Warner Bros. faces yet another box office flop
Warner Bros. Pictures may need to consider bolstering their security at their headquarters in Burbank, Calif. because the DC comic book fan base has spoken loud and clear. There have been a handful of complaints for the Time Warner subsidiary these past two months. An angry mob of comic book nerds and blockbuster moviegoers have voiced their dismay due to the recent announcement made by Warner Bros. regarding the sequel to this summer’s Superman reboot, Man of Steel.
In its extensive history, Warner Bros. Pictures has notoriously fiddled with the cinematic creations of renowned film directors and screenwriters. Whether trimming the length of a motion picture, terminating talented household names for their remarkable services, or simply cutting out quality footage, Warner Bros. has done more harm than good in its 95 years of existence.
A fine example occurred in the early 1980s when the studio famously cut down Sergio Leone’s crime drama, Once Upon a Time In America, shortening the film’s length from 229 minutes to a mere 139 minutes against the director’s wishes. The 229 minute version met universal acclaim when it was released in Europe in 1984, but the shortened version released in the US was panned due to studio tampering by Warner Bros., ultimately making it a box office flop.
Many American film critics expressed their disgust towards the abridgments made by Warner Bros. Pictures. The film was so watered down and incomplete that it’s chief composer, Ennio Morricone was accidently removed from the film’s opening credits therefore disqualifying the film’s marvelous score for Oscar consideration on the account of a technicality. Sergio Leone was so devastated by the in-house editing and the poor reception of the film in North America that he slipped into a deep depression, never to make another film before his death in 1989.
Since the failure of Once Upon a Time In America, Warner Bros.’s ability to intervene has increasingly ruptured a number of major film projects, especially in regards to the DC Films imprint. In a world where superhero films are the norm and the Marvel universe reigns supreme at the box office, DC struggles to stay consistent let alone relevant on the silver screen. After the smashing success of superhero blockbusters such as Marvel’s The Avengers and Iron Man, Warner Bros. returned to the drawing board, retooling their flagship characters like Superman and Green Lantern, providing their ethoi with darker gloomier backstories.
The recent Superman reboot, Man of Steel, performed moderately well at the box office this summer, but met mixed reviews from fans and critics alike. While the casting and direction of the film was galvanizing, the plot pacing and character development were largely inconsistent. Within the next month, the film’s ever-changing prosperity generated interest in a sequel, leading to the announcement that Superman would be paired with another metropolitan swashbuckler. While the reception of Henry Cavill’s portrayal as Superman has been relatively lukewarm, the Man of Steel did not draw anarchy across social networks this month. In fact, another superhero has instigated the vitriolic backlash towards Warner Bros., the Caped Crusader himself.
A Warner Bros. representative announced on June 10, 2013 that Bruce Wayne, also known by his dark pseudonym, Batman, was subject to be re-casted after actor Christian Bale refused to reprise his role as the Dark Knight. In his place, the studio selected actor Ben Affleck to play Gotham’s finest in an upcoming sequel to Man of Steel which is intended for a 2015 release.
Created by comic book pioneer Bob Kane in the early 1940s, Batman has become a cultural phenomenon in every sense of the word. From his menacing appearance to his vigilant spirit, Batman is one of the grittiest, most pragmatic superheroes of all time. In other film adaptions of the comic book series, Bruce Wayne has been portrayed by an array of Hollywood actors such as Adam West, Michael Keaton, Kevin Conroy, Val Kilmer, George Clooney, and most recently, Christian Bale. Bale perhaps received the most praise for his role as Bruce Wayne, nailing the character right on the head.
In the early 2000s, the Batman film franchise underwent major reconstruction after Warner Bros. previous outing, Batman & Robin, flopped tremendously from both a commercial and critical standpoint. Considered one of the worst films ever made, critics lambasted Batman & Robin to the point of the film being considered the death of the franchise. The studio quickly abandoned the family-friendly imagery of the 1990s Batman and reverted the character back to his dark roots. Warner Bros. recruited Memento director, Christopher Nolan to direct the reboot, Batman Begins, which surprisingly dominated the box office in 2005, paving way for the Dark Knight trilogy.
Nolan’s reinvention of the Batman franchise met strong positive feedback as critics praised the film series for its darker realistic approach, with humanity and pragmatism as its central theme. Not until the release of The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises did Nolan reach the pinnacle of cinematic excellence. Christian Bale and the late Heath Ledger, who portrayed Batman’s nemesis, the Joker, performed beyond satisfactorily drawing a nation of moviegoers to the theaters. Nolan’s Dark Knight Saga illustrates a universe in which evil triumphs over good, the logic of error is prevalent, iniquity seduces human nature, and most importantly, in times of opposition the necessity for individuals to make rash ethical decisions occurs more often than not.
These concepts only add to Nolan’s glowing reputation as a brilliant storyteller and comprehensive visionary. Much like Sergio Leone, Nolan conceptualized Batman so masterfully that its overall aesthetic makeup compares to the character studies of classic cinema such as The Godfather and Star Wars. Nolan’s trilogy remains unrivaled, making Warner Bros. sudden urge to continue the Batman series with Ben Affleck at helm seem rushed and covetous. To his credit, Ben Affleck is an accomplished actor who has also demonstrated his cunning ability as a screenwriter, winning an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay with Good Will Hunting. He has composed and starred in several film noirs such as The Town and Gone Baby Gone, and most recently he directed historical drama, Argo, winning an Academy Award for Best Picture. Afflek’s accolades speak for themselves, but, nevertheless, Affleck is no Christian Bale.
Affleck has succeeded behind the camera more than in front of it. Both of his Oscars were achieved for screenwriting and directing, despite starring in both Good Will Hunting and Argo. Bale, however, has turned in several Oscar-nominated performances and won an Academy-Award for Best Supporting Actor in The Fighter. Both Oscar winners have brought cinema to life in their own ways, but Affleck may find the role of Bruce Wayne in the upcoming Man of Steel sequel challenging and rigorous.
The role has been strongly characterized and perfected by the swift genius of Nolan and Bale. To play Batman is one thing, but to replace Christian Bale is arguably a more tedious process. Replacing Bale with Affleck is the equivalent of Paramount Pictures’ almost boneheaded decision to cast John Travolta over Tom Hanks as the titular character in Forrest Gump. Bale’s portrayal of Bruce Wayne was complex, fierce, shallow, focused and ultimately pessimistic. Bale embodied the self-absorbed, ambitious playboy and philanthropist, allowing the audience to fully understand the character and his motives. Affleck, on the other hand, has not fared well in the acting roles of Hollywood blockbusters. In his defense, he has not picked up the script to the Man of Steel sequel nor have there been official trailers to further reveal his intentions, but Affleck’s past work reveals his weaknesses as an A-list actor and illustrates his inability to fill Bale’s void.
Yet, for some reason, it seems that
Warner Bros. is rendered incapable of such analysis. Their inability, or perhaps unwillingness, to acknowledge Affleck’s deficiencies for the role of Bruce Wayne threatens to add yet another disaster to the growing list of Warner Bros. box office flops. Warner Bros. must accept that there are other, and better, solutions for the regeneration of the Batman Saga.
Drew Mattioli is a second-year student majoring in communication studies. He can be reached at RM814408@wcupa.edu.
Tue. May 21st, 2024
