Right OK with all the reviews out about it, I had to go and see it for myself and so I did and to get to the point, what I'm bleating on about is of course the newly released Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice film. The reviews so far are very mixed, but how does it stack up???? Well, let's find out
So as usual I will cover the story but this time due to it being a very new film I will NOT go over much of the plot so I will keep the spoilers to a minimum. But with that said I will still an issue the usual warning:
SOME SPOILERS WILL BE AHEAD!!!
STORY
OK so the story begins 18 months after the events after Man of Steel where Superman (Henry Cavill) has become a figure of controversy, where public opinion on him has been divided, where some people think he is a saviour to humanity and others see him as a threat. And one of the people who sees him as a threat happens to be Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck) who was in Metropolis the day that Superman fought against General Zod as he tried to rescue some of his employees only to find they died as a result of the chaos wreaked on the city during Superman's battle with Zod. And as a result of this Wayne then decides to keep close tabs on Superman's activities, weary of his power and realising that could one day, if he chose to, destroy the Earth.
Meanwhile Superman's alter ego, Clark Kent, is now in a relationship with Lois Lane (Amy Adams) and they live together. Clark however is also aware of Wayne's activities as Batman (although does he know at this point he is Batman???!) and also sees him as a threat decides to try and take him down via trying to use the Daily Planet articles to expose him.
In the meantime Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg) a ruthless young businessman and CEO of Lexcorp attempts to convince Senator June Finch (Holly Hunter) to allow him to import kryptonite retrieved from the Indian ocean in order to use it as a deterrent against the possibility of future Kryptonians. Luthor makes a deal however on the side with Finch's aide in order for him to access Zod's body and the Kryptonian scout ship, however Finch denies Luthor's request.
Wayne soon after attends a party held by Luthor at Lexcorp where he meets a mysterious antiques dealer, Diana Prince (Gal Gadot) and Wayne during his attendance, retrieves data from the company's mainframe, however Prince steals the data drive herself before Wayne can take it. Prince eventually returns the data drive to Wayne as she could not decrypt the data on it and when Wayne returns to the Batcave to decrypt the data, he receives a vision of the future where he leads a group of rebels against Superman. Wayne however is snapped out of the vision by an unkown time traveller who tells him of Lois Lane's crucial role in the future and also he is to try and find "the others".
And its from here that Wayne decides to make it his mission to take down Superman and meanwhile that happens Luthor hatches his own plan to do the same but also make his own mark on the world...
THOUGHTS
As one of the most highly anticipated films in recent years, Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice was always going to have a tough time delivering on its promise. And I myself was not impressed by Man of Steel as a film as I felt it took itself way too seriously and it lacks any kind of humour, wit or warmth. And.... it would be very easy to raise the same accusation at BvS: DOJ aswell....however it does work better as a film than Man of Steel does as the main thing it has going for it is introduction of Batman/Bruce Wayne to the story.
And the dynamic between the two characters of Batman and Superman is the film's ultimate selling point and even though the film doesn't fully deliver on its promise on that front it does what it can given the material that is presented by the director, Zack Snyder and the film's writer, David S. Goyer. So seeing Batman and Superman both on screen together here is still a bit of a thrill even if the film itself is a bit too incoherent (but I will get onto more of that in the flaws section of the review later).
PERFORMANCES (Warning may contain the odd spoiler but will try and keep them down to a minimum, promise!)
Moving onto the performances in the film, well they are mostly pretty good even if not all the actors are given the time that could be afforded to them or are even rightly casted!
Anyway so to start off Ben Affleck it has to be said, despite any fears of his casting in the role as Bruce Wayne/Batman, is excellent in his dual role as the billionaire businessman and the dark knight. Affleck however does play the part very seriously, so there isn't much room for his character(s) to have any real levity but despite that he still manages to really lend a good dramatic weight to Wayne's responsibilities aswell as provide a good physical presence as Batman. And I have to say I quite like the new batsuit as the rough velvety threaded texture (much the same as we get for Supe's suit) is very well suited to the character. Although I have to say I found Batman's heavy armour suit was just a bit too clunky looking!
Affleck also has his share of good scenes in the film (of which I won't mention too many!) that include the one where Wayne meets with Clark Kent while they attend Luthor's party. And Clark challenges Wayne on the Batman saying "Civil liberties are being trampled on in your city; good people living in fear" and Wayne says "Don't believe everything you hear, son". And Clark says "I've seen it, Mr Wayne. He thinks he's above the law" which prompts Wayne to say "The Daily Planet criticizing those who think they're above the law is a little hypocritical, wouldn't you say? Considering every time your hero saves a cat out of a tree, you write a puff piece editorial about an alien who, if he wanted to, could burn the whole place down. There wouldn't be a damn thing we can do to stop it".
And lastly to not give too much away I will mention the scene where Batman goes after the Kryptonite consignment but he is stopped by Superman who destroys his batmobile and warns him "Next time they shine your light in the sky, don't go to it. The Bat is dead. Bury it. Consider this mercy!". And before Superman walks away, Batman says to him "Tell me, do you bleed?" and Superman flies away, leaving Batman to look up at the sky vowing "You will!".
Henry Cavill also does pretty well in reprising his role as Superman/Clark Kent, although it has to be said his physique is frankly getting a bit ridiculous looking and out of hand! Superman is a big strong guy but Cavill in this film is built almost literally like the side of a house!! That aside, Cavill still does a pretty decent job at showing Superman's turmoil in having to deal with the adversity of the public in their opinion of him aswell as his animosity towards Batman.
Cavill also has some good moments that include Clark's first scene with Lois where the two of them discuss their relationship and how Lois (who is having a bath) strains with dealing with Clark and Superman's problems with the public. But in the scene Clark simply takes out a flower from a bag he brought in and he then jumps into bath and they start to kiss, which remains one of the film's very rare lighter moments (although I'm sure quite a few fans hated it!).
Then there is the scene where Clark confronts Wayne at Luthor's party about Batman's activities in Gotham by saying to Wayne "Civil liberties are being trampled on in your city; good people living in fear" and Wayne says to him "Don't believe everything you read, son". And as Wayne expresses his concerns over Superman and his power to do destroy the world, if he chose to, Clark says to him "Most of the world doesn't share your opinion, Mr. Wayne" and Wayne says "Maybe it's that Gotham City and me... we just have a bad history with freaks dressed like clowns!".
Then there is the scene where Superman meets with Lois after (SPOILER!!) a terrorist bombing occurs, which he was powerless to stop. And Superman dispondently says to Lois "Superman was never real. Just a dream of a farmer from Kansas" and Lois says to him, touching the "S" on his outfit "This means something. It's all some people have, it's all that gives them hope".
And lastly there is of course the big fight between Superman and Batman but I don't want to give all that away so suffice to say its a pretty good fight scene, albeit VERY noise and bombastic sounding. In short subtlety is not Zack Snyder's strong suit as a film maker it has to be said that is something is well notable about his films!
Jesse Eisenberg on the other hand, while he is a fine actor, has really been miscast here in his role as Lex Luthor, as he plays him like the evil version of Mark Zuckerberg and not as Superman's cunning and ruthless adversary. And Eisenberg is hardly the stuff of great villains in this film with his dweeby, fast paced delivery, its about as far from Lex Luthor as you could possibly get.
Regardless of that, Jesse still has one or two good scenes in the film that include the one where Luthor meets Wayne and Clark at his party. And Luthor greets them saying "Boys! Mm, Bruce Wayne meets Clark Kent. Ah, I love it! I love bringing people together! How are we?!". And Luthor shakes Wayne's hand and then he shakes Clark's and exclaims " Lex. It is a pleasure... Ow! Wow, that is a good grip! You should not pick a fight with this person!".
And lastly to keep things short there is the scene where (SPOILER!!) Luthor summons Superman to fight against Batman. And Luthor says to Superman "And now, you will fly to him, and you will battle him to the death. Black and blue. Fight night. The greatest gladiator match in the history of the world. God versus man. Day versus night! Son of Krypton versus Bat of Gotham!".
Amy Adams on the other hand does pretty well as Lois Lane although her character is still rather underwritten and I felt that she is starting to look a little old for the role! (sorry Amy!). Amy does have some good moments as well but for the sake of typing space I won't go into them in this review although it may go over them if I choose to do an update on this review.
Laurence Fishburne also reprises his role well as Perry White although he is somewhat wasted in the film given that his role as White is again quite brief. Still Fishburne does get to have a fun moment in the film where White wonders where Clark has vanished off to and says "Kent? Where the hell is Kent? Where did he go? Where DOES he go?!!".
Jeremy Irons, I have to say while I don't think he was the perfect choice for the role, he still does pretty well as Alfred, Wayne's butler and trusted confidant.
Irons also provides some rare moments of humour in the film and glib one-liners that include one from his first scene where Wayne enters the Batcave. And in the scene Wayne says to him "Still working? You're getting slow in your old age, Alfred" and Alfred replies "It comes to us all, Master Wayne. Even you've got too old to die young, though not for lack of trying!".
Gal Gadot also is pretty good in her role as the mysterious Diana Prince, who we later on find out is in fact Wonder woman. Gadot plays the part with a good mixture of sexiness, ambiguity and also a little bit of vulnerability.
Gadot also has some good moments altough I will only quickly mention her scene where Wayne meets up with Prince for the second time and questions her about stealing the data drive. And in the scene Prince says to Wayne "You know, it's true what they say about little boys: born with no natural inclination to share. And Wayne says to her "I've known a few woman like you" but Prince smiles and says "I don't think you've ever known a woman like me!" and walks off.
And third to last is Diane Ladd does well in reprising her role as Clark's adopted mother, Martha Kent although again she is reduced to a bit player and only reall appears briefly. And one of Ladd's best moments comes when Martha tries to reassure Clark/Superman what to do in reaction to the negative outcry against Supe and she says "Be their hero, Clark. Be their angel, be their monument, be anything they need you to be... or be none of it. You don't owe this world a thing. You never did!".
And second to last is Holly Hunter who does well in her role as Senator Finch, who works briefly with Luthor but ends up denying his request to utilise kryptonite for his own purposes. And Hunter has one notable scene where she is about to attend a hearing and with Luthor present he asks her "May I call you June?" and Finch replies "You can call me whatever you like. Take a bucket of piss and call it granny's peach tea. Take a weapon of assassination and call it deterrence. You won't fool a fly or me; I'm not gonna drink it!".
And last of all is Kevin Costner who very briefly reappears as Clark's adopted father, Joanthan Kent but basically his appearance is nothing more than a cameo and is actually pretty pointless in the film really, which was a pity in a way as I thought Costner didn't do too badly in Man of Steel.
DIRECTOR AND MUSIC
Finally moving onto the director, Zack Snyder does a reasonable job here with BvS as he confidently handles the film's action scenes, which while they are pretty damn loud, they are also pretty well staged for the most part. Snyder however doesn't do so well at telling a coherent story and the film's pacing lengthy two and a half hour run doesn't do it many favours overall as it leaves quite untied loose ends story wise. And in the end even though Synder's visuals are very impressive, his ability at storytelling here falls a bit flat. But to be fair Snyder does what he can with the material he has at hand but I think you could safely say that direction wise Snyder has made BvS a film more of style over real substance.
Music wise the film features a pretty decent score by Hans Zimmer and the Dutch musician, Junkie XL but its not a particularly memorable one though and it certainly doesn't stand as one of Zimmer's best scores.
FLAWS (Warning may contain the odd spoiler!)
As for the Batman vs Superman's flaws.... yeah OK it does have some and its not a perfect film so let's take a look at em....
Well for starters I think, just like Man of Steel, this is a film that takes itself way too seriously and the overall tone here is very dark and dour and somewhat soulless. Now to be fair for Batman, a dark tone to the matieral is very appropriate given that he is the "dark knight" but even by those standards, Bruce Wayne and Batman are presented in a pretty dreary, serious fashion! And even though Ben Affleck does a commendable job in both roles it would have been even better if they did allow for a bit of humour into things to lighten the mood just a little, as even Christopher Nolan managed it! Also to be entirely fair, the DC universe was always darker in tone than Marvel so to an extent dark and dreary is appropriate for the film, but I still think Snyder takes its a bit too far here.
Another issue for me is to do with Batman's new voice as instead of just dubbing or using the actor's normal voice, they instead decided to go down the way of using a voice modulator. And when you hear it, it actually sounds more like the scene from Batman Begins when Batman interrogates Scarecrow by exposing him to his own fear toxin and we hear Batman's voice change as we see the demonic vision of him. Well sorry to give it away....but Batman's voice in this film sounds just like that! And with that said I think it would still be better if they just had Affleck do a variation of it using his own voice and not have some special sound effect played over it!
And this brings me onto the pacing of the film which is in general is a problem as it takes way TOO LONG for the film to go anywhere and it is filled with too many so-called brooding scenes that don't really lead to much enroute to the scenes where we FINALLY see Bat and Supe go at it! And again its almost like they have to make superhero films running times feel epic these days and the best way to do that would be to make them longer, well no actually. I think this film would certainly have benefited from being trimmed length wise by 30 minutes or so and it would have helped cut down the tedium overall.
And further to this point I have to say I was pretty disappointed with the overall lack of action throughout the film and its only in the film's last 30 or 40 minutes or so that we get to see our heros actually kick some ass. And while trying not to give too much away there is a scene where Batman does kick some butt and its a great moment in the film and it really shows off how good Affleck's Batman could be, but we simply just don't get to see enough of it! And I'm sure its a moment plenty of fans of the character would love seeing but we just need more of them and turn that into a better film.
I also had a problem with Lex Luthor in general as he was basically nothing more than just a fairly dimunitive, intellectual loony dweeb than an actual imposing figure Superman and Batman to deal with. Not only that I thought the story didn't do well at explaining properly what Luthor was up to when he was rummaging around the Kryptonian scout ship and of course its only later on we see what he was up to. And of course all this isn't helped by the fact that Luthor in the film talks in nothing but a load of wanky metaphors.
I also find the whole concept of Batman and Superman fighting against each other a bit ridiculous anyway in the first place. I mean the fact that Bruce Wayne sees Superman as a threat is a bit silly, yeah OK there was huge collateral damage that went down the day, Superman fought General Zod, but its hardly his fault that it happened that way. Its not like Superman invited Zod to show up in the city and have a showdown infront of millions of people and let them get in the way! Not to mention both these guys are about keeping peace and justice and yet they don't see that's what they have both been doing in their respective cities (and in Superman's case the world) and just see each other as a threat. It doesn't quite add up.
And last of all there is that whole thing about Batman being a killer....is it wrong??? Well, technically speaking yes I think its wrong that they should present Batman as a killer in the film and I think its fair to say that Batman does kill a few people in this film. Although to be entirely fair I think they do leave some of the kills a bit ambiguous as its not entirely clear if Batman really had killed all the guys in these scenes that he appears to have. So I still like to think that while there are some kills without a doubt, they are actually pretty minimal and not as many as you would think. But I guess I still have a problem with Batman being a killer anyway given that he never killed people in the comic books and I think its something that the films should continue to honour. I wouldn't say it totally ruined the film for me however and I actually still liked Affleck's representation of Batman onscreen (despite his use of "branding" criminals with a hot steaming iron shaped like a bat! What is that shit about?!).
Anyway so that's it for the flaws!
SUM UP
So to sum up Batman vs Superman is a bit of a mixed bag, on one hand, its very dark and dreary tone is a bit alienating, but on the other, the film still manages to be quite entertaining and for me is still a way better film than Man of Steel ever was.
And this is because here Superman actually has a truly great adversary in Batman, rather than just some blanding boring take on General Zod (played by Michael Shannon) which is what we got in Man of Steel, which also featured alot of the tedious backstory of Superman's life but thankfully here there is none of that and to Synder's credit he keeps Bruce Wayne's backstory very brief (to the opening credits).
And the action scenes in the film are pretty good and it has to be said that Batman's showdown with Superman is actually quite impressive and even more impressive is when we see Batman do his own kick ass takedowns later on. And its moments like this that help give Batman vs Superman a few glimmers of hope over its predecessor.
Performance wise the film is also pretty good overall despite one the miscasting of Jesse Eisnberg and what it really has going for it this time round is that it does NOT include Russell Crowe as Kal-El!! (thank you, God!!).
So for me Batman vs Superman is a film that deserves a look and even though it has its fair share of problems, its worth checking out simply because if for no other reason you do get to see two of the biggest superheroes in comic book history go at it on the big screen.
And that's it for now and I will be back in April with some more posts.
Till then its bye fer now!
