Movie Review: Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice *Spoiler Alert-Read at your own risk*
Starring Henry Cavill, Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Diane Lane, Amy Adams, Laurence Fishburne, & Jesse Eisenberg
Where do I begin? Oh right, at the beginning which is where the movie started with the same story we've been watching for the past 26 years. Have you ever heard of obsession? Yes well movie makers have overdone this story so much that when I saw it as the opener of this film, I thought "Wow. Really? We're back to this again?
For those who are clueless to what I'm referring to, it has to do with Bruce and the death of his parents.
So we all know the story of how Bruce's parents were murdered after a night at the theater leaving Bruce an orphan who happens to fall into a bat cave and so on and so forth. The basic details tend to remain the same such as the shooting, both parents dead, and a strand of broken pearls. Bruce screams "Noooo!!!" and there we have the motivation of Batman to do what he does. The only thing that seems to change is who the shooter is and the type of gun the crime is committed with. Let's re-explore shall we?
Michael Keaton: Shooter-The Joker, Gun Used-revolver
Repeated flashback in Batman Forever
Christian Bale: Shooter-Joe Chill, Gun Used-a handgun (I believe)
Ben Affleck: Shooter-a mugger, Gun Used-9 millimeter
We may want to keep the story consistent but also, 26 years later and Bruce is still angry, seeking revenge for his parents' deaths? I mean seriously, we know it was traumatic but 26 years later and you're still focused on that? Someone needs to let it go and revisit therapy perhaps with a male therapist so he's not prone to sleep with them (referring to Dr. Chase Meridian).
This is definitely a dark movie but the story is so out of whack and all over the place that it feels like that just filled time to get to the mega awesome part (which was the last few scenes. It is not a good idea to have 3 different points of view in a film like this. First we're seeing things from Bruce's angle, then Superman, then Lex Luthor. Above all, for this to be considered a sequel to Man of Steel, we see Batman more than anything. I mean really DC? I think you need to take pointers from Marvel. Each film (with the exception of the Incredible Hulk) in the Marvel series is on epic proportions compared to DC. True the Christopher Nolan Batman series are epic just as Man of Steel but WTF happened from there?
The story is the meat of a great film but you need the right cast to pull it off as well. The casting for the most part was superb but I got two bones to pick with you on casting. The first is the one I've heard about since it happened and that is the casting of Ben Affleck as Bruce Wayne/Batman. My sister and brother in law agreed with most of Ben's critics that he was horrible. I, on the other hand, have a different take on it. I didn't feel Ben was the problem (and no I'm not being biased because I love Ben). The problem was in the storyline. There were parts that was like, "okay okay I see the bitterness." Ben did capture Batman's bitterness and PMS/bipolar side but at the same time I wasn't 100% convinced he was Bruce Wayne. This is not the Bruce Wayne we are used to seeing but I just didn't find it believable. Now here's the ironic part, in the Batman suit, okay I was convinced. Mask off: not so much; mask on: definitely. It was like putting up with someone during sex for the pleasure but asking them to keep a paper bag over their head so you can get through it. However I think that in the Justice League film, we could see growth in Ben's portrayal that we can say, "Okay Ben, keep the mask off."
The worst casting call in this film was Jesse Eisenberg. In any reincarnation of Lex Luthor I have never viewed him as an awkward punk who had no skills of hiding his madness. Recall if you will those who played the man in the past. We have had many but let's focus on the main ones shall we? Here we go:
Superman: Christopher Reeve, Lex Luthor: Gene Hackman
Superman: Dean Cain, Lex Luthor: John Shea
Superman: Brandon Routh, Lex Luthor: Kevin Spacey
Superman: Tom Welling, Lex Luthor: Michael Rosenbaum
In each of these instances, Lex, for the most part, is portrayed as a charming yet sly billionaire who seeks world domination. Yes we all knew he was evil but he tended to put up a front and exposed his true nature behind closed doors, per se. In the CW's Smallville, there was a twist to the story in that Clark and Lex were friends at first only to grow apart, becoming enemies but still he had a type of decorum about him. Jesse's portrayal was very...oh what's the word? Oh yes, how do you say, AWKWARD! There was no masking his insanity. He was creepy, weird, and had the feel of a punk teenager playing with his daddy's company. There was no professionalism about him, slyness or charm. There was no front. It was completely out of character and I hated it. I feel it would've been best if Michael Rosenbaum stepped into the role as his portrayal from the television show was great. Jesse should not return. The squeaky voice made me want to push him off the roof, right into Doomsday as Superman stabbed him. Yes, I disliked that casting very much. Jesse is a great actor but he is no Lex Luthor.
My other problem was Wonder Woman. Gal Gadot is an awesome Wonder Woman but I feel it was a poor introduction to her. We barely saw her. There was a brief explanation to her presence. I mean where's the story with that? I understand she is getting her own film but Marvel does a much better job introducing characters into a film. It's like she was just there to be there. I look forward to her independent film though because I want to see her story played out.
As I said before the story was all over the place. You have angry, orphan Bruce who is ready to kill Superman to prove that man is better than a god. You have the punk teenage immaturity of psycho Lex Luthor who is awkward in every way and for some reason knows Clark Kent and Bruce Wayne are Superman and Batman. He may be an evil genius but geez, how the hell did he know any of that?
You then have the introduction of The Flash and Aquaman (I forget the third). So this makes me wonder, why the title Dawn of Justice. What justice? Justice for what? It was like Superhero Mashup that ended in a mutual respect for each other's abilities after Superman is killed destroying Doomsday. The best part in the whole film came toward the end where Batman wises up because Superman mentions the name "Martha," finding out from Lois that he's saying "Martha" because that's the name of his mother. I felt like saying, "Bro...we're related," as a joke but I decided not to. That's when Batman decides his PMS is over after he wasted all that time being a prick. At the end of the film, at Clark's burial site, Bruce declares they will find the rest of the meta humans and they should be prepared to fight. He shows remorse and regret for not doing him (Clark) justice/respect in life. Okay well it doesn't help you tried to kill him all this time and didn't even KNOW him. It was just pathetic. So sorry DC, not impressed with your Batman vs. Superman flick. Take caution with your casting and for the love of the cinematic comic universe, make sure you have a solid story and not a bunch of nonsense just to fill time. I urge you to take a lesson from Marvel. They know how do do these mashups right. If you want to see the film, just watch the last few scenes. It'll feel more satisfying and you won't feel bad spending ANY money on it.
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