SHG Review - Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

 

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

March 25^th saw, possibly, the most eagerly anticipated comic-book-movie release in recent history, if not ever. The follow up to 2013’s “Man Of Steel” promised to answer the big questions argued between DC comics fans. Who would win in a fight? The Dark Knight or the Man of Steel? A Run time of just under 3 hours, along with action packed trailers & TV spots, teased multiple battles before the hero’s inevitable union to take on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Abomination – Code name: Doomsday.

Overview

This is a good movie and an improvement on the Superman picture that came before it. DC & Warner Bros have brought a fan favourite storyline (or 2. #Spoiler) to the big screen with their current Superman and an excellent incarnation of the Batman. However, in a rush to bring the DC Extended Cinematic Universe to everyone’s attention, they’ve tried to pack too much into what could have been an amazing film, taking focus away from the title character’s conflict.

 

Rating: 4 Grenades.

 

The Good

Batfleck. By far the best part of the movie. The casting of Ben Affleck caused the internet to explode in outrage, similarly to the casting of Heath Ledger as the Joker. We were wrong then, too, people. Affleck delivers a dark, brooding and vengeful performance. This incarnation of Batman feels responsible for the death of dozens of employees. Perhaps because he wasn’t there to help them. Or perhaps because, even if he were there, could the aging Gothamite really prevent 2 Gods from destroying Metropolis. The bat brandings add a cruelty to Batman that fits within the tone of the movie. Comic book batman may be adverse to killing or using guns, but he’s never been afraid of inflicting a great deal of pain on his victims, often breaking bones. The Brands aren’t too much of a stretch.

Henry Cavill also put in a solid performance. His Superman may not be a fan favourite, but that’s a result of the writers and directors. The work he does with the story given to him is better than can be expected.  

The Bad

The entire movie screams PANIC. Ever since The Incredible Hulk & Iron Man 2008, marvel have gradually built a cinematic empire culminating in the record breaking Avengers movies and their own hero-on-hero battle due to take place later this year. Captain America: Civil War. DC began their Cinematic universe with the underwhelming Man of Steel. Instead of trying to establish this character and address some fan issues from Man of Steel with a well thought out sequel, they’ve opted to bring in their most popular cinematic hero, Batman. On top of that, they’ve forced the inclusion of 4 other Justice League members and hinted at the plot of their ensemble movie due for release in 2017. In doing so, they’ve taken away focus from what could have been a much better movie had they been patient enough to lead the characters in gradually.

 

The Ugly

 **Spoilers**

Characterisations – one of the biggest issues with the fans is the depiction of their favourite DC heroes. There were criticisms of the current Superman in Man of Steel. We’ve seen the same character in this movie. Dark and brooding. Even willing to kill criminals when not completely necessary.

Batman, while almost perfect, is too eager to kill criminals and use guns. Not only is this going against one of the most important parts of the character’s comic book personality, but will have an impact on a successful adaption of Under the Hood. This seems like the intention with an older Batman and a dead Robin part of the continuity. But with Red Hood demanding that Bats kills the Joker… what’s to stop him when he’ll kill any low level criminal in his way.

Doomsday and The Death of Superman (I said Spoilers)

There were always going to be rumours of this famous story line sneaking in to the movie. But trying to put this into a movie labelled as Batman v Superman and introducing 4 other justice league members as well as introducing a new take on Lex Luthor… surely it would be too much for a single film. Alas, they threw this in right at the very end without any time for any of the other characters to come to terms with it and immediately teased his resurrection.

 The Trailer

 

As we know, the trailer gave away far too much of the movie’s plot. Zack Snyder teased that we didn’t know the half of it, but, in truth we did. Marvel & Disney seem to have a better grip on their trailers. We know very little about Civil War and we knew next to nothing about the Force awakens. Yet fans flocked in their masses to see the latter. And the former is sure to be a huge success. Warner Brothers and DC need to hold their cards closer to their chest for the Justice League.

 

If SHG made BvS: DoJ

 

Under SHG’s control, this film would have been billed as a Man of Steel sequel, with Lex Luthor (Bryan Cranston) being the main antagonist of the first trailer. Possibly wearing the mech suit towards the end to offer Superman a physical challenge. The second trailer, ambiguously unveils Batman as Superman’s main rival in the movie. A Brief appearance similar to that of Spiderman’s in Civil War, but with a much darker tone. Superman has to try to defend metropolis from Lex whilst protecting himself from Batman who wants to bring him down following his exploits in Man of Steel. Lex is defeated in the first act but watches the following battles between Bats & Supes with a vested interest, all the while creating Doomsday from the corpse of Zod. The final act ends with Batman in a position to kill Superman but sparing his life when discovering he has an earth mother, a dead earth father and a fiancé in Lois lane. He is as much of a man as and has more to lose than Bruce Wayne. Batman helps him to his feet but warns Superman to keep on the right path.
Cliff-hanger ending – Lex is furious that Batman didn’t kill Superman when he had the chance. Final shot of the film is Lex waking Doomsday (who would actually look like comic book Doomsday).