What is the point?...Not as in, "What's the point of making this?", as in "What's the point of our story?". As of now, the rumor is WB is eyeing director Matthew Vaughn (Kick-Ass, Kingsman, X-Men: First Class) as a top choice to helm the 'potential' MOS sequel. Let's weigh the pros and cons...
The Right Choice?
Now I like Vaughn as a director, but I don't love him. He is more pro than con, but there are far worse choices. However, if he does end up being in the directors chair, I think there is a MASSIVE benefit...character!
Vaughn is better at telling smaller, character driven narratives with enough spectacle. And that's exactly what MOS 2 needs to have. A more personal, smaller story. I don't understand why people think Clark is hard to write... Actually I do... It's because they are trying to write Superman!
The equation is; Clark + Obstacle x Effort = Superman... Instead, people seem to think of it as; Clark = Superman - Situation... That's just bad math. A smaller story humanizes this god of a man in an honest manner, and Vaughn can do that.
On the other hand, Vaughn is not my top choice. Here are my top 3:
#3 - Gavin O'Connor (Miracle, Warrior, The Accountant)
Is great with character, but we haven't seen too much action beyond a very grounded environment. It could give him the chance to spread his wings, and maybe Green Hornet will do that for him, but since he is doing that, maybe one DC character is enough for now.
#2 - Peter Berg (Friday Night Lights, Deepwater Horizon, Patriots Day)
Again, great with character, but is extremely good in multiple character arcs. But, maybe that would be a downside, given Clark has got to be our through line, not Clark and Lois and Lex and so on. But, is underrated when it comes to action.
#1 - Kathryn Bigelow (Point Break ('91), The Hurt Locker, Zero Dark Thirty)
First off, Detroit looks incredible! I mean she can do it all; action, drama, character. I honestly see no downside. And more balance in the directors chair is never a bad thing.
The Right Tone
Here we go... Those of you who complain that the tone has bee the issue with the poor reception of the DC films...Shut up..."It's too dark!" you wine in your parents garage. Wrong! The "darkness" isn't the issue. Could there be more levity? Ok, sure, I wouldn't mind another joke or two; as long as it's not forced. Luckily DC seems to be on that path.
The problem has mainly been the writing. I like Zack Snyder as a director, and he was absolutely the right person to start this universe off. However, it's had its downsides... Were as a really good director is like "This would be a great device to get our character where he/she needs to be emotionally and within the plot lines", Zack is more, "This would look cool.". And that view definitely has its merits, especially in trailers, but overall leaves us wanting more.
Also, WB has had some editing issues. There are two types of editing; Moment-to-Moment and Scene-to-Scene. Moment-to-Moment is with-in a scene, which he is very good in. But Scene-to-Scene is where he lacks. Since his vision is at the forefront, it hinders the arcs of the characters because it's not one cohesive piece of work, its several. It's not sitting down and working out the story beat by beat, it's drawing a bunch of cool pictures and figuring it out from that.
Then Suicide Squad...Oh dear god...One of the worst edited films I have ever seen; maybe the worst. I won't go into it all, but this is all WB. Yes, David Ayer said that the final product was his vision, but that's because he's smart. WB took a gritty, oddball movie and added a neon sign to it. And yes they gave him only 6 weeks to write it, which is not enough time, but he got it done, and it was the 'final calls' that made it what it is.
BvS had better editing, but suffered from the same Snyderisms that most of his films have. However, the problem wasn't "it's too dark" it was the original (released as the Extended Cut) was too long. Personally the time doesn't bother me, but it does affect how many screens you play on and how much money you retain from that. But, the script shouldn't have been that long in the first place! That's what drafts are for people.
All I'm trying to say is that DC being "grittier" isn't the issue, making a cohesive movie is. And look, I have liked all the DC films up to this point. Wonder Woman comes out next month and we all have our fingers crossed. But you can't love something unless you can see it's flaws, and for WB it's deciding who they want to be.
In MOS they let Snyder be Snyder and I thought is was a masterpiece. But then they tried copying certain aspects of that and forgot about making it fit that specific project. And Now they have like 14 movies on the slate, and no clue whats coming first. I get it's a business, but make the films you want to make. The audience will follow.
The Man Behind The Steel
All I'm getting at is we will care about the movies if we care about the characters.
Below is the beginning of the Man of Steel sequel that I'm writing...because I'm a dork. It's nothing spectacular, but it's fun. Take a look if you're interested and remember to comment below. Thanks for reading!
Man of Steel: American Alien (Intro)
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