In Defense of the DCEU - The End of an Era

with the release of Aquaman the Lost Kingdom at the end of 2023 the DCU DC extended universe is officially done before James gun goes and reboots everything with Superman and Creature Commandos I wanted to take some time to look back at this sometimes bizarre experiment in cinematic franchising and talk specifically about what I think worked in part one we looked at everything from Man of Steel to Aquaman and in part two we looked at everything from Shazam to Peacemaker but we're going to finish it up today talking about the last five movies in the DCU and also real quick I think we got to talk [Music] about we cannot forget Batgirl movie that was never released and at least for now I have not seen I will fly to wherever to watch it if anybody has a cut I'm very curious there are a couple things that we do know about Batgirl that deserve to be praised one this costume is great perfect live action version of the Burnside costume I remember when people on the internet saw the costume and were mad because and I can't believe they actually typed this it looked like Batgirl cosplay which like if you've read the first paragraph of a Wikipedia page you know how dumb that sounds for the people in the back it is supposed to look like cosplay P girl's whole deal is she stops a crime on a way to a costume party dressed as her take on Batman it would be like complaining that D Man's costume is just a Wolverine costume and a daredevil costume together that's so lazy also the decision to cast Brendan Frasier was smart it seemed like Frasier was going to be playing a version of firefly who was a former mobster who did arson to pay for his wife surgery or something and that is a compelling backstory Firefly also feels like the perfect villain for Barbara this could have worked now I'm not going to go into blaming David zaslav or whoever for this if anything he inherited it right so it feels like the beginning of Mrs Doubtfire where the dad is storing the crazy party that's wrecking the neighborhood and Mom shuts it down and she looks like the bad guy maybe we should blame the Warner Brothers Executives who put Warner Brothers in that position I don't know I will say I agree that there should be a rule that if you scrap a movie for tax purposes it goes immediately into the public domain I would really like to see it because it had promise speaking of promise what did Black Adam do right the biggest meme of the DC euu say it with me the hierarchy of power in the DC Universe is about to change in all seriousness I'm going to say what will probably be the most controversial thing that comes out of this video I think we were a little too hard on the Rock like besides maybe Ryan Reynolds with Deadpool no single actor has done more to bring in until that Point obscure character into the spotlight than Dwayne Johnson did for Black Adam there are many people who probably had no interest in comics who because of the rock picked up an issue of JSA and that's cool and regardless of whether Johnson actually was reading these when he was a kid he committed to it as an adult and stuck with it Johnson has been working on this movie for over a decade I think if this released the way it expected to things would have been different we forget because of the pandemic and a couple of other projects being shuffled around this was promoted for a long time remember fandom this this was a big fandom reveal in 2020 and 2021 and in 2022 The Rock showed up at San Diego ComicCon in costume did the full Loki but because everything else had pushed back or cancelled black adom was practically the only DC movie with the presence at ComiCon that year and because of that it felt sort of Overexposed do I think this makes a humongous difference when it comes to the overall quality of the movie no when it comes to our reaction to the movie I do think this framed it in an interesting way but okay let's start here positives easy one Dr fate was perfect Pierce broen was born to play three characters James Bond Sam carmichel and Kent Nelson this goatee this jacket the scat and the fake costume was fantastic all of the Black Adam costumes were designed by the team of Kurt Swanson and Bert Mueller every costume had its own unique intention they decided to give hawman a very fluid suit made of Shifting geometric patterns representing the otherworldly enth metal Hawkman also sported a fun asymmetry that made its way onto most of the team Fate's helmet Adam's Bolt Cyclones everything made each costume more Dynamic the texture of Adam's suit changes as he becomes more familiar with this new world it becomes more vibrant love Adam's final costume with the boots in the cape obviously Fate's helmet is gorgeous Cyclone's whole Wizard of Oz get up his fun and Adam Smasher is fine it looks a lot like Deadpool which makes sense cuz these guys also made Deadpool's live action costume I also think Black Adam is almost doing interesting things with the themes of sovereignty and imperialism but it's not quite able to land so you know points for trying they're interesting ideas I I love how all the superpowers in this movie look this opening with Adam massacring the intergang forces is very cool like I think if this scene had not already been in several trailers and just came out of nowhere it would have gotten a much bigger reaction Adam vers the Justice Society gives everyone Great Moments and I don't mind use of slow-mo here all the moments they chose to highlight were genuinely cool and felt like they would be right at home in a comic action-wise I don't think we got enough time with Cyclone but her powers were fun to look at Dr fake gets some really memorable moves here that do the most important thing for his character differentiate him from MCU doctor strange and that one bit where Black Adam does the manin black thing is fun I loved the dynamic near the middle of the movie between Adam and the JSA where he keeps making their lives Difficult by killing goons or dropping goons and I think Alis Hodge really works here some of the comedy in Black Adam in general just works the bit where Adam keeps walking through walls is funny I like the image of Adam Smasher just crushing a bucket of fried chicken and the jokes aren't meta or breaking down the superhero genre it's all natural part of the story and I really respect this movie's commitment to taking the comic bookness of Black Adam seriously I mean this is the movie where hawkman's computer on his nth metal jet is able to detect and identify the demon saach a demon that at this point in history has never successfully been summoned that's some comic book but I'll take that any day in favor of a movie that's embarrassed by it and sidest steps all the weird stuff one other thing Black Adam not taking off might be the best thing for The Rock he is currently lined up to work on the next zafy Brothers movie and he just came back to the WW and told everyone in saltt Lake City and all of their and I'm quoting here 50 wives and 600 inbred children that they finally know what it's like to look at greatness Johnson needed to get knocked down at Peg so he could get back to his roots make a weird movie and go back to being the greatest heel in the history of the WWE and he's not doing either of those if Black Adam is a success door closed window opened speaking of characters with a lightning bolt and the power of the Gods who say you the word Shazam to get their powers and probably should be in a movie together but inexplicably we're not let's talk about Shazam 2 is another sequel that felt like it got away from the team but that does not mean there wasn't anything to like for instance this opening save on the bridge was great in fact almost every sequel in the DCU started with a scene that ruled like if that was the movie I would be on board Batman view Superman destruction of metropolis Wonder Woman 84 the scene in the mall The Suicide Squad the massacre on the beach Shazam 2 the bridge save and Aquaman 2 fighting the Pirates and we will get to the flash but like a breezy screw ball comedy where this family struggles to grow as superheroes while also cultivating a positive Public Image could totally work I think the dragon looks neat all these monster designs in this one are super creative that's something these Shazam movies have always excelled at like the minutor and the Cyclops they're barely on screen for a minute but the craft on display is undeniable the focus on the rock of Eternity as a location was smart I love how the Shazam not only used it as a home base but dressed it up like somewhere they would want to be set decorator Danielle Burman describes the Rock of Eternity as being inspired by modern tree houses there were couches lights and Xbox it was thoroughly messy and chaotic like any space shared by six siblings would be I also love the choice to dress up the seven deadly sins with paint and accessories this should be the core of one of these Shazam movies what happens when a bunch of normal kids get thrown into this ancient magic superhero world so touches like that really help reinforce that theme I also appreciate how much the kids explored the rock of Eternity Eugene went through all the doors Pedro used the magic pen to write essays I appreciate that these kids are curious about different parts of this world curiosity is almost always interesting I also love a good Cameo and one from original Shazam actor Michael Gray was very fun I think the balance of this Cameo and David F samberg's helped to lighten up this scene where the monsters killed many many people in downtown Philadelphia speaking of that i' love that each shazam movie has one scene out of nowhere that is unbelievably dark last movie it was the bord massacre this time it's when Calypso tells deep Radley Baker the nice teacher to jump off the roof that is all kinds of gnarly like genuinely one of the most disturbing deaths in all of the DCU and shows up in act one out of nowhere and never gets mentioned again I know the dream sequence got mocked online but I think this visual is very funny and I like that Billy has a Dopey teenage version of his ideal superhero life where he's dating Wonder Woman because that's absolutely what any 17-year-old superhero would dream about and I like the gag started by Shazam 1 where either because of budget or scheduling they can't get the Cameo they want so instead of just writing the whole thing out just choose not to show the character's face like this is Home Improvement originally I thought it was a little annoying but it's one of those bits that's so dumb if you keep doing it by the third or fourth time I would be disappointed if we do see the face I didn't hate the music in Shazam but I do want to point out that this was the third movie of 2023 to use Bonnie Tyler's Holding Out for a Hero as a big needle drop the other two were the finale of Tetris and the Super Mario Brothers training montage I'm only bringing this up because I just want to point out how relieved I was when Guardians 3 did not also have Holding Out for a Hero somewhere in the third act I think the through line of Billy's adopted mother feeling some distance between herself and Billy is a powerful one it makes perfect sense for Billy have a subconscious distrust of mothers after what happened to him as a child and then again as an adult so I think this Arc feels sweet I kind of wish like a lot of things in Shazam too there was more of it also I think the bit where Pedro comes out of the closet is cute very matter of fact as someone who grew up in the '90s it's nice to see A Moment Like This Be So commonplace that by the end of the movie you forgot it happened and that post-edit scene teasing me a second time with Mr mind barded on being cruel but in a movie with a sense of humor I don't mind it and since we're not moving forward with the DCU probably it's for the best that Mr did not headline one of these that way there's plenty of room for him in the new DCU it's also wild that this post-edit scene has the first tint at the authority like I'm not sure what this post-credit scene was getting at but it seems like neither did the team at DC these five movies really had the most confounding post-credit scenes in the Shazam 2 were honestly probably the least weird but yeah this movie is fine for most of the reasons the first one was fine it's goofy the action was solid and the kits are fun to watch I wish there was a little bit more to the villains and like I already said many of the ideas brought up Billy's abandonment the family going their separate ways the city being annoyed by the Shazam could have worked well if we spent more time with them speaking of the city as a joke I wrote an episode of It's Always Sunny that takes place during the events of Shazam 2 if you want to read it the link is in the description speaking of superheroes with red suits and lightning bolts let's talk [Music] about okay this is a tricky one not going to get into the issues with any specific actors because a there's too much to cover and B I'm just working out what was in the movie and real quick on Ezra I think their version of Barry makes no sense as an adaptation of Barry Allen from the comics honestly it would barely work as Wall-E maybe Bart but that being said I think just working with the character we already have I think they're pretty good in this the second Barry thing works very well I think they're funny when they need to be they hit all the emotional beats again I don't begrudge anyone for not wanting to watch the movie because of what they are alleged to have done but just looking at the performance I think it worked but I'm going to say what is actually the most controversial thing in this video I think the first two-thirds of this movie are very good and this is all a matter of taste if you like sillier stuff I think this movie does that very well for instance I liked the baby shower in fact I loved it is it weird looking sure do the babies look real no but is someone who has been complaining about Time in a Bottle moments for years I think this take on one of them is clever this moment where Barry moves past the baby it seems like he's going to save and eats a candy bar is very good and had my theater going and I love the contrast between Flash's demeanor and the reaction from this nurse who just fell out of a building and speaking of an opening this Batman Chase is perfect like there were rumors that Andy machete was going to direct the Brave and the Bold the new Batman movie and the new DCU don't know if those are still true but everything that goes on here is great Batman sliding on the concrete whipping the bat rang at the guy behind him people love to complain that superheroes don't save people in movies anymore well how about Batman using the spike strip to divert the Humvee so it doesn't hit those kids Batman soaring through the explosion knocking out the guards and I love when a henchman surrenders that joke never gets old I really appreciate the long shots in this sequence and the pacing is brilliant cuz it's not just big explosion big explosion big explosion it's explosion Paul PA drama resolution this shot the grappling gun perfect timing Wonder Woman costume looks good can't tell if they changed it or it's just because of the light but the gold has a more silvery tint that reminds me of her new 52 costume which is a cool look Batman's costume listen are the little armor pad thingies weird yes but take those away and you have a gorgeous Batman costume this is the first time we've seen them Blue and Gray in Live Action since the 60s and it works I'm very hopeful that this is the look going into the new DCU not NE neily the design but that color scheme Barry's costume is tricky sometimes I love it I know people are all over the place on this CGI in this movie sure but I think a lot of the time the Barry New 52 suit with the yellow lightning lines looks great but I'll admit other times it looks weird usually when he's standing around and there's a strange focus on Barry's head seems like they're using a more shallow lens which tends to make his head feel bigger which I get shows more emotion looks kind of cartoony but it also just looks strange a lot of the time and the cowl is a little bit too built up for me I'm as surprised as you are but but I think the Justice League costume is my favorite DCU Flash costume if I had to rank him it's Justice League new 52 Batman suit first timeout costume and then dead last nightmare big picture I think the word that sums up why I love the first two-thirds of this movie is intention so many movies come out these days where you can feel the re-shoot and to be clear there's nothing inherently wrong with re-shooting part of a movie it happens all the time and when it's done well you don't notice what we're seeing a lot of today are re-shoot that you cannot miss scenes filled with dialogue that is obviously added after the fact constant quick edits to Frankenstein 3 versions of the same scene into one silly looking re-shoot wigs it's a problem it is really hard to pull off a joke like this one if you haven't nailed down the pacing long before you shoot and then you don't make a bazillion changes in the editing booth that way the timing carries through and in comedy like in life timing is everything speaking of this scene I think kiry Clemens could have been a good Iris West if she was ever given anything to do same with the friends I think the bit where Barry enters this speed force which did not win the most cheer worthy moment at the Oscars this year what a snub but I think that moment visually pretty cool and just like he does as Batman I think Ben Affleck Works in this movie as Bruce maybe it's just the voice or the chemistry with Miller but I just wish I always liked Affleck Bruce Wayne this much okay so the double Barry effect perfect this looked incredibly convincing like if you told me Ezra Miller has a twin and that's how they made these shots happen I would believe you they're constantly interacting holding hands picking each other up and it's seamless again I know this DGI in this movie was all over the place but that effect the double berries is make a break for me if this looks bad it doesn't matter how much fun the speed force looks like or how life like the babies are this movie does not work it was this one specific effect does not work fun fact people wonder how this movie cost so much money well here's part of why they shot some of this movie during Co so they were not able to film in America but there were some shots like this one that take place in what is clearly an American neighborhood so what did they do they went to a town in England that looked like that oh I'm sorry what I meant to say was they went to a bunch of trees in England and built all the houses shot the scenes and then in accordance with the local law tore the houses down so like in any other movie with CGI babies and the speed force the cheap part would be the scenes where you could just film a person standing around in the real world but even those were unreasonably expensive back to good things I also enjoyed most of the Barry and Berry hyinks I was hoping that the flash both Would Not Just Be An Origin movie and also I knew that we'd probably need to learn about Barry's origin in this movie so the decision to have an experienced Barry explain and reenact his origin with a younger version of himself was a clever way to tell an origin story without just telling an origin story having older Barry around explaining the powers to younger Barry was also an elegant way to get over the fact that the Flash's powers are pretty all over the place and sure ideally an audience would just accept the Barry can vibrate fast and walk through walls but audiences usually require something to grab on to and it certainly helps if someone is able to give us a crash course in all the flash Powers every time he wants to burst out a new one like creating a little tornado or shooting lightning and I do appreciate how much this movie got at what can be fun about the flash all we really got from Justice League is that Barry can run really fast on walls and go back in time but here he can walk through walls he can carry people at high speed he can heal quickly make a little electric tornado make a big Vortex to hide Supergirl make a big lightning blast he can brute force a simple code he runs on water and obviously travels through time and different dimensions it is a great Showcase of all of Barry's abilities that a less ambitious movie may have toned down I also loved young Barry's friends lot of the jokes here got me when Patty looked like she was going to comment on how Barry looked exactly the same as the other Barry but instead she was just hungry when Albert started playing the keyboard Patty burping I'm Batman Albert calling Aquaman a mermaid and of course Marty mcai in fact I think this movie does a good job with Multiverse stuff generally like Bruce turning the spaghetti to illustrate the time fulcrum brilliant and the messy spaghetti standing in for the chaotic timelines solid but I don't think the idea of the Multiverse has been as elegantly explained as the Eric stults Back to the Future conversation it's fun familiar and it gets you thinking about the rest of this universe very early on everything is up for grabs Looney Tunes dis spelled the other way the gremlin shirt has the wrong rule so many fun details help to make this world feel off but let's talk about the classic spaghetti or himself Michael Keaton Batman listen would I have preferred they just do Jeffrey Dean Morgan as a gun toing Thomas Wayne Batman like it seemed like the plan was when they cast him as Bruce's flashback Dad yeah obviously come on but I I liked Michael Keaton in this it was cool I really don't know what else to say the man can do this in his sleep he looks great in the cowl I love silly ascots overall I'm just happy to see him seems like he's having fun Supergirl SAS kaj didn't get a ton of time to really leave a strong impression for me her turn on a dime from I won't help you fight Zod to I will help you fight Zod suggests maybe there were some other scenes of hers that got cut movies can only be so long but she worked well enough and I wouldn't be surprised if they do a crisis on infinite Earths in a while and we see her again in this big fight in the desert does it look great eh but it has a ton of personality I love seeing old Barry and young Barry both doing the same thing completely differently Cara busting zod's head in with a pipe as metal as hell and the moments of cooperation are fantastic this brings up another thing this movie does well music yeah it's not the suicide squad or Birds of Prey but the flash has some pretty fun needle drops Salute Your solution for this big fight is terrific love the way it sinks up with the big action moments and then 25 or 6 to4 by Chicago during the Bruce Wayne kitchen fight leads to this wonderful slow-mo time to the tempo of the song slowing down and the intro with the Cults bad fun might be my favorite bit in the movie so let's talk about the ending is it good no not really like you can make the case that it is unethical to digitally revive actors I mostly agree but also I just don't think it works as a story beat it does effectively serve two purposes number one it shows Nicholas Cage as Superman and listen seems like he thought he was just doing that last part looking awkwardly at the Multiverse but they added all the thari and snare Beast stuff in after the fact so I see why Nick Cage was confused Warner Brothers probably should have told him what the plan was maybe they thought it would be a fun surprise but it was fun to see like my audience liked it and if they wanted to do this a little differently I could see it working like take familiar moments from the DCU and swap out the actors this last bit was just a bunch of those kind of cameos from Dead projects Adriana PAD leiki as Wonder Woman Freddy Prince Jr as Batman that could have been fun would it have been a solid storytelling device no but it would have been ethically sounded and memorable and two this bit made all the other times DC has done this look better by comparison cuz my goodness does DC pull this move a lot it loves to do scenes where we just look at cameos from other shows and movies got a bunch of them during the Arrow versus crisis on infinite Earth's event and I'm not talking about the moments when they go hang out with Smallville Clark and Lois or go visit Kevin Conroy rest in peace I'm talking about the times when a universe gets destroyed and we just see the Titans or Robert wo or Bert Ward or the damn Birds of Prey we also get one of these moments on Titans in an episode that aired on April 20th barely 2 months before the flash hit theaters Beast Boy went into the red and looked at different universes and see Swamp Thing and the Flash and even Shazam the last one is extra weird because it includes editing so Beast Boy is not peering into the real DCU he's just watching the movie it's like that bit from the bad Godzilla movie where they watch security camera footage and it's just a scene from earlier in the movie and I guess in Universe there were two security cameras and the security guard cut them together because he understood this moment was dramatic I don't know but both both of those Multiverse Cameo palas the crisis on CW and the Beast Boy in the red are made better by this Goofus of a Multiverse scene so that's something all that being said about the Multiverse ending this scene is great Barry going to the supermarket to fix things and visiting his mom one last time I don't think there's much I need to say about it both actors especially Ezra really brought a raw and honest emotion to this moment and it got me even though you see it coming from a mile away okay now some little things I like I absolutely adore this intro shot seeing this in theaters took my excitement from the movie from maybe a 5 out of 10 to a 9 out of 10 let's watch it again sound effect the pullback and the visual of Barry running from Central City usually in the midwest to Gotham City usually in Jersey is so slick like genuinely my favorite shot of the movie and one of my favorite moments in all of the DCU banter with Alfred is cute again I love Jeremy Irons in these I like when Barry shakes all the water off him the look that dog gives Barry it's falling out of the building is very funny I like this shot it's very cool I like that Ben Affleck's last line in the DCU is not this time maybe some other time I love this line no it was an Uber exact walking through the wall to get beer and then the beer exploding very funny I love this line okay how hard do you have to hit someone to make them forget stuff vibrating through the door it automatically opens is funny love that Barry uses the word bathed to describe getting covered in chemicals very Silver age it is wild that Jamie Lannister is in this Barry falling through the floor is funny love that this movie has the flash ring this flashback to Man of Steel is interesting not sure what the point of it is but I like it I like this look Barry gives Barry when he accidentally makes up the fake name Barry Wayne Manor looks terrific I love the face Barry makes when he's looking at the weird paintings I love this look Barry gives Bruce when he's about to easily evade his attack I love the as guy I like that Barry thinks there is a cousin's dinner this back cave looks great it is a real enormous set and that is very cool Barry using that computer mouse is a little detail that gets me as someone who used a mouse like that I love how many Russian guards Batman disarms with batarangs because they're like the best thing in his Arsenal I like that flash calls this guy a Jabron it's cool that Batman has a bat kite I love this cut to Barry sawing off the ears it's cute when older Barry uses the weird alternate Dimension slang and younger Barry appreciates it the shot of Cara punching the missile is very cool I love when Barry tries to turn his head and can't this was easy easily the moment in the movie that made me laugh the hardest Barry punching these guys in the balls is funny it's dumb but it's funny I like this shot I love that the guy who played the second Barry gets a cameo here as a reporter I love a good fbom and these credits are fun listen is The Flash the best movie in this group no but I find it fascinating because of which things it gets right and which things it gets very very wrong but speaking of the best movie in this group in some ways this is is the most successful of this phase of the DCU mostly by just being a good movie it's Spider-Man mixed with upgrade so basically Venom I think if you haven't seen this one yet you'll have a good time so let's look at some positives sholo maridia as Hae is the best bit of casting in this phase besides Pierce BR and Dr Fate of course he's right in the middle between someone who seems smart enough to solve a problem but dumb enough to keep getting into trouble he's brave enough to try something stupid but still afraid of the consequences it's just a rock solid performance feels right off the page and that explains why he is the only non-suicide squad or The Suicide Squad character that's going to survive the universe reset so good for sholo and I hope they bring the family too cuz they really work it's a cliche in movies about a family but I can see a version of this First Transformation scene for example where Hae is all alone in his room or something and that would be fine but director anho Manuel sto and writer Gareth dunad Al koser understood what was going to make this movie special memorable real also Sho felt just authentic enough as a college grad little touches like checks on Jenny's Instagram after they met once felt realistic and the back and forth with his sister felt natural I also love how chaotic all the Scarab stuff is the visual of the black goo filling hae's mouth is pretty dark and he is shouting throughout the entire scene the first jump the Scarab does into hae's face is super violent but the family is there to ground the scene keep it fun without that context I don't think you can go as hard as they did the Scarab design is also interesting on one hand love the body how practical it is gives Jolo a lot of room to act free on the other hand the face is a little weird I don't know what to do about that I think it looks strange with and without the mouth that's always been a tricky thing with the Blue Beetle the power signature of the Scarab is fun I love the visuals when it blasts forward in the air leaving a jagged blue vapor trail stuff like that is an excellent way to differentiate characters in big groups of superheroes with similar Powers it's one thing the X-Men Comics do exceptionally well also think the variation of weapons on the Scarab was great I could see a version of this movie where Hae uses an arm Cannon and his shield and a sword kind of like how Dr Fate really only had three moves in black atom but this Blue Beetle has different kinds of hand cannons different Shields a gun that fires giant Staples a whip a battering ram a couple of different shortswords an EMP something that might as well have been a uni beam some maces a hammer a huge cannon and of course the Buster sword I want this level of creativity when Warner Brothers makes a Green Lantern movie maybe not for guy but definitely Hal Kyle and whoever comes next this next one is all me I'll understand if you disagree but I really enjoy gge LZ in this I as younger I used to watch a sitcom and his standup I don't know what it is he works on me and I think what I appreciate here is his energy it is fun to watch a kid who wants to play it cool be constantly embarrassed by his psychotic Uncle also I like the idea of a conspiracy theorist in the DCU like yeah there are a ton of conspiracies Batman The Flash and Wonder Woman are hiding Among Us the government uses a secret supervillain assassin Squad The Flash can go back in time there was an army of butterfly aliens that were invading people's heads and for a while nobody knew about it eventually someone would catch on to how Wild all this sounds together Runa marzini worked for me as Jenny hord I liked how much she was integrated into the story like she was not in her own little corner Jenny almost immediately joins up with her as's and never leaves made her feel like less of a love interest written to fulfill a studio note and like more of a character and on the same token as George Lopez I'm always happy to see Gizmo here whether he gets that much to do or not even though I don't have very strong feelings on the Comic version of the film's heavy car packs I think the idea of turning him into the Proto omac is clever it's very Iron Man one Iron Man 2 anman one kind of villain but if it ain't broke you don't fix it and I think the turn with CarX was interesting I appreciated rul Max tulio's performance I don't know what to think about Victoria cord on one hand Susan sandon ma racer obviously going to be one of my favorites Forever on the other hand what is going on with the Hillary Clinton hair like I'm not the only one seeing this right was this supposed to be saying something or was it just an accident like I'm sure there were a lot of things it could say but I don't want to read too far into it either either way Susan Brandon's pretty good in this too but it is also hard to deny that the part of the movie that really got my attention was all the Ted cord stuff I think partially it's because I'm such a big fan of the Blue Beetle Ted cord relationship but also everything from the design of his cave to the suit to his gadgets had a style that we have not seen before that radical '90s purple and blue aesthetic really fits Blue Beetle nicely especially when he's described in this movie as a Batman but worse who operated before Hae was born I remember rumors that Ted cord was eventually going to be played by Jason sedus I think that absolutely could have worked especially with a slightly older Booster Gold like oh I don't know Brian Hansen for example also I loved the bug and the cord weapons although most of them were in the trailer but somehow either the bug manages to stay out of them or I guess I just missed it but I loved how crummy it looked but also how much damage it was able to cause the scene that is inexplicably backed by mle crew Kickstart My Heart with a family and Jenny are demolishing all of the chord forces is everything I want from one of these even in a movie where one of the characters is talking about how much he doesn't want to kill and George Lopez is stepping on guys like this I also think the fight scenes generally were pretty strong I imagine it certainly helps that sholo maruia has been trained in martial arts on and off Cobra Kai since 2018 but the camera work and fluidity of the motion felt very slick specifically this bit in the tunnel where high tosses this guy up and then kicks him into the wall it worked also I remember seeing the second trailer and getting to the part where a grandma has the Gatling gun and thinking oh that's cute that one we didn't expect to be good at shooting weapons is good at shooting weapons and if that was it I'd be all right with the joke probably would have worn out its welcome by the time I saw it in theaters but I did not expect Dana to be an expert in Guerilla Warfare who was part of at least one armed rebellion and I guess at some point used a Gatling gun that was way better than just the pight gag the moment where she fires the second time and the camera hangs on Grandma as she laughs maniacally might have been the single biggest laugh moment in my theater and overall I liked how the family fit into the finale they were not just there to be there they actively rescued Hae without them he would be dead and sure could there be a version of this fight where Hae does not need to reboot and can immediately fight carxs of course but this reboot fits into how the Scarab works so far and gives us an opportunity for some real Stakes that's about as good as these get and while this definitely was not a humongous hit I actually really respect Warner brother's decision to release Blue Beetle theatrically originally it felt like the big heroes like Shazam and Flash and Wonder Woman got the movies and the less popular and oh just coincidentally movie starring black and brown actors those were for streaming so this almost felt like a statement that Warner Brothers was committed to giving at least one of these is shot to be a huge hit that's cool also got to mention it is a bummer that nobody involved with this movie got to do any publicity now this isn't me saying I don't think the strike was worth it or anything like that of course I just wish that sholo and the team were able to take that Victory lap cuz they deserved it couple other things that stood out this receptionist is next level racist my co-host Chris Diggins brought this up on our podcast mostly nitpicking but I would understand if say haime had an appointment and his name was written down and she read it and said Jamie then he could correct her but she's stubborn and won't stop calling him Jamie but Hae speaks his name it does not appear to be written on any list and she knows that means it is spelled j a m i e and then actively chooses to mispronounce it that is some Advanced racism I love the detail that the bug went up hae's butt because everyone's right that's definitely what happened and it's funny when he tries to brush it off well okay haime how did it get in your body then when in your ear like what did we miss I like this shot where haime sees himself in the reflection of the V and Guadalupe it's like something Zack Snider would do but this movie and especially George Lopez are so over the top that I don't mind also love the design of the HUD the yellow accents really help with the blue and the purple very funky I love a good scene where a character's doing a bunch of chaotic nonsense and apologizing the entire time I think the off-duty carrot packs Prosthetics like his arm look very cool overall effects in this one quite strong using the hand break to toss El chapolin at Cara is fun and while I did not recognize that reference in the theater when the El chapuline show played and distracted the guards a lot of people in my theater were loving it the scene with the raid on the Reyes family was Rock Solid very clear Lally emulating the actual body cam footage of similar raids frequently done to undocumented immigrants especially like the shooting of the hinges bit felt like a very real way to open that scene I love that the Reyes family did not give up Hae even though they totally could have just said he's not here because he was not in fact there they just know like you don't tell him anything I think it's so funny how many things Blue Beetle did that were in movies right before Blue Beetle came out this intro shot where it looks like he's rich but then he's actually working for the rich people SE Chi the scene where the hero goes to the spirit realm and the dead loved one tells him they need to keep living Guardians 3 this is Chapel pose between man and Superman Guardians 3 the line my love for my family doesn't make me weak it makes me strong dark Phoenix now I'm not saying I think they copied those other movies all I'm saying is it's kind of funny imagining James gun watching the scene for the first time as the new head of DC and thinking oh no this is in my movie too I think it's funny that the suit never compensates for burning all of High's clothes off I hope we never get some sort of Nano shirt cuz this scene where a character discovers highe naked pretty funny I like that Victoria says the line cack ready the claw like what a line I hope when Susan sandom was filming th and Lou she was thinking this is great I just wish I could tell Felman already the claw oh well hopefully someday I like the Batman as a fascist line I think it's funny that people in this universe would think that because that's definitely the vibe he's giving when he uses his toe cable to whip one car of goons at another car of goons I love how the Scarab stops midair and hovers it's a very cool distinction that gives it a unique way to fly Kaja speaking Spanish is cool good representation of the two bonding another thing that my audience loved I think giving highe the Buster sword was very cool sort of wish they showed something earlier foreshadowing his love of anime or video games or whatever but still it's cool and was a great visual for the trailer it is a shame that this movie came out at the time that it did right at the end of the DCU and during the writers and actor strikes but it is clear that this movie worked because of that we will probably be seeing more of highe very soon maybe in that Teen Titans movie that just got announced but that wasn't the end of the DCU no no no it was one more movie to sum up pretty much everything about the DCU the good and the bad yeah I'm talking about I'll be honest on First Watch I didn't love this one I don't know why maybe my expectations were too high because the first Aquaman was such a fun surprise maybe I was just a little dced out but I rewatched all of these for this video and I've got to say I think Aquaman the lost kingdom is a good time right off the top almost everything I liked about about Aquaman one I liked about Aquaman the Lost Kingdom looks fantastic Jason mimoa is Thoroughly fun to watch Patrick Wilson makes or into a good foil for Arthur the action is crazy the Aquaman costume is great the one left field Cameo they managed to pull is funny last time it was Julie Andrews as the kathan this time it's Martin Short as Kingfish this jaob of the Hut looking fish with what I can only describe as big old boobies but there were some new things that upon a second watch really won me over first of all the stand out from this first trailer the black man to suit might be the best costume in the entirety of the DCU like it is a perfect adaptation of the comic Black Manta costume and I know some of you are saying no kidding the black wet suit and simple helmet from the comics translates better on screen than the some would say overdesigned New 52 flash suit or the bulky Hawkman armor yeah I know but we already saw Black Manta in the first Aquaman and he had an Iron Man suit which I mostly liked but that felt like sort of a copout we can't make the original suit look cool so we're going to change it a bunch but this oh this was Perfection the size of the helmet the neck the silver collar I love the enormous jetpack and whatever's going on with those hip pad things it looks absolutely perfect and that's not to say that the Aquaman suit is not also great but it was great last time same with mirus suit and the other atlantans they all continued to look great but this was the glow up Black Manta looked terrific I also could not get over these things the octobots everything they did was cool I think these movies suffered a little bit from DC power power creep enough so that I wasn't necessarily worried that someone in one of them would kill Aquaman but I just love to look at them how they fight how they swim the colors and speaking of Oto things toppo was cool didn't expect him to be as big part of this movie as he was but I like the idea that he's Aquaman's unofficial sidekick these Aquaman movies have always lent into the weird side of the comics and I appreciate that same goes for storm I'm proud that the first movie ends with Arthur briefly riding a seahorse and then the second movie starts with I'm Aquaman and I have a seahorse friend named storm and we just all went cool other new character Aqua baby did I like Aqua baby sure I sort of wish there was more of it they talk about it a lot in the beginning and then we're pretty much done with the baby stuff until the third act but that opening was great Arthur fighting Pirates and then it cuts to Arthur reenacting the fight with action figures for his son which includes an Aquaman action figure I assume he bought somewhere what do people in this universe think he is just some guy why do they need to be told about Atlantis shortly after Aquaman shows up guys like Dr Shin wouldn't look like crackpots hold on this is not my podcast mostly nitpicking this is an indefensive video so more good things fight choreography in this movie is really something again easy to take for granted because the first Aquaman also had terrific action sequences but Jay's definitely got more ambitious especially when it came to the one-on-one or one-on two fights and I don't mind the character arcs here it's almost like this is the second half of Arthur's Arc that started in Aquaman 1 Arthur doesn't save manta's dad Manta gets mad man and orm try to take out Arthur and then Arthur tries to reconcile with his brother and when orm eventually sacrifices himself to save the aqua baby Arthur learns that you have to save everyone so even though Manta just tried to kill his son Arthur tries to save Manta he learned something also I really appreciate the film's focus on the climate crisis is an existential threat requiring unprecedented cooperation Jason mimoa is a longtime environmental Advocate and I really respect that he was able to turn this movie into a clear plea to take climate change seriously especially after Aquaman W did that thing when orm was like we're doing too much pollution and then alch said don't be an evil King and kill everybody but they never did anything about the pollution this movie addresses it directly that's cool the acting standouts again were the villains I still love everything Yaya is doing I also thought orm had a lot of Great Moments he has lots of the best jokes and also his really intense demeanor helps to keep the stakes of this movie visible when the end gets sort of silly also he got into some pretty good shape for that beach scene which I respect and I really liked Randall Park as Dr Shin originally I thought this performance was okay bordering on like not very good but after a second watch I appreciate the cheese Park is laying on he feels like a silver aged character constantly narrating everything that happens for the benefit of the audience he was fun to watch bunch of small things I liked I liked when the baby peed on Aquaman that was weird I liked when the octopus peed on Aquaman that was also weird I like the bit where Jason Mamoa does sick Donuts outside the lighthouse I say Jason Mamoa because apparently those are his bikes and there's no way Arthur rides motorcycle like a badass was in the script I like the team Black Manta leather uniforms all the bad guys wear for some reason also the Manta sub looks very cool the bar Sheen Cameo is delightful I appreciate the Aquaman synth to I love when mirror attacks the octobot nearly breaking the window and black mantis says oh really really really appreciate these sets the deserter Kingdom mantis base necas like look in the background of the control room in mantis base there are just these weird discs spinning that's the kind of stuff that could have just not existed but James Juan knows how important that flavor can be to making this whole thing seem believable that shot of mantis slowly walking and reforming the Trident from all the trailers is cool or bouncing the helmet to fight this guy and the Manta base is pretty cool I like this face or makes when he grabs the Trident for the first time I think all the necris flashback stuff looks great I like the Bri King whining about his arm orm doing the fake out heel turn to go and save nerus is fun and I love when Manta uses the jetpack to Cannonball himself at Arthur listen was this the best movie in the DC EU no but did it deserve a 34% on Rotten Tomatoes absolutely not and I think people agree because Aquaman the lost kingdom made about 434 million dollar worldwide it was the only DCU movie last year to turn a profit I don't think we're going to ReDiscover Aquaman in the lost kingdom as a Hidden Gem in 5 years or something like that but I do think a lot of the hate that got piled on this movie came from its place as the last movie in the DCU many of the reviews brought that up that this was the last movie in the DCU and it kind of feels like people are trying to use used that to make a point when in reality I think taken as its own thing this movie works so what did we learn what lessons can the DCU teach future franchises well I think phase one the rise of Snyder is the ultimate cautionary tale and I'm not even convinced the problem was choosing Zack Snider as the architect of this universe I think the problem was the rush if Warner Brothers wanted a Justice League movie they needed to wait they rushed The Death of Superman they rushed the resurrection of Superman they rushed the introduction of the new gods and they rushed the the formation of the Justice League we needed more time with flash Aquaman Cyborg and even Batman for any of the team up to feel meaningful Superman needed to stay dead for more than two movies and the Justice League needed time to build up naturally it seems like Warner Brothers was racing to catch up to Marvel there were also rumors that WB put out a cut of Justice League that they knew needed more work because they needed it to release in 2017 to earn bigger bonuses and if your big Team Up movie doesn't work none of it does the universe was essentially dead from that point on not to say it did not produc great movies but the connectivity became more of a bug than a feature and heroes like Shazam and Black Adam got movies that largely ignored the events of Justice League even though they seemed like they would be a big deal short-term profits undercut the long-term viability of this project and you just can't do that because connections are what make these universes work and even though phase two the rise of gun slowed things down by focusing on new characters and Side Stories it still wasn't able to bring the Cinematic Universe back to life it also didn't help that a certain pandemic forced Warner Brothers to make some strange decisions The Suicide Squad probably the best DCU movie opened to little Fanfare with a direct to streaming release and the SN cut while an improvement appreciated by super fans reminded General audiences of a movie they wanted to forget but the lost kingdom phase taught us that there is no good way to end these because of the development cycle everyone is aware of which movies are coming out long before their release so even if Warner Brothers took their foot off the gas that would read as a sign that things are over and when people don't believe in the future of the Cinematic Universe the connectivity almost works against the individual movies when going to the theater isn't cheap and you can spend that time watching a couple episodes of a great show from your home why get invested in a Flash movie that will only confuse you once the next flash is released many fans seem to fully check out knowing that the new DCU was coming soon enough so in conclusion I don't know if anything could save the DCU from a lackluster Justice League which is a shame because each movie had something to offer whether it was an engaging performance some breathtaking new worlds or just a story that made you believe that everyone can have a purpose the DCU took big swings and while yes it is over the DCU was also one of the only other ones of these that was able to stay alive for more than a couple of movies The Dark Universe The Wizarding World Jurassic world the gii Joe movies the Transformer movies the new gii Joe Transformer movies and of course whatever Madam web and morbius are doing right now Marvel is the top dog and sure their Star Wars the fox Xmen in the monsterverse but I would say they follow more of a linear path the DCU was the only real shot at a Cinematic Universe outside of the MCU that made a dent in the public Consciousness and that's something and hopefully James and Peter and the rest of Warner Brothers will be able to learn from the dcu's successes and failures to create something worthy of the most beloved characters in popular culture one more thing you know was a weird scene in The Flash is that scene where Barry called Aquaman's dad to try to figure out if Aquaman existed not because Barry wouldn't do that that's a good idea but because Thomas Curry has picked up a phone call from someone he did not know now maybe this has to do with the flash being said in an alternate universe but at least for me I get so many spam phone calls that I have stopped answering my phone unless I know the person calling me and that is probably not good especially if somebody needs to get in touch with Aquaman and I happen to know Aquaman I'm going to ignore that call and then zod's going to take over the world and then the Spheres are going to start colliding so that is not great and the reason that spam calls are getting worse these days is something called Data Brokers these a private corporations that collect information about you from public records like census reports and electoral roles then they sell information to other companies and scammers that's why data breaches are getting more and more common every year luckily you can get some help from this video sponsor incognit they reach out to the data Brokers submit removal requests on your behalf deal with all the objections and then stay on top of with ongoing pressure to keep your data off the market permanently if you want to give it a try got fantastic news you can use my code nandoi movies at the link below to get an exclusive 60% off an annual incog plan as always I've got to say thank you to everybody who continues to support the channel on patreon everybody that watches these videos early and adree on nebula everybody who listens to my podcast mostly nitpicking everybody that follows me on Twitter I'm Nando movies all over the Internet that's all I got stay safe I'll see you next time

Channel: Nando v Movies

Views: 83,166

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Id: vDTKQbWngtw

Length: 45min 9sec (2709 seconds)

Published: Tue Apr 02 2024