Things have a frustrating habit of getting away from me - you may have noticed a few event movies came and went with nothing but silence from this corner. As it is, 2016 is rapidly winging its way towards the past tense, and frankly, I could not be happier. This has not precisely been a banner year, for a variety of reasons, and I'll not be sorry to see the back end of it. I suppose the cynical approach would be to anticipate an even worse 2017, but I'll err on the side of optimism and simply be grateful to start again in January.
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| Mad Photoshop Skills, Yo: I Has Them. |
With that said, I've decided to take a few moments and look at some of the highs and lows of the year, strictly in the geek arena. Others can dissect the weightier real-life elements. This is hardly meant to be comprehensive, but is rather just a quick retrospective on the winners and losers, as I see them, in my particular bailiwick. The 'awards' are entirely capricious, and I have no idea if this will be a regular thing or not, going forward. So, without further ado:
BEST IN SHOW: CAPTAIN AMERICA - CIVIL WAR
If I had to pick one single stand-out from the huge variety of fantasy, sci-fi, superherodom, etc. this year, this is where I'd go. Despite being crammed with characters and probably largely inaccessible to anyone who hasn't seen the umpteen previous MCU entries, Civil War proved to be an engaging, well-crafted, fun movie with nuanced performances, especially from its two leads. It moved the overall story along, introduced new characters while developing older ones, featured a pleasant blend of humor and action, and had actual consequences. Civil War did quite a bit to get rid of the unpleasant taste most of the Phase II entries left in my mouth, and frankly I enjoyed it more than I did the comic story upon which it was based.
BEST DEBUT: WESTWORLD
Technically, Westworld is not new, coming as it does from a Michael Crichton story/film some forty years ago. But it takes the concept and brings into the modern age with questions of identity, morality and implications of technology in a staggeringly deep and beautiful way that all but eclipses the original story. While the first season of the HBO series had some pacing problems, it was a magnificently written and acted effort that proved utterly captivating - with the unfortunate side effect that fans will have to wait over a year before the show returns. It certainly didn't feel like a 'we've been here before' moment, and the show introduced so many ideas that bear exploring that it may have years and years to run before it gets stale.
BEST SAVE: STAR TREK BEYOND
After the debacle that was Star Trek: Into Darkness, and with the departure of director J.J. Abrams to a galaxy far, far away, it seemed as though the Star Trek franchise was in trouble. Indeed, an early trailer for Beyond did little to allay those fears. But then, surprise, surprise - we got a Star Trek movie that wasn't a series of coy references and 'aren't-we-clever' in jokes. We got an exciting original story that injected desperately needed new blood, developed the relationships between classic characters, and reinvigorated the franchise. Thanks to the way Beyond is set up, Into Darkness can be ignored, and we can look forward to a future that may boldly go in new directions. Sadly, it will have to do so without Anton Yelchin, who we lost too soon, but at least his participation in Star Trek was a high note.
BIGGEST IMPROVEMENT OVERALL: DC COMICS/ENTERTAINMENT
I'm certainly not going to attempt to analyze every element of every franchise, and even as a DC fan, I freely admit that not everything they've done has been a hit. But I have to acknowledge that as an overall effort, DC has made leaps and bounds this year. A large part of that has been a learning curve, and DC has acknowledged (finally) mistakes made along the way, and more importantly, taken steps to improve and cohere. From Rebirth on outwards to their various media and merchandising tie-ins, there's an energy and enthusiasm I've not seen in a while, and it's refreshing. DC has relaunched and reinvigorated the comics, released two live-action blockbusters, dominated television channels (beyond what's pictured here, they've had Lucifer, Teen Titans Go!, Preacher, and even announced a revival of Young Justice), and seem to be getting their toy store presence back in hand. So while there's definitely room for improvement, especially cinematically, DC has shown they're looking to do so.
BEST JUSTIFICATION OF A CASH GRAB: ROGUE ONE/FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM (tie)
That probably sounds snarkier than I mean it to, but I would argue that any prequel is, by definition, a cash grab. So if you're going to do it, at least do it well.
Which both of these movies did. I don't know that there was a particular 'need' for either of them - indeed, this part of the Star Wars saga had already been told a few times over in the EU/Legends reality. But both were extremely engaging films filled with interesting new characters, exciting set pieces, and quality development. Fantastic Beasts, in particular, got to do some serious worldbuilding that only enriches the Harry Potter universe, while Rogue One offered a darker, more complex worldview of the Star Wars universe, and plugged the single most glaring plot hole in the entire canon. Both were led by immensely talented young stars (thank you, "The Theory of Everything"?), featured some fanservice moments, and gave us new things to consider. While Rogue One was a standalone, it certainly makes me feel a bit better about Disney's milking of the franchise, while Fantastic Beasts seems to justify starting a new film series even if the main one is long since complete. So yes - Disney and WB were looking for dollars, but they didn't cheap out or phone it in, and so gave us the value of the product they're in the business of selling.
MVP: BEN AFFLECK (with honorable mentions)
"Batfleck Thucths", we heard ad nauseam for the better part of two years. And then Batman v Superman came out, and the only people still saying that were the people you'd cross the street to avoid anyway. Despite the narrative flaws of BvS, Affleck's take on a grizzled, angry Batman looking for redemption shut down critics and amped up enthusiasm for an already popular character, so much so that his stand-alone film has already been moved up. Not only that, but Affleck is taking a firmer hand on the tiller of the DCU, and given his success behind the camera of late, that's an encouraging sign. He may prove to be the biggest gun in DC's arsenal.
That said, it's a close call. Gal Gadot's turn as the Amazon Princess electrified audiences, and may have been the best single element of BvS. Similarly, Tom Holland's debut as Spider-Man in Civil War was the jewel in an already impressive film. Both of these actors were supporting stars this year, but I'd give the nod to Affleck since both Gadot and Holland will be headlining their own films next year, and each could prove to be breakout stars. They're certainly the two performances I am most excited to see in 2017.
BIGGEST "I AM SO EMBARRASSED BY OTHER NERDS" MOMENT: GHOSTBUSTERS (2016)
It's a remake, and by definition, NOT the original. But the fan reaction to this movie in advance of its release was one of the most embarrassing situations of this nature I can recall experiencing. The idiocy of the entitled-fan commentary, the disgusting sexism, and the blatant stupidity of pre-assessment were all presented in lurid ugliness for all the world to see, and made a fantastic argument for creators to not listen to fans. The original Ghostbusters is one of my favorite films, and that said, I loved the remake - I thought it was fun and different. Most of the people I've spoken to who actually saw the film enjoyed it as well. In the final analysis, the movie was cursed by butthurt fanboys and disgraces to the male gender more than it was flawed of its own nature. If I ever seen the perfect illustration of "don't read the comments", it's this movie.
BIGGEST DISAPPOINMENT: X-MEN APOCALYPSE/THE MUPPETS (tie)
A strange pairing, I admit. And a bit of a technicality, since the Muppets series started in 2015. But of the various letdowns I experienced this year, these two were the biggest.
After the success of the last two X-Men films, I had high hopes for Apocalypse, which were utterly dashed by a smug, self-satisfied script that ended up being a phoned-in collection of rehashes, unnecessary flourishes, and an extremely silly plot that turned one of the biggest Marvel villains into a goofy, Power Rangers nutball. It turned what could have been a fantastic film into an utterly pointless piece of nonsense.
And the Muppets - this hurts my heart. To see a group of characters I've cherished since infancy turned into crass, cynical exploitation was awful. Some of the choices and topics on the show were so bizarre (Fozzie's sex life???) that it became almost meta in its ability to be terrible. The show's creators realized they were in trouble about halfway through the season and attempted to course-correct, but it was too little, too late, and the show met its cancellation after one season. While there may have been hope, the cancellation was probably a mercy, so that the Muppets can move on with their puppety lives. The sooner this show is forgotten, the better.
BIGGEST ASS: GEORGE R.R. MARTIN
I don't care how much you may love the books or the series, but this man is an utter buffoon. Another year has gone by and we are still no closer to the Winds of Winter, apparently, even though the show has now passed the written narrative and is heading to a conclusion that will render the two remaining books moot. Some may argue that's impossible, as the books are the source material, but given how awful the last two books in the series were, combined with the stellar quality of the series and the fact that there's only so much shock value you can mine from slaughtering characters, I don't feel the books are adding much at this point beyond overkill of detail and unnecessary side plots. It's not as though he's creating high art - or even good literature. Regardless, for a creator to dither and waste time as much as Martin has is embarrassing - he has, in essence, made himself entirely superfluous to his own work before it's finished, as he's proven that others can do it better than he can. He's proven that the books are not always better than the adaptation, and has, no doubt, infuriated both his fans and his publishers. Stop smirking, George - stop being so impressed with yourself. You can be replaced. You're heading towards being the man who published the last book in A Song of Fire and Ice many years after Game of Thrones had already ended.
BIGGEST WASTE OF TIME: AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D.
Seriously, why is this show even still on the air? Is anyone still actually watching it? I suppose technically I am, even if most of this season is still moldering on the DVR queue. It's either OCD or gluttony for punishment. I'll let you know.
BIGGEST SOUND AND FURY SIGNIFYING NOTHING: POKEMON GO
"Global phenomenon". Yep. For a few weeks, this was everywhere you went this summer. And then it was nowhere. Ah, the brief life of a mayfly. I think the Gangnam Style craze lasted longer. Oh, well - at least it got people outside.
IN MEMORIAM:
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| The Starman, The Potions Master, The Princess, The Candyman |
It seems like 2016 took an excessive number of beloved celebrities from us this year. (And Fidel Castro). From Muhammad Ali to John Glenn to Prince to Nancy Reagan to Richard Adams to Leonard Cohen and many, many more, it felt like every week we were losing somebody near and dear to millions, and quite often, unexpectedly.
There are some who sneer at the mourning of celebrities, but I think that's a rather small, nasty mentality. Quite often, celebrities are creators whose work has enriched the lives of those who experienced it, many of whom come to be valued as parts of peoples lives, even if they never meet. For me, the losses of David Bowie, Alan Rickman, Carrie Fisher and Gene Wilder are the saddest, but they leave behind work that will endure, and if nothing else, we'll always have that.
So that about covers the topics I wanted to hit. As I mentioned, it's hardly a comprehensive list, but I've already relived this year enough thanks. As a side note, perhaps we could award 2016 as "THE YEAR THAT MOST RESEMBLED FINDING FORGOTTEN ROTTING VEGETABLES IN THE BACK OF THE FRIDGE." At any rate, we're wrapping it up now, at last.
So from all of me here at Batcaveat Emptor, I wish all of you out there a very Happy New Year, with hopes for a bright, rewarding, fun, and hopefully uplifting 2017.
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| Some of the many things we have to look forward to in the next twelve months. |
