Warners’ Justice League franchise is more realistic, better

Jul 7, 2015 09:55 GMT  ·  By
Zack Snyder, Ben Affleck compare Warner Bros.' superhero movies to Marvel's, say they're better
   Zack Snyder, Ben Affleck compare Warner Bros.' superhero movies to Marvel's, say they're better

Warner Bros. is yet to get off its Justice League franchise off the ground properly (officially, it won’t happen until “Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice” comes out in March 2016), but it’s not afraid to pick a fight with an already established property and the studio behind it: Avengers and Marvel.

The latest, pre-San Diego Comic-Con 2015 issue of Entertainment Weekly is the gift that keeps on giving, as more and more excerpts from the cover story, dedicated to “Batman V. Superman,” are released online. The latest round brings a healthy dose of shade for Marvel and its Avengers franchise, from director Zack Snyder and newly minted Batman Ben Affleck.

Why Warners’ superhero movies are better than Marvel’s

Fans who found Snyder’s 2013 Superman reboot “Man of Steel” underwhelming or even a downright disaster will say that he is the last person who to be throwing rocks at other movies, especially if they’re as successful as those from the Marvel Cinematic Universe are.

Instead of picking up fights and comparing apples to oranges, Snyder should be focusing on delivering the best movies he can within Warners’ planned Justice League universe.

But that would make things less interesting for us.

So, in the EW interview, the reporter said, after speaking to Snyder, that “Dawn of Justice” would continue Christopher Nolan’s particular brand of realism from the “Dark Knight” trilogy, which would serve as a “counterpoint to Marvel’s bright, zippy playtime.”

Snyder took that even further, with some help from his new leading man, Ben Affleck: because of said realism (which, on screen, translates into desaturated, blueish images, oftentimes so dark they’re confusing), the Warners movies will be better than Marvel’s.

“Dawn of Justice” wouldn’t be like “other superhero movies where they joke about how basically no one’s getting hurt,” because it would show that superheroes are also called out and brought to justice for their actions.

Snyder is referring to Superman, who will be brought to justice by Batman, for messing up half of Metropolis in “Man of Steel.”

Ben Affleck to the rescue!

Indeed, the Warners' Justice League franchise, and especially the first installment of it, “Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice,” will be based on the idea of the “accountability and consequences of violence,” Affleck says in the same interview.

This, again, makes Warners’ movies a great deal better than those of the Marvel rivals - only in terms of story for the time being, because they’re yet to prove themselves at the box office.

“It is more mythic, it is more grand in that way, and it is a little more realistic,” Affleck says. “Just by their nature, these films can’t be as funny or as quick or as glib as Marvel movies.”

One of the things that last November’s Sony Hack brought to light was the fact that Warner Bros.’ superhero movies were literally banned from being too light or funny. Here we basically have Affleck confirming it.