“The greatest gladiator match in the history of the world. God versus man. Day versus night! Son of Krypton versus Bat of Gotham!”
What should have been a battle between two opposing view-points, and ideologies, turned into a mess of jammed together plots, and hurredly rushed character introductions.
DC Comics rush to apparently “catch up” to Marvel’s greater universe has meant that this movie suffers in the same way that the Avengers: Age of Ultron suffered. Too many characters, and not enough time.
Let me start this review with the parts of the movie I felt came together the best, and helped this movie maintain the entertaining aspect that it has. First of all, the complete standout of character; Ben Affleck’s Batman.
When the casting for Batman was first announced, the primary thought around the internet was surprise. Why would they cast Ben Affleck as Batman? An attitude I shared initially. Even though it wasn’t close to the same movie, his portrayal of Daredevil (2003) was not exactly the greatest. The question became, would he be able to pull off Batman?
Well, I after seeing Batman V Superman. I can emphatically say the answer is most definitely. So much so, that to me Affleck is now the quintessential on screen Batman—followed closely by Michael Keaton. There has been much talk into how much the character of Batman kills in this movie. Which surprises me. First because everyone claims it’s fundamentally against the character.
There’s two things you have to remember when judging this version of Batman (or any comic character really). He has killed before in the comics, rarely, but still killed.
The second thing is that this, as with any movie or television show, is an adaptation. It means that it’s a different take on the character. The question then becomes why people have such a hard time recognizing different versions. The changing of character types is fundamental in the comics. Characters change with different writers, and different artists. They evolve. They change. This is the inevitable viewpoint of different people showing their own take on the material. So, why do the characters changing in a movie, or television show, seem so outrageous to people?
A good example of this is the recent Superman comic series; American Alien. Written by Max Landis (Screenwriter for Chronicle, and American Ultra) This Superman version is a change in how Superman is portrayed, and how he acts. To quote Max himself, this is his “de-mary sue-ing of Superman”. A comic series that has been welcomed by fans. While I don’t believe the “mary sue” aspect of Superman totally, I can appreciate the alternate take on the character. It’s actually pretty good. Look it up and give it a read from where-ever you buy comics from.
Anyway, the basis is Ben Affleck’s Batman is a brilliant adaption, which fans have to accept that it’s a different persons take on the character. It’s also a version of the character that has spent more than 20 years fighting criminals in Gotham. He’s tired. He’s beaten down. It makes sense. This version of Batman is one that has begun to see that his actions may not be having the desired effect. As Affleck says in the film, “Twenty years in Gotham. How many good guys are left? How many stay that way?”
I believe that this is Batman changing his way of doing things, and his state being twisted. More than it already is, I mean you can’t be totally sane dressing up as a bat and going out to hunt criminals all night. But I digress…
The other standout to me was Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman. Along with most people, I was really against this casting when she was announced. She didn’t seem like she would fit the role, or bring the gravitas needed. Upon seeing the trailer made me think that she could pull it off—and she does. She pulls it off with all the grace, style, and kick ass ability that you expect from Wonder Woman. Her role is small, and pretty much results in effectively a cameo. But it made me want her solo film completely.
What didn’t work, was inclusion of the Justice League characters—Flash, Aquaman, and Cyborg. Flash actually gets two cameos (although one appears in a characters dream sequence, so you can decide if it really happens). But they just felt so forced in there. You could remove the entire scene that shows them, and it would not reduce the movie at all.
It’s very clear that the scene was included purely to foreshadow the Justice League movie that everyone knows is coming. It was unnecessary, and adds nothing to the movie. On top of that, the video sequence with Aquaman basically looks like they just told Jason Momoa to look at the camera for a minute and then destroy it. It just feels like you’re looking at Momoa rather than Aquaman. But anyway, the point is it doesn’t fit well.
Then we come to Doomsday, which looks exactly as he does in the trailer. A mess. A cheap version of a Lord of the Rings cave troll. He evolves slightly in the movie, but he is still basically like he is in the trailer for the whole time he’s on screen. The only reason he is there is to provide a battle for the three protagonists of Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman to come together and fight.
The trailer really did give away the third act of the movie, and it’s rather disappointing that someone in the marketing for DC\Warner Brothers decided that they should put it out before the movie.
As for Jesse Eisenberg, what do I say? That casting was just plain wrong. I know he’s playing Lex Luthor’s son, and not the actual man himself. But the guy comes off playing as he does in every movie he’s done. Just with a little bit more “body ticks” while he’s talking. Basically, if you didn’t like him in the trailer, then you won’t like him in the movie. If you did, then you will probably be happy with him.
Well, that’s pretty much Batman V Superman without spoiling too much. I wish it had come off better. I wish they had concentrated on what they had marketed it as. The greatest gladiator match. The fight with Batman and Superman should have been more of the focus, and been concluded in a much better way than it was.
The upside to this year, is that it looks like DC\Warner Brothers put a lot of watch on Batman V Superman production, and it looks as though David Ayer may have had a little more freedom to do what he wanted with Suicide Squad; which I am very much looking forward to and hope does well.
But that’s my thoughts. Have you seen the movie? What did you think? Did you like it? Do you agree?
Dreaming Screenwriter 