There is no easy or other way around it, Batman vs Superman was at its best an okay movie and saying so may be giving Zack Snyder too much credit for even trying his hand at going forth with a DC movie universe. After much contemplation and a LONG late night walk to clear my head there is a conclusion I have reached that satisfies some of the issues that trouble me about this film. At its best it is a movie that had a great “piece” within its third act and at its worst, it was a movie that had all the components set up for a DC movie universe without giving proper explanation as to why certain things happened the way they did.
The opening sequence to the movie was none other than a timeless interpretation of the Wayne family death and Bruce’s first encounter with the bats. It was within these first 10 or so minutes where the movie know how the rest of the itself was going to be handled, ending with Bruce, for some unexplained reason, to be lifted up by these bats into the light from which he fell from. We are then greeted by an enjoyable (and much needed) scene from the Man of Steel where Zod and Superman are fighting in Metropolis. It is here where we see two very important ideas that transcend the rest of the movie; a platform on which Batman/Bruce Wayne will fight Superman on and the first look at Bruce Wayne as himself.
From there the movie fills itself with unnecessary twist and turns, ranging from Lois Lane getting herself into trouble to be saved none other than Superman himself, Clark trying to comprehend his stance within human society, all overshadowing a great performance by Ben Affleck as Bruce Wayne and Batman. The second act of the movie, which followed Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg) fall into deep obsession of false gods, was probably the most troubling portion of the whole movie when it came to plot. Eisenberg’s rendition of Luthor was entertaining (to say the most) but felt completely out of place. Instead of madmen genius we were given a mad prophet and this is where most of his antics led into some confusing portions of the movie. Lines like “Do you know what is the biggest lie in American history” only to be interrupted by Senator Finch (Holly Hunter) felt confusing and only made sense after his sabotage of the U.S. Capitol meeting with Superman. An extremely heavy Luthor second act led to us witnessing the birth of Doomsday and Superman’s continuous search of placement within our society.
After a long hour and forty-five-minute wait, the third act came and gave way to the platform set up within the beginning of the movie. Yes, readers, this is where we get Batman fighting Superman, or as Luthor exclaimed it “God vs Man!” But like any big named UFC fight (climatic at the beginning yet falling short), the fight between Man and God lasted no more than 15 minutes and what made it worse was that this fight could have been avoided altogether. To aid his capture mother, Superman asks for the help of Batman but progressed in such a stupidly manner that it led to both of them fighting like kids, awkwardly entertaining but you really just wanted it to stop. It wasn’t until the end where Superman coughs up the name “Martha” that Batman lays down his weapons and the two quickly become buddies (WHAT?!?). This was followed by one of the best Batman fighting scenes ever to come onto the big screen all ruined after the salty after taste of the introduction of Doomsday and Wonder Woman.
An easy way to analyze this mess of a movie is to split what worked and what didn’t.
What Worked
Everything from Henry Cavill (Superman) to Ben Affleck (Batman) was great if not amazing this time around and this does not mean the writing for these characters. Performance wise, Henry Cavil stepped it up a notch from Man of Steel and gave us a more confident and grown Superman with no hold backs. Ben Affleck shined brighter than any other live action Batman we have seen, giving us both a Dark Knight who was brutal and scarred by a long life of crime fighting and a Bruce Wayne that was playboy business tier but also still held onto his parents death as a meaning to continue the fight for justice. One of the best scenes of the entire movie was the fight scene in which Batman single handily fights a squadron of goons in what could be the closest rendition to a Dark Knight/Arkham Series fight sequence I have ever seen. From popping up from the floor boards to clothes lining one of the goons into a crate, I couldn’t help but let the little 5-year-old me cry knowing that for once I have seen the Batman I grew up watching in the animated series.
Surprisingly enough, Alfred played by Jeremy Irons was spectacular. Underrated prior to release and STILL after hitting the big screen, Irons portrayal of Alfred was a different take of the famous longtime Wayne butler and second hand of Batman. Sassy, smart mouth and a spark of youth in his old looking physic made him a comfortable fit whenever he was speaking to Bruce or sitting by himself manning the Bat Cave computers; simply put he was the perfect Alfred to Affleck’s Bruce/Batman. I would also be lying when I didn’t thank Snyder for putting in spectacular references from the DC franchises, old and new. From the two cops entering the abandoned house with the camera positioned in slightly lower than them and slowly panning to the left side to reveal the Batrang on the wall, to Superman’s final scene in the movie (yea I am not going to speak about this since it really was unexpected). There were plenty of comic book easter eggs that would make any DC fan smile, placed just far enough from each other to keep eagle-eyed viewers aware (and awake) long enough to keep watching the movie.
Honorable mentioning to the Batmobile and Batwing, sleeker design for the Batmobile made it more of a proper agile Batmobile design than the Tumblers sluggish tank look (People who actually the Tumbler are just TERRIBLE!) and the Batwing had a very Batman Animated design to it. Circular with twin jets behind it resembled that of the 80s/90s cartoon but also borrowed from the Beyond Batwing with its circular wings.
What didn’t work…
Everything that was not listed above, basically. Lazy camera work, initial set-ups that had no explanation, LONG plot points that led nowhere at times, some casting of certain characters and (as much as people loved her) Wonder Woman. Beginning with the camera work, many of the shots had noticeable movements that were quite distracting. Focal points of certain scenes made it confusing on what to focus on and CGI (or whatever that was…) of the fight between the heroes and Doomsday and especially the Batmobile sequences were terrible, to say the least. There isn’t much to say about these portions of what didn’t work because; simply put it should have been better. Something that can be stretched on in conversation is the casting for Luthor and other DC hero cameos. Beginning with Eisenberg casting of Luthor, it was obvious they had no idea how to head with this young version of Luthor. We got a hint 0of smart mad man as he spoke to the senator about where demons come from but a very cynical and almost Joker-esque Luthor as he spoke to everyone else including Superman and Batman. Although, what makes this special is that this can be taken differently according to the viewer. Personally, he didn’t fit but a majority of others felt comfortable or at times liked his play on Luthor.
The DC hero cameos were, unfortunately, a huge bust. From the casting of Flash (who does not look at all like a Central City Detective) to Wonder Woman’s very awkward appearance to save Batman after seeing the files Bruce sent her, they were all like short little “A-HA” moments than hyped up cameos that meant something.
Honorable mentioning to the ending and Batman holding a gun; as I said earlier it was pretty good in some portions but this is where we get terrible foreshadowing and Batman initiating the Justice League (who for some reason, here…he is okay with). This was also a Batman who was not afraid to “kill” and I say “kill” because he did not snap necks or shot the crooks directly. Throughout the movie we see the Bats running people over, shooting their vehicles until they blow up and at some points holding a gun or operating one. Although this wasn’t terrible, as a viewer it made me uncomfortable to see the man who saw guns as the enemy hold one to progress. This can be slightly excused when understanding that this version of Batman has been around for years and is a battle-torn and exhausted Batman who apparently lost Robin to the Joker.
This may be the longest review CASUALties has written to date and probably the one movie that we have looked more into than anything else but this is only because of how puzzling and conflicted the movie left us. The conflicts between Batman and Superman was not enough to give it a “vs” title and would have been better suited if the movie was renamed “Batman AND Superman: Dawn of Justice” or just “Dawn of Justice”. It is a movie that will please fans that will notice the references but will leave those who have not picked up a comic in so long or follow the story of either hero for a while to be annoyed or confused. There is no way someone can hate this movie, but there is no easy way to like it.
Overall Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice gets a 5/10. Sloppy writing and inappropriate set ups made this movie lackluster and those that suffered the most were the actors who played the heroes. Change the writers, change the directors direction and we can most certainly have a better DC movie universe that all comic book fans will enjoy.
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