The DC Extended Universe will release “Justice League” to movie theaters on Nov. 17, bringing together a cast of big name actors and actresses, such as Amy Adams, Gal Gadot and Ben Affleck. While Gadot found great success in her recent work in the DCEU, her peers have not enjoyed the same. For years, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has dominated the comic book movie scene, and the DC Universe has desperately tried to catch up. Yet, due to awkward cinematography and poorly written scripts, most agree the DCEU has failed.
THE RIVALRY
Marvel broke into film when “Iron Man” came to the screen in 2008. Fans went wild over the special effects that brought the comic book character to life, the humorous script and Robert Downey Jr.’s good looks. Following the film, Marvel mostly upheld its good reputation in films with its popular depiction of “Captain America: The First Avenger” and “The Avengers.”
With its rival universe ruling the screen, DC felt the pressure to reach a similar success. Though DC comic character Batman received his own well-renowned depiction in the Dark Knight trilogy, the movie was not connected to the larger DCEU. Rather the director, Christopher Nolan, made the movie as more of his personal take on Batman.
DC’S FILMS FALL FLAT
The DCEU released its first live action comic film “Man of Steel” in 2013, but unfortunately, the movie fell flat. When people expected to see the vibrantly colored, hopeful hero, they instead faced an almost sepia toned, serious drama. The universe failed even further with the release of “Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice” when they painted the character of Batman in an anger unnatural to his character, had an overzealous plot and, again, darkly-toned cinematography. In their third film attempt, they nearly reached their doom with the flop of “Suicide Squad,” and many thought the universe had used its final trial.
“WONDER WOMAN”: DC’S SAVING GRACE
The DCEU made a smart move, however, that saved their cinematic universe from total failure: they made “Wonder Woman.” With a new director and a fresh perspective, “Wonder Woman” brought the popularity and approval for which they had been waiting. The film received raving reviews, a 92 percent on Rotten Tomatoes as well as one of the highest attendance rates of any superhero movie in the past 15 years.
The success of “Wonder Woman” has left fans wondering what to expect from the “Justice League.” Somehow the filmmakers will need to combine the mediocre plots and character developments of the DCEU’s previous movies with “Wonder Woman’s” superior qualities in order to create a coherent, quality storyline. Otherwise, not even Wonder Woman could save the DCEU from total destruction. Now audiences must await the arrival of the “Justice League” with skeptical hope.
