Samuel Brace on DC’s movie endings…
Fistfight! Explosions! Chaos!
This has been the climactic scene of every DCEU (are we still calling it that?) film so far, this is how the powers that be have decided to end the movies that populate their connected universe up until this point. Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Suicide Squad, Wonder Woman. All the same, each film’s narrative struggle brought to a close by a ‘crowd pleasing’ CGI slugfest.
Now, I should have prefaced this by saying Marvel too is guilty of such tactics, but since that ship has well and truly sailed, and I don’t have much interest in trying to call it back, we’re focusing here on DC only because that universe, maybe, possibly, can still be saved. But they have to act quickly, they have to act soon, and they have to learn how to end their movies.
So, far the sequence of events has gone something like this:
Man of Steel: ended with a CG fistfight between Superman and Zod.
Batman v Superman: ended with an even worse CG fistfight between Batman, Wonder Woman, Superman and Doomsday.
Suicide Squad: [memory purged].
Wonder Woman: ended with a CG fistfight between the titular hero vs. Ares.
Up until the final battle, at least Wonder Woman was somewhat coherent and dramatically interesting, but the film let itself down by falling into the lazy trap of: “let’s have them fight and blow things up with the computers back in post”.
Oy…
It’s so boring, it’s so dumb, there are so many better ways to end a film’s conflict, but perhaps – with the possible exception of Wonder Woman – this is the type of ending such movies deserve.
My question, however, is why can’t DC do better? Why can’t they at least reach a little bit higher and try and pull off something somewhat slicker? Where would the harm be in attempting something a little more interesting, a resolution built around character drama coming to the boil, perhaps resolved with a high stakes conversation, the struggle decided by one or two blows instead of the “fire everything” approach.
Reach for the stars, as they say, after all, you might just land on the moon. Surely this is preferable to just reaching for that rickety old shelf that everyone always throws their crap on.
Now, of course, I know that these are superhero films, and that these characters in the comics to which they belong do incredible things with cartoonish powers, but here’s some breaking news:
Films aren’t comics.
And what might be interesting on an illustrated page isn’t interesting on the big screen. And it’s not like there isn’t precedent for the type of ending being called for here, just look at the consensus greatest superhero film of all time, The Dark Knight.
Christopher Nolan’s film didn’t end with all the things exploding and Batman being lost inside a swirling whirl pool of CGI infested ‘who gives a crap’. The Dark Knight was brought to a close with two separate but connected high stakes clashing of minds and will.
First up we had a mesmerising and curtain-pulling conversation between Batman and the Joker, preceded by a short and simple scuffle which purpose it was to lead them to a more interesting situation. This was then followed up by a tense and emotional exchange between the films’ other main players (Gordon and Two-Face) that was far more rewarding than anything we’ve seen during this new generation of DC films.
This is how you end a film; this is how you bring to a close the themes, conflicts, and struggles of a movie while properly utilising the characters that populate it. Of course, The Dark Knight is a far more character and story driven affair than the present DCEU offerings (perhaps there is something to be learned from that) but even with this far more boisterous and super-powered universe that’s been created, an ending like The Dark Knight’s is still achievable.
These films can still have their action-packed, dynamic exchanges, but they don’t have to look as sloppy and incoherent as they do. They don’t have to spend the last of their budgets on computer effects, effects that don’t even look good. The final clashes can be simpler, more exciting, easier to follow visually, and far more impactful on the audience with just a little restraint exercised and a slight change in thinking.
Surely, for DC, this is worth at least trying. There’s not much hope that Justice League will fix or address this problem. I can see no world where that movie’s conflicts aren’t resolved via a CG battle-heavy monstrosity – hopefully I’ll eat my words on that. But, going forward, this has to be figured out. It’s imperative. If not, you can make a very good film (like Wonder Woman) and ruin it with a lazy ending.
I get the feeling that whatever Matt Reeves is working on will be a step in the right direction, but even that isn’t a sure thing. If Suicide Squad, a film starring Harley Quinn and the Joker had to end with all the things exploding, and all the powers being fired, perhaps The Batman will too be doomed.
Come on, DC, learn from your mistakes, don’t be Marvel (who admittedly do the same thing but much better). Be different. Be smarter. Be cooler. Learn how to end your damn movies.
Samuel Brace
Originally published October 7, 2017. Updated April 16, 2018.
