Story, villain problems continue to plague the DCEU

James F. Puzzuoli

DCEU (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

While Aquaman isn’t the weakest entry into the DC Extended Universe (DCEU), it is just another example of the shortcomings of the DC movies.

The DC Extended Universe (DCEU) launched its sixth movie last week with Aquaman. Unfortunately, yet again, the DCEU has another film that doesn’t impress in the same way that the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has thus far.

The MCU has launched 20 films in an 11-year period from 2008-2018. Not all of them have been great, but certainly they have all been successful at building a brand for the Marvel heroes.

The DCEU has launched 6 films in a 6-year period from 2013-2018. The difference in number of films is pretty sad, but the fact remains that DC has struggled to get things right on the big screen. At least with this particular run of films.

One of the greatest films in DC’s long cinematic history wasn’t even a live-action take on one of their characters, but was instead Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993), which was an animated feature based on the world of Batman: The Animated Series (1992-95).

On his IMDb page, Michael Uslan has been a producer of every major Batman film – going all the way back to Tim Burton’s Batman (1989) and all the way through Justice League (2017). Uslan had this to say about what is important when crafting a film – specifically referring to Batman: Mask of the Phantasm:

Man of Steel

For Man of Steel, there was an opportunity to open up the storytelling. Instead, the decision was made to re-hash the villain from Superman II (1980) – General Zod. Superman’s rogues gallery isn’t the deepest (especially compared to Batman), but he has other villains who have not yet seen the big screen.

Villains like Bizarro, Parasite, or Metallo would have been cool to see on the big screen. But what these characters could have provided was a smaller story for the new Superman to battle.

Instead of General Zod transforming the Earth into a new Krypton and causing a world level threat, this Superman could have fought off a city-wide threat. It is easy to understand why these filmmakers want to make the biggest threat possible: it should result in something spectacular on-screen. And, at some level, every Superman movie has ended with a large threat.

But with Man of Steel, the third act of the movie is just noisy and hard to follow, as Superman has to overcome such great odds to defeat Zod. The first parts of Man of Steel are about Clark Kent trying to figure out his place in the world as a hero. It is actually a decent idea and done well, and different from previous iterations of the character – at least on the big screen.

But then with the third act, Superman faces a threat that is big enough for a team of heroes (ala the Justice League). Here, there is a lesson from the beginning of the MCU with Iron Man (2008). The villain Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges) and Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) have a very localized fight at the end of that movie. It isn’t about a worldwide threat, but about who is going to control Tony’s new arc technology.

That ending of Iron Man is easy to follow, and it has the proper amount of stakes for a new hero. Man of Steel goes right for the biggest possible fight – a fight that has haunted the DCEU ever since.

(Photo by Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Bai Superteas)

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was a much better effort for the DCEU, which was probably bolstered by the inclusion of a new Batman (Ben Affleck) and the first big-screen Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot). Casting has never really been an issue in the DCEU, and Batman v Superman was another home run – that includes Henry Cavill’s casting as Superman.

Because of the criticism that so much of Metropolis was destroyed in Man of Steel, Batman v Superman spends a lot of effort to make up for this mistake. The opening of the film is about Bruce Wayne/Batman’s reaction to that destruction, and that he squarely blames Superman for it.

It is a plot point that is understandable because the idea was to have Superman and Batman at odds. But this issue of mass destruction from Man of Steel carries into the third act of the film – when the three heroes face off with the newly created monster villain (Doomsday).

The film goes to great lengths to say the battle is taking place in an abandoned part of town. This feels more like a reaction to criticism to have the battle go down in this way. It also lowers the stakes from the previous film.

In Man of Steel, the world is being threatened. In Batman v Superman, really just the three heroes are in danger.

In one sense, it seems like the filmmakers are getting it. Save the big threats for the eventual Justice League movie. Although with Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman in the final battle, you have enough of the Justice League to handle just about anything.

But there was also an opportunity to demonstrate how these heroes work together to minimize the damage – and not just by luring Doomsday away from the city in a two minute scene. There may have been a way to maintain the threat of hurting citizens, but demonstrating some kind of teamwork that protects those citizens.

Of course, Doomsday’s inclusions only led to the obligatory ‘death of Superman,’ since Doomsday killed Superman in the 90s comics. It was anti-climatic to have Kal-El die at the hands of Doomsday. Mostly because it was so unoriginal and expected – and it’s a big reason why Batman v Superman missed the mark with its ending.

(Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images)

Suicide Squad

Suicide Squad demonstrates the depth of DC villain roster by having them be the protagonists of the movie. It is a fun movie, and despite a very tough job to establish so many villains, director David Ayer does a quality job.

The key to the film is of course Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) who has become a beloved villain since her creation by Bruce Timm and Paul Dini in Batman: The Animated Series. This is by far one my favorite series, so I was ecstatic to see Quinn come to the big screen. And was very satisfied with Robbie’s portrayal.

The portrayal of the new Joker (Jared Leto) left something to be desired. Heath Ledger’s Oscar-winning performance as the Joker in The Dark Knight (2008) may have had something to do with my apprehension for this new take. But, Leto’s Joker is only tangential to the plot, and even Ayer himself admitted on Twitter that was a mistake:

"“Wish I had a time machine. I’d make Joker the main villain and engineer a more grounded story. I have to take the good and the bad and learn from it. I love making movies and I love DC. I’m a High School dropout and used to paint houses for a living. I’m lucky to have the job I have. I have to give the characters the stories and plots they deserve next time.”"

Instead, Suicide Squad has Enchantress as the main villain, and a really over-the-top battle at the end of the film. A Joker centered plot might have been great. But the real point is a more “grounded story” with a non super-powered villain would have been better for this kind of movie.

Even the animated film Batman: Assault on Arkham (2014) was a better demonstration on how to tell a Suicide Squad story. In that film, the squad goes after a thumb drive hidden in Riddler’s cane. It is simple and makes for an interesting story that involves breaking into Arkham Asylum, which brings in a whole bunch of other villains as well.

The ending of Suicide Squad, much like the ending of Man of Steel, looks like a threat way too big for this particular group. But beyond that, it isn’t all that interesting visually – just another computer-generated (CG) mess at the end. A grounded story could have created better action sequences, and really demonstrated how effective this team could be at doing the dirty covert work for the government.

(Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

Wonder Woman

Wonder Woman is everything that the DCEU should want to be going forward, but somehow isn’t? It nails the origin story, while perfectly placing Wonder Woman (also known as Diana) in a situation that is spot-on for her character.

Diana believes that she can end the war of man by defeating the ‘god of war’ (Ares). She also demonstrates throughout the film that she is a hero that will fight with every last breath to do the right thing. It is a very enjoyable movie, and the only thing it lacks is a great ending.

What Wonder Woman brought to the DCEU for the first time was a sense of humor (without being campy) and a tone that was much lighter. And it perfectly fit with this character. Wonder Woman showed that everyone involved (writing, directing, production) understood that she is a great hero, and that gender has nothing to do with it – she stands side by side with Batman and Superman because she is their equal (and maybe even a cut above when it comes to the DCEU).

In the third act, Wonder Woman defeats General Ludendorff, who she thinks is Ares. And when this doesn’t end the war, she is disheartened. It is a terrific scene, as she realizes man’s thirst for war isn’t just the result of the gods. For just a moment, there was a real depth to understanding the human condition – that both good and bad people exist and it has nothing to do with the influences of some outside force or god.

Then, the moment passes. And it is revealed that a different character is actually Ares, and Diana is forced to fight him instead. It sort of undermines what just came before with Diana’s realization about good and evil.

But the ending needs a big fight, so it is ‘Wonder Woman v Ares: Last One Before Justice.’ It’s not a bad idea, but that fight (which is supposed to be between two gods) isn’t nearly as good as the various battles that preceded it. Of course, this fight involves a shift to a heavy CG battle. And the grounded story, which existed to that point, disappears rather quickly.

Still, with Steve Trevor’s (Chris Pine) sacrifice at the end of the film, little could ruin this final act. It wasn’t perfect, but Wonder Woman is still damn good. Yet, the legacy of the film is how much it may have hurt the next one… the big one… the team-up!

(Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images)

Justice League

Part of Wonder Woman’s charm was its sense of humor and its lighter tone. It still took the material seriously, but Wonder Woman isn’t haunted by an unyielding darkness – like Batman (and for some reason this DCEU version of Superman). Wonder Woman likes helping people – she is a beacon of light for those around her, even inspiring Steve Trevor to make his sacrifice at some level.

With director Zack Snyder, both Man of Steel and Batman v Superman were very dark in tone. And, in my opinion, it worked better in the latter than it did in the former. Even, in some respects, I think Batman’s darkness in Batman v Superman helped to lighten up Superman a bit from his Man of Steel debut.

Snyder has a vision, which Warner Bros. bought into wholeheartedly. But when the opportunity came to take Justice League away from Snyder (via a family tragedy no less) – in order to re-shoot and re-cut the film with a lighter tone, more humor, and a shorter run-time – the studio didn’t hesitate.

Justice League is a Frankenstein monster of at least two visions – Snyder and Joss Whedon, who finished the film, but is only credited as a writer. Whedon is very talented, as demonstrated by Marvel’s The Avengers (2012) and all he did to oversee Phase Two of the MCU. So, Justice League wasn’t a fair demonstration of his abilities. But it also wasn’t fair to Snyder.

Snyder deserved the chance to put out the film that he intended. There is a mythical “Snyder Cut” of Justice League out there, which probably should be put out to the public. In my opinion, the longer (“Ultimate Edition”) of Batman v Superman was a much better film than its theatrical counterpart.

To try and drastically change a film like Justice League basically destroyed the final product. It isn’t a terrible film, but with all of the greatest firepower in the DC universe at its disposal, it should have been something special – and it is not.

Aquaman

My score (6/10) may not indicate this, but I did like Aquaman. It is another good step for the DCEU, as a very difficult character was delivered to the big screen.

The film works fine from the perspective of its narrative. And it interweaves how Aquaman (Jason Momoa) came to be, and his mission to become King of Atlantis.

The scenes are all good, and the quest to find the trident is clear and simple. And director James Wan shows that he has a steady hand when it comes to storytelling – all of that works.

But the end of the movie is just another CG battle between Aquaman and his brother Orm (Patrick Wilson) for the crown of Atlantis. The third act is actually fairly short for the film (clocking in at around 18 minutes). Wan clearly understood that there was a monotony to watching what amounted to a lot of underwater fighting. It was cool to see, but it could feel repetitive.

Even the stakes don’t go worldwide in the film. Yes, Atlantis demonstrates that they can threaten the land with a massive tidal wave – that throws back all of the garbage and sewage created by the land dwellers. But the end of the film is only about Atlantis. The battle is still enormous because (let’s face it) the water represents two-thirds of this planet. But Wan does a decent job of making the story personal for Aquaman.

My biggest criticism of the film is that nothing about it stood out to me. The entire quest for the trident was fine, but none of the scenes spoke to me as a viewer. Maybe this will change with a second viewing?

After Wan’s two most recent horror films – The Conjuring and The Conjuring 2, which are excellent – I honestly expected a lot more from the narrative. Wan has a knack for making compelling drama. But with this film, it never feels like Aquaman is in any real danger of losing anything.

Having to reveal the main workings of the Aqua-family tree probably held this film back just a bit. If Wan returns for a sequel, he will have much more room to tell a better story – without the constraints of introducing so many concepts and characters.

(Photo by Jack Taylor/Getty Images)

Final thoughts

Aquaman did well in its first weekend (over $67 million, source: BoxOfficeMojo.com). That is good news for the DCEU. It is a sign that this universe is on the right path.

Still, all of the rumors about Cavill and Affleck leaving the DCEU are very troubling. Superman and Batman (along with Wonder Woman) are the foundations of the DCEU. Recasting isn’t necessarily an issue, but if they are recast, does the entire DCEU need to be rebooted?

It would be shame to start again, especially as steps in the right direction have been taken. And mostly because every casting choice has been great.

At this point, it doesn’t look like there will be a direct sequel to the Justice League. All of the set-up for Jack Kirby’s Fourth World characters (like Darkseid) are being wasted at this point. Also, Justice League’s tag infers the bad guys getting together and forming either an Injustice League or Legion of Doom – either of which would also make for a pretty cool movie.

When it comes to Marvel or DC, the latter has always been slightly above in my opinion. There is no question (film wise) that the MCU outshines the DCEU in every manner possible. Still, not even one of the twenty MCU films has been nearly as good as Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight (or Batman Begins for that matter).

But The Dark Knight is special. And it is that film that makes me think DC can still find a way to make things right. Batman has seen the highs and lows of big screen adaptations, yet every outing has something enjoyable about it (well, maybe not 1997’s Batman & Robin).

With most of these characters, there are decades of stories from which to draw. Yet, it all comes back to story, and somehow all those decades aren’t enough. If the story and character issues get fixed, every other issue can be overcome.

It won’t be about reacting to criticism or dealing with an unhappy actor, it will just be about these enduring characters. The Marvel movies should be pushing DC to do better. Competition breeds excellence. It is time for the DCEU to get ahead of the game and nail these big screen adaptations. Easier said than done, but they’ve done it before – so, just go do it again.

James F. Puzzuoli

Graduate of University of Southern California (USC). Fight On!Grew up and live near Detroit, MI.Love Detroit sports (Pistons, Tigers, Red Wings), but my passion is football and my team (for better and usually worse) is the Detroit Lions.But any football (pro or college) is of interest to me.My love for film begins with the Star Wars Trilogy. To be clear - Star Wars, Empire, and Jedi - there is no other trilogy.With comics, comic book movies, and animation: I love anything DC, especially Batman (Marvel is pretty awesome too, but just a step below).