So, we’re continuing season 2 of Titans, and so far the quality has been decidedly meh, can you believe we’re half way through at this point but it feels like almost nothing has happened. Still, the strongest episode this season so far was the flashback and we’re starting this retrospective with part 2.
And we’re back with another dose of the Snyder Cut and a likely rather scattershot set of viewpoints around the changes made here. Unlike with previous reboots discussed here, a lot of material was in the original, the original I have already reviewed and the plot in this film is pretty much the same. It’s hard to determine exactly how successful the Snyder Cut has actually been. It’s certainly created a lot of buzz, and the more positive reception certainly helped but because it’s been released on a streaming service the value it creates will be dependant on how many subscribers it brings on and retains. And 2021 has been a big year for HBO Max with all of its big cinematic releases being placed on the service for free for a few weeks at time of release. This was an attempt to reclaim something as Covid has drawn audiences away from traditional theatres.
So you remember in what turned out to be the concluding episode of season 1 they teased Superboy and Krypto. Well, we’re at episode 6 of season 2 so finally they decide to actually deliver on that tease, right as they have a big cliff-hanger to deal with.
OK, we’re looking at a different kind of reboot here. After Batman v Superman planted seeds for a Justice League, Zack Snyder was hard at work on the project and had done most of the filming for it, sadly it was interrupted by the tragic death of his daughter and he left the project to grieve and I hold no ill will toward him for that.
Still, that takes time and they needed alignment in the
actors’ filming schedules and various other issues to continue filming, there
were already difficulties with the product we ended up with, hence Supes’ awful
CG chin to remove the facial hair for Mission: Impossible. So I get why WB
handed over the reins to Joss Whedon. The problems were many-fold, WB execs
wanted the film out so they could get their bonuses, he was also under pressure
to lighten the tone based on reception to Batman v Superman. And no, I’m not
defending Whedon acting like a piece of crap on-set, Ray Fisher has come out
with some rather disturbing on-set stories with both Whedon and Geoff Johns
mentioned by name as perpetrators.
Still, I’m not a huge fan of Snyder either, his take on Superman
felt like a fundamental misunderstanding of the character and he drew on
material that he also fundamentally misunderstood in Batman v Superman. He also
began riling up fan interest in reviving his take on the film. I can’t
understand the level of entitlement here, it’s not a good look and neither is the
studio acquiescing to the tune of $70m? This film already had a ballooned
budget thanks to all the reshoots.
Of course, with Zack it’s all about the artistic vision. How
do I know he’s gone this pretentious route? This ‘movie’ has a 4:3 aspect ratio
and is available in Black and White. There’s nothing wrong with an artistic
vision however, but with a medium like film, it should be an entertaining
product first and foremost and that’s the angle I’ll be judging it from. It’s
also nearly 4 hours long so to protect my sanity, I’ll be splitting this over 2
reviews. They’ve nicely broken it into 6 chapters so I’ll try and stick with
chapters 1-3 for this review, and 4-6 for next week’s review.
We’re taking another look at season 2 of Titans, the last season before the show moved to HBO Max
Mark Beaks has very little interest in Scrooge really, he’s mostly just a shewed but lazy tech businessman with a particular interest in Gizmoduck. He someone how managed to reclaim his company after Glomtales, maybe it was just his on-paper money he put into Glomgold’s scheme. Magika has been reduced to a wreck without her powers, and whilst still maniacally evil and hating Scrooge seems content to bide her time and get her powers back first. Glomgold was always meant to be a reflection of Scrooge and The Balad of Duke Baloney! Did a good job in realising that to its fullest whilst keeping his core attributes in-tact. Oh and the Beagle Boys and Ma Beagle have an interesting family dynamic and their beef with Scrooge is interesting.
But with season 3, we have Bradford Buzzard and F.O.W.L.,
easily the most effective and successful antagonists for the show. Magika had a
plan of sorts that came to fruition throughout the season, but FOWL’s is a bit
more intricate and complex and otherwise connects episodes they had nothing to
do with.
And who better to solve a massive conspiracy and the
resident nerd of the Duck triplets, Huey. Huey has been show to be smart,
logical, efficient but also the least stable. When something challenges his
perception of reality, he’s the first to completely break down. This happened a
few times, when Dewey ended up favoured over him in The Infernal Internship of
Mark Beaks! And his interactions with Bubba Duck in Timephoon! To name a
couple.
Let’s dive into season 3 and see how things progress.
Time to take a look at Titans, the show that is still going on for some reason. Season 2 debuted on the DC Universe app in 2019. Season 1 had some great moments but had a pretty dull story and all the edginess you could ever want. The season opener for this season I covered as a rage review, it spent the first half concluding the season 1 arc in a pretty poor fashion, and the other setting up the events of season 2 as Jason has joined the Titans and Deathstroke is ready to enact his revenge or something. Let’s dig in and take a look at what season 2 has to offer in earnest.
We’re looking at Young Justice Outsiders one last time for the final run of episodes. As I write this the newest season, co-titled Phantoms hasn’t come out yet but it due to soon. [Time of posting the first half of the season has come out, and has its pros and cons]
