Thursday, July 7, 2016

Who won the superhero showdown?

Before Suicide Squad gets released in August, I thought it would be fun to compare the 3 superhero films of 2016. I am comparing Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, Captain America: Civil War, and X-Men: Apocalypse. I will leave Deadpool and Dr. Strange for another post.

First... the good. BvS did a good job of making up for lost time and, to the surprise of many, Ben Afleck crushed it as Batman. It created a universe in a matter of a single film. CACW had amazing action and storylines. The airport scene is probably one of my favorite scenes in any movie, not just superhero movies. X-Men told an epic tale and reintroduced characters in a fresh, new way.

Second... the okay. BvS attempted to redeem Man of Steel by making Superman a little less dark. Civil War had a rather large cast to give screen time, but they were able to do a pretty good job with it. X-Men's treatment of one of their biggest villains wasn't quite strong enough.

Lastly.... the bad. BvS's story jumped around and seemed to be forced at times. Marvel is still struggling to have a truly engaging villain (except Loki) to balance against the team. CACW is no exception with two different villains who are both weak. X-men struggles with keeping an interesting story moving.

I really did like all three of these films. My favorite, by far, was Captain America: Civil War. I believe that Batman v Superman has set up a bright future and I am looking forward to the rest of Ben Afleck's interpretation of this iconic hero. X-Men came in very strong.