Film/TV

Curtains Up on Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice

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Fanboys rejoice. Critics — start grumbling.

I know I’m biased about superhero films.   Aside from a select few, superhero films are not my cup of tea. But I had hopes for this one. Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice. The two granddaddies of the superhero world duking it out for the first time just sells itself as a pop culture entertainment experience that happens once in a lifetime. But it is not a grand pop culture experience, it is a 140-minute toy commercial hocking the next series of superhero films in the DC comics canon. Sure there is plenty to like, but that doesn’t make this worthwhile.

The film starts off as Bruce Wayne / Batman witnesses the destruction of Metropolis during the battle between Superman and General Zod  (the end scene of Man of Steel if you want to check that one out). Wayne deems that this being has way too much power to be considered earths saviour.  Cut 18 months later and Clark Kent wonders why people aren’t warming up to Superman. Both crime fighting icons are soon wrapped into this scheme by evil genius Lex Luthor that will pit both heroes against each other creating the greatest gladiator match of all time. Simple enough I guess.

Before I get into why I didn’t like it, lets get some good out of the way. Ben Affleck is perfect as Batman.  His Batman is an older, jaded hero. He’s not afraid to get his hands blood red this time around and the last 20 years of being the caped crusader shows on his weary face.  This movies version of Lex Luthor is an interesting one, full of nerves and ticks. Played by Jessie Eisenberg as a cross between Woody Allen and Mark Zuckerberg, I had no issues with the character and found him to be perfect casting. The look of the film is faultless. Directer Zach Snyder and his team have outdone themselves. Between the costumes, art design and cinematography, this is  one of the best looking comic book movies I have ever seen. There is also the diverse cast. Aside from the leads we have Jeremy Irons as Alfred, the Wayne family butler, Lawrence Fishburn as Perry White, Diane Lane and Kevin Costner as Martha and Jonathan Kent. All do fine work and serve as relief from seeing mega stars battle computer created monsters.

What I didn’t like was Lex Luthor’s plot. I may have loved the character but I still have no idea what his plan truly was. If it was only to get these two heroes to battle it out, it seems like a waste of his financial resources. I guess we will see more of him in the sequels and spin-offs.  Lois Lane, played by Amy Adams, is a waste here. She is merely a movie plot point pawn, moving around to set up situations in which the heroes must save her. The introduction of the Justice League? Oh My God. This is what gets me mad. I sense Warner Brothers executives standing behind the director and writers saying that they must start incorporating the cast members of their future slate of films a la Avengers style. Their biggest asset is Wonder Woman (movie is out next year) who shows up for about 10 minutes with about 5 lines of dialogue. Gal Gadot makes a fine Wonder Woman but she’s a footnote here.  And the worst of all…Superman himself. Henry Cavill makes a good looking superhero but he just seems so anal retentive. Give him a sense of humour.  He smiles once in the film and that is early on. He makes Batman look cuddly. And finally, the last big battle. More of the same. But that’s what we’ve come to expect with these movies. But it is just that I want something — well — unexpected.

 

 

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