Category: Comic Musings

Someone wondered how the flop sequel Joker: Folie A Doo-Doo could be fixed. Someone wrote an elaborate article on a website whose name I mention in the same cadence that Jim Carrey’s Riddler screams out “BRAIN DRAIN!” Someone had thought about all the fixes that could have fixed this somewhat ill-conceived movie. I’m sure they’ve given this issue a lot of thought on how this Joker sequel could have been salvaged.

I won’t bother with an overly long post on how to fix Joker 2. I’ll just tell you straight up how to fix the movie.

Don’t make it in the first place.

Joker (2019) didn’t need a sequel. Not everything needs a sequel. Sometimes, a sequel runs the risk of sullying the original and just adds nothing to the overall narrative. The guy who directed Joker didn’t want to make a sequel, but he was told to make a sequel, so he did everything he could to make a movie that was so vile, nobody would like it or pay money to see it in theaters.

That may or may not be the case, but if it is, it’s a brilliant strategy. Hopefully, it pays off and there won’t be a Joker 3.

You know, I’ve seen a lot of Marvel movie trailers over the decades (yes, we’re getting there) and this… looks like another one of those. Same kind of editing, same kind of “ominous” music, same twist on a popular-ish song, and a couple jokes tossed in for good measure. And… yay? I guess… I suppose…

This will likely appease the Marvelites who consume this content like crack cocaine, but as for me… eh, I’d wait for home video if they still made those and video stores were still a thing that I can rent these things from, but since they don’t exist and honestly, I haven’t had much interest in anything MCU-ish since Endgame, I don’t think I’ll be missing much.

People up in arms against AI for robbing creative people of work… but given the recent string of Hollywood content, it would’ve been nice if those creative people were actually involved in the making of these things instead of the same hacks who regurgitate the same drivel over and over again, but with slightly different skins to make it seem different and palettable enough to different groups of people – take your pick, that could apply to anybody these day.

Give me something engaging on a regular basis and I’ll champion the fight against AI. But at the moment, from what I’ve seen on the horizon, AI would be an improvement at this point.

I won’t go into the nitty-gritty of things because that involves touching on things that the rest of the internet might have spoiled, but I’d rather let those who haven’t spoiled discover the fun stuff for themselves. But I will say this much; it is very much a Deadpool movie with the usual Deadpool tropes mixed in with some bad cop/bad cop dynamics between Wade and Logan. Even though there’s some hints of MCU stuff that I don’t care for, they’re not the dominant aspects of this film. And thank fuck for that because I want to watch a movie that’s actually content at being a fun ride and not world-building nonsense for the next three series that I could possibly not give enough of a shit to watch.

And before anyone asks, no, I will not be watching. This is the first Marvel thing I’ve seen since Falcon/Winter Soldier. I’ve not touched anything else. I’m not inclined to watch anything else. Naturally, I was concerned that this would be tainted and toned down. It hasn’t; it’s still the same Deadpool goodness because Ryan Reynolds and friends give enough of a shit about this character to do him justice and continue to make him the best possible interpretation of the character in modern media.

This isn’t Marvel Jesus. This isn’t going to make me care about anything involving the other Marvel stuff or their Multiversal phasing stuff. I’m not exactly clamoring for any other potential projects that this might be teasing. And this sure as shit isn’t going to make the MCU great or even good again. It is, however, a largely fun and enjoyable movie that, if you can put up with a little crass humor and lots of gratuitous violence, is not a bad way to kill a couple hours at the movie house.

At the end of the day, I just want to have a good time at the movies. This gave me that. And if I had more movies like this, I’d spend more time and money at the movies. But I don’t have those. So I don’t go. And that’s fine. I’ve got other stuff to keep me entertained.

So yeah, if you liked the first two Deadpools, give this one a whirl. And if not… watch something else, instead.

Source: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/robert-downey-jr-doctor-doom-marvel-rcna163991

So we had this guy who played Kang The Conqueror for a couple things here and there… and then it was discovered that he was involved in some heinous shit. Obviously, we can’t keep him around, but now we’re totally fucked because we have this whole movie built around this guy and now we’ve gotta find someone to replace him.

The solution? Replace Kang with Dr. Doom… and the guy playing Dr. Doom will be none other than Iron Man himself, Robert Downey Jr.

Because, sure… why the fuck not?

You want to know the funny thing about this whole deal? I read up on the news online, I assume it’s a bit of a joke, and then when I discover that this is an actual thing they’re doing, I just shrugged and moved on with my life. I had no real, tangible reaction to this piece of information. I was ambivalent. I simply didn’t care. I’m sure there are questions, but honestly… I’m in no hurry to get answers any time soon. I’m just like… “Whatever.”

I’ve said this before. I’ll say it again. My interest in the MCU narrative ended with Endgame. While I enjoyed one or two of these things (the Spider-Man team up movie and the Falcon/Winter Soldier series), I never bothered with the rest of it. I simply didn’t have any interest in anything they had going and also their dwelling into the multiverse for the story ideas feels like they’re just tossing shit to a wall and seeing what sticks.

The Deadpool/Wolverine movie, judging by box office results and audience reactions, seems to be the one thing sticking on that wall, which mean they’ll want to do more of that… except people assume that they want more of this multiverse garbage when the reality is that they just wanted to see this long-awaited team-up between our ol’ pal Wade and his frenemy Logan. And Deadpool works because the people behind Deadpool give enough of a shit about Deadpool to do the character justice. Otherwise, you get shit like X-Men Origins: Wolverine, which was awful.

If the MCU made more films like Deadpool – not so much the R-rated stuff or the fourth wall breaking stuff, but mostly just being fun little schlockfests – more people would be into it other than the diehards. But as it is, the only thing that this current MCU is capable of producing is more X-Men Origins: Wolverine. One of those is more than enough.

I haven’t even watched Dark Phoenix yet… but I’d much rather watch that than anything involving the MCU at this point.

That has been my Theodore Conversation.

I’ve been busy prepping for the road trip. Hell, by the time you’re reading this post, I’m probably long gone by now.

I liked the Deadpool movies just fine. They’re funny stuff and Ryan Reynolds pretty much owns the role to the point where I tried to play the ol’ Deadpool game from a decade ago (has it really been that long?) and hearing some other dude voice the character – as good as he was – simply felt wrong because he wasn’t Ryan Reynolds. It’s almost like having someone else besides Cal Dodd or Hugh Jackman play Wolverine feel wrong, no matter how good they try to play the role. You simply couldn’t imagine anyone else doing the role justice.

That in mind, there’s a possibility that I might see it down the line. If not in theaters, then wait until it hits home video like I did the other Deadpool movies. That way, when my phone rings, I can pause the fucking movie and answer said phone… or take a fucking piss… which is more likely than answering the phone because it’s eternally set to Do Not Disturb, which is most of the time.

I hear it did well, so good for them, I suppose.