There is no doubt the DC Extended Universe has had a turbulent, tonally confused and sometimes downright self-destructive journey thus far. The likes of Justice League (Zack Snyder, 2017) and Suicide Squad (David Ayer, 2016) were – despite their box office successes – demonstrably bad films. Yet, after watching the studio’s latest hit, Birds of Prey – artistically helmed by Cathy Yan and craftily written by Christina Hodson – it seems DC may finally have settled into its own weird and wonderful universe…knock on wood.
Ever since the release of Wonder Woman (Patty Jenkins, 2017), the studio has crawled towards producing entertaining films with sustainable, coherent narratives, albeit with a major hiccup along the way (Justice League). Indeed, any extended/cinematic universe – or franchise for that matter – is predicated upon longevity, so how it took three critically disastrous blockbuster films (Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (Zack Snyder, 2016), Suicide Squad and Justice League) for the company behind the Dark Knight trilogy to come to this realisation, baffles me. Undoubtedly, it’s been an arduous process as a viewer to watch DC flail and flounder for its untapped potential, and I can most certainly imagine it was even more painful for the producers (and their wallets). Yet, judging by the newest release, Birds of Prey, prosperity seems on the horizon.
If we were to trace the critical successes of the DCEU films on a graph, you’d find it looks an awful lot like the heart rate monitor of one of its studio executives…perpetually tachycardic. Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel (2013) was a good film. It had a gritty realism, Amir Mokri’s cinematography was beautifully dystopian, and, most importantly, the film made sense, following a simple narrative trajectory and adhering to the most basic of story-writing techniques: context – conflict – climax – closure. If you compare that to his follow up, Dawn of Justice, it’s heartbreakingly evident how quickly potential can be quashed by the seductive allure of overcomplicating. The film – in microcosm – epitomises the major flaw of every failed DC blockbuster; they tried to do too much. Ayer’s Suicide Squad was, to put it bluntly, the same but far weirder, and let’s not even venture into the trials and tribulations of Justice League; a bastard child of Snyder and Whedon, conceived by copious rewrites and ego clashes. Yet, dotted in-between those two megaliths of maelstrom was a film that gave a glinting hope to the DCEU, a shining light reflecting off the shimmering sword of its titular character…Wonder Woman. This film was a joy to watch from start to finish. It was ferocious whilst maintaining an emotional grounding, the stakes were high enough to give the audience something to root for but not completely unfamiliar and extra-terrestrial, like the franchise’s succeeding villain, Steppenwolf. Put simply, had this film come out after Justice League, the DCEU would be on a four film winning streak.
Indeed, the last three films were critical and box office successes for the studio, and I can understand why. Aquaman (James Wan, 2018) created a completely immersive (or should I say ‘submersive’) world, and was well-lead by Jason Mamoa. Shazam! (David F. Sandberg, 2019) was my favourite DCEU film to date, a light hearted but impactful film that promotes inclusivity, painting a picture of jovial action with a brush stroke that never feels too childish. Finally, the film that’s stirring all the talk, Birds of Prey. I’ll admit, upon first viewing, I walked out of the cinema fearing DC was falling back into its familiar faults, with too much going on in the ways of backstories or drawn out gags, and not enough quality story-building. I still feel the film does too little in the way of thematic realisation, with certain storylines seeming unpolished and others perhaps even unnecessary, but overall it is an extremely entertaining two hours of cinema, bolstered by its stellar cast and zany tone. More so, the nonsensicalness, jumbled timeline jumps, and overall wackiness of the film perfectly reflects its main protagonist, played brilliantly by Margo Robbie.
Now that we’ve reached the precipice of what’s to come for the DCEU, I look back at the marred filmic journey that’s lead to this relative stability, and I feel unexplainably confident that success will continue. Admittedly, I’m banking on Patty Jenkins to wow us with her next film, Wonder Woman 1984 (2020), and as a fan of Robert Pattinson’s dive into arthouse / indie cinema, I believe he can give The Batman (2021) the complexity and torment with which the character was severely lacking in its previous DCEU outings, not to mention the director Matt Reeves’ fantastic work on the Apes trilogy. So whilst I hold my breath for the release of Wonder Woman 1984, I must say I’m pleasantly surprised to see the DCEU finally making amends for its bumpy beginnings.
