What are your opinions of the DC movie universe? Zis!
Keith Tudor, email Like most, I was unimpressed with Batman V Superman. However, the DC Cinematic Universe should still continue. They should remember who their characters are and remain true to them, but they can be dark and sombre with it, as theirs is a different take on the lighter superhero movies of Marvel.
Whitney Wylie, email Do a Lex Luthor solo movie. What’s so cool about the DC Universe is that the villains are as great as the superheroes are. I loved Jesse Eisenberg’s performance. SFX Thanks for writing, Mr Eisenberg – your clever pseudonym didn’t fool us for a second. OrangePumpkin, Facebook The biggest mistake that Zack Snyder made in BvS was that he did not allow all the characters to be themselves, something that Marvel completely understand. The DC Universe has some great characters and stories, so it doesn’t need to change things a great deal. Why did they darken and stiffen Superman when they should just have let him be his so-called boy scout self, as a contrast to the dark and brooding Batman. As for Lex, he should be the evil bald genius he is in most of the comics, not the long-haired teen nut job Jessie Eisenberg played. Ian Salsbury, Facebook There was too much going on in BvS at the expense of characterisation. And have Superman smile occasionally – I’d like to believe he enjoys helping people rather than seeing it as an obligation!
Emmet O’Brien, Facebook Let Superman be fun. Let Batman be clever. Let the films be hopeful. Let Zack Snyder find the exit. SFX They really don’t want to let Superman be Superman, do they? I don’t remember “intense scowling” being on his list of superpowers.
Graeme White, Facebook Make some familyfriendly movies. They may be PG-13/12A, but they’re not really suitable for kids, tonally.
Laurie McHale, Facebook Don’t be afraid of levity or good humour. Don’t fall into the traps of “edgy for edgy’s sake” and “dour = mature”. SFX Rumour has it the upcoming extended cut of Dawn Of Justice features loads of scenes of Batman and Superman doing stand-up.
Let Superman be fun. Let Batman be clever. Let Zack Snyder exit
Jim Covert-lly, Facebook A series of street-level Batfleck detective stories in the tone of the Arkham games would be a good move.
Wayne Cowie, Facebook Give it to the guys who do the animated stuff. That simple. SFX Great idea. You’ll kind of get your wish later this year with the R-rated adaptation of The Killing Joke.
Dicky Crisps, Facebook They’ve tried to edit Suicide Squad[’s trailers] to resemble Guardians Of The Galaxy, so they’ll be after their own Deadpool next. Coming in 2018: Blue Devil!
Adam Worrall, Facebook Scrap it, then give it six years and start afresh with a new vision. John Curr, Facebook Bin the movies; stick to TV. Paul Chinn, Facebook Continue on this path! Don’t try and make it a competition with Marvel. Loved that BvS was different from the joke-filled, toy-selling action romp Avengers was. SFX In the interests of balance, we thought it was important to show there really are some people out there who like Dawn Of Justice. #WHO’S THAT PEARL?
Medium Atomic Weight, email So Pearl Mackie is the Doctor’s new companion? Nothing personal, she seems sparky and spirited and the brief trailer shows a lot of promise. But why oh why does New Who continue to deny the Doctor a male companion? Sure, we’ve had Mickey and Rory but they were always the Doctor’s companion’s companion, and they knew it. Some of the very best companions over the years have been male. Ian Chesterton was essential in introducing us to the mysterious First Doctor’s strange, alien lifestyle. Nobody can deny the comradeship between the Second Doctor and Jamie, who wasn’t afraid to challenge the Doctor’s ambiguous moral choices when needed. Turlough, Ben, Adric and the UNIT mob all added valuable testosterone to the TARDIS control room. So don’t tell me a male companion can’t work in New Who. What a shame the Moff wasn’t brave enough to really shake up the dynamic of the show in his final season.
Don Mortell, Facebook Having been a fan since the 1960s (yup, was a geek before “geek” was even a thing!), I think the show has been losing ground over the past few years. Thumping good storytelling being replaced by ever loudening music and, in truth, amazing CGI and effects. I think Mr Capaldi is a fabulous actor and I wish Miss Mackie the best of success in her role. I’m sure she is a fine actor but I’m of the opinion that the best days of the reboot are long behind it. Mr Capaldi’s passion for the role is evident but he is being badly served by weak, fluffy, vague scripts and completely confusing story arcs. The announcement of Ms Mackie’s arrival a year prior to a new series is frankly bizarre. Are we being given a full 12 months to build our breathless excitement?
Simon Rolfe, Facebook I get a bit of an Ace feeling about her – and I like that. I always liked Sylvester McCoy’s last season. Very much looking forward to these new episodes when they finally arrive. SFX It’s too early to make a call on Pearl Mackie’s Bill, I reckon. The most important question right now is whether her introduction with the Daleks is canon or not.
#DC DOES IT
Gary Gibson, email Oh dear, I should’ve guessed it. As totally predictable as the appearance of a Marvel post-credits sequence, DC-Hater Supreme Nick Setchfield gets to review Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice.
At least I’m not the only one who has picked up on the unfair blasting this movie is getting from most critics, mainly because it isn’t deemed “fun – like Marvel”.
Mr Setchfield simply can’t stop himself, though – witness his “gloomy” jibe in relation to the forthcoming Aquaman movie and the “omnisuck” comment in “The Batfleck Rises” – both in Development Hell. I’m assuming the reference to the “dour” Dawn
Of Justice in Image Bank is Mr Setchfield’s work, too? [Nope – Ed] I recall him slating the first trailers for Dawn Of Justice in 2015, no doubt sharpening his knife even then. I’d be the first to
admit that Batman V Superman: Dawn Of
Justice had its flaws, but I’ve seen far worse Marvel productions.
It’s a shame that a superhero movie that dares to be different to Marvel receives such a perfunctory response from your magazine.
Anyone else in favour of banishing Mr Setchfield to the Phantom Zone before he can get his hands on Suicide Squad?
SFX Nick won’t be going to the Phantom Zone on my watch! Not sure where you got the idea he’s a DC-hater – he’s a long-term fan of Batman and Superman (he liked Superman Returns!) and his very fair BvS review came from the point of view of a fan massively disappointed by what he was seeing on screen. Believe me, we’d all have liked Batman V Superman to be a lot better than it was – what a waste of material!
#IT’S ABOUT TIM
Carl Roberts, Hinckley I have just read in issue 274 the Freeze Frame article on Tim Burton’s Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar
Children and there are a couple of comments from your team that I just couldn’t ignore. Rich says this is a “return to form for Burton”. Didn’t he see the fantastic Alice In
Wonderland and, admittedly the not so fantastic, but still fun and entertaining, Dark Shadows? Then Will went on to say “I wish Burton would break away from his visual tropes and make something low-key like Ed Wood”. Did he not see the fabulous Big Eyes?
Okay so I may be biased as I am a huge Tim Burton fan and I realise his work may not be to everyone’s taste, but doesn’t every director have their own niche?
SFX I used to love Burton in the days of Beetlejuice, Batman and Edward Scissorhands. I’ve even got a soft spot for his Charlie And The Chocolate Factory. But it’s a long time since I’ve been able to see the movie beyond those trademark Burton quirks. Alice In Wonderland left me totally cold.
#PLAYING THE GAME
Rik Laan, the Netherlands I skipped the cover feature of SFX 271, because I was reading the last (available) novel of A Song Of Ice
And Fire at the time. I haven’t seen the fifth season of GoT yet, but I thought it was safe to read the article (and the one in SFX 273) now I’ve finished reading A Dance
With Dragons. I was wrong. Stannis is dead? No, he isn’t (yet), he’s stuck in the snow! Arya is still blind? SPOILER No, she’s not (any more). Sansa married to Ramsay Bolton? That one is totally wrong, it should be “pretend Arya”, who was one of Sansa’s maids!
Apparently the only (major) things they got right last season were Cersei’s walk of shame and the stabbing of Jon Snow.
It seems the novels and the TV-series are already quite different things. I’m still thinking Robb Stark’s unborn child will be the last best hope for Westeros. But what do I know? Like you lot, probably I know nothing. SFX You’ll never guess what’s happened to Jon Snow...
#BACK ON TREK
Alexander Edwards, email I think
it’s the perfect time for Star Trek to grow up, and take advantage of the world we now live in.
All good science fiction takes something in our lives and creates a world where things are different, and then explores the implications. This was the basis for a lot of episodes from Next Gen, and harks back perfectly to that core idea of exploring.
I think we now live in a world where a starship crew could spend three to 10 episodes trying to help solve a morally complicated situation. It’s also time for characters to go on real journeys of their own. Just like Battlestar
Galactica, the characters at the end can resemble who they were
I think it’s the perfect time for Star Trek to grow up
at the beginning, but evolved, and shaped by their experience. SFX The word on the street is that showrunner Bryan Fuller’s looking at a more anthology-ish take on Trek with his new TV show, so you may get your wish for longer form Trek storytelling. Let’s not forget to keep it fun though, eh?
#WE ALSO HEARD FROM
chloeyoshifan2, email I was curious as to why you have not reviewed the second season of Dominion, seeing that the season two DVD came out in the UK in this month, and in the US a few months earlier. I wanted to see what the people at SFX thought of it, and what they thought of the cancellation. SFX Alas, there’s so much sci-fi out there that we can’t review everything we’d like to. And given the general sense of meh about Dominion emanating from SFX Towers, Dominion 2 didn’t make the cut. Our reaction to its cancellation? Unsurprised...
Mike Garner, Moorends Is Lucifer based on the Mike Carey epic? If so its the worst comic book adaption ever. If not, it’s frustratingly enjoyable.
Jenny Scragg, email Just reading through issue 273, and came across the “Don’t Quote Me” from Leslie Jones – “why can’t a regular person be a Ghostbuster?” Am I the only person on the planet who remembers that Winston Zeddemore was not a scientist either? Clearly the makers of the new trailer have forgotten (unless Winston was given an honorary qualification after the movie)! SFX Winston definitely isn’t a scientist in the original movie – that “30 years ago, four scientists saved New York” line in the first Ghostbusters trailer is utter nonsense. Do your research, trailer people!