Batman V Superman: Dawn of Inadequacies
Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice Review
Just got back from Batman V Superman, before I say anything I want people to know I love DC. I don’t prefer them over Marvel, if you check my comic book collection I have more DC comics. So just so everyone knows I'm completely unbiased. Good now I've put that disclaimer, prepare because I'm not going to be generous. Tried to avoid spoilers but if you feel I have, I apologies in advance, but you were warned.
Better start with what was good about it first. Those who doubted Ben Affleck as Batman, please swallow your humble pie because he was a brilliant Batman. To some extent I’d say the best live action Batman. He was brutal, commanding and powerful, watching him fight reminded me of action sequences seen within the comic-books and the Arkham games, taking out enemies quickly and effectively. Ben Affleck truly was Bruce Wayne, showing us a much older and aggressive hero making us believe in a Batman that would truly be angry and immeasurably determined to beat the Man of Steel, for the greater good, but also showing his vulnerability throughout. Affleck should be very proud, of his part in this movie.Â
The rest of the cast were also fantastic, Henry Cavill brought another great performance of the Man of Steel, which I thought was a highlight from that movie. Gal Gadot was amazing, she truly was Diana Prince and now am truly excited to watch the Wonder Woman solo movie. The characteristics she added such as her accent and having been much more experience as a past hero who gave up on saving a world that is always consumed by war. Seemed to work and watching her in action was visually fascinating, looked awesome and she was believable as an experienced fighter.
Amy Adams was great, but when is she not. The chemistry she had with Henry Cavill transferred nicely to this movie. The only problem is I would like a Lois Lane that doesn't need saving all the time, and would prefer her to be a bit more capable of looking after herself. I mean her father was an Army general I imagine she must know some self-defence of some kind, but she still was resourceful and it’s nice to know their thinking about that. When it comes to secondary characters though no one was better than Jeremy Irons, such good casting and he didn't disappoint. A true legend on screen, and a much different Alfred then anything we've ever seen before. Experience in all computer science, robotics, he’s basically a human Swiss army knife. With true chemistry with Ben Affleck, not only his butler, sidekick, but also his guardian and moral compass. You believe their relationship and it shows that these two have been through the wars since their battle on crime began. Their bound is stronger than any other Alfred’s we've seen before. However I do like Michael Kane’s Alfred just as much, for different reasons.
Now to the bad things, the first would be the editing. It felt like there was fast pacing in the wrong places trying to set things up but not going deep enough, then cutting quickly to the next part. There were parts that didn't need to be in there and made the film just seemed a lot longer then needed. The story just bounced to different parts it seemed impossible to gain any insight with the characters. I will say this though visually it look amazing, and there are truly moments that are fantastic, and why I think there is potential in this movie. However it’s the classic Zack Synder thing of sustains over substance. Also the music seemed to be edited in the wrong places, and I don’t think it was Hans Zimmer’s strongest work.
Never truly been a fan of Synder, I like 300 but that about it. Visually brilliant, but they always seems to be a lot missing in all his films. Turns out this one it’s the story, but you can see there is great possibility in this movie, there just try and fit so much into it. There is a potential for a great Batman film, a Man of Steel 2 and a Wonder Woman movie, but this film just try mashed them all together, plus with some Justice League been thrown in and it just created a massive mess of not knowing what film it was trying to be. Also way to dark, and too many dream sequences for it to seem relevant.
The Doomsday design I didn't like it, he did seem like a grey ninja turtle and Synder just toss in powers that seemed cool, but made no sense. The CGI on Doomsday did seem slightly weak, and I didn't see the point of Doomsday being there, in a movie that is Batman V Superman. Which I'm going to say hardly much fighting between the two heroes, compared to what was expected from the title. Not only did they mess up one villain, but Lex Luthor was also ruined. He was rather annoying he kept jumping from genius to absolutely bonkers, he seemed too crazy for him to be believable. Jesse Eisenberg was just way over the top, and just didn’t land. Hardly the intimidating genius villain we know he can be, he didn’t even seem to be that much of a threat.
Please Warner Brothers, let Zack Snyder go and work on other projects. He’d would be perfect for documentaries, and bring in directors that know how to handle the material. Now to Zack Snyder, who was quoted to have said his vision is similar to the comic books, that’s why people don’t like them. Mr Snyder have you ever read a comic book, because it truly doesn’t feel like that in your work. When people say your work isn’t good, don’t reply, well I read the comics so I know the characters better then you. Guess what the majority of people that read the comics, do not like your work. This is from someone who, gave you the benefit of the doubt and tried to find the best in this movie. I wanted to love this movie, I really did. I just couldn’t. Also if you think the trailers ruined everything in this movie, you’re not far wrong.
Batman V Superman. Can we get a redo.