Morgoth, on 23 September 2016 - 10:21 AM, said:
But that doesn't seem to be the case on this forum, so I don't fully understand why it is brought up. Civil War and BvS are only similar in a superficial sense. Plot, tone, theme, these are all different. Not to mention that Civil War was made by a competent director, more or less, whereas BvS was made by Snyder. The idea that one is forgiven because it "plays nicer" is a fantasy born out of, it would seem to me, a need to have ones own opinion of the two movies be justified in some sense. It's certainly not reflective of what has been said of the two movies here on this forum.
The plots and themes are nearly identical Morgy.
Human collateral damage from powered beings doing their thing has caused the plebs to rise up and ask who polices the police. (Avengers:AoU; Man of Steel)
Humans have asked Superheroes to be reigned in, politicians and military seek to make that happen. (CW: Registration Act; BvS: Senate Hearings)
Sides are drawn up (Cap VS Iron Man; Batman VS Superman) which sit on either side of this issue.
Superheroes VS Superheroes have a blowout fight because of it.
Only to find out that they have been manipulated into this the entire time by nefarious villains (Zemo; Lex Luthor)
Calling Snyder a non-compotent director is exceedingly harsh. You may not care for what he does or the films he makes, but he has made great films that have been very well received, and is a very competent director (if overly stylized in his execution). I loathe, for example, Stanley Kubrick, but I can fully accept that he is a competent director whose work is simply not my cup of tea.
It's not a fantasy to say that things in Civil War are forgiven that aren't in BvS. I mean look at the above deconstruction of the plots. They are very close to the same. Marvel rides on it's fun, and formulaic-ness and 8 years of films that have been moderately-to-well received. This is not a slight, it's worked for them in spades. Marvel movies are easy. I would not say cookie cutter, but they DO follow a formula. That formula succeeds (though it doesn't mean it can't falter....AVENGERS: AoU, I'm looking at you) despite itself. People respond to that because it's a comfy coat that you're used to and it asks very little of you as a viewer. You can watch an MCU flick and just sit back and enjoy and not feel the compulsion to question, because you had a good time. The MCU refuses to challenge people. And that's fine.
I loved CIVIL WAR. It was an absolute blast to watch. The Russo's know their stuff and how to deliver a great two hours of fun. But they never ever stepped outside the formula box. Not once. And that's fine, but it's well worth mentioning. But BvS (and MoS while we are at it) does step out of that formula box, and we get a completely different superhero movie experience from it as a result. I think WB has asked more of the viewer in their outings. Neither MoS, BvS, or even SS follows any kind of discernible formulaic-ness.
"When the last tree has fallen, and the rivers are poisoned, you cannot eat money, oh no." ~Aurora
“Someone will always try to sell you despair, just so they don't feel alone.” ~Ursula Vernon