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musikat18 · 1 year

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DCEU 10 Year Anniversary: "I Have No Idea Where I Am Going To Be Tomorrow, But I Accept The Fact That Tomorrow Will Come" (Edit-- Tomorrow Is Not Coming I Guess)

The quote in the subtitle for this retrospective comes from Titans/Young Justice: Graduation Day. Donna is talking to a concerned Cassie Sandsmark-- old guard assuring the new guard, promising that though the future is inherently uncertain, the important thing is they rise to meet the challenge.

Donna, in Graduation Day, is killed by a Superman robot, and Cassie is ultimately disillusioned and leaves behind her group of inseparable Young Justice teammates.

For a while, it kind of seemed like the DCEU was going the same way.

For some context: I was 13 when Man of Steel, the first movie in the DCEU, released in theaters (and I DID see it in theaters when it came out, maybe a week or two after opening weekend because I was 13 and still in a town where the nearest new releases theater was about half an hour to forty-five minutes from home). As of now (a little over a week after I started writing this post), I'm officially 23 years old-- by the time I'm halfway to 24, the DCEU will officially be 10 years old.

I don't particularly know why this hit me now. Maybe it's because I'm another year older and haven't particularly liked myself for the last few years and wanted to focus my attention on something I did love, or maybe it's because the more I think about it, the less ten-years-old the DCEU feels, OR maybe it's because the DCEU just had a formal set of captains announced in James Gunn & Peter Safran which naturally kind of lends to looking back at what came before to try and figure out, well, where we're going to be tomorrow.

And because that fascinated me, and because we just had the 12th DCEU movie come out (yes I do count Josstice League and ZSJL as two different movies), I felt the need to kind of look back on everything and unpack my feelings on each project.

So that's what I'm going to do.

I did a similar kind of post a couple of weeks ago for Phase 4 of the MCU, but I'm not actually going to rate these movies because I feel like the DCEU movies themselves in comparison to Marvel, my feelings about them are a lot more...complex and not very easy to assign a ranked number to. And I kind of just want the freedom to talk about the movies and how they made me feel and how I feel about them today.

Pop your popcorn and feel free to leave your own thoughts in reblogs and replies.

EDITOR'S NOTE!

Hi, I thought I could just put this post aside for a week and nothing could happen. Anyway, my hubris has become my downfall again and now I guess I have no reason to put this off given that the DCEU as a concept is effectively dead.

I put an addendum in the title to kind of underscore the news out this week confirmed by James Gunn that both the Henry Cavill Clark Kent that kind of encapsulates this era and the larger DCEU in its current form are all but dead, but I think it's kind of...it doesn't REALLY capture the full effect of how I feel about the potential future of DC films, but I'll save that for the end. You're here for tea. It's below the keep reading. I promise.

Man of Steel (06/14/2013)-- dir. Zack Snyder

Now that Henry Cavill is back as Superman (Future Kat: and now that he's been once again cut out of future plans for the time being lolol oops), I feel like it's overdue for me to retrospect his whole run in the DCEU so far, and I feel like over time, I've become...a lot kinder about Henry Cavill's Superman? And I feel like a lot of that is because of my own learning about how the filmmaking process works and what's in the actor's control vs. the directors and writers and producers, as well as kind of just watching other parts of his filmography, especially The Witcher.

I don't mean that in a way of like "wow his Geralt shows how great he'd be as a true modern day Superman" because Geralt and Clark Kent are EONS apart as far as character types and mannerisms. I mean I think it kind of opened me up to what Henry Cavill can do as an actor and even though the Witcher scripts aren't STELLAR, he's an excellent performer.

I kind of remember my very first impression of this movie being a mixture of awe and confusion-- I think the movie was a couple of weeks old, but I'm a DC stan first and a human being second and I was really excited to have a Superman for MY generation. And then I just???? Didn't really like him????? I think Zack Snyder is really good at painting striking imagery and moments, but the script just didn't really hit, now that I'm old enough to look back on it and rewatch it and articulate what I don't like about it. I know the idea is that Snyder's Clark feels kind of detached and is struggling with wanting to be connected to humanity but being inherently stronger and more powerful than them, but that's the SAME thing they tried with New 52 Superman, and it didn't work then, and it doesn't work now. It's not even a concept that doesn't work for Superman in general. DC Comics is very much the company of Gods Trying To Be Human. I just don't think MoS got it across in an effective way that makes US feel invested in Clark.

Also this is an ice cold take but Amy Adams was robbed. I don't know who she was playing in this movie but it was not fucking Lois Lane. Amy Adams was ROBBED.

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (03/25/2016)-- dir. Zack Snyder

They Sure Made This Movie Huh.

This is one I actually waited until it came out on DVD to watch, and I do have to say not only is it a slog to sit through-- no matter how many times I try to rewatch it, I can only make it through while streaming it with friends-- but the HARDEST part of this movie comes down to the fact that I just do not buy that Batman and Superman should be fighting.

A good Batman & Superman conflict stems from the difference in ideology of the characters: Batman, while he can be hopeful, ultimately upholds the flawed justice system while claiming to work outside of it, while Superman is generally associated with rehabilitation, compassion, hope, and honesty.

In this movie, though, Clark doesn't get to DO much of anything to differentiate him from Batman because Lex is pulling so many of the strings, and Bruce is just so.......................................The Dark Knight Returns of it all was a mistake and I don't think it did anything to make the conflict between the two engaging. It's not like Superman doesn't want to kill people and Batman (again because of the Dark Knight Returns of it all) is getting Rougher, it's one of those conflicts that could be resolved by like. Having ONE conversation.

I also feel like this movie, as I've said ad infinitum, was just trying to be TOO many things. It was Man of Steel 2. It was Batman 1. It was Wonder Woman 0.5. It was Death of Superman. It was Dark Knight Returns. And because of it, it didn't succeed at ANY of it. There's a lot of WB Fingerprints on the blueprint of this movie, and a lot of Snyder Fingerprints, and also a lot of Man of Steel just...not being a franchise vehicle. It doesn't come off that way when you watch it. It doesn't have the environmental richness needed and works a lot better as a character study rather than a franchise springboard.

I do have to say one GOOD thing about this movie, though, and that is the fact that it contains the FUNNIEST accidental canon contradiction in the world by having Patrick Wilson do a voice cameo as The President Of The United States. Yes I DO have my own personal headcanon for how this works with his OTHER DCEU character. No I will NOT elaborate unless asked.

Suicide Squad (08/05/2016)-- dir. David Ayer

Margot Robbie and Viola Davis deserve awards for carrying this entire movie on their backs-- anyway, now that that's out of the way...

This is another one I waited for DVD for, but that was mainly because I was coming off the heels of a long NYC vacation and school was about to start up again (I think this was the start of my junior year? *does some math* Yeah, I was a junior in high school at this time) and I was a busy busy teen but we don't have time to get into my perfectionism issues and completely-ignored anxiety issues at the time.

This movie is not really...a movie, I think, but more a series of short music videos/needle-drop sequences put together in a way that kind of creates a story? It has a LOT of needle-drop sequences in it. Like, a LOT. So many that when I think of this movie, I don't really think of individual scenes or lines or even characters, even if this movie gave us Viola Davis' STELLAR Amanda Waller. I think of all the musical moments. House of the Rising Sun. You Don't Own Me. Fortunate Son. I don't really think it's very effective to rely on the music to explain (sometimes poorly) to the audience the tone of the scene or inform about the character. That's kind of what you have actors there for.

And I guess we should probably discuss the elephant in the room that is Jared Leto's Joker, even though I really don't want to, but I'll at least give it a mention. I'll keep it brief, though, because a lot of what I have to say has been said to death before-- I don't MIND them trying a different angle with the Joker, I just don't think it landed. And I'll openly say I'm not married to Heath Ledger's preceding Dark Knight Joker (yes his work as an actor was stellar. No I don't think it offers anything particularly innovative and it doesn't always feel like a Joker to me), that was never my problem with Jared Leto. It was a valiant effort, but Leto's Joker really does feel designed to cater to the Edgy Teen crowd and that's not really Joker to me, either.

Again, I think studio fingerprints are all over this film, but I don't think I would have been in love with Ayer's version either, and I don't need to see an "Ayer Cut."

Wonder Woman (06/02/2017)-- dir. Patty Jenkins

I remember seeing this one. I REMEMBER it. And I remember CRYING in the theater. Mainly because 17-year-old me NEEDED this movie. Like, needed it, desperately, but because it just has a lot of heart behind it, and I don't think that's an accident.

You can tell that Patty Jenkins and Gal Gadot and the cast and crew have a lot of love for Wonder Woman, both as a character and as a concept. Wonder Woman is historically an arbiter of truth and justice and compassion and all that good stuff, and it really shines through in the movie. So much so that even a lot of its weaknesses I'm willing to forgive.

I do wish Diana had more women to interact with in the film. I get what they were going for here, but it felt so odd to have a film so definitively trying NOT to be "women good men bad" (even if it does kind of feel like it sometimes, I'll get into it in another post maybe if people have interest) where it was so focused on isolating Diana from other women and how much Diana didn't fit into Man's World.

But like, even with the things I didn't like and don't like when I look back on it, this film had a HUGE impact on me. I still have a quote from Diana's climactic "deserve vs. believe" speech at the end in my blog bio. The idea that people should do good and work to make things better no matter how hurtful the rest of the world seems is a HUGE part of my ethos personally, and this movie is almost exclusively what affirmed that for me and set it in stone.

Josstice League (11/17/2017) --dir. J*ss Wh*don

(Yes I know this gif is from the Snyder Cut but if there was ever a movie that exuded I'll Make Tea energy for me it's this one)

I...............................................................................................................

*sighs*

I know the exact moment I knew I was going to hate this movie.

Picture this. You are me. You are at the movies. You are watching Josstice League for the first time. You are having a good time in the first half, because you are really liking the supporting case of the JLA and you loved Wonder Woman and are so happy to see Gal Gadot back and Jason Momoa is so fun as Aquaman and you really like Ray Fisher a lot and are so intrigued by his Cyborg and Ezra Miller's Flash is pretty fun too and yeah Ben Affleck is there and you don't care about Batman but you are having a GREAT TIME WITH YOUR NEW JLA!

And then they lose ONE fight and Batman says "fuck it. We gotta resurrect Superman. We can't do this without Superman. Let's bring him back from the dead."

And you slowly, horrifically realize that this is not, in the end, going to be a Justice League movie. This is going to be a movie where all the fun new friends you just met, most for the first time, try their best but ultimately just sit back and let Superman do all the hard stuff.

I have a lot of problems with Josstice League, and now you're all going to hear about it.

I'm not here to talk about the boob fall scene, or the quippiness of the humor, or the fact that no one here seems to really like each other, or that this is almost basically just Avengers but with the serial numbers filed away and given new ones over it. I'm here to talk about the fact that, at the end of the day, the movie is not about the Justice League.

There is no teamwork in this film. There is no bonding in this film. There are no friendly co-workers in this film. This is not an ensemble movie or even a team movie. This is a Batman movie with some side characters who SHOULD be more important than they are written that is later turned into a Batman/Superman movie with some side characters who should be more important than they are written.

I don't know why WB Studios thought the best move would be to bring Joss Whedon in to essentially remake Avengers and hope it would work, because at the end of the day, the Avengers and the Justice League have two very different dynamics going for them.

The Avengers are a found family, but a very dysfunctional one. They argue a lot. They split into factions a lot. They constantly switch out members because people are always dealing with too many personal complexities to maintain the teamwork. But they are, for all their faults, a family.

The Justice League are a found family, but in a very different way. Yes, they have disagreements. Yes, there are ideological conflicts among members. But at the core, the team is a group of individuals who come from all walks of life and yet all share the same loneliness. Whether it be Clark's alien status on a human planet, or Diana's deliberate separation from all she's ever known, or Bruce's self-imposed isolation out of grief for his parents, everyone on the Justice League has felt loneliness, and they stick together because they realize they are no longer alone and they do not have to be.

You can have them argue and have pet peeves with each other, but they can't not like each other at all on some level. And I did not see anyone on that team who liked each other, not even Diana and Bruce, my poor little WonderBat heart from the JLU cartoon days weeps.

Also, Ray Fisher was robbed. We all knew that, but it bears repeating. He was robbed.

Aquaman (12/21/2018)-- dir. James Wan

I've already talked this one to death so I won't keep you here too long lmaooooooooooooo

No but like for real, I love Aquaman. I love this movie. It's comfort food for me. I have a lot of love and respect for James Wan as a filmmaker, and I do think the smartest thing WB ever did was start hiring horror directors to do their superhero films because horror has SO much creativity in it, historically.

I know when the cast was announced, I was definitely confused because it just seemed like a very eclectic group of actors (Khal Drogo, Ed Warren, Boba Fett, Satine from Moulin Rouge, Ivan Drago, and Norman Osborn?????), but the end result was just so, so good. It explores deep themes if you're willing to read them, but it's also just a lot of explosive (literally) dumb fun.

Also, my blorbo. My special boy. My little war criminal. Mwah.

Shazam (04/05/2019)-- dir. David F. Sandberg

*presses mouth directly to microphone*

Shazam Fucking Slaps.

I think this is probably one of the strongest DCEU films and that's probably because it just lets itself be as bananas and fun as it wants. It really plays with the concept of "Big but it's Superheroes" to the fullest and has the feel of an 80s movie like The Goonies or The Sandlot, which isn't a bad thing at all. It's hard not to love seeing Billy and Freddy run around and geek out over how cool it is to have superpowers, especially because I remember being a kid like Freddy once and it absolutely warmed my heart to see Billy develop his relationships with all of his new siblings and his new family.

I also really love that this movie wasn't afraid to get kind of Dark at times despite having the Shazamily all over it. Again, WB having horror directors like Sandberg do their superhero films was a GREAT choice because of the inventiveness they have and the way it allows for Billy to really have a chance to grow both as Billy Batson and as the Champion and face really ultimately uncomfortable and scary things.

Also I related to Mary a little too hard here. I was like "wow she's just like me" and then I was like "hmmmm i think i have Unresolved Personal Issues."

Birds of Prey (02/07/2020) --dir. Cathy Yan

I-- okay. Okay. Okay. First let me share a fun fact: this movie, I actually saw at an exclusive early screening event WB hosted for my university about two days before the movie released, and also this was the last movie I saw before the Global Panini happened.

Okay, so I think this is a GREAT Harley Quinn movie, especially for the Harley of the current era. I like that it's fun and vibrant and colorful and just lets itself be about women who want to beat people up and do so in the most over-the-top explosive sometimes gross way possible, and I also like that it doesn't shy away from Harley being a bad person in certain moments. Like, sure, she's very much the protagonist of this movie, but she's still kind of an ass to everyone around her, even to the people she likes like Cassandra. Also, again, Margot Robbie is just fun to watch in this role. She's probably one of my favorite actors of the 21st century so far (with I, Tonya being one of my favorite movies ever), and it's clear that she loves being Harley Quinn and has a ton of fun with the role.

As a Birds of Prey movie.....................................................that kind of just isn't what it is at all. I get Margot Robbie's logic from what I understand from the behind-the-scenes development of the movie-- the Birds of Prey from the comics are a group of badass women and they go kind of unsung for the wider audience and she wanted to highlight them, and that's cool and I agree with her-- I just don't think this movie accomplished that with Harley at the center of it.

I think there IS a version of this movie that accomplishes both things, and also lets Cassandra Cain ACTUALLY be Cassandra Cain and not just Pre-Transition Jason Todd, but I don't think that's the movie we got. The movie we got is a lot of fun! I loved it! I think it's fun to watch, it's fun to talk about, I always have a good time with it. But I don't know if I'd call it a Birds of Prey movie.

Wonder Woman 1984 (12/25/2020)-- dir. Patty Jenkins

*blows out a long breath of air*

I have a lot of..................complicated feelings about this movie.

I don't really have a problem with the cheesiness of it all-- like I said above, I think that's been a strong point for a DCEU that has been way more willing to lean into the cheesiness of comics in general compared to the MCU (especially EARLY MCU). It really does seek to emulate an 80s action movie with magic and action and big set pieces, and that's fine.

I also definitely GET what they were going for here. I can see all the moving pieces and the themes and everything, and I don't even necessarily think it's a bad thing or a bad story for Diana's character.

I just-- listen, as much as I love Chris Pine and as much as I loved WonderTrev in the first movie, I...think the BIGGEST mistake of this movie was framing it around WonderTrev.

Steve was a really important part of Diana's life, and I can see her struggling with her grief, but I just do NOT think it works to have Diana feeling isolated and lonely in Man's World SPECIFICALLY because Steve isn't there with her. Double especially because I think framing this movie around a tragic friendship to enemyhood between Diana and Barbara is so much more effective! A lot of the parts of Diana's character and mythos that make her unique and compelling like the Amazons end up lost in the Steve of it all, and that's SO sad to me because the idea of Diana having to contend with the greed and envy and gluttony for power among humanity is a GREAT story! I just wish it had been framed on a different idea.

Also it was lovely to see Lynda Carter in this movie. Fuck, don't show this post to her. I forgot she's here now. Fuck. Oh god the nerd embarrassment is hitting I'm sorry Lynda

Zack Snyder's Justice League (03/10/2021) --dir. Zack Snyder

Okay, so I WAS a Snyder Cut truther from the beginning. Partly for the meme, and partly because I hated Josstice League so much that I needed to believe there was something better out there, and to my credit (and everyone else's), I was right.

Just because the movie is better AS FAR AS THE STORY GOES though doesn't mean it's not full of the ZS stuff that I'm not a fan of, like a lot of the slomo and tacking on the Knightmare future ending at the end-- I always kind of hated the Knightmare concept and I'm glad we'll never get to see it actually. But DUDE this was SO GOOD.

I especially ADORE all the added content with Cyborg. Ray Fisher is a PHENOMENAL actor and Victor's storyline is absolutely the best part of the movie that makes even the slower parts worth it. Actually, let me tell you WHERE you can watch more stuff he's been in because he absolutely deserves a career boost after all the shit WB put him through:

He was in the HBO series True Detective's third season as a main character, which is obviously on HBO Max along with ZSJL.

He had a role in the ABC series Women of the Movement, which is about Mamie Till-Mobley and the murder of Emmett Till centered on her activism right after his murder. This one you can watch on Hulu or the ABC website itself.

He's also GOING to be in Rebel Moon, which is another Zack Snyder film that is (in theory?) going to be on Netflix in 2023, though I know Charlie Hunnam was just injured on set (yikes hate it not a fan) so it might end up pushed back.

Anyway, my point is this was ABSOLUTELY worth coming back and finishing it, and I'm SO glad it got to see the light of day even if it's kind of almost impossible to rewatch.

The Suicide Squad (08/05/2021)-- dir. James Gunn

Okay, okay, not even going to lie, I LOVED this one, and it's what made me so excited to see James Gunn named co-executive of the DC division at WB. I know James Gunn has a very specific style and approach to writing and directing that you either love or hate, so I can understand why this one isn't going to be everyone's favorite, but I for one had a BLAST with it.

First of all, I'm so glad Rick Flag was able to get a little glow-up before his death. I actually almost didn't think he was the same character, and in a lot of ways he really isn't, but a lot of this movie pulls from the older Ostrander run comics, and I can see a lot of that Rick in this Rick.

I also LOVE all the new characters and think they really demonstrate the power of a great ensemble movie. There's someone for everyone to root for and the healthy mix of newer faces and established names makes for a great cast.

Also I think the fact that this movie is SO strong in its writing is what makes Peacemaker work, but I'll talk more about him specifically in a minute. But like Wonder Woman (weirdly), there's an earnestness and heart at the core of the movie that makes the irreverence and more ridiculous elements work-- it has a larger-than-life conflict and villain and sense of style, but at its core it is really about people just trying to not die, both in the middle of battle and in a world that has REALLY shown them no sympathy.

Peacemaker (01/13/2022-present)-- written by James Gunn

James Gunn is really the guy you get to do your show if your first instinct about the main character is "who the fuck wants a show about THAT guy?"

I came into this show really, really, REALLY not sold on the concept, and then in the last episode, I was in TEARS by the end. I think that this show was, in the end, not just a fun little quarantine project James Gunn put together, but it really does provide a commentary and study on how to empathize with people who are NOT like you and who you DO NOT like, especially when they're willing to open that door to understanding and compassion.

Like, everybody on this team is a little bit of an asshole, yes even Leota, and that's why it WORKS. For a very silly show with a very silly premise and a REFUSAL to take itself too seriously, it does feel very grounded and realistic and like you could get a drink with just about everyone it sets you up to root for. We KNOW the Eleventh Street Kids. We ARE, to some degree, the Eleventh Street Kids. It's very cliche but it's also very true.

The core of this show, like many other James Gunn projects of late, is really about empathy over apathy, and that's what I think struck a chord with me. If you haven't given it a shot yet, I really strongly suggest you do.

Black Adam (10/21/2022)-- dir. Jaume Collet-Sera

Oh, FUCK yeah.

This movie reminded me of Aquaman in a lot of ways, in that there's a lot of deeper themes about colonization and the idea of hero idolatry that you CAN read for the film if you want, but it's also a great movie to just turn your brain off to and watch Mr. The Rock fly around and punch people.

Much like Birds of Prey, I don't know if I'd QUITE call this a Black Adam movie because they do a LOT of make him more front-end heroic-- in wrestling terms, the JSA is largely there to play jobber for Adam until things start heating up with Intergang and Sabbac for the main event-- but it is certainly a fun one.

And I do ADORE the JSA in this movie. Pierce Brosnan is a great Kent Nelson, Aldis Hodge is my FAVORITE Hawkman I've ever seen so far (sorry Falk Hentschel I'm sorry I'm so sorry sir but your writing was CW-standard), and I wanted to see a LOT more out of Cyclone. Atom Smasher was there too I guess idk for some reason he didn't really stick out for me but he was a good kid.

Also ADRIANNA TOMAZ IS THE STRONGEST BITCH IN THIS HOUSE. I felt kind of bad watching the movie because I miss Legends so much that I kept calling her Zari in my head, but in her closer-to-source form, she's FABULOUS. I want to be her when I grow up. She is 100% the real star of this movie and Sarah Shahi did an EXCELLENT job.

I think, now that I'm writing this in a post-Henry Cavill Again Superman world, the post-credits scene is unintentionally really really funny, but in the end, I had a good time with it and I'll look back on it fondly.

Conclusion, Literally

There are exactly four movies left to be released in the DCEU: Shazam 2, Blue Beetle, The Flash, and Aquaman 2.

After that, we really don't know what we're going to get. At least until James Gunn makes his early-next-year announcement (I know I will be waiting on the edge of my seat to find out if I am still getting my Black Canary movie).

When I went to finish this post, I added on Tomorrow Is Not Coming I Guess to the main title, but I also said that didn't really capture how I felt about the future of DC films. I don't really see this as the DCEU dying-- frankly, it never really got off the ground to begin with. After Josstice League flopped, the focus was way more on strong solo films than trying to build a connected universe, which I think actually made it stronger.

At the end of the day, this is the chance to put the characters and storytelling at the forefront, and that's why I have so much faith in the Gunn-Safran team for whatever is coming next. Safran has produced some really strong, character- heavy movies with James Wan and WB. James Gunn is a strong writer with a good head on his shoulders for how to best balance creative freedom for directors with not letting their voice overpower every part of the process.

For whatever comes next to work, it HAS to be a collaborative effort on all parts with no one voice overpowering the other. Tomorrow IS still coming. I have no idea what it will look like. But I know that when it comes, I will rise to meet it, and so will whoever is involved in what comes next.

Also James Gunn, if you're reading this, I will write and direct Booster Gold myself. This is not a joke. I am dead serious. I will do it. I have thoughts already and my DMs are open.

Anyway, share your thoughts freely. You know, without being an ass.

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