Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)
Directed by Zack Snyder
Starring Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Jesse Eisenberg and Gal Gadot
Bruce Wayne believes that the world are looking through rose tinted glasses at Superman, a false god from another planet who has the capability of destroying Earth. So he takes it upon his alter ego of Batman to take him down for good and prove to be the real hero that everyone needs.
It’s Batman against Superman. Actually its bad angry Batman against Superman. Well it is until he, and everyone else, realise that both of their (earth) mothers are called Martha so they forget all the troubles and become best friends. Really that’s exactly what happens. Then a big bad comes along and they have to team up to defeat it, as well as throwing in Wonder Woman for girl power and a change of atmosphere with the beat of the drum.
I have always been a massive fan of both Batman and Superman and I had hope for this film. I didn’t think Man of Steel was as bad as people say and I was in hope that the DC film universe could follow in the footsteps of the Marvel film universe and what that has done for comic book films. The problem they have is that they want to be different and create their own universe that fans can get in to while not following the same processes as Marvel. Unfortunately the film appeared to have quite a few missing parts. Yes we don’t need to see a Batman origin story again but why and how is Bruce Wayne the way he is being angry with everyone, thinks he is the only good guy left, Wayne Manor is burnt down, what happened to Robin and the constant frowning. Oh and that’s not just him, it seemed like every character in the film spent most of their screen time frowning.
A quick note on Jesse Eisenberg’s performance as Lex Luthor. I enjoyed most scenes with him in but didn’t really see him as Lex. It’s as if Jesse might have auditioned and missed out on the part of the Joker, to which Jared Leto is playing in the Suicide Squad film, so he decided to play Lex a bit pre joker in the maniacal sense. He just came across a little too crazy. Peeing into a glass to make someone drink it does not sound like Lex.
Something that the Marvel films have done very well is the introduction of new characters or small cameos teasing them for future appearances by having the post credit scenes that everyone knows to stay behind for. It adds an extra excitement and intrigue into what to expect. The team behind Batman vs Superman came out before the release of the film and said for fans not to bother waiting around as there will be nothing in the credits. What they attempted to do was introduce all the future characters in one quick 5 minutes scene via some secret files that Lex had showing what they can do. This unfortunately just didn’t have the same excitement that you would have expected especially with it coming half way through the film.
Don’t get me wrong there were some good bits to the film. The fight between Batman and Superman was pretty cool and what some fan boys and girls have been waiting for, for a long time. And having Wonder Woman turn up to save the guys was pretty cool, even though we had seen that in the trailer. However for a film that has been in the making for a long time there were a few too many issues with it and when I try to picture my favorite part of the film I struggle. And what was with Bruce’s dream? Mental, old age, or a vision of things to come? It was just a bit weird.
Oh and the ending (slight spoiler alert) If you know the DC comic universe and certain characters you know what is going to happen and what will happen afterwards. Maybe because I’m in that boat that the final scene of the film wasn’t a surprise!
Recommend
If you are a loyal follower of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and were hoping of something similar with DC I’m afraid it hasn’t started off all that well. Is it worth seeing at the cinema? Not really especially when it clocks in at a whopping 151 minutes and half of that is all the frowning. Will I watch it again? Doubtful, although I have heard some people say it is better on a second watch.
I am excited to see Suicide Squad and to see Leto’s take on The Joker not to mention Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn but as for Aquaman and The Flash and other Justice League members, I have no feelings for them at all. As a big fan of the DC TV shows of Arrow and The Flash, to which they will be completely ignoring for the film franchise, I am more than happy to stick with them as my DC needs.
TheFriedGold rating – 4/10 – Time to turn that Bat signal off
Film Thought
Who knew Gotham and Metropolis were so close……….
thefriedgold 