Batman (New 52) + The Dangers of Deleted Scenes

Personal Update

This blog was written to Agnes Obel's Citizen of Glass

This week, I was fortunate to be able to go for a walk with my girlfriend through some cool trails on the far East end of Toronto.  I also finished Destiny 2 and greatly enjoyed it, but have little intentions of continuing the journey through the two highly-overpriced DLC facts.  Unfortunately, I also received some devastating news that Call of Duty: Black Ops IIII (no, that's not a spelling mistake) will not have any sort of single-player campaign.  That's a major disappointment - especially considering that the only real interest I've ever had with the Call of Duty franchise is the campaign.  Anyways, let's not worry about that.  After all, I had a rather interesting read over the past couple of weeks.

Review

BATMAN (New 52)

Writer: Scott Snyder

There are few graphic novel series that I can easily say rank among the best.  For the better part of the last two weeks, I have been reading the entire run of the New 52 Batman.  I originally collected them because I was interested in getting into Batman without having to necessarily read everything.  Friends have recommended various graphic novels and author runs, but I wanted to start with this and work backwards if needed.  This series takes us through a fascinating origin story for Batman and also takes wonderfully ambitious license with the DC villains including the Joker and a new fascinating villain, Bloom.  The overall story is quite impressive and the introspective nature of Batman really gives a personalized touch to the story.  However, the biggest downside I encountered was in Volume 6: Graveyard Shift.  In it, the story opts to continue some of the origin story, but also attempts to tie up or tease narrative threads from other series.  For example, Batman dealing with the death of his son (even though he was alive when last we saw him and the dubious connection with Batman: Eternal.  Batman: Eternal is a series that was written in parallel by Scott Snyder.  I'm still not entirely sure how it connects to this main series, but it is clear that the assembly of this graphic novel collection is both for the enjoyment of the reader and as a not-so-subtle marketing ploy for the other Batman series.  For that reason, despite the overall story and art being stellar, it is hard to justify giving this arc a "perfect score."

4/5 - Blockbuster

Releases of the Week

Films*

May 25th

• Feral
• Future World
• The Gospal According to Andre
• How Long Will I Love U
• How to Talk to Girls at Parties⭐
• In Darkness
• Mary Shelley⭐
• The Misandrists
• Parmanu: The Story of Pokhran
• Solo: A Star Wars Story⭐
• Summer 1993
• Who We Are Now

⭐High-Profile Release
*List Credit: Metacritic

Video Games**

May 22nd

• Disco Dodgeball Remix (PS4, Xbox One, Switch)
• Everspace (PS4)
• Gorogoa (PS4, Xbox One)
• H1Z1 open beta (PS4)
• I Hate Running Backwards (PS4, Xbox One, PC)
• Mega Man Legacy Collection (Switch)⭐
• Mega Man Legacy Collection 2 (Switch)⭐
• One Piece: Grand Cruise (PS4, PSVR)
• Runner3 (Switch, PC)
• Shio (PS4)
• Space Hulk: Deathwing Enhanced Edition (PS4, PC)
• Star Trek: Bridge Crew The Next Generation expansion (PS4, PSVR)
• Stardew Valley (Vita)⭐
• State of Decay 2 (Xbox One, PC)⭐
• Stellaris: Distant Stars DLC (PC, Mac, Linux)
• Super Hyperactive Ninja (PS4, PC, Mac, Linux)
• Tennis World Tour (PS4, Xbox One)

May 23rd

• Asylamba: Influence (PC, Mac, Linux)
• Raft Early Access (PC)

May 24th

• Arcade Archives NeoGeo Top Player’s Golf (Switch)
• Arizona Sunshine: Dead Man DLC (PC, Rift, Vive, WMR)
• Baobabs Mausoleum Episode 1 – “Ovnifagos Don’t Eat Flamingos” (Switch)
• Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon (PS4, Xbox One, Switch, Vita, PC)
• Cities: Skylines – Parklife expansion (PC, Mac)
• Cycle of Eternity: Space Anomaly (Wii U)
• Dauntless open beta (PC)
• Defender’s Quest: Valley of the Forgotten DX (Vita)
• Dillon’s Dead-Heat Breakers (3DS)
• Discovery (Switch)
• Escape Game: Aloha (Switch)
• N++ (Switch)
• The Piano (PC)
• PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds Miramar update (Xbox One)⭐
• Punch Club (Switch)
• Unforeseen Incidents (PC, Mac, Linux)
• Zen Bound 2 (Switch)

May 25th

• Atomine (Switch)
• Dark Souls: Remastered (PS4, Xbox One, PC)
• Detroit: Become Human (PS4)⭐
• Dungeon Rushers (PS4, Xbox One, Switch)
• oOo: Ascension (Xbox One)
• PixelJunk Monsters 2 (PS4, Switch, PC)
• Sudden Strike 4: European Battlefields Edition (Xbox One)
• Super Hyperactive Ninja (Xbox One)
• Ancestors Legacy (Xbox One, PC)
• Arlo the Rabbit (PC)
• Arcade Archives Ikki (Switch)
• 7’scarlet (Vita)

⭐High-Profile Release

**List Credit: EGM

Retro Spotlight

GATTACA (1997)

Recently, I've had this film stuck in my head.  The way in which privilege and birth are discussed and dissected as a fatal flaw that prohibits career advancement is fascinating and morally dubious.  The way in which Gattaca expands its world-building by focusing on the relationship of the natural vs. synthetic-born is quite clever.  Yes, it does focus on society, but it namely dives into the contrast between two brothers who were conceived differently.  There is pseudo-dystopian underpinning that mirrors Aldous Huxley's Brave New World in its systemic separation of people based on their birth.  With that said, the constant undermining of naturally-born people serves as the central drive for protagonist Vincent Freeman, who dreams of going to space.  He takes on (with consent) the identity of another man, whose qualifications would lend him well to eventually go to space.  They reach an agreement to live the same life in order to both benefit financially.  I disagree with showing someone in a wheelchair as seemingly helpless or unable to work, but it's clear that that particular character (played by Jude Law) was unhappy with his life long before he ever met Vincent.  It's an awesome story and is a testament to the determination and strength of the human spirit.  I highly recommend it.

Retro Grade: 4/5
Modern Grade: 4/5

Editorial

The Dangers of Deleted Scenes

Anticipation for a film's home release can be a flurry of mixed emotions.  On one hand, there is an uplifting sense of wonder and fulfillment in which you finally get to add that film to your collection.  However, you get much more than just a film these days.  They come with commentary tracks, full feature-length documentaries, and...deleted scenes.  Personally, I think these deleted scenes aren't quite all they're cracked up to be as they showcase what directors wanted to keep in the film, but were ultimately cut.  I much prefer extended editions of films as they are far more exploratory and experiential in nature.  Deleted scenes often feel rough and are, more often than not, of a lesser-overall quality compared to the rest of the film.  They're the ultimate tease that show you what could have been, while also highlighting what wasn't good enough.  It is my belief that these scenes should either be omitted entirely or finished properly in an appropriate extended collector's edition of the film.  Otherwise, it's cruel to show us what could have been rather than what was.

Have a Great Week!

SF