Batman and Superman in a film together, what could go wrong? Well,
a lot actually...
I went in with low
expectations for this film, not just because of the critical backlash towards
it, but also because I've never been a big fan of Zack Snyder's style of
filmmaking, he's very much a style over substance kind of guy. I went in hoping to be entertained but I didn't even come out
feeling that. I left the cinema just feeling a bit let down, this wasn't the
Batman V Superman film I wanted to see. Read on to find out my SPOILER FREE
thoughts on why that was.
The basic plot of
the story goes like this, 'Fearing the actions of Superman are left unchecked,
Batman takes on the man of steel, while the world wrestles with what kind of
hero it really needs.' This is just a small amount of what the film is about,
they also cram a whole lot more into it as well! And I use the word 'crammed'
because this really feels like a bloated film that tries to rush its own world
building for future outings. Elegance and subtlety are left on the cutting room
floor.
I'm cool with
seeing a 'different' kind of superhero film, I'm open to that and I can dig the
kind of tone that Batman V
Superman is trying to achieve,
however it falls on its face a lot when trying to be 'grounded' and 'realistic'
because the reasoning for everything that happens in this film is so weak.
Batman should be dark and broody, but should Superman be the exact same way as
well? Superman is the idealistic caricature of what a 'hero' should be, in a
film about a man fighting a god the two characters should be polar opposites,
but Superman is just as dark and broody as Batman! And you can tell Zack Snyder
hates Superman because he isn't given anything to do in this film, whenever he
appears he's just questioning his own existence, it's so boring. Superman
should only have cared about saving people; he's the type of guy who has to get
involved because he has the most power to do good, he shouldn’t care how people
perceive him. Batman should just be wary of him, not hate him. When they
actually fight, I spent the whole time thinking 'why are you fighting, you are
two smart guys and you could just talk it out, but instead you just have to punch each
other’? It didn't work for me. I wanted to feel goosebumps, I wanted to have a
massive grin on my face when they met but I didn't, it left me feeling cold,
these aren't the characters I know and love from the comics.
I was digging the
opening of this film, it was cool and it looked great and then this weird thing
happened, it felt like the editor gave up and put the system on autopilot.
Here's a Batman scene, here's a Superman scene, here's a Lex Luthor scene,
here's a Lois Lane scene... You never spend a large amount of time with anyone
to care about them; it was like watching a soap opera where the producers think
that audiences only have a two minute attention span per scene. The only scenes
I liked were the ones with Batman and Lex Luthor. Batman because Ben Affleck
does a brilliant job of bringing Bruce Wayne to life, whenever he was being
Batman-like, it was awesome, but whenever he was written out of character it
just didn't work. Lex Luthor I liked because Jesse Eisenberg was a breath of
fresh air in the film (I'm surprised at this as well...), I'm not saying he was
amazing but his take was a lot more interesting than the stone-cold faces of
your two main characters. If Wonder Woman did more in this film I'm sure I
would have liked her more as well.
I liked Man of Steel, I didn't love it
but I think it still has some very cool scenes; I had some fun with it. All I
can think of when leaving Batman
V Superman is that I wanted
something more. I wanted more Batman. I want to see a Batman film set in this
world with less killing. I want more Superman but under the helm of a writer
and director who understands the character. I want more from this world, from
anybody but Zack Snyder because it has so much potential that’s unapologetically
wasted. This film gives you so many interesting questions about what Superman's
existence means to the world and never answers one of them. There was no
outcome or point to this film. There's a lot of interesting stuff ready to be
explored but it was cast out for shoehorning in sequels and mind numbing CGI
punching.
I'm disappointed,
more than I thought I would be. There's a lot of fat on this film that needs to
be trimmed and action sequences that need to be spread throughout the film
instead of leaving it all for the final act because I just got tired of it
quick.
There is an interesting
world here which I look forward to seeing other people take the reins of. Batman V Superman is not the kind of film I want
from this world, it didn't work, and I wasn't entertained in the slightest
which is crazy when this film is about two staples of pop culture battling it
out. I'm giving Batman V
Superman: Dawn of Justice a 1.5/5.
I preferred Man of Steel.
Let me know what
you thought of this film? It's been very divisive so far! Tell me what you
think in the comments below.
Thanks for
reading!
