Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is finally here. This film has been surrounded by so much controversy since it's announcement and due to this controversy I will be including a similar prologue as I did in my Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens Review. I must say that I myself had some concerns about the film due to a multitude of things.
For one, I wasn't dazzled by the first teaser trailer, was caught off guard by the second San Diego Comic Con trailer which I did enjoy, disliked the third trailer, and loved the final trailer. The third trailer was ripped to shreds across the internet for unveiling one of the film's villains, Doomsday, and showing the DC Trinity united and essentially taking the focus away from the conflict between these two titans. I will say that I am in the camp that thought that was a poor decision for the marketing campaign. I think I understand the rationale behind it as Warner Bros. probably wanted to ensure the public knew Batman and Superman would team up, but that was something I know I would have liked to have waited and seen the first time I watched the film.
However, the marketing campaign quickly got back on track releasing many TV spots and soon a final trailer that brought the focus back to the conflict between the heroes. Another concern of mine was with the cast. I decided I would reserve judgement till I felt I had seen the cast's work, but when Jesse Eisenberg was cast as Lex Luthor, red flags were certainly raised in my mind.
The casting of Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman also seemed to be a bit odd to me as she was primarily a model before recently becoming an actress and I was curious if she would have the acting chops to do more than look great as Wonder Woman. I never really had a problem with Ben Affleck's casting, but was always curious why Warner Bros. didn't just hang onto Christian Bale for this version of Batman. However, I was sold the instant I saw him running into a cloud of smoke and debris in that second trailer. I totally bought the casting of Jeremy Irons as Alfred and Jason Mamoa as Aquaman because they seemed like interesting creative decisions.
It didn't help for me to also know that it was coming from the same creative team as Man Of Steel. I wrote this prologue before watching the film to help establish my concerns with no knowledge of whether I loved, liked, or possibly was disappointed by Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Since writing this prologue, the embargo was lifted and surprisingly critics are bashing it and it currently has a 30% on Rotten Tomatoes so be prepared for me to address the film in as honest a way as possible and inform you if the critics are justified or not.
'Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice' Review
Wednesday evening I attended an early screening of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and there is so much to talk about. It seems that this film is already more divisive than Man Of Steel due to the negative backlash it's receiving from critics and I'm very curious to learn how the general audience perceives it. Many of you are probably biting your nails wondering "Is it good or not?" or "Are the critic's thoughts justified?" and I can say I think it's a solid B-movie comic book movie that has some issues I will delve into and I think critics are just nitpicking the problems rather than relishing in any of the glorious moments, to which the film has a multitude.
However, I think it should be expressed that this movie despite being PG-13 is not for kids, in fact it would probably bore children and some elements seem too dark to really appeal to children. I recommend that parents see the film ahead of their children if they plan on bringing them and make the call themselves as to whether or not they think their children can handle it. With that out of the way, a majority of the issues I found with the film were almost all creative decisions and not really involving the performances with one exception.
First off, the film is too long. I can think of at least 20-30 minutes of footage that should have been cut out on the cutting room floor that was left in for some reason. As some of my readers may know, there will be an extended Director's Cut for the BvS Blu-Ray and I don't understand why Zack Snyder didn't just trim out the fat and save it for the Director's Cut. One thing that makes the film feel so long is that it takes an entire 2 hours for Batman and Superman to fight. I completely understand that the conflict required set up, but in a film titled Batman v Superman you would think it would involve more skirmishes between the two.
Also, the first act of the film seems disjointed due to the way the film is edited. The film jumps back and forth between one story arc to another and they seem unconnected and don't really come together till later on. Snyder takes it upon himself to try to do a lot in this movie, it not only establishes conflict between Batman and Superman, but also tells Batman's origin, directly follows the events of Man Of Steel, follows Lex Luthor's antics, and sets up the DC Extended Universe.
That's a lot of plot points and one of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice's weaknesses is that it bears the burden of all of these subplots and it seems to be one of the scabs the critics are picking at. It's somewhat similar to the problems that plagued Iron Man 2 and The Amazing Spider-Man 2, where they made the set up of their cinematic universe a priority over the film itself, but nowhere near as bad. I think this is much more tolerable here and flows more naturally.
The other creative decision that bothered me were these strange dream sequences that come out of nowhere. These dream sequences are plopped in the film and some of them probably should have been saved for the Director's Cut. That's the bulk of my negative thoughts and frankly some of these problems are nitpicking, but I couldn't help but feel there were problems plaguing the film and had to dig further into my viewing experience for some of them. As I stated in my Man Of Steel Review, Zack Snyder tends to implement style over substance in his films and that's once again the case. However, I think Chris Terrio's screenplay is stronger than Man Of Steel's, and I like how he managed to balance these elements to where an audience member won't feel too overwhelmed. I also liked how the film successfully feels like a direct continuation of Man Of Steel. The visuals are gorgeous and seem like they leaped straight out of a comic book at times. All of the visual effects used for the various powers on display looked incredible.
One nitpick of mine with the effects was the look of Doomsday, that I feel didn't quite do the villain justice and just looked terrible. I'd equate it to a mashup of orcs from The Lord Of The Rings/The Hobbit films and the new versions of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and if you hated it in the trailer, it doesn't really get much better than that.
I also think it's interesting to note that the movie's surprisingly low on action compared to how it's being marketed, but the action sequences certainly don't disappoint because of the epic scale. The fight between Batman and Superman is awesome to watch and a great homage to The Dark Knight Returns comic by Frank Miller. I couldn't help but feel very giddy watching these two titans clash it out. Another key fight that I enjoyed was the inevitable moment where Wonder Woman, Batman, and Superman fought Doomsday that I'll discuss a bit more in a moment.
What makes the film so engaging is this incredible cast that has been assembled. I think it's only fair to comment on the two titular heroes first and work my way down through the cast. Ben Affleck is incredible in the role of Batman. All of the Ben Affleck nay-sayers will have to back-track their hate because he is without a doubt the best Batman and Bruce Wayne I've ever seen on screen. Affleck gets to dive to new depths with his more layered version of Bruce Wayne and his edgier Batman and both work incredibly well in this DCEU.
Everything Batman-related in the film worked wonders for me. I really liked the designs and functionality of the new Batmobile, Batwing, Batsuit, and the high tech Power Suit along with all of the Dark Knight's gadgets and gizmos. Hardcore Batman fans may take issue with one thing regarding this Batman though,
**Minor spoiler**
I'm pretty sure this Batman murders people in the movie.
**End of minor spoiler**
There's one scene in particular where Batman infiltrates a warehouse and takes down an entire hoard of bad guys that is honestly one of the best cinematic Batman action sequences I've ever seen and when the movie ended I knew that the world needs a Batman solo film that is directed by and stars Ben Affleck, if the rumors are true.
Henry Cavill is a very solid Superman, but sadly the character is significantly overshadowed in a movie featuring his name in the title. Though, Cavill finally gets to jump into the duality of Clark Kent and Superman and does it masterfully. I think the character of Superman is portrayed in a better light that rectifies the mistakes in Man Of Steel in that he's much more heroic going out of his way to save others and must face that he has become a figure of controversy due to the collateral damage he caused in Man Of Steel.
Another standout is Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman. Gadot doesn't have that many lines, but she delivers them quite well and there's a big deal of mystery around her character. However, where she really commits and sells herself to the audience is in the Doomsday fight where she kicks butt and takes names. Needless to say, seeing her work here made me stoked for the upcoming Wonder Woman solo movie.
Meanwhile, the film has a strong supporting cast around both heroes. Jeremy Irons makes for a perfect Alfred and is terrific every time he's onscreen. As for the Superman side of things, Amy Adams is once again exceptional as Lois Lane, although she still suffers from the damsel-in-distress trope. Diane Lane returns as Martha Kent to offer Clark guidance and Laurence Fishburne gets to yell a little more as Perry White, but both these actors are great in the capacity used.
And now what many of you have been waiting for, Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor. It's a very different interpretation of the character and if you liked him in the trailers, you'll like him here, otherwise be open to change if you hope to like his performance. Jesse Eisenberg is a bit eccentric throughout and it just seems very odd and too reminiscent of other roles he's done. Eisenberg does hit all the notes of downright creepy in some scenes and at times is generally scary, but his weak motivations for his actions ultimately hurt the performance even more.
My readers that have't seen the film yet are probably wondering when I'm going to discuss Ezra Miller's Flash, Jason Mamoa's Aquaman, and Ray Fisher's Cyborg since all three were confirmed to show up. I can't really comment on their performances, because they're all basically cameos, but I can comment on the look of each character. I thought Aquaman and Cyborg looked pretty cool, but I'm not a fan of this interpretation of the Flash's suit. Really the film does a terrific job laying the foundations for the DC Extended Universe. At times, some of it feels a little forced, but all the cameos and easter eggs were pretty exciting to spot.
In conclusion, I can say that there is a lot of enjoyment to take out of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, but it is by no means perfect, and that's ok because very few movies are. I can definitely recommend seeing it, but temper expectations or you will find yourself a bit disappointed. One things for sure though, Marvel better watch out because I think the future of the DCEU looks pretty bright.
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