I have grimdark fatigue

I was hoping Brandon Routh would pop out of nowhere and be all "hey guys!" with a goofy grin.

he, Cap, and the Punisher were all great in Scott Pilgrim.

but yeah, grimdark can work. Just not with Snyder. Or Nolan, for that matter.

I think Nolan ultimately managed to balance it out in his movies. It works where there's a counterpoint. Which this could have, but that trailer sure as hell didn't.

well, I'm mostly thinking of the first and last, where the concept of Batman as inspiration and hope (and a happy ending!) balanced it some.

though grimdark as a concept comes from 40k... which is as much satire as it is actually grim and dark. I think we can be pretty sure that's not what Snyder's going for here.

except the third Batman didn't stick the landing. Also, the grimdark 40k is, as you mention, a fundamentally different version from what Snyder (and Nolan, to a lesser extent) are/were going for.

I think it comes down to this: it feels like we're chasing an aesthetic at the expense of developing characters or a plot.

I think it comes down to this: it feels like we're chasing an aesthetic rather than trying to develop characters or a plot.

I liked that the ending utterly broke with convention, but it was certainly jarring. And felt more about the ideas it represented that a character arc.

but generally I agree. DC isn't allowing the movies or characters room to breathe and develop. There's kind of a straightjacket of INTENSITY AND GRITTY REALISM they're not willing to move from.

Compared to the contrast on the Marvel side - Winter Soldier and Guardians are good examples - it's kind of goofy.

hell, even compared to Arrow and Flash on TV. The whole point of Flash is that it dispenses with things like "grit" and "realism" which are hallmarks of Arrow.

I liked a lot about Man of Steel though. Mostly where it upended old chestnuts. Lois meets Kal-El first? Knows the whole time? YES!

yeah, and I'm definitely on board if it's at least that good. I'll be there opening night et al. Man of Steel could have been better, but it's not like it was Green Lantern or Spawn.

Oh dear. Spawn. At least that Slayer song was fun