In going to see Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, I kept my expectations exceedingly low. I am
happy to report that my lack of faith was amply rewarded. That being said, I
will forego the traditional review and potential spoilers and instead share a
few thoughts and let the fanboy war play itself out.
Is the movie good?
That depends.
If you to liked the 2013 reboot
of Superman: Man of Steel, then its more of the same thing with Batman shoehorned
into the story. However, if you didn’t like director Zack Snyder’s retelling of
Superman’s origin, then this movie is not going to win you over.
The problems that were inherent
in Man of Steel still remain in Batman v Superman: the run time (2 hr 33 min)
is too long and the pacing is off, at times the movie seems to be going
nowhere. The action scenes come from the Michael Bay school of explosions. The
destruction and death count in this movie exceeds Man of Steel, which I didn’t
think was possible. Henry Cavill, Ben Affleck and Jeremy Irons did a good job
with the material they had to work with. Jesse Eisenberg was a horrible and
annoying Lex Luthor and he should never have been cast in the role. The musical
score is intrusive and bombastic.
Most problematic of all, the
movie is essentially a Batman love-fest co-starring Superman.
Lets be clear, for all intents
and purposes, Batman v. Superman is first and foremost a Batman movie with the
obligatory scene (yet again) of the murder of his parents and his subsequent
tumble down a bat-infested shaft. Unfortunately, this iteration of Batman has
no moral constraints and he straight up kill’s bad guys with reckless abandon.
To be sure, the comic book Batman always walked a very thin line between being
a vigilante and a costumed criminal, but Snyder’s Batman is a sadistic savage
who tortures criminals by branding them with his bat symbol, and has no
compunctions about mowing them down en mass with advanced artillery fire.
Sadly, the character of Superman
doesn’t fair any better. For the most part, the Man of Steel is reduced to
being a full Christ Metaphor, condemned to a life of endlessly rescuing people
(mostly Lois Lane). He is essentially a god incarnate, with Earth benefiting
from his benevolence, but helpless before his whims. The likable and optimistic
Richard Donner Superman has been replaced with Zack Snyder’s chiseled and simplistic
Superman who is majestically removed from the very society he hopes to protect.
After the lack luster box office
results of Man of Steel, Zack Snyder clearly showed himself to be a tone deaf
director that didn’t seem to understand and respect the character of Superman.
Instead of giving us a Superman that is interesting and inspirational, he makes
his Superman a grim, super powerful alien threat that must be stopped by
Batfleck. To be completely honest, Snyder’s version of Superman is a seriously
flawed depiction, and sadly, the character is worthy of so much more.
Unfortunately, the version we got is “Superman” in name only.
Does the movie works as a
stand-alone story.
No … absolutely not.
At best, Batfleck vs. Psuedoman
is a movie intent on selling the audience advance tickets to a future
installment. Yes, that’s right; BVS is nothing more than a 2 plus hour trailer
for a Justice League movie that will be released a few years down the road. In
other words, this whole movie is a cash grab promoting another movie that will
continue the cash grab.
Warner Bros. wanted to emulate
the success of Disney/Marvel and instead of taking their time and building up a
DC cinematic universe, they decided to take the easy route and release a big
budget action movie devoid of soul and wit. To that end, Batman, as always, is
grim, dark and moody, Superman is equally grim, dark and moody, and
subsequently, the world that they inhabit is grim, dark and moody. So in
essence, BVS is layer upon layer of grim, dark and moody. Abandon all hope and
forget about laughter, Batman vs. Superman is super serious and they don’t let
your forget it, not even for minute. Basically, it’s all a bit depressing.
Is the movie a must see event?
If you’re a die-hard fanboy, then
the answer is yes. Batman fighting Superman is a wet dream come true. However,
casual moviegoers might find themselves somewhat bored and a little
disappointed with the vast majority of the film. Luckily for Warner Bros.
Batman vs. Superman has a built in audience that will see it no matter what
anyone has to say, but I suspect its window of box office opportunity might be
very small. Despite all the hype, many moviegoers might decide to spend their
time and money on the eagerly anticipated Captain America: Civil War or X-Men
Apocalypse, when they are released in a few weeks.
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