Why I like the DCEU

    It was February 2016 when I first saw a trailer for a DCEU film that made me want to stick my toe in the pond.  That was a trailer for Batman v. Superman that played before Star Wars; The Force Awakens.  Batman v. Superman wasn't as good as I was hoping, there were many lengthy sequences that seemed to mean nothing other than Bruce Wayne was crazy and Clark Kent was overly suspicious of Batman.  Also, Lex Luthor was turned into a stereotypical atheist, spouting dialogue I would expect from a cardboard Pureflix villain, not a businessman who seeks to turn the spotlight on him and away from Superman.  The saving grace of the film is Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, and looking at the actress beyond the film, it's not hard to see why.  She almost seems to be the real-world Wonder Woman.  And for all its faults, I did feel sad at the death of Superman.  A few months later, Suicide Squad was released and I saw it.  Margot Robbie was great and Will Smith acted well, too.  Karen Fukuhara gave a great performance as Katana, and the film worked much better than its predecessor and is a good reflection of the comics its based on.  It's not for everyone, with its trippy atmosphere and sometimes over-the-top violence, but it proved DC could improve.  Wonder Woman was next and is easily the best of the DCEU thus far.  Gal Gadot shines in the film and Chris Pine acts well, too.  The cast plays their roles beautifully and it really brings to life Wonder Woman's origin story and the temptations of lashing out or putting in the hard work to fix a problem.  Justice League followed and had a wonderful ensemble cast, the characters all getting played well and accurately.  The film has a negative reputation online for using CGI to fix Superman's face, but since most of his scenes were in a heavy CGI area (Steppenwolf's dome) I didn't notice, plus some scenes with other heroes seemed to have some CGI touches, such as Wonder Woman reaching for her sword in slow-motion.  Best of all, I bought the Funko Pops of Wonder Woman and Aquaman before seeing the movie, and they attack Steppenwolf physically at the start of the final battle, which made me feel great.  Aquaman was another great character piece like Wonder Woman, and Mera shone alongside Aquaman.  Jason Momoa and Amber Heard were both great actors and the film had a lot of great moments.  I especially loved Aquaman riding atop a Pacific Rim-esque kaiju in the Final Battle.  I haven't seen Shazam yet, but I am aiming to see Birds of Prey when it comes out in February.  It already looks quite fun.