I finally got around to seeing Batman v. Superman : Dawn of Justice today! Here's a quick rundown of my thoughts! (Spoiler free)
So to say this movie is damn anticipated is an understatement. Batman and Superman are the two most popular superheroes to exist, and to watch them fight in a live action film has been a nerd's fantasy for decades now.
Also, to say this movie was disappointing, is an understatement. I had sky high expectations for this film, due to the amazing trailers that were released. But my expectations were not met. Don't get me wrong, Batman v Superman is not a bad film in any way. But it ain't no Dark Knight for sure.
Let's talk about what I enjoyed about this movie first. The biggest positive of Batman v Superman was Ben Affleck as Batman. When he was announced, I was not the biggest fan, but I was open minded, knowing Affleck's other work. This guy knocked it out of the park as Batman, and it makes my anticipation for the solo Batman movie even higher. Another big positive, Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman. I have not seen Gadot in any movies besides the Fast and Furious franchise, which she is not really given the opportunity to act, but she brings it here. Her part is not that important, but it is memorable. Next, is the action, obviously, particularly the action featuring Batman. Affleck was a monster in these big action sequences involving Batman taking on like 10 guys at once. My theater, which was packed, actually cheered during these fights. Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor was great in my opinion. A lot of people are bashing him, but I happen to believe he portrayed an interesting and original Lex. There are a few more positives, but I don't want to get into any spoilers.
Okay, now the bad. The entire first half of this film. It was a mess. Plot points all over the place, with lack of a coherent story. Nothing of significance was really happening, just small little events that quickly cut to another plot point, which made it feel very choppy. There are many things that happen in this movie and are just never brought up again, which might be for future visiting in the DC world, but I doubt it. Also, this is not really a spoiler, but there is a part in this movie, that is the most obvious Justice League set-up ever, and it was handled very poorly, and just felt out of place. For this next negative I am going to try and be as vague as I can to avoid spoilers. So there was one fight, a pretty important one, that just ended because of a very strange reason, and a character had a random change of heart. It just felt very random.
In the end, Batman v Superman is not a great movie, but it's not a bad one either. I would recommend watching it, because it is a fun cinematic experience that is worth the price of admission.
Consensus
C+
I totally agree with you. The core concept of the film, I liked. Is it okay to let someone who is all powerful like Superman go around doing what he likes (though I feel this reboot has darkened the character way too much)? Is there a time when this person could just go...bad? It is possible, considering our cynical world, it isn't far fetched for people to believe that even the purest of heroes might go over to the dark side. But the way the movie was carried out? Certainly not well done.
ReplyDeleteI remember checking my phone for the first 40 mins or so wondering how so much time has passed, yet it feels like the movie hasn't even begun. WTF. Like you said, I felt like things were just happening and it felt overall very incoherent. It didn't seem to follow any real structure and just seemed really, really random.
In theory, I like what the story represents: rich white boy wanting to destroy 'illegal aliens' because he thinks they could be of the slightest threat? But the way they vilified Batman like that didn't sit well with me. I love Batman...and yeah. I did enjoy Affleck's portrayal of the character. I wasn't sure about him when they announced him (I LOVED Bale's version so much) but I enjoyed it.
My favorite part was seeing my favorite DC comics hero, the Flash. I really wish they'd cast Grant-- he's so good on the show, but I guess Ezra will do. Loved the set-up for the JLA so much, as I LOVED the cartoon as a kid.
Good job!