Biggs' Zone

A Geek's Cogitations, Conjectures and other Cortical Experiences

Category: DC

DC is Rivaling Marvel with The Flash

By

On November 7, 2016

In Biggs On, Comic Books, DC, Geek Canon

DC is Rivaling Marvel with The FlashRemember last year when I talked about the great television Marvel is producing? Well I think DC is making a comeback in the form of The Flash. If you haven’t been watching it, then call your doctor because something is wrong with you. Other than Batman and Superman, I don’t know that much about the heroes of DC comics. I was hearing great things about The Flash but I just kept putting it off. After watching the cross-over episode of Supergirl, we finally said “OK, we need to watch this show”. We are in the third season and I have to admit DC is rivaling Marvel with The Flash.

The cast consists of mostly unknowns. Tom Cavanagh and Victor Garber are about the only recognizable faces on the show (except for the Arrow crossover episodes with Steven Amell). The lead role of Barry Allen/The Flash is played by Grant Gustin; whose prior roles were on Glee and 90210 (2013). This is one of those shows where a no-name cast provides remarkable entertainment. The actors really begin to show their range in the second season when they have to portray their doppelgangers. Tom Cavanagh, in particular, gives a superb performance as multiple doppelgangers; and the latest iteration reminds me of his role as J.D.’s brother in Scrubs.

Crossover Cohesion

It appears that DC has taken some lessons from Marvel’s success with crossovers. Although DC utilizes its other shows whereas Marvel mixes in its movies with its TV series. Arrow is already a great show in-and-of-itself, but the crossover episodes are fantastic. In large part the success of the crossover episodes is what has lured us in to watch the other series. We actually started watching Supergirl first. The episode where the Flash comes to her Earth lured us in to watch The Flash.

Last year DC launched a new series called “Legends of Tomorrow” which incorporates several characters from both The Flash and Arrow. One of my favorite villains from The Flash, Captain Cold played by Wentworth Miller, is now one of the lead characters on Legends of Tomorrow, thus luring us into that show. Speaking of villains of The Flash, I have two words that also makes the show awesome: Mark Hamill. Yes, Mark Hamill plays a villain called Trickster on The Flash and he is amazing! There needs to be more episodes involving Trickster because I’m blown away every time Mark speaks.

So there you go. If you’ve been watching Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and/or any one of the other shows I’ve mentioned above, then you should add all of them to your watch list. The synergy DC is lacking between the TV series and movies, it makes up for in these shows.  If you can’t watch all of them, then definitely put The Flash and Arrow at the top of the list.

minions_iconI could accomplish so much more if I only had minions!
Suicide Squad

Movie Review: Suicide Squad

By

On September 7, 2016

In Comic Books, DC, Movies, Reviews

Suicide Squad

Suicide Squad

Directed by: David Ayer
Starring: Will Smith, Jared Leto, Margot Robbie

My Rating: [rating=4]

It has been a while since my last movie review post. Batman vs Superman (BvS) may have been the last one I did so it’s serendipitous that Suicide Squad is next. I can’t believe there was no warning that you should see BvS before you see Suicide Squad. It picks up shortly after the events of BvS so you should watch that first, if you don’t want a spoiler.

Suicide Squad is esoteric to comic geek canon. In other words, if you are not familiar with DC villains then you probably have no idea what the “Suicide Squad” is. The Joker (Jared Leto) will be the most recognizable name among this motley crew. Those that are slightly more enlightened will recognize Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie). The lesser known villains in this movie are Deadshot (Will Smith), Killer Croc, Boomerang and Diablo. They are all villains that have been captured by either Batman or The Flash, both of which make cameo appearances.

[Quick Plot Summary]

When the kind of justice Gotham needs isn’t the kind Superman or Batman are willing to provide, a new kind of vigilante is needed. The most dastardly of Gotham’s villains are locked away and forgotten. However, assembling the right group of them will provide a set of skills that can thwart meta-human terrorist threats. The trick is, how do you control them so they don’t start their own terrorist plots.

Don’t Believe All The Critics

Despite what many other critics and movie goers have been saying, Suicide Squad is a good movie. Granted I am not a big DC comic nerd or pundit. I don’t know how well each actor portrayed their respective villain as it pertains to canon. Will Smith is the biggest name in the movie and I’m glad he didn’t turn it into “The Will Smith Show”. He did share the spotlight well with the other characters, especially Margot Robbie. There is good chemistry between Deadshot and Harley Quinn, and the rest of the crew to be honest. So with that said, I think Suicide Squad is a better movie than Batman vs Superman in terms of plot and the quality of the acting.

One final note. I firmly believe that the music makes the movie and this wouldn’t be a “Biggs Movie Review” if I didn’t comment on the music. Keep in mind that I am referring to the score soundtrack and not the album soundtrack. The film’s composer is Steven Price and an hour into the movie I began wondering if it was available on iTunes. The mood of the music matched the mood of each scene perfectly. When you don’t realize that you have been completely bewitched by a scene, that is a sign of good music. Hats off to Steven Price.

film_reelThe screen is a magic medium. It has such power that it can retain interest as it conveys emotions and moods that no other art form can hope to tackle.
– Stanley Kubrick

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