LOGAN - Second Viewing

So I saw LOGAN again yesterday. The first viewing stayed with me all weekend and I couldn't get it out of my head. Upon reflection, I'm sticking with my initial response. This movie is fantastic and is the BEST COMIC BOOK MOVIE EVER MADE!

Since my mind hasn't changed at all, I'm not going to continue on about why I loved it so much, but rather what is driving me a little crazy. And that's these so called "comic fans". I don't know how connected you all are to comic fandom, but I'm sure you all understand that I'm in it deep. I follow several comic book related news sites, have alerts set up on my phone for when a big scoop is dropped, and read through comment threads on both reddit and facebook.

I am sick and tired of people making excuses for shitty movies. I'm talking about these DCEU apologists, who's first comment or response to a comment is how DC is the greatest and if you disagree then you don't know what you're talking about. It's stupid. Come on, give me a break.

Let's just put it out there. BATMAN V. SUPERMAN was awful. SUICIDE SQUAD, while an improvement over BvS, was still a mess and not worth a second viewing. MAN OF STEEL was the best of the three, but still had a LOT of problems. But ultimately my point is, these movies cannot even compare to LOGAN.

Director James Mangold and Hugh Jackman actually listened to the fans and made a movie that transcends genres. It's actually difficult to NOT compare it to movies like SHANE, or UNFORGIVEN. It was masterfully done with top notch (and what I'm hoping will be) Academy Award worthy performances. The DC movies don't even come close, and please... PLEASE...please don't try telling me that SUICIDE SQUAD is an Oscar Winner. It won for hair and make-up, not something creative like Best Screenplay, or Best Picture; also not one performance from that film was even close to being recognized by the Academy.

But what's really driving me crazy, is the negative responses to LOGAN. More specifically, the argument that the movie wasn't good because it didn't contain a flashback scene showing what happened to the X-Men. If you've seen the movie, then you know that something tragic (related to Xavier's illness) happened in Westchester, NY that killed all the X-Men. Their argument mainly being that it would have been much cooler than what we got.

Now, I've studied filmmaking as well as screenwriting and I have a lot of experience in producing entertainment projects. I also know how a story should be crafted. A flashback of that particular scene is completely unnecessary to include because it has nothing to do with the story they are trying to tell. I actually commented on a thread on facebook about this very thing. What I don't understand is that a lot of people seem to think they need everything laid out for them, almost so they don't have to think about anything. Well, again, I don't know about you but I prefer a movie or TV show that makes me think. I love to use my imagination! The best example of this in a movie is in JAWS. Spielberg actually wanted to use the mechanical shark a lot more than he did but was unable to because it kept breaking down. This forced him to think differently and actually helped the film in a way that no one could have imagined. We, as an audience, we left to our own thoughts about the shark up until we finally got a look at it. Once we did... HOLY HELL! That's why the line, "we're gonna need a bigger boat" is so apt for that scene.

Of course, someone argued back about this. Claiming that they prefer when movies show them everything, because that's what a movie should do; not tell you, but show you. And that gentleman is correct. That's exactly what movies are supposed to do, but as correct as the statement was, it's not the point. The point was whether or not the movie would have been better if it contained a flashback scene. Would it have been cool to see? Yes, absolutely. Would the movie have been any better with that scene? I highly doubt it.

What's so confounding to me is how nitpicky people have become when it comes to movies. No one seems to want to just enjoy anything anymore, but rather find something about it that they can rag on. I believe it has everything to do with social media. Everybody wants that one line that will go viral and have their words shared or retweeted thousands of times. It makes me shake my head, because I know I do that too. But my situation would benefit exponentially if something I posted went viral.

There are too many attention-seekers out there willing to say or do something outrageous just to get a response. It's why we have internet trolls, and stupid facebook comment wars and it's why our nation is so divided. We seem to all be too worried about what other people are thinking that we're not taking the time to enjoy the things that we actually enjoy. Well, I'm making a pledge to actively stop this behavior.

I promise to continue with this blog in a fun-loving and professional manner. I will not do or say anything outrageous in hopes of getting more likes, shares, retweets, or page views. I will write with the love and passion and knowledge that I've always had, and I will HOPE that people will follow me for those reasons.

So, take a few hours and go see a movie that you've been wanting to see. Or turn off the news and pick up that book that you've been neglecting. Or, better yet, turn off all of the electronic stimuli and go outside. Then come back in and read up on all the stuff you love.

Bottom line. Enjoy your lives and the things that are in it. "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around every once in awhile... you could miss it." - Ferris Bueller.