It’s not often that superhero films are recognized during award season.
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Aside from Heath Ledger posthumously winning the Best Supporting Actor Academy Award for his portrayal of a terrorist in clown makeup in the Dark Knight, these kinds of movies tend to be overlooked.
Of course, these films are not successful for those reasons. Box office numbers tend to indicate that films starring superheroes do quite well with moviegoers.
And sure, there might be the occasional editing, makeup, costumes, and special effects nominations here or there, but where are the Best Picture nominations?
Maybe that time will come (Logan, anybody?) but for now, we are stuck with the Razzies.
In anticipation of this weekend’s Oscar Awards ceremony, the Golden Raspberry Awards recently announced the victors among the biggest stinkers in Hollywood over the last year.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice won quite a few, giving fans more fodder to mull over regarding Zack Snyder’s oft-maligned fisticuffs film.
Some might argue that Batman v Superman wasn’t the worst film of the year, and some might even argue that it doesn’t deserve to be placed anywhere near that category. Especially in a year filled with Zoolander 2 and Independence Day: Resurgence.
Hell, it might not even be the worst superhero film of the year, thanks to David Ayer’s Suicide Squad.
But the Razzies, more than anything, are about stirring up discussion. And there’s no doubt discussions will be had over these dubious “honors.”
Check out the Razzie Awards Bats and Supes garnered on the following slides.
Worst Supporting Actor
Worst Supporting Actor
Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor
Other nominees included Jared Leto as Joker in Suicide Squad, Will Ferrell as Mugatu in Zoolander No. 2, Owen Wilson as Hansel in Zoolander No. 2, Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter in Alice: Through The Looking Glass, and Nicolas Cage as Hank Forrester in Snowden.
Poor Jesse Eisenberg.
Say what you will about Eisenberg’s acting chops, but he was facing an uphill battle against fans from the moment his name was announced as Lex Luthor.
While he physically does not seem to embody the intimidating stature that Lex is typically portrayed with, Eisenberg can play ‘menacing’ pretty well. Unfortunately his performance in BvS left some with a bad taste.
But some, such as co-star Lawrence Fishburne, have defended Eisenberg’s casting as being a breath of fresh air for the character, portraying a neurotic flavor of maniac in his quest to rid the world of Superman.
Apparently the people who decide the Razzie Awards didn’t feel the same way. But seriously, did they even truly watch Suicide Squad?
Worst Screenplay
Worst Screenplay
Chris Terrio, David S. Goyer
Other nominees included Dirty Grandpa, Gods of Egypt, Hillary’s America, Independence Day: Resurgence, and Suicide Squad.
Sure, there were some hackneyed and hammy moments, like Superman’s steamy bath-sex scene, or Bruce Wayne talking about his family of poachers.
We won’t even get into the whole deal Step-Brothers-esque moment where Bats and Supes become best buds because their mom’s have the same name.
But considering Dirty Grandpa was an excuse to put Robert DeNiro around a bunch of half naked twentysomethings and Hillary’s America was a complete and total farce, this is a bit of a stretch.
And again, we’re starting to think the people at the Razzies didn’t even watch Suicide Squad.
It wasn’t exactly the strongest script, but it did provide for some great moments on film between two of the most popular superheroes in the world. We’re gonna have to disagree with this one.
Worst Remake, Rip Off, or Sequel
Worst Remake, Rip-Off, or Sequel
Other nominees included Alice: Through the Looking Glass, Fifty Shades of Black, Independence Day: Resurgence, Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows, and Zoolander No. 2.
Hmmmm, this one is tough. Fifty Shades of Black was a parody film that depends on 1) your love of Wayans Bros. comedies and 2) your view of the source material.
Independence Day stars Jeff Goldblum, so it has that going for it.
Ninja Turtles might have been a bummer, but at least it gave us big screen versions of Crane, Bepop, and Rocksteady.
So we have to ask, is BvS really that much worse than the latest Alice film—a very loose adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s wonderful novel—or Zoolander No. 2
We’ll strongly disagree with this one. However, your mileage may vary.
Worst Onscreen Combo
Worst Onscreen Combo
Other nominees included Any Two Egyptian Gods or Mortals in Gods of Egypt, Johnny Depp and his Vibrant Costume in Alice: Through the Looking Glass, the Entire Cast of Once Respected Actors in Collateral Beauty, Tyler Perry and that Old Worn-Out Wig in BOO! A Made Halloween, Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson in Zoolander No. 2.
Ok, this one is a little bit harder to argue as it was voted on by users of Rotten Tomatoes.
But by the time voting opened, the film had already achieved status in the cultural zeitgeist as being ‘bad.’
And look at the other nominees! It’s a joke list—as is the Razzies purview—with the only other true duo being Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson.
Let’s just look at the method for voting, being that it was a public poll for Rotten Tomatoes users.
Batman v Superman was a financial success at the box office, much more so than any other film in this category.
How many users actually saw all of the films? How many users voted objectively? How many voted multiple times? Are we grasping at straws here? Probably? Ok, now let’s all take a deep breath.
