DC movies are known to be dark, and we mean dark in color grading and lighting.
You’re probably familiar with Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, and the entire Justice League crew. They are iconic characters created by DC Comics, which is the flagship unit of DC Entertainment. DC is a staple among comics connoisseurs and superhero fans everywhere and its comics are often adapted into movies that everyone would recognize in a heartbeat. Take Superman, for example, which has been played by multiple actors in movies throughout the years. Aside from Superman, Batman is also a DC comic book hero who’s a big screen regular and just this year, a new version called The Batman came out in theatres worldwide, and it stars vampire-turned-bat Robert Pattinson and Zoë Kravitz as Catwoman. With this release, people on the internet have come alive once again with the same burning question they ask themselves every time a new DC Extended Universe (DCEU) movie comes out: why are DC movies always dark?
Speaking of Marvel, the two of them are always pitted against each other by the people of the internet, especially when they release movies on similar dates (remember Civil War and Batman v. Superman?). Marvel vs. DC is always the talk of the town and one of the points of comparison between the two is their cinematography’s color grading and lighting. Where Marvel’s movies have bright lighting, DC’s are usually much, much darker. You’d think that this kind of color grading is just an oversight that DC could easily fix if they wanted to but really, there are legit reasons as to why DC’s movies are dark and why they’re meant to be that way.
These are the reasons why DC movies are so dark:
1. Batman
We promise you, we’re not including Batman here because of Robert Pattinson’s Batman. DC has a plethora of characters under its comicbook belt but through the years, DC mostly puts the spotlight on Batman. Superman remains to be a strong contender for this one, but Batman is DC’s legit moneymaker because of his dark, brooding anti-hero personality that’s quite unconventional and the people dig it.
For us at Coloring Nook, we think that Batman also has the most memorable DC movies. Our personal fave is The Dark Knight trilogy, with Christopher Nolan at the directing helm. Who could forget the amazing chemistry between Christian Bale’s Batman and Heath Ledger’s Joker? They truly captured the dynamic between the two characters and they solidified Batman’s status as the go-to character for DC movie adaptations.
2. DC's noir comic universe
DC stands for Detective Comics but it can also mean Dark Comics because of how DC is into making dark counterparts for their well-loved characters. The dark comic storylines has an influence on the DC movies’ visual aesthetics and style, and we can say that this influence won’t die out anytime soon but instead, would definitely flare out more and be the standard for any upcoming DC movies after The Batman.
Take for example, Injustice, in which the storyline revolves around Superman becoming a tyrant who love killing for a living. Like the name itself suggests, there is no Justice League in Injustice. And because here we Superman go rogue, Batman takes it upon himself to fight the villainous Superman and we see the two leads create their own group of superheroes and villains that go head-to-head with each other which we call the injustice leagues. DC’s noir comic universe is so popular that Injustice in particular has both a movie and video game adaptation. We’ve personally played the video game, Injustice: Gods Among Us, and we like the Tekken-like gameplay where Superman’s and Batman’s leagues fight each other.
3. Zack Snyder's style
Those who don’t know Zack Snyder, he’s the one who sat on the director’s chair for the movies 300, Sucker Punch, and his first delve into DCEU, The Watchmen, which is what paved the way for the birth of visually dark DC movies. If our memory serves us right, both 300 and Sucker Punch had Snyder’s signature gloomy and gritty directing aesthetic, and we’re sure that his other movies have this too. Snyder’s been directing DC movie adaptations for quite a while now and his signature gloomy and gritty directing aesthetic has, in a way, become Warner Bros.’ go-to aesthetic for the entire DCEU to the point that even the movies that aren’t directed by Snyder have a dark cinematic treatment. Remember James Gunn’s incredibly dark Suicide Squad?
Apart from The Watchmen, Snyder’s notable DCEU works are Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, Man of Steel, Justice League, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and Wonder Woman 1984. All of these movies are either majorly dark or have dark undertones so nonetheless, we can say that Snyder’s style is here to stay despite the snide comments (see what we did there?) and generally negative reception that DCEU gets from a portion of film-goers all over the world.
You might be wondering: why is Coloring Nook babbling about the darkness of DC movies? DC has 3 reasons why their movies are dark and for us, we have 1 reason why we’re talking about all of this, and it’s that color plays a role in movies. Color is a vital cinematography component and it can make or break a movie depending on how the audience perceives a movie’s overall visual presentation.
We compiled the roles color play in movies in one video that you can watch below:
To summarize, color, as a key cinematography element, sets the mood and tone of movies, creates distinction between movie characters’ personalities, and evokes a variety of emotions among the audience. A lot of work goes into developing a movie’s color palette and like Zack Snyder, other Hollywood directors have their own signature treatment in conducting their cinematic orchestras.
We can drone on to you about how important color is in cinematography but instead, maybe we can have a movie marathon and let us know if our blog helps you see movies’ in a different light, thanks to color.
Comments