This weekend
features the release of two movies that share almost nothing in
common. They are both sequels, though. They're on opposite ends of
the filmmaking spectrum in terms of scope, budgets, and expected box
office returns, but they inspire the same core worry: Each could be a
watered down version of more successful things that came before.
Let's see what Hollywood has planned for us.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
Director: Zack
Snyder
Writers: Chris
Terrio, David S. Goyer
Starring: Ben
Affleck, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Jesse Eisenberg, Gal Gadot
First, the big one
that everyone will see. After the “that could be cool” reaction
to the idea of seeing Batman and Superman meet on the big screen for
the first time faded, little about the lead-up to this movie has
instilled me with confidence in its potential. Ben Affleck seems like
a fine replacement for Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne-Batman, and the
variety of suits he wears in the trailers certainly look cool. The
action appears to be competently directed, which is to be expected
from a filmmaker like Zack Snyder (Watchmen is unruly but
ultimately a solid experience with exceptional action setpieces).
But everything else
looks like a mess, with too many characters existing purely to set up
other movies and/or sell toys, whether they make sense to be
introduced here or not. Rumor has it that pretty much the entire Justice League league will at least make cameo appearances – Gal
Gadot's Wonder Woman seems to have a semi-important role in this
one's story – despite there
being no context for them set up in Man of Steel a few years
ago. Even in a dauntingly-long 151-minute runtime, the
likelihood of Snyder and company being able to successfully establish
a new Batman – this movie will act as if the Batman Begins-The
Dark Knight-The Dark Knight Rises trilogy never existed – and
Wonder Woman and Aquaman and the Flash and whoever else they have in
mind for the upcoming Justice League team-up movie, plus
develop Jesse Eisenberg's villainous Lex Luthor, and maybe have some
time for a coherent plot is near zero. But hey, I'm wrong about
things all the time.
My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2
Director: Kirk
Jones
Writer: Nia
Vardalos
Starring: Nia
Vardalos, John Corbett, Michael Constantine
After Mad Max:
Fury Road, I am forever hopeful that a years- or decades-later
sequel will fundamentally change cinema for the better. So,
14-years-in-the-making My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2, no
pressure. This time around, Nia Vardalos and John Corbett play
exhausted parents rather than a couple falling in love. They have a
teenage daughter who wants her own space, but given the overbearing
Greek family audiences came to love in the surprise-hit original, she
ain't getting it. Plus there are some hijinks about the now
grandparents discovering a paperwork mishap means they aren't
technically married. Hence, there's a second big fat Greek wedding.
It's all probably paint-by-numbers heartwarming, but so is the first
one, and that's pretty good. If you don't want to be bludgeoned with
characters and explosions, this is probably a nice
counter-programming option.
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