One of the year’s most widely anticipated blockbusters has finally arrived and sadly, there’s no denying that the reception has ranged from lukewarm to devastation. While some of the bad press is deserved, I actually think there’s enough good going on in Batman v Superman to make it worth your time.
Batman v Superman the sequel to the polarising Man of Steel. It follows mankind’s reaction to the previous instalment’s destructive events. In particular, Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck) is enraged by the presence of the godlike Superman (Henry Cavill), who he views as responsible for bringing a war to Earth. While Batman investigates villain Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg), Superman confronts the reality of being an unwanted power, all while the titular conflict comes to a head.
Let’s get my biggest praise out of the way: Ben Affleck as Batman. Remember that whoever takes this role must play three sides of one character: Batman, Bruce Wayne behind closed doors, and Bruce Wayne in the public eye. This may be one of the best cinematic incarnations of Batman to date, with action scenes and choreography that showcase his fighting style and brutality better than anything in Nolan’s trilogy. When we see Wayne in his cave, we see a dedicated but deeply troubled man. We don’t get many scenes with Wayne in public, but when we do we still get the sense that he’s haggard and rough. I think I was one of the few who’s had confidence in Affleck since he was cast, and I’m happy to say he surpassed all of our expectations.
I cannot say the same for Jesse Eisenberg. I’ve been one of the many who’ve been worried about this casting choice, and we were right to be. While I respect his commitment to the role, he brought nothing new, recycling the ticks and quirks that we’ve come to associate with that sort of nerdy, psychotic villain. I cringed every moment he was onscreen, making all his scenes awkward and upsetting to the tone.
Now, the tone is something many fans are upset about. It’s gloomy and dark, which supposedly is “not Superman”. Fine, but this is an adaptation, not a recreation, and I praise the direction they’ve taken. It may be my fondness for darker stories, but as far as I’m concerned, Marvel has already done light and fluffy, so let’s have some grittiness from DC to make their universe stand out. I appreciate this can be difficult but we must try to judge this film for what it is instead of comparing it to what we want it to be.
I like this moody Superman. I don’t find much interest in an invincible man who can do basically anything. Playing up the moral quandary of what he should do is a better exploration of the character. Similarly, we see a crueller Batman who’s willing to kill in order to stop whom he perceives as humankind’s biggest threat. My feelings about this are mixed – it’s interesting to see him sacrifice his own principles for the cause but in doing so he sacrifices that which makes him interesting.
In spite of that, one of the best aspects of the story is its solid attempt to humanise these characters. Their reasons for fighting are human ones, as is the conflict resolution. I can’t say much more about that without spoiling it, but with the religious symbolism and how it verged on a comment about immigration, the film contains surprising thematic depth that most superhero films fail to attain.
The whole film looks great, except parts of the CGI-heavy finale. Batman’s armoured suit is a marvel of modern costume design, bringing to life something I thought was too absurd to exist outside of cartoons. Director Zack Snyder again uses his talents to present superb visuals that pop from the screen just as comic panels do from their pages, choosing shots that support the themes of religion and loss. He also puts together thrilling action sequences that not only entertain but tell the story through action, like in the opening when we see Wayne’s perspective of the Man of Steel climax.
But the film isn’t without some major flaws. It struggles to find its feet in the first act, and afterwards the pacing is frequently upset by infuriating dream sequences. Screenwriting 101: Nobody gives a shit about dreams.
What’s worse is how the film does what we feared it would. The studio is under a lot of pressure to establish the DC universe but they crammed way too much into this film. This resulted in one of the film’s biggest crimes: Wonder Woman wasn’t given the introduction she deserved. It’s a huge disappointment since good female superheroes are something we’re in dire need of, and DC almost blew their chance to get one up on Marvel. I say almost because her entrance was still awesome and her subsequent scenes were epic, but her character hasn’t yet been served justice (no pun intended).
Don’t get me started on how some other characters were shoehorned in. I won’t spoil it but the likes of Flash and Aquaman were given hilariously lazy introductions. You’ll want to laugh when you see it, but you won’t, because this tease is appropriate for a mid-credits scene, yet takes place in the middle of a culmination and ruins the momentum of one of the film’s climactic moments.
Another contributor to Wonder Woman’s lack of development are the film’s curious assumptions of the audience’s superhero knowledge. I’m sure we all know how Bruce Wayne’s parents died, yet the film insists upon showing us. Yet Wonder Woman springs into action as if we’re all supposed to know who and what she is. I didn’t really know, and I still don’t, which is a problem.
Batman v Superman has a lot of issues but I don’t think it’s bad. It delivered an exciting battle between our heroes and gave us one of the best incarnations of Batman we’ve ever seen. And in the end, am I excited for Justice League? Am I excited for Wonder Woman’s solo film? Yes, and yes, but to give this film a positive grade would neglect how a film should stand on its own instead of solely existing for setup. I’m not sure it does. The public’s issues with Superman wasn’t resolved satisfactorily for me, and the finale is tacked on for the sake of an epic battle. With some sloppy editing and awful dream sequences, there’s enough there for me to warrant giving it my neutral grade.
(GRADES: Both are out of 10. The left is an objective score based on its artistic merit, the right is how much I personally enjoyed it.)
READ MORE:
Click here for my best and worst films of 2015!
Find out more about me as a reviewer here: Get To Know Me As a Reviewer
Check out my weekly film reviews.
Follow me @MagoosReviews for updates!
Magoo's Reviews 