Sunday, December 24, 2017

3 Ways That Could Have Made The Last Jedi Better

The response to Star Wars: The Last Jedi has been to say at the very least, polarizing, with a number of fans declaring one of the best films of the franchise, while many others calling it the worst entry of the entire Skywalker saga.
While the film had some highlights(Poe's call to Hux at the beginning of the film and Rey and Kylo Ren's beatdown of Snoke's guards), I felt the movie was sloppy at times and that Rian Johnson, who also wrote the film, was in way over his head when it came to Episode VIII of the Skywalker saga.
This backlash has lead many Star Wars fans to say that they will never see another Star Wars movie again.
I didn't think the movie was that bad, but they are some things that I think could have been done better.
Here are three possible solutions that I think could have made The Last Jedi a better movie.
Make Finn + Rose Go Straight To The First Order Ship
My biggest problem with The Last Jedi was the storyline involving Finn and new character Rose having to go a Las Vegas style planet to find a codebreaker(Bencio Del Toro) in hopes of disabling the tracking device on the First Order ship the Supremacy.
The storyline culminates with Del Toro's character betraying Finn and Rose, making their mission a failure and this storyline almost feel like a complete waste of time.
What Johnson could have done is have Finn and Rose try to go straight to the source, the Supremacy, rather than going to Casino Bight, which is the name of the planet they went to find Del Toro, who is ultimately killed and becomes a rather pointless character in the story, but gives him a nice paycheck outside of his Heineken commercials.
I think this way could have better provided more action and mischief as the pair, along with BB-8, prowl through the ship looking for the tracking device while also giving Captain Phasma, the stormtrooper that Finn put in the trash compact in The Force Awakens, in knowing that Finn was abroad the ship a bigger role as she attempted to seek her revenge on the former stormtrooper rather than have her role reduced to like a minute in the final cut.
Or they could have kept the storyline in the movie but instead of meeting Bencio Del Toro, find Lando Calrissian and bring him up back into the fold to help the Resistance.
Give Us A Glimpse of What's Inside the Jedi Books
Another thing Johnson did that seem to aggravate fans was give characters new Force powers like Rey and Kylo Ren being able to communicate to each other even though they were on different planets and Luke being to able to project himself onto another planet without leaving Ahch-To, the planet where Luke imposed himself in self-exile.
I believe what could have helped the audience is have a scene where Rey, who is on Ahch-To trying to bring Luke out of exile and back into the real world while also getting lessons from the Jedi, go to the cave where a collection of Jedi books that Luke is protecting, and reading a snippet from one of these books.
That way maybe we could find out that new powers that Force-sensitive people such as Rey can do without having the audience go "Wait a minute, I didn't you could do that".
Killing Off Leia
This one I wrestled with, but hear me out on this one.
Everybody was saddened by Carrie Fisher's untimely death last year which was a huge loss for those who grew up with Star Wars.
We believe that Fisher will not be used in some shape or form(unused footage or CGI)in Episode IX, so it could have made sense for Johnson to go back and have Leia killed when the bridge of her ship explodes early in the film when is hit by Resistance TIE Fighters.
That way it would have tied up the loose end of having to deal with Leia now that Fisher is no longer with us and plus giving the audience a emotional gut in the punch early in the film.
Also, it could have created more tension between Poe, the badass X-wing pilot played by Oscar Isaac, and Vice Admiral Holdo, played by Laura Dean.
And for those who didn't like the way Luke was portrayed in the film, maybe Leia's death would have made Luke feel that he needs to help the Resistance and help train Rey in the ways of the Jedi.
Instead, Johnson decided to keep all of Fisher's scenes in the film which meant we had to see that the ridiculousness of her pulling herself back to the ship using the Force after floating in space for 15 seconds without having her head explode.
But on the other hand, if she had been killed off at that point then we never would have one of the film's best moments, when she and Luke reunited toward the end of the movie.

Anyways, I'm sure many Star Wars fans have other ways they think The Last Jedi could have been better but those are three things that I think the makers could have done to make Episode VIII a better movie.

Thursday, December 7, 2017

What the DC Extended Universe Should Do Going Forward

I just recently saw Justice League and while I found the film to be solid, it could have been better.
It seems my sentiments about the movie are shared with the public and critics as the movie has only a 41% rating from Rotten Tomatoes critics and the film is on pace to be the lowest grossing movie of the DC Extended Universe on a film that had a $300 million budget.
So, what can the folks at DC Films do to get their shared universe back on track?
Here are some suggestions:
Break Away From Warner Brothers

After seeing Justice League, I began to read articles about how messed up the production on the film was. I knew about director Zach Snyder stepping down during post-production and being replaced by Joss Whedon, but I also found out that Warner Brothers, the studio through which the DCEU distributes its films, meddled in the production by mandating that the film only be two hours and maintaining its November 17th release so that executives could get bonuses.
Since Whedon was brought in to replace Snyder following the tragic death of Snyder's daughter, the film would have been better off if had to been delayed a few months so that Whedon, who rewrote a lot of the script, could do a better job of balancing out what he wanted and what Snyder wanted in the film.
Plus, the next DCEU film doesn't come out till next December, which is Aquaman.
If I were the head of DC Films, I would try to break away from Warner Brothers and find a new studio to distribute the DCEU  or at least demand that WB no longer meddle in what DC is trying to accomplish and  let DC be 100% in charge of how they want their universe to look like, much like how Disney does not interfere with what Marvel does with the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Release a Zach Snyder Cut of Justice League
Like I wrote above, Snyder stepped down as director of Justice League back in May following the death of his daughter.
Instead of halting production to let Snyder grief, Warner Brothers brought in Whedon, who allegedly rewrote much of the script to please Warner Brothers.
But since the film's release, there have been rumors going around that there is a version of Justice League that is closer to what Snyder wanted to film to look like before Whedon came in and significantly changed the film to his liking.
Having heard this, DC fans put together a petition on change.org to have Warner Brothers release Zach Snyder's cut of Justice League,(https://www.change.org/p/warner-bros-zack-snyder-s-director-s-and-tom-holkenborg-s-score-for-home-release-e90fef07-11c6-4a9a-9ae8-375c7717dafa).
I signed this petition because I think we need to see what the original vision of Justice League was going to be.
Plus, when Batman v Superman was panned by critics and moviegoers for its incoherent and disjointed storytelling, Warner Brothers released the Ultimate Edition, which was a 3-hour cut(30 minutes longer than the theatrical version) and was seen as a significant improvement of what was released in theaters.
Warner Brothers should allow Snyder to come back and have him complete his version of the film so that DC fans can determine whether or not Snyder or Whedon's vision was best for Justice League.
Get a Superman film out ASAP
One of the subplots of Justice League was the resurrection of Superman after his death at the end of Batman v Superman.
Everybody involved in Justice League said we were going to see the "true Superman" and not the angst-ridden, gritty version that had been seen in Man of Steel and Batman v Superman.
We did get to see a glimpse of the Superman that was more hopeful and less cynical following his resurrection in Justice League, but I want to see how Superman goes forward following his return back from the dead.
Plus, Henry Cavill said he is signed on for one more DC movie, so DC would be smart to have Cavill(who I think has done a great job)have his own Superman movie one more time before Cavill can decide to leave the DCEU if he chooses.
The post-credits scene of Justice League could certainly set up a Man of Steel sequel and bring in other villains from the comics that we have not seen Superman fight on film such as Brainaic or Metallo.
Right now, the Man of Steel sequel is still looking for a director and a script, so DC needs to come up with something quick.
Explore Wonder Woman's past
Much like everybody else, I think Wonder Woman is the best film to come out of the DCEU, thanks to the great performance by Gal Gadot, the chemistry she had with Chris Pine, and the arc of her character in the movie.
There is going to be a Wonder Woman sequel coming out in November 2019 and my hopes is that the film takes place somewhere between the events of the first movie and Batman v Superman, where is revealed she kind of disappeared after World War I.
The sequel could be about her Diana(that's Wonder Woman's real name in case you didn't know)was up to and why she was under the radar until Batman v Superman.
Get the Batman solo movie out
It was clear when Batman was brought in for the DCEU's second movie, Batman v Superman, that DC and Warner Brothers wanted to bring in the Dark Knight into the DC Universe as soon as possible, rather than flesh out the Superman story even more.
After his controversial casting, Ben Affleck has done a very good job as the Caped Crusader, and helped craft the story for a Batman solo film, which could come out in 2019, with Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and War for the Planet of the Apes director Matt Reeves in the director's chair.
Reeves has said that he has a vision of a trilogy involving the Dark Knight and that his version will explore the detective side of Batman, which would be a departure from Christoper Nolan's Dark Knight Trilogy, which saw Batman as more of a fighter for the soul of Gotham City.
Reeves said if all goes well, the film could come out in 2019.
I hope so, because I would like to see how the events of Batman v Superman and Justice League have changed Batman.
Plus, in my opinion, I think Batman has surpassed Superman as the most popular superhero so a Batman movie, if it is good, could bring Wonder Woman like success for the DCEU.
Make Flashpoint
For me, the MVP of Justice League, was the Flash, played by Ezra Miller.
His sense of humor were a highlight of the film and made me want see a Flash movie.
While there is no timetable for when the Flash will get his own movie, it is known that  the Flashpoint story arc from the comics will be incorporated in the movie.
For those unfamiliar with the Flashpoint series, where the Flash notices the timeline has been altered and that Bruce Wayne's father is not  only alive, but is Batman, while Wonder Woman and Aquaman are at war, and that Superman is held captive for experiments by the US government.
The Flashpoint movie would do two things: First, give Miller his own movie since he was outstanding in Justice League and two, a chance to tweak the DCEU so that DC and Warner Brothers(or whatever studio) can reboot the universe if they like and a chance to recast roles such as Batman, as Affleck is 45 and may have to step aside to bring in an younger actor to play the Dark Knight.
Make a true Justice League movie
Despite the fact that Justice League is considered a box office bomb, even though its going to make at least $200 million in the US and is the highest grossing DC film in China, there is said to be a sequel in the works.
My hopes for the sequel is to have a true Justice League movie, meaning not having Superman sit out most of the film and have a major role in the movie.
The fact that Superman was going to be AWOL for most of the movie could be a reason why Justice League is underperforming at the box office.
Also, they need to bring in Green Lantern, because no matter if its Hal Jordan or Jon Stewart, the Green Lantern is a quintessional part of the Justice League.
The movie hinted at a Green Lantern and there is a Green Lantern movie scheduled for 2020, so I hope after that the Green Lantern joins the Justice League.

So, those are my thoughts on what DC Comics should do with their cinematic universe going forward.
Let me know what your think about my ideas or what ideas you might have to improve the DCEU.