Reddit reviews Time Out Shortlist Gotham and Metropolis: (Superman vs Batman edition)

There was a promotional Tour Guide book that was made for the movie that went into Gotham and Metropolis in detail. It's a great read and is packed to the brim with easter eggs:

https://www.amazon.com/Time-Out-Shortlist-Gotham-Metropolis/dp/1846709806

I think people judge movies too harshly. Granted, Suicide Squad does have a fucked up edit. I agree with that. It really does seem as though WB took the movie out of Ayers' hands and gave it to someone else at the eleventh hour, and while they didn't ruin it, they didn't do it any favors. I think the characters are all interesting, I like the way it carries on themes from MoS and BvS. It shares a lot of visual motifs with those movies, as well.

Incubus is born the same way Doomsday is: he takes genetic material from multiple human hosts and absorbs millions of volts of electricity before emerging from a cocoon. Diablo shoves his hand through Incubus' chest the way Knightmare Superman kills Knightmare Batman. The servicemen in the movie all die uselessly/valiantly like the servicemen fighting the Kryptonians in Man of Steel.

But what I really like about the movie, that nobody ever talks about, is that what it really is, is a "World Without A Superman" story. What if there were no Superman? No Justice League? No wonder Wonder Woman gets back in the game!

But here's my absolute favorite detail about that movie: the song Purple Lamborghini by Rick Ross and Skrillex. Take four minutes and twenty-two seconds to watch that video real quick. Don't read ahead.

Okay, now watch this clip from Suicide Squad.

Done?

So, the song Purple Lamborghini actually plays in the movie. If you listen to the lyrics-- I've memorized them lol I sang it at karaoke a few weeks ago and no shit a bartender made me a drink for it-- Rick Ross only mentions supervillains that are public knowledge: Deadshot (headshot, oh my god, am I crazy?) and Killer Croc (came ta kidnap ya and cut outcha kidney). He talks about (drugs, every cornah, this is) Gotham City, and when he does mention the Suicide Squad, he's talking about a violent gang that will kill you for "saying my name." Now, if it sounds strange that a rapper would do a song about a famous criminal, I don't know what to tell you. So, in my mind, that music video actually exists in the world of BvS. They got Joker to fly down the coast to Miami, which is Rick Ross' hometown and also probably doesn't have any warrants out for Joker. Note how all of the extras stand stock still, not making eye contact with Joker. He's a wild animal and completely unpredictable. To me, the video is a sort of artifact of that world, like the newspaper articles and book excerpts from Watchmen, or the documentary on the Man of Steel Blu-Ray, or this real travel guide to Gotham and Metropolis that you can really buy. I love that idea. But it gets better! We know this song came out around 2014, since it's playing when Harley gets arrested. This is a year before December 2015, when Deadshot is arrested. That man has the biggest ego on the planet, and I guarantee that song is his ringtone. My overwrought and completely unnecessary theory? When Deadshot says "So what are we, some kinda... Suicide Squad?" he's referencing this song. He's reminding everyone that he's so good at what he does that people rap about him.

So there are a lot of details like this layered throughout these movies. I think Katana was trained by Batman. How else do you explain a woman armed only with a sword surviving where a platoon of Navy SEALs die? We know anyone else like that? The movie shows us that Batman's powers go beyond "being rich": he's embedded in the military-industrial complex, with a of the access that implies. (Can you say: military-grade decryption software?) I think DC metahumans are extremely powerful, like the Squad might be able to fuck up the X-Men. There's a lot going on in this movie, and it's marred by the edit. It's really unfortunate. Young people fucking love this movie, though. I ask kids and like, non-nerds and they all love it. Everyone I ask. Nerds have too much of a stick up their ass.

I won't go into my whole "you can't throw the baby out with the bathwater" thing (the Star Wars prequels aren't that bad) but you can see where I'm coming from. Definitely watch Suicide Squad again before Justice League. The extended cut isn't as good as the Ultimate Cut of BvS but it does have my favorite line in the movie (Katana says it) so check that out.

haha this is great

Thanks for letting me rant!