Looper and The Wrap's Take on Suicide Squad

The box office drop-off for Suicide Squad during the feature's second week was summed up by The Wrap.

• There are hardcore fans who positively must see every superhero movie ever made.
• The D.C. Extended Universe has its own niche of loyal fans.
• Warner Bros. and D.C. can't really grow the casual audience all that much beyond the above two.

 A near 70% decrease for the second weekend shows Suicide Squad has no legs, but a $220 million domestic gross (so far) means the film won't be a flop. However, the film going to deliver Warner/D.C. far less than anticipated - and hoped - for.

Looper takes a look at some future problems Warner and D.C. are likely to run into unless the ship of the Extended Universe is put back on course.

Suicide Squad's Mission Dies with the Critics

The reviews for Suicide Squad are rolling in - slowly but surely. They are not good. I was a bit worried about the film when I saw no reviews on RottenTomatoes.com a few days ago. When I found out there was a review embargo, well, I knew the score but was hoping for something different. Anyone who wants to check out the bad news - and it is bad news - can look at:

IndieWire - Suicide Squad Review: Margot Robbie Can't Save The Latest DC Disaster

The Verge - Suicide Squad has too many villains and not enough villainy to go around

SF Gate - Suicide Squad' is two hours of soul-sickening, sensory torment

You get the whole villainous idea. I am going to reserve judgment on this one since I haven't seen it. Ignoring the bad reviews, however, would be to deny the impending gloomy disaster. Blaming the critics is not the way to go. Saying "They don't get it" won't fly. Critics these days are not those of decades past. Years ago, movie critics had a snobbery to them. Today, critics are comprised of people who have a better appreciation for pop culture. Niche critics are sought after by audiences of particular genres. The newspapers may trash horror films, but horror fans are only going to take the review of top websites seriously.

Superhero and comic book films, however, have been smiled upon and awarded rave reviews from mainstream and niche critics. They are in agreement - overwhelmingly - this film is a dud.

Suicide Squad is shaping up to be another disappointment. Actually, it is going to be more than a disappointment. The collapse of D.C. Entertainment and Warner Bros. Studios' superhero movies may be in serious jeopardy. Batman v. Superman was a major critical failure, but still pulled in $800 million worldwide. If Suicide Squad turns off audiences, the next films in the D.C./Warner pipeline are going to be in trouble. Back-to-back disappointments do not spell well for Wonder Woman. Audiences are going to connect D.C. Comics' movies with a lack of quality - a branding disaster. If Wonder Woman falters, Justice League is going to be in a lot of trouble.

Another serious concern has to be raised here - Batman appears in Suicide Squad. Warner and D.C. might find themselves in the same position Marvel and Sony were in when The Amazing Spider-Man 2 didn't connect well with audiences. Serious fear existed Spider-Man would be destroyed as a box office draw. This led to the shut down of all proposed Spider-Man spinoffs and the third Andrew Garfield outing. Imagine the horror if Batman was killed off as a box office draw.

Could Warner and D.C. pull the plug on the current planned out cinematic universe and reboot things? If so, how? Wonder Woman is finished and Justice League is in production.

Not an easy situation to navigate, folks.



 

Spider-Man Lament '77

Turning back the clock almost 40 years takes us to the short-lived but never forgotten Spider-Man television series starring Nicholas Hammond. I remember watching the pilot episode when it originally aired on television and sat enthralled watching the wall-crawler come to life on TV. And then the show disappeared. For years, I thought it was because the rating were poor. Shockingly, the ratings did quite well but CBS cancelled the show anyway. CBS was already airing the successful Incredible Hulk television show and didn't want to become known as "the superhero network" and lose advertiser dollars.

The quick abandonment of Spider-Man really was one of those unfair incidents in television history. Plans were made to bring Spider-Man to The Incredible Hulk TV, but the crossover never happened.

Defending Netflix's Two Marvel Shows Per Season Rule

Fans are a bit irked over the news that Daredevil and Jessica Jones' solo adventures are on a brief hiatus. Netflix is sticking to it rule regarding "only two Marvel shows per season". With Luke Cage and The Defenders appearing in 2017, Daredevil and Jessica Jones' new seasons have to wait until 2018. The two characters, of course, are major players in The Defenders so its not like we won't see them at all. They are just being brought into an ensemble piece along with Luke Cage and Iron Fist.

BGR Tech has the whole story about Jessica Jones and Daredevil getting the solo hiatus treatment.

Fans who leave, breathe, and binge watch Marvel (and D.C.) television shows might be shaking their heads at the notion no new television programs are in the works. These fans should be thankful Netflix is taking the slow road approach.....even if others are not doing the same.

The big fear everyone has (or should have) about comic book movies and television shows is audiences are going to burn out on them. An audience is always going to exist for superhero programs. How large that audience is depends on a number of factors. Does the program have mainstream or niche appeal? Based on TV ratings and box office results, the interest in superhero (and other comic book-related properties) remains high.  Overexposure and "too much of the same stuff" syndrome are factors that are likely to chip away at audience size. People do end up getting bored and wanting something different. Slowing down the flow of comic book properties - as opposed to riding the fad into the ground while its hot - is a better long-term approach.

Netflix is being careful with its properties and is avoiding the urge to rush out three or four series per year. Doing so may help Netflix keep its audience even if the comic book movie/TV show fad slowly starts to decline.

For now, here's The Defenders' teaser:

The Amazonian Arrives - Wonder Woman (2017) Trailer Debuts at the San Diego Comic Con

The trailer for DC's Wonder Woman debuts - no surprise, the San Diego Comic Con is loaded with trailer debuts. The Wonder Woman trailer reveals the film is most definitely not going to be campy like the classic TV series of TV's past. Wonder Woman is sticking with the (original) Warner Bros./D.C. Entertainment concept of developing a darker, grittier universe than Marvel's. This was Batman v. Superman's undoing. Suicide Squad (allegedly) experienced reshoots due to Warner wanting to lighten the tone.

Is the world ready for a serious Wonder Woman? We have until 2017 to find out. (And Warner Bros. has that long to reshoot things if need be)

One huge plus here - the film is set during World War II, which takes us back to the very early origins of the comic heroine.

The Trailers for Netflix's Luke Cage and Iron Fist Debut

Netflix Marvel fans can now catch a glimpse of what to expect from the forthcoming Luke Cage series. The first teaser trailer debuted and its loaded with the cool action and melodrama to be expected. The series isn't Luke Cage's debut as the character (played by Mike Colter) was a memorable supporting member of Marvel's Jessica Jones series.

The character first appeared in Marvel Comics in the early 1970's with Luke Cage: Hero for Hire, a series that started out quite good and then suffered from an uneven direction.

Cage got a silly name change to Power Man and was eventually teamed up with another character whose book was selling poorly, Iron Fist. The Power Man and Iron Fist book was a fun comic that had a decent run from the late 1970's to the mid/late 1980's.

And speaking of Iron Fist.....

Iron Fist was an underrated hero who arrived to cash in on the 1970's Kung Fu movie craze, but did not connect as well as Shang Chi, Master of Kung Fu. An Iron Fist movie first went into development well over 15 years ago, but never materialized. And then along came Netflix.

Power Records and Werewolf By Night

Before Marvel was producing big movies for the big screen, a ton of excellent animation was produced for TV. In the pre-VCR days, home entertain was limited to audio recordings. Book and records were popular relics that can be relived through YouTube. Recently, I wrote a HUB about the classic Werewolf by Night adaption produced by the late, lamented Power Records of Newark, NJ.

Please check out my HUB on POWER RECORDS' CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF.

Here is the old-time book and record via YouTube: