Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice Review:
The Red Capes Are Coming
BY IAN
TAN
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| #TheBoxOfficeWillWin |
Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice has
been one of the most hyped comic book movies ever, with the idea of pitting the
Dark Knight and the Man of Steel against each other being the stuff of fanboy dreams.
Unfortunately, the result is a mixed bag of a movie that lacks proper character
development, a cohesive narrative structure and, most importantly, enjoyment.
The film starts
out with the climactic battle from Man of
Steel seen through the eyes of Bruce Wayne/Batman, who witnesses the sheer
amount of destruction Superman and Zod cost the city of Metropolis and its helpless
citizens. This kick-starts a frenzy of political and societal issues against
Superman, who is deemed as more of a threat to the world than a saviour. Complicating
things is Lex Luthor, who like Batman, wants to put an end to Superman for
good. And then there’s Wonder Woman, who is a welcome addition to the film.
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| Pick-a-boo, Wonder Woman sees you |
It sounds as if
this film would be a great character study for both our titular heroes, given
how different their world-views are, but it simply isn’t. Superman is hardly
as engaging as he was in Man
of Steel and Batman is a flat-out jerk. Clark Kent/Superman is given an
interesting story here, having to deal with the scrutiny of the world while being
the very person that does his best to protect it. However, Snyder struggles
with humanizing the character enough and Henry Cavill’s performance is rather
stiff at times.
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| Troubled Superman is troubled |
As far as Bruce
Wayne/Batman goes, he was one of most unlikable superheroes I have on screen to
date. I don’t get the hype surrounding this version of Batman. He’s so brutal,
unforgiving and arrogant to nearly everyone he interacts with and I found
myself desperate to find things to like about him for reasons other than his
suit and Batmobile. But to give praise where praise is needed, Ben Affleck
played the part well and gave Bruce/Batman a good amount of gravitas. I just
didn’t like the way Snyder envisioned the character. Wonder Woman on the other
hand, was pretty great for the amount of screen-time she had. Gal Gadot really
made the most out of her time on screen and I look forward to seeing more of
her character in next year’s Wonder Woman.
And Jesse Eisenberg … he was okay as Lex Luthor. It’s definitely a far cry from
what we’re used to seeing in Lex Luthor but Eisenberg really nails the maniacal
and diabolical sense of thinking the character needed for this film. One scene
in particular made me want to punch the living daylights out of him, which is
good; he made for an effective, if eccentric, villain.
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| I guess he lived long enough to see himself become the villain |
In terms of
performances, there’s not much to complain about in Batman V Superman. Script-wise, David S. Goyer and Chris Terrio
seem to be heading down the right path by incorporating some interesting themes
and intriguing character struggles into the film’s screenplay. However, the
real fault with this film lies in Snyder’s weak storytelling capabilities and David
Brenner’s scattershot editing. Snyder tends to stumble with his direction and
focuses more on sequel-building than he does on character building, which
is a shame considering that he is practically the Joss Whedon of the DC
Extended Universe. His visual flair on the other hand, is spot-on as usual (the imagery and visual symbolisms are pretty fantastic), but
it does take more priority over substance.
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| Mophead |
In all honesty, I
didn’t like this movie. I really thought I would but it was disappointing for the most
part. Throughout the film, I struggled to find entertainment
value but found very little. Even the moments that were meant to solicit
dramatic tension and emotion never hit the notes they could have. Again, this
is due to Snyder’s weakness in the storytelling department and in the film’s
truncated editing. My favourite scene in the film was one that had to do with
the setup for Justice League. It
genuinely excited me for the future of the DC Extended Universe, probably because Hans Zimmer & Junkie XL's music won me over, but after
giving it more thought, I wondered why I should even bother, because Zack Snyder
will return to direct the Justice League films
and there will just be more of this. And this I almost thoroughly disliked. I
don’t know how much better the Ultimate 3-hour Edition on Blu-Ray will turn
out, but as far as the theatrical release goes, this is quite a step below Man of Steel in my opinion, and I liked Man of Steel.
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| Oh, joy... |
Knowing how to
visually realize a world and creating strong characters are two different, but
essential things to make the DC films as engaging as they should be, and if a
director only knows how to master the former but lacks skill in the latter – as Snyder does – I can’t help but worry for the future of DC’s cinematic run.
The Justice League films need a
director who not only appreciates the world the characters live in, but one who
knows how to develop them as nuanced and interesting characters, too. And Zack
Snyder, unfortunately, just isn’t that director. Hopefully things will change.
Final Verdict
Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice is:
Wasted Potential
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