Batman – Further Annotations

The pacing was good. The story line was tightly written and the best thing going for it. But the way that story and pacing played out was often too jerky or off-key. Punchlines weren’t delivered as expertly as they were in the trailer, and then there was the soundtrack (which must have been expensive, for all the classic songs they used; it seems like they bought all the songs on the director’s playlist and, after filming, were like “Welp, we already paid for them. Find somewhere to stick ’em!”). The soundtrack would play as if building up to something, only to end abruptly for no reason–as if trying to win us over with a few of our favorite lyrics here and there. At times it turned into a music video.

Annnnd the acting–oh man, the acting–was melodramatic/overacted and chaotically delivered–just like those punchlines. I’m not going to mention names or characters (cough, cough, Joker), because they ALL did it to some degree. Maybe they were throwing back to earlier, cheesier adaptations. But it didn’t give as much of an off-putting vibe as I think they wanted.

And why the heck didn’t Katana get a better backstory? Compared to the others she just appears. I was really confused as to her part in the whole thing, other than the token Asian. They didn’t explain her origins well enough–not to a degree where I felt I could relate to her. Same with Killer Croc. No one seemed to care about him. It was like he wasn’t even there half the time.

But the diversity of the cast was definitely something the film had going for it. Lots of women. And the color scheme. And the attempts at stunning imagery (re: music video).

Will Smith as Deadshot was the most surprising thing about the film–how much I ended up liking his character and portrayal. Going off the trailer, I didn’t have much faith in his relevancy and thought Smith was just the BIG NAME meant to draw more people in. But he ended up being the character with the most believable backstory and motivations in the film.

Viola Davis as Amanda Waller was also a great choice. I just wish they had put in a little more effort to smooth things over in the film. Otherwise, it’s almost like they let Leto’s Joker edit it at first and then tried to fix it.