Part of the deal with these VIP columns is they’re freer, even encouraged, to stray from the normal political, media, and social commentary and bring in something else, something different. It’s a blessing, really, one for which I am grateful because so much more of life is not about politics than the parts that are. Especially the enjoyable parts.
That’s always been a part of me, the need to disengage for short periods of time, which is probably why I love movies so much. Some people take baths, others read, or whatever, I watch movies. So when one comes along with a lot of hype, hype that isn’t centered around its message – there is nothing worse than a movie leftists insist is “important” for whatever reason – I look forward to watching it. I make a point to, in fact, because I want to have knowledge of what is shaping discussions and the culture.
I prefer comedies, but a good drama or action movie hits the spot too. And love comic book movies, which made this past weekend one I was looking forward to.
OK, I need to clarify a bit – I love Marvel comic book movies. As a kid, to the extent I read comic books (which wasn’t a lot), they were Marvel. When I was 15 I worked in a baseball card/comic book store, which was some of the most fun I’ve had working in any of my 70+ jobs. But I was a baseball card kid, not a comic book kid. The store wasn’t successful, having a horrible slot in an empty strip mall, which gave me a lot of free time while working alone. I passed the time, sometimes, by reading comic books.
I dabbled in DC, but Marvel’s characters were so much better and, more importantly to me, they “existed” in the real world. They usually lived in New York and had real lives, whereas DC characters lived in generically named cities like Metropolis, Gotham, Smallville, Central City, Midway City, etc. It was like naming your kid “kid” or your dog “dog.” Maybe it was just me, but it annoyed the heck out of me and I’ve never really gotten past it.
Still, I’ve watched the movies anyway, mostly to pass the time between Marvel installments. They were…not good.
It’s tough to make a fair comparison between Marvel and DC, especially when you’re a fan of one and not really a fan of the other. But a good movie is a good movie, even with characters I don’t like. These DC movies are just bad – the fights are too long, the plots convoluted, and there is no fun in them at all.
Comic book movies don’t have to be all fun, people are killed and the stakes are generally pretty high, but they also can’t be 2 hours of self-dentistry to watch. You’re accepting the premise that a guy in a non-COVID mask beats people up, sometimes a lot of people, and wins, so the suspension of disbelief is in the mix. Some fun should be too. Marvel jokes are fitting, funny, and what you’d expect from the characters who make them. DC jokes, to the extent they exist, always seemed forced. That made DC movies seem like homework.
When you add in the lack of compelling characters, aside from Batman, watching them can be a chore.
I kept asking myself, “Can’t Superman handle all this on his own, and pretty easily?” or “Why does Wonder Woman bother deflecting bullets when they can’t hurt her?” or “Wouldn’t the easiest way to defeat Aquaman be to plan a non-boat based escape?” I’m a DC killjoy, I know it.
But I watched the new “Zack Snyder’s Justice League” over the weekend and enjoyed it. It’s not great, but it’s good. It gets bonus points because it’s significantly better than the original “Justice League” released a few years ago and directed by “morally challenged” director Joss Whedon, but mostly because that was horrible.
The new version, available on HBOMax, doesn’t suck. It’s not great, don’t get me wrong, it’s 4 hours long and would’ve benefitted from some editing for tightness, but it actually makes sense, unlike the Whedon disaster. Sure, you will ask yourself why these advanced societies (Amazonians and Atantians) haven’t developed a new weapon in the last 5000 years, or again, “Can’t Superman handle this?” but it will entertain you for a long time.
It won’t win awards, and it isn’t anywhere near the quality of the worst Marvel movie, but it is the best DC movie.
I like long movies, especially ones you can watch at home (the pause button allows for bathroom and food breaks, and no big crowd to drown out lines with laughs or guffaws), so this was right up my alley. If you’re looking for a good distraction, or just have a lot of time you need to fill, there are worse ways to do it than by watching the new version of “Justice League,” like watching any of the abominations nominated for the woke Oscars next month. Low bar, I know, but for once a DC comics movie clears it.
Derek Hunter is the host of a free daily podcast (subscribe!), host of a daily radio show on WCBM in Maryland, and author of the book, Outrage, INC., which exposes how liberals use fear and hatred to manipulate the masses. Follow him on Twitter at @DerekAHunter.
