The trailers promise a thrilling story about Batman and Superman, the two biggest superheroes of all time, going head-to-head. Unfortunately, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is more invested in extraneous philosophical monologues relating to the nature of power and growing fear in the face of uncertainty. Which would be fine for a deconstructionist comic adaptation (like Zack Snyder’s own Watchmen), or a college lecture, but not for a film where the basic premise is two heroes trying beat the crap out of each other. At its best, Dawn of Justice offers solid performances, several standout action sequences, a thunderous score, and quite an ambitious scope. At its worst, however, it’s slow, hollow, and without much emotional investment. Though far from the disaster many were afraid of, Batman v Superman is a lackluster expansion of a cinematic universe that was already on shaky legs.
Set 18 months after the events of Man of Steel, the world remains divided over Superman (Henry Cavill) due to a lack over oversight and accountability. Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck) in particular is angered having witnessed Superman and Zod’s fight that leveled parts of Metropolis firsthand. But he’s not the only one with plans to take down the Man of Steel, Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg) has also come across kryptonite, and with the Kryptonian technology left on Earth, he begins development kryptonite-based weapons, and along the way proves he will do whatever it takes to get what he wants. Also, Diana Prince (Gal Gadot) drops by every once in a while and there are teases for Justice League.
Batman v Superman is a film with many intriguing concepts but all of them are crushed under the weight of the messy, dull, and uneven script. There is no denying Snyder is a gifted visual artist, but he is just not a good storyteller. For the first hour, the film haphazardly jumps all over the place with scenes following other scenes that have nothing to do with each other. For example, within the first 15 minutes, we get the death of Bruce’s parents, then the destruction of Metropolis from Bruce’s perspective, then off the coast of the Indian Ocean with characters we never see again, and then to Africa where Superman has to save Lois Lane (Amy Adams) from terrorists. This kind of sloppy pacing just makes the story more convoluted and difficult to follow.
The film only ever feels energetic when somebody is laying the beatdown on bad guys. To Snyder’s credit, he knows how to stage an action scene. Though most of them take place at night, they are easy to follow along. The problem is that there are really no stakes in the action. The reason Batman and Superman ultimately end up fighting is downright silly, and could be easily worked out if the two just stopped for a few minutes and talked to each other. In fact, that’s what Superman initially tries to do, but Batman would rather act all brazen and pissy than actually think things through.
And that leads to the biggest negative people will take away from this film. Almost all the characterization-particularly Batman-is wrong. I’ll be upfront about this: This Batman is a killer. He may not kill every criminal he comes across (but why Joker is still alive is Suicide Squad takes place after this is never explained), but the fact that he does is troubling. Batman is supposed to be a character who is in a constant struggle with his own darkness. His power is that he uses the tragedy of his childhood to motivate him and give him the strength and determination so nobody else suffers what he did. Removing that and replacing it lethal vengeance just makes him another thug with expensive gadgets.
We don’t care if Batman kills Superman because it’s a line he’s already crossed therefore there are no consequences. We don’t care if Superman kills Batman because the Dark Knight is kind of unlikable. The one aspect that keeps this Batman from being irredeemable is Ben Affleck. When he’s allowed to, he pulls off the older, womanizing, end-of-career Bruce Wayne persona that has been talked up so much and he can be a very intimidating Batman. In fact, in Batman first scene we barely get a glimpse of him. For the first time since Batman Begins, he truly feels like a creature of the night. The only hope is that one day, Affleck will get to star in (and possibly direct) a standalone Batman flick. And I presume it will be without Snyder’s involvement.
As for Superman, the film tries to make him the heart of the film but we rarely get time to spend with Clark Kent to find out how he feels about himself as a hero and as a symbol. Views of Superman are given by television pundits, politicians, and scientists who debate whether or not Superman’s existence is an incitement or a deterrent to the human race. While Cavill is suitable as Superman, it’s blatant he could be so much better if he was given more to work with. One scene that sums this up is where Superman makes good on an offer to testify in front on the senate on his involvement in calamities all over the world. This was the perfect opportunity for Cavill to flex his emotional chops and give insight into who Superman is and how he perceives himself. Unfortunately, in a way which I won’t spoil, the film robs him of this moment for an event that doesn’t have much bearing on the story moving forward.
The supporting characters are portrayed with varying degrees of success. Jeremy Irons is great as Alfred. He takes more initiative this time around, gets a few witty lines, and is the only character who can connect with Bruce on a personal level. Lex Luthor, on the other hand, looks like he belongs in a totally different movie. Eisenberg’s performance is just too over-the-top for a film that wants to take itself so seriously. Which would be bad enough if it wasn’t for his characterization. Instead of hating Superman for what he perceives as crippling the advancement of the human race, he hates him because he needs a god figure to project his anger towards his abusive father. Ultimately, we are left with a whiny, twitchy atheist whose master plan involving Doomsday makes no sense.
The one character who truly shines is Wonder Woman. There was a lot of doubt on her part, but Gal Gadot emits an aura of mystery and grace when we see her as Diana Prince. When she suits up as Wonder Woman, she is fierce and all-around bad ass. Her entrance got the biggest applause at my screening, which was also helped by her awesome theme composed by Hans Zimmer. I still have hopes for her upcoming solo feature because she seems to be the only hero in this film having any enjoyment.
Too often, filmmakers have mistaken seriousness for removing all levity and humor and replacing it with anger and moroseness, especially when it comes to superhero movies. Taking characters seriously can be a good thing, but going too far results in a picture where the bleakness is so overwhelming it may turn away audiences. Warner Bros. and Zack Snyder better hope for their own sake that general audiences are still up for the dark and gritty comic book movies because quite frankly, I’m sick of them.
When I saw The Avengers for the first time, a sense of shock and awe rolled over me as I came to the realization that I was watching these characters come together for the first time on film. I rarely ever got that from Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. The film contains several teases for Justice League, but considering how non-existent the dynamic between DC’s Trinity was, all I can do is just sigh about how Snyder will portray Aquaman, The Flash, and Cyborg. If this film is anything to go by, I’ll probably enjoy seeing these heroes stand apart than come together.
Before anyone accuses me of wanting to hate it beforehand or just being a biased Marvel fanboy, I wanted to love this movie. I will always prefer seeing a good film over a bad one any day. Batman and Superman were the first two superheroes I was ever introduced to. I had always wanted to see a film where Batman picks a fight with Superman. Unfortunately, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice only ends up picking a fight with me.
Final Rating: 5 out of 10
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