Batman vs Superman Review

Batman vs Superman is DC's attempt to create a Marvel universe within the span of one movie.  The amount of information forced into this movie creates a cluttered mess, which is a shame, because multiple times throughout the overlong two and a half hour runtime, I was completely enthralled.

However, before I get into the nitty gritty, I do need to admit that I am a massive Batman fan.  I enjoy every Batman movie in existence, and yes that includes Batman and Robin, but that is for comedic viewing purposes.  The only parts that I consistently enjoyed throughout the film were Affleck's Batman scenes.  Batfleck may well be the best Batman to ever grace the screen, and that is saying a lot.  It is just a shame that he was not given more story and interesting dialogue with which to work.

Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice.  That title alone promises a lot.  A great clash between two of the most beloved comic heroes of all time.  The beginning of the Justice League.  And because so much is promised, storytellers Zack Snyder, Chris Terrio, and David S. Goyer struggled to mash all of it into one film.

By now, the movie has been out for a couple days, so you may have heard a lot of negative press.  I saw Facebook posts about it being the worst movie of all time.  Honestly, I did not hate this movie.  Maybe because I wanted to like it.  Maybe because I'm not a fan of Marvel movies and I prefer DC's darker tones.  Maybe because I'm a Batman nerd.  But I did see some positives among the clutter.

The fight choreography and cinematography were beautiful.  If you have ever played an Arkham video game, Batman's fight scenes play out like the game, and they are so much fun to watch.  Snyder has the chops to direct action sequences, and he has created some fantastic ones.  Other than the final fight, which is full of plot holes and too loud and muddled.

SLIGHT SPOILER:

A lot of people are hating on this movie for having Batman kill.  I did not mind the decision, nor the failure to discuss why he has decided to break his one rule.  I feel like the decision just says "Look, he is an older Batman.  He has been through a lot, seen terrible things.  You fill in that gap, as we have enough going on in this movie already."  I'm sure that was an exact quote from one of the filmmakers.  The main reason I did not mind seeing this is because we are barely removed from Chris Nolan's masterful Batman depiction.  Nolan's Batman was constantly teetering on the edge, knowing that killing would get rid of villains, while also turning him into one.  I did not need to see this internal battle again, I already saw it in a trilogy that ended only four years ago.  Batman kills now, he is hardened.  That's fine with me, this is a new Batman, a new universe, a new story.

SPOILER OVER

Most of the performances were decent enough as well.  Batfleck was great. Jeremy Irons was good as Alfred, he just wasn't given enough to do.  Amy Adams and Henry Cavill as Lois and Clark/Superman were fine.  The performance getting the most flack is that of Jesse Eisenberg playing Lex Luthor.  Honestly, I do not think the performance was bad, it was just wrong for the character.  Eisenberg played Lex as a psychotic, nervous brainiac, when in fact, the character is suave and debonaire in his villainy.  Eisenberg seemed more like a Riddler or toned down Joker than a Lex.  But as far as the character he was trying to pull off, he did so well.  It just was not right for the character.

Now to quickly cover the jumbled story.  The movie opens with the murder of Bruce Wayne's parents.  I, for one, am tired of seeing this in EVERY Batman movie.  It then jumps between Bruce/Batman's story and Clark/Superman's story, and the two stories don't often connect.  Then in the mix of it, you have Lois doing her thing and Lex planning his evil scheme.  Lex's plan is ludicrous.  It has about seven different elements that all seem to fall into place, even though there is no way he could have planned or known enough about half of it.  When it all comes together, it seems like a miracle that he pulled anything off.  Then his master plan comes together and it was a major letdown, and led to an extremely boring final fight.

The title Dawn of Justice promised you a lead-in to the Justice League, and the way it was finally introduced was so silly and random.  It did not need to be in there at all, and frankly if it were cut, it would have been for the best.

GET TO THE POINT

Long story short:

• Batfleck is great.
• Action sequences are great for the most part.
• Eisenberg played Lex the wrong way.
• Story is convoluted and has plot holes so big you would think the Batmobile smashed through the script.
• Justice League tie-in was silly and forced.

Rating:

2 out of 5 Bat Signals