After a two year wait from The Man of Steel, Zach Snyder returns with his long awaited
Batman V Superman (BvS) movie. Starring Ben Affleck as Batman and Henry Cavill returning as Superman, BvS pits both men against each other in a slam down of epic proportions. Guest starring Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman (who has never been in a cinema film before... Wonder Woman that is, Gal's been in the Fast and Furious franchise) BvS is gunning to be the superhero movie to beat. It can’t go wrong... can it?
Well, the movie was off for a bad start over the controversial casting of Ben Affleck as Batman. Stepping into the gaping void left by popular choice Batman Christian Bale (not Gareth – he’s a Welsh footballer (though he might have been a batsman if he played cricket)), Affleck plays an older and wisened Batman. After a brief stint of montage flashbacks to establish the origins of Batman, the movie throws us straight into the end battle of Man of Steel. Just to recap – Superman is beating the bejeezuz out of General Zod as the World Engine (which sounds like a drum and bass tune) attempts to format the planet like a fresh install of Windows 7. As the battle rages in the sky, Bruce Wayne is on the ground, watching, like we did, the needless destruction of the city by these two super beings. After Bruce watches a destruction of one of his buildings, killing most of the occupants, he gets angry and has a score to settle with Superman.
This first 20 minutes or so of the movie impressed me so – it’s a fantastic way to make the storytelling more dynamic and, I guess, goes some way to challenge the negative criticism Man of Steel garnered over that very issue – of Superman destroying stuff and inadvertently harming people. Even The Avengers (Age of Ultron) took the mick a bit by making a big hoo-ha over getting the civilians away from the battle and keeping them safe.
The scene is now set and I’m ready and primed for this humdinger of a movie. I’ve never been so excited for a showdown since Hulk Hogan vs. Randy Savage at Wrestlemania 5 – and that was an awesome match. Imagine my disappointment then, that, in a 2 hour 30 minutes runtime, the next 1 hour and 30 minutes hardly had any Batman or Superman in, and spent most of the time talking and character development. Most of it is Batman being grumpy and going to events as Bruce Affleck, meanwhile Superman is stuck in Clark Kent mode and occasionally bumps into Wayne. Highlights include the Lex Luthor party scene (as seen in the trailer) and a Batmobile chase that was quite exciting (and practically lifted from a sequence in The Dark Knight). Although the film ticks by, the ongoing dialogue and character movements get a bit boring and there are large parts where it just goes on and on and on. Jeremy Irons (as Alfred) plays a minimal but great role to rival that of any others and looks a bit like an aged Tony Stark as he tinkers with the Batmobile and other Bat-stuff. Ben Affleck does a great turn as Bruce Wayne and does some detective work, but it’s all panned out and rolled out so much that it still forces you to watch to wait for the fight we’ve all come to the cinema to see.
Ben Affleck’s Batman is quite awesome in some respects and a bit ruthless in others – he is quite dark and violent; and the few times we see him fight is impressive – looking like the Arkham games that are popular on the consoles and PC. However these fight scenes are rare but are exciting when we see them.
Superman is very similar to the one established in Man of Steel, but seems to be living with Lois Lane (Amy Adams) who is almost a major character herself. Jesse Eisenberg’s Lex Luthor is a bit strange and stuttery, maybe megalomaniac, maybe genius but you can just imagine one punch from Superman and he would be a goner. However, that’s never the case, as he’s left to go and do what he wants to do – which is to create a monster to bring Superman down.
When we finally trundle to the endgame (and we are a bit tired and just want to get it over with) it doesn’t let you down. Supes vs the Bat is a suitably crunchy affair, reminding me a lot of the Hulkbuster Vs Hulk in Age of Ultron. IronBat takes on SuperHulk without the humour of Avengers but with added kryptonium. Once we’ve dealt with that, a brief respite is given as Lex unleashes his monster – Doomsday – that is partly made of General Zod’s dead body. Supes and Bats then have to make friends and join forces and, with the help of Wonder Woman (who’s been flitting about in background scenes all the way through the film as her everyday alter ego), attempt to save the world (or at least the city) once again.
Overall the film is decent, it really is. But I’m so sat on the fence with this one I really don’t know which way to go. I really want to like it and love it but I don’t. I’m worried that I’ve been Marvel-ified and I’m so used to a superhero movie being like the scores of Marvel ones we’ve seen that maybe I’m biased. Or maybe Snyder is trying to be too clever. I’ve grown up with both DC comics and Marvel ones and both have their own style. Marvel is a family adventure and, in the main, a universal, colourful heroes save the world. DC have always been aimed at the older audience – late teens and upwards, darker, more adult storylines – and maybe this is where this movie, and DC ones in particular, will always differ. I love the 1978 Superman with Christopher Reeve – it’s a bit cheesy but it’s a good movie. These new ones have all this dark hue thrown over it and don’t seem very optimistic – even the end to this movie makes you feel a bit like you need a sit down (even though you have done for the last 2 and a half hours).
In summary – the movie is over long but a decent attempt at its promise. Batman is great, Superman not so good. Ben Affleck isn’t bad as Bats so may have come some way to redeem himself. It’s a rocky start to the DCEU, but hopefully they will find their feet to catch up with Marvel as I’m sure there’s still many more stories to tell. I’m looking forward to Suicide Squad, however.
POPSCORE: 7/10
What am I talking about? Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice
Where can I find out more? batmanvsuperman.dccomics.com
If you liked this try: Any of the other DC movies but especially Superman, Batman (especially the more modern ones), also DC TV series like The Flash or Arrow too. To a lesser extent Green Lantern...
Anything else?
This follows on from Man of Steel and the movie actually starts just before Man of steel finishes.
