain to show us what he was working on and we’re unlikely to ever see that vision realized. The new Knightmare dream scene that is towards the end of the movie (rather than earlier on in the original) is a perfect example of this. But hey, I never thought the internet would ever be able to bully a major studio into investing tens of millions of dollars into a reshot, recut version of a failed tentpole film, and here we are.

I really want to kick down the doors at DC right now and give them the Herb Brooks Miracle speech about great opportunity. That’s what you have here tonight, boys. I’m sick of hearing about what a great cinematic universe Marvel has.

Through their own failures DC has accidentally stumbled into an amazing opportunity here with the multiverse. They can finally stop trying to replicate the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It didn’t work, it happens. With the multiverse DC can simply make all of these random one off films and individual stories with different actors and just punt on a shared universe until they decide to bring everyone together again. It’s something DC has already test run on its various TV series with the Crisis on Infinite Earths event where they even brought back my dude Tom Welling for a brief Superman cameo. If rumors about the upcoming Flash standalone movie are to be believed then DC is really going to lean into that exact mindset with the multiverse as multiple Batmen are allegedly set to appear in the film.

Watching the Snyder Cut is a trippy experience because even the opening minutes are entirely different from the original version with previously unseen footage. I felt like I had Alzheimer’s because in my head I know I’ve seen Justice League multiple times but now it’s…different.

Admittedly, my viewing of the Snyder Cut may be seen through rose colored glasses after 3+ years of the internet lobbying for and then somehow actually getting a completely recut and reshot version of beloved IP. And it worked! Now do Game of Thrones.

The “Snyder Cut” of Justice League is Coming to HBO Max

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ComicBook.com – Warner Bros. announced today that the Snyder Cut version of Justice League will be making its debut on HBO Max. It’s been over two years since Justice League opened in theaters and since then, while the film has largely fallen out of the general cultural conversation, it’s been very much alive with fans. Many of whom have been pleading with and demanding that Warner Bros. release the so-called “Snyder Cut” of the film.

Fans determined to see director Zack Snyder’s version of the DC team-up film have been passionate, online and off in their efforts to get the version brought to screen and now, those efforts have paid off…Earlier this month, a report indicated that Snyder held a private screening of his version of Justice League during the first quarter of 2020 with Warner Bros. executives in attendance. The report indicated that the screening may have gotten the wheels turning for something involving Snyder’s vision for the film – a version that Snyder himself has confirmed exists with at least some completed CGI.

If theres been one positive to this whole dumpster fire coronavirus quarantine is that it’s forced the hands of every entertainment company in the world to get creative with its content. We’ve been hearing about the #SnyderCut for 2+ years after director Zack Snyder left Justice League before finishing it, only to see the project completed (and tweaked) without him and ultimately panned by critics and fans as yet another mixed bag of mediocrity from DC. Well after years of incessant tweeting from DC fan boys with claims of how the #SnyderCut would have been entirely different and made for a better film…this better not suck. Snyder has taken up the mantle of twitter fans, which is a risky endeavor because expectations have long since gone past the point of reasonable. It could be an incredible movie that resurrects Justice League and turns it into what we all hoped it would be…or it could be a gigantic letdown after three years of hype from fans based on blind hope.

It does seem like HBO Max is serious about this though because there is some serious work going into it. Obviously as an unfinished cut of a superhero movie there is likely loads of CGI that needs to be put together. Hollywood Reporter is saying $20-$30 million was put into finishing the project and the #SnyderCut could premiere as a FOUR HOUR director’s cut like he’s Billy Walsh.

“This is my fucking deer hunter.” – Billy Walsh” – Zack Snyder

Probably because I am a gigantic nerd, but I have an affinity for comic book or video game movies gone awry because so often immense potential is wasted and a monumental IP is shelved because of it. Looking at you live action Dragon Ball movie…

How did Emmy Rossum get cast in that piece of crap? And how did it double its original ($30M) budget at the box office? I’m getting off track…

Seriously after all we’ve heard about the #SnyderCut, this better be good or Zack Snyder might just get put in the Disney Vault by Hollywood execs. The DC Universe was one of the most frustrating, up and down collection of movies in recent memory. Man of Steel was pretty good, not amazing, but Henry Cavill was a great Superman and you could see the potential. Batman vs Superman had an absolutely incredible trailer, but ended up being a convoluted mess despite solid performances from Cavill, Ben Affleck as the new Batman, and Gal Gadot in a career making performance as Wonder Woman. Suicide Squad was similar with an awesome trailer and a finished product that left you scratching your head despite solid performances from Will Smith as Deadshot and Margot Robbie as a perfectly cast Harley Quinn. And after that I think like a lot of people I kind of just lost interest. I have yet to see Aquaman, despite my bro crush on Khal Drogo, Shazam, or Birds of Prey. I’ve heard at least 2/3 of those movies are surprisingly good, but there is zero cohesion between any of these movies as the DC Extended Universe ultimately collapsed on itself.

Affleck is out as Batman and theres been lingering rumors about Cavill exiting sooner than later so the DCEU is basically on life support. Gal Gadot’s mega hit Wonder Woman and the sheer charisma of Margot Robbie are the only thing keeping this whole experiment of the DCEU from getting put on ice.

So now we get the #SnyderCut, which if you believe the internet message boards is an entirely different and much improved film than what we all saw in the final version of Justice League. Granted I watched this movie on a 6 inch screen on a cross country flight, but it was just a mixed bag of forgettable scenes with Joss Whedon quippy dialogue shoehorned in.

**Spoiler Alert*** If you still haven’t seen it after two months of quarantine you might as well just pop it in and give it a go. It’s not terrible, but it is forgettable. The only thing I really remember from this movie was the predictable return of Superman after he was killed at the end of Batman vs Superman. Except because this movie required extensive reshoots, Cavill was already filming Mission Impossible where his character rocks a sweet sweet mustache. Well the studio for MI wouldn’t let him shave it so DC had to digitally remove Cavill’s mustache for some Superman scenes, which left us with one of my favorite images from any superhero flick.

Laugh out loud funny.

If you’re not familiar with the back story, Snyder left Justice League after the tragic death of his daughter so the studio brought in Marvel darling and Avengers director Joss Whedon to finish the movie. Except if you’ve ever seen the Avengers and compare it to literally anything Snyder has done (Superman, Batman vs Superman, Sin City, 300) they have diametrically opposing styles. Whedon’s work is bright and fully of quippy dialogue whereas Snyder has a lot of dark, brooding, gritty tones. So to throw Whedon in for the final leg as he noticeably tries to lighten up the final product, it just doesn’t gel. Hence the outcry for the #SnyderCut.

Now what the hell could possibly be that different about this original cut that would make the movie that much better? I mean Jason Momoa has been beating this drum forever and recently Gadot and Affleck joined in to champion this version of the movie. So it would have to be significantly different right? Well Phil Owen from The Wrap had a pretty interesting theory on how differently things could go in the #SnyderCut based on footage from the original trailer that wasn’t used and/or reworked.

there are items in “Batman v Superman” clearly intended to set up a very specific plot thread that never came to be — and those items are not referenced in “Justice League” at all. I’m talking about Bruce Wayne’s nightmare of an apocalyptic future in which Superman is evil, and the subsequent visit from what seems to be a time-traveling Flash warning Bruce about what Superman will become should Lois Lane be killed…So they at some point assemble the team and resurrect Superman inside the Kryptonian scout ship in Metropolis by some means –the Mother Box may not have been necessary given that the Kryptonians used that pool of amniotic fluid to make babies. After they bring Superman back, he goes crazy in the same way he does in the finished film, but his fight against the Justice League goes on much longer and doesn’t end with him reverting to normal. The government even gets involved, bringing tanks into the fight that Superman of course easily handles. However it ends, Superman does not go visit Kansas with Lois afterward, because that scene in the movie was a reshoot addition.

It’s possible that Lois shows up to try to calm him down and she is killed in the chaos (or something happens that somehow makes him think she’s killed), and it’s likely that Superman continues to be not quite right the rest of the movie and becomes the threat that Batman feared and which the Flash warned him about in “Batman v Superman.”

It would be a very Snyder-esque payoff to the the themes set up in the early goings — the idea that Superman was a beacon who gave the people of Earth a moral center, and whose death threw everyone into disarray. They bring him back but he no longer functions as that beacon of goodness, which in turn makes the moral situation on Earth that much murkier. It would make sense, too, that even an angry Superman would amass followers willing to fight, for him as we saw in Batman’s nightmare.

This would make so much more sense to have a legitimately menacing and dangerous Superman wreaking havoc for more than the 5 minutes he does in the final version of the film. Why all that build up for what amounts to a temper tantrum? I definitely recommend giving Owen’s article a read as a lot of his ideas work a lot better in theory than the final film, which completely punts on Darkseid in favor of hitting the wrap it up box with the undeveloped motivation of a forgettable villain in Steppenwolf.

I don’t know what to expect, but I’ll be checking it out for sure, which is all HBO can ask for with its latest venture HBO Max. If you’re a DirecTV subscriber like me you’ll get HBO Max for free. Otherwise things get kind of confusing based on who your provider is and you may have to pony up for the new streaming channel, even if you already pay for HBO.

While there is no concrete release date, HBO Max says to expect the #SnyderCut of Justice League in 2021 so it could be a while before we see it.

All Sorts of DC and Marvel Rumors Are Swirling and I’m Having a Nerdgasm

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I am a nerd when it comes to this stuff so take these casting and movie rumors and inject them into my damn veins.

“[Sources] have informed us that inspired by the success of Joker, WB is now looking to do more standalone, dark and mature DC movies. And one project they’d like to make happen is a live-action Batman Beyond with [Michael] Keaton in the lead role.“

There is a rumor floating around that Michael Keaton could be in line to star as Bruce Wayne in a live action Batman Beyond movie. Batman Beyond was one of the best takes on Batman without rehashing the same old origin story that everyone goes back to. It focused on an old Bruce Wayne who used to be Batman with the mantle of the Dark Knight going to a young Terry McGinnis in the not so distant future. If that doesn’t give you a pants tent, well the internet has already started designing fake posters for this non-existent movie.

Then there are people who are doing the mental gymnastics around how this project could already be in the works. Theres been a TON of mystery and secrecy around Robert Pattinson’s upcoming Batman movie and mostly because nobody knows what its about. Especially after Ben Affleck’s script got thrown in the trash. So some people are theorizing that Pattinson could actually be playing Terry McGinnis with Keaton sliding in to play the older Bruce Wayne.

Sign. Me. Up.

And if you really wanted to fuck with people you could bring back Mark Hammil, who voiced the Joker in Batman the Animated Series and in some of the video games, for the fourth iteration of the Joker in the pasts decade.

Also, unrelated yet hilarious, a picture of Henry Cavill’s mustachioed Superman has finally leaked and it is glorious. Honestly, for all the dark tones these DC movies tried to force down our throats, maybe a man of steel with a flavor savor wouldn’t have been the worst thing.

Now that we’ve gone through DC’s latest rumors, lets head on over to the big kid on the block in the MCU.

In his new role as Creative Czar of Marvel, Kevin Feige is reportedly rebooting all of the Marvel TV shows that had mixed results. This comes as no surprise after each of the Marvel Netflix shows was slowly and methodically cancelled. Some like Daredevil and the Punisher were legitimately great shows and others like Iron Fist I could not make it through the pilot. Now its a real shame that Marvel plans to reboot these shows because it just makes the whole Netflix Marvel era feel like a waste of time. (Ironically enough thats been DC’s fundamental flaw forever) HOWEVER, there are now rumors circulating that while Feige will indeed reboot these shows he wants to keep some of the key actors in these roles.

“Our sources – the same ones who recently brought us accurate scoops such as Wiccan will debut in WandaVision, General Ross will appear in She-Hulk and the Inhumans will show up in Ms. Marvel – say that the Man Without Fear is likely to be played by Charlie Cox again. From what we understand, Feige still wants Cox as Daredevil, Jon Bernthal as the Punisher and a few more actors to reprise their roles, but for the most part, the TV characters will all be recast and whether they’re brought to life by a new performer or not, they’ll all be rebooted, with the super producer basically wanting to wipe Marvel TV’s efforts from continuity/existence.”

That is nothing more than a whisper in the wind, but that would be incredible and not to mention entirely unprecedented. I can’t think of one instance of a show or movie getting rebooted with the same actor returning to the role. That would be like Jared Leto and his weird, hoodrich version of the Joker reprising his role in the Todd Philips’ dark, grounded, gritty standalone film.

Don’t mess with me, internet message boards. These rumors are too good to not be true.

 

Henry Cavill Quits Role of Superman as DC Universe Collapses on Itself

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IGN – Henry Cavill has reportedly quit the role of Superman. Per the Hollywood Reporter, the actor has apparently parted ways with Warner Bros. after three films in the role.

Following Man of Steel, Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League, Cavill was in talks to cameo in the upcoming Shazam! According to THR, contract talks broke down, and the chances for a further appearance are all but through. Apparently, scheduling conflicts have become an issue for Cavill and the studio, which is supported by the actor’s new role as Geralt in Netflix’s The Witcher.

I’d like to say I took this news better than I actually did, but I looked more like this while reading the news that Henry Cavill is out as Superman

We already saw the demise of the DC Entertainment Universe coming after Justice League came out to very “meh” reactions from fans and that was before Jennifer Garner sent the Batfleck to rehab.

Thanks a lot, Elektra.

It was already a pretty well known secret that Ben Affleck’s time as Batman was nearing its end, especially after his Batman standalone project got canned. Now, as the article mentions, Affleck will likely play a small role in Suicide Squad 2 before hanging up his batarang.

(Despite the jumbled plot, the weak villain, and the terrible ending, Suicide Squad was actually very entertaining, which is why Margot Robbie and Will Smith are billionaire movie stars.)

Now it comes out that Henry Cavill is likely out as Superman and it’s a goddamn shame because Cavill was the best Superman since Christopher Reeve. (Sorry Dean Cain) With Tom Welling as an honorable mention, mostly because he played more Clark Kent than Superman and also because Smallville will forever be branded as the show that sex slavery cult leader Allison Mack was on in the 2000s.

But seriously Cavill was great, albeit the movies were not. Man of Steel was pretty good, maybe a little slow as yet another origin story, but an entertaining entry that kicked off the DCEU and even prominently featured Detective Stabler.

Always a plus.

Batman vs Superman looked super promising as it had an excellent teaser trailer, but when the movie finally came out it was a nearly 3 hour confused mess. Not to mention Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luther is one of the worst casting decisions in recent memory.

Let us not forget though, arguably the best 60 seconds in the entire DCEU history; Bruce Wayne shit talking Superman right to his face.

Then came Justice League, which as mentioned above, was very meh. Not terrible, not great. Lets put it this way; I skipped seeing it in theaters and ultimately ended up watching it on a 5 inch screen on a plane.

I was looking forward to seeing what Cavill and DC could do to salvage this property though. They were never going to compete with Marvel; that ship sailed a long time ago. But they could have carved out a very interesting niche with some of the most popular comic book stories of all time. Some of which Cavill himself mentioned, such as “Superman: Red Son” where in an alternate reality Superman grew up in the Soviet Union instead of the good old USA and how that affects world history as we now know it. I would see the shit out of that.

Or a buddy cop film with the Green Lanterns? Stop trying to build exactly what Marvel has built in giant ensemble films because what Marvel had going for it was a decade plus of great movies leading up to the Avengers. DC had Ryan Reynolds’ Green Lantern..

Anyways…

I have yet to see the new Mission Impossible, but Cavill looked like a goddamn snack in the trailers so I’ll have to check that out.

You won’t be without Cavill too long though as he recently signed on to play Geralt in the Netflix adaptation of The Witcher. I am stoked for that. I only got into the Witcher when the 3rd game dropped, but that is something that is dripping with potential for Cavill.

Playing Geralt of Rivia will allow Cavill to continue being the action star that he clearly is, but The Witcher is a lot sexier than Superman ever was. He’s basically a dangerous, cocky, wandering demon slayer that always has some time for the ladies in his life.

Poor Khal Drogo though, huh? Aquaman hasn’t even come out yet and Cavill has already put an expiration date on Momoa’s superhero career unless his upcoming solo film turns out to be even bigger than Vinny Chase’s premiere.