So that happened. The long awaited showdown between Batman and Superman on the big screen has come and gone. There was a lot to like but almost as much to dislike. Warning, spoilers ahead…
As much as Warner Brothers and the heads of DC would like to deny the existence of Man of Steel, you can’t have BvSwithout it. The movie begins with the epic battle between Zod and Superman (Henry Cavill) with Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck) integrated into the action as he zooms through the streets of Metropolis to save his employees at Wayne Financial. Unfortunately he’s too late as he sees the building collapse before his eyes. Thus begins his obsession of wanting to take down Superman and the real world threat he poses to mankind.
The story shifts 18 months later and the Batman is back terrorizing Gotham’s underworld and literally leaving his mark. Batman’s vigilante style of justice gets the attention of reporter Clark Kent. Clark wants to pursue it but Perry White rejects the idea. It’s an odd stance for a newspaper editor but whatever. While Clark sets his sights on learning more about the Batman, Senator June Finch (Holly Hunter) is holding congressional hearings regarding Superman’s unbridled power and the collateral damage that occurs. These feelings don’t only stem from the events of 18 months ago but most recently what happened in Africa where several people including a CIA operative were killed when Supes tired to save Lois Lane (Amy Adams) from a terrorist overlord. Even Superman himself begins to question whether he’s good for his adoptive planet. There’s a morality play at work here between how to achieve justice but it never fully materializes, as it should have.
One of Sen. Finch’s supporters happens to be Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg). His crazy obsession is much darker and with a sinister purpose behind it. A side story-line involves the acquisition of a kryptonite rock by Lex (we find out there’s a link between Lex and the fallout in Africa) and Bruce Wayne trying to prevent it so he could use it against Superman himself. Bruce uses his technology with the help from his trusted butler Alfred (Jeremy Irons) to gather vital tech information from LexCorp. This leads to an important discovery beyond the kryptonite. Apparently Lex has been gathering intel on metahumans. Bruce uncovers four distinct files regarding The Flash, Cyborg, Aquaman and someone he has already met, Diana Prince aka Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot). I guess that’s one way to setup future installments.
It takes just under two hours in this nearly 2-½ hour film for the showdown to begin. The action is quite good but if you’ve seen any of the trailers, you really haven’t missed much. Much like the film itself, too much information and exclusive footage was shared prior to its release. Sometimes, less is more. It takes a tad longer to finally see the big screen debut of Wonder Woman and man does she look great. Any fears or concerns are immediately wiped away as Gal Gadot is without question, Wonder Woman. I’m already looking forward to seeing her film due out in 2017. She completes the Trinity and joins forces with our caped heroes to battle the Lex Luthor created Doomsday creature.
As Bruce Wayne/Batman, Affleck is great. And while this felt more like a Batman film (which I believe was intentional by the studio) with Superman co-starring in it, I do look forward to seeing a solo Batman project with him in it. He was that good. I’m a big supporter of Cavill as Superman and as I mentioned before, Gadot carries the weight of being Wonder Woman very well. As for Jesse Eisenberg playing Lex Luthor, he played crazy quite well but the Lex I was hoping for would have been along the lines of Clancy Brown from the animated series or a little like Gene Hackman from the classic Superman films of the late 70’s and 80’s.
Overall, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice tries to do too much and cover so many different comic book stories that this potentially powerful story with arguably the two most iconic superheroes ever created, gets a bit overwhelmed at times with exposition and unnecessary dream sequences. Warner/DC desperately wants to be a player in the superhero team up game. They’ve had many years to make this happen and now may be a decade too late. We’ll have to see when Wonder Woman hits the big screen next year followed by the Justice League. There’s no question that the DC Cinematic Universe is going to be far darker and grittier than Marvel’s. I’m okay with it being darker but I do wish Snyder who claims to be a comic book aficionado, not suck all the fun and humor that make the Marvel films more enjoyable and entertaining.
Directed by: Zack Snyder
Starring: Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Gal Gadot, Jesse Eisenberg, Amy Adams and Jeremy Irons
PG-13 151 Mins
BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE – ***1/2 (out of 5 stars)
May the Dork be with you,
JPB
The Dork Knight
