Showdown's review of Batman v Superman : Dawn of Justice
Just saw the movie this weekend, and here are my thoughts. Before I begin, I just want to point out that this review is just my opinion about this movie. It is not to change or challenge anyone's opinion on this movie. I am okay if anyone agree or disagree this film is good or bad. My brother and I like most of Zack Snyder's films, even those with mixed reviews, so we hyped for this movie. One of us wore a Batman t-shirt and the other wore Superman t-shirt to the movie theater. With that out of the way....
Batman v Superman is freaking AWESOME!!! Thumbs up. A+
Parts of the movie I love...
- Bruce Wayne's point of view of Superman's battle with Zod. It shows the shear destruction and fear normal people feel about the battle. The way Bruce just glared at the Kryptonians speaks volumes of loss and anger.
- The interactions between the DC trinity. Bruce/Clark's and Bruce/Diana's dialogs are great. Clark seems to only getting used to the whole dual identity personas, clearly angered by Bruce's words, while Bruce mastered it, seperating them, and being a different person. I like Bruce's taunt, calling Superman a freak dressed like a clown. They don't intimidate each other in the slightest. Bruce and Diana have a spy vs spy vibe, when getting data from Luthor. I want to see more interaction between Superman and Wonder Woman.
- The action sequences. Wow, were they ever intense. From Batman's car chase scene, to Superman vs Batman, to Batman's fight in the warehouse, to the Trinity vs Doomsday. I laughed when Batman was punching Superman and the kryptonite wore off. I cheered when Superman and Wonder Woman tag teamed Doomsday.
- I perfer this version of kyrptonite. It weakens Superman, but don't knock him out like in other versions. Usually, kyrptonite turns him useless. He's either a superhero or a super-zero (bad pun) with no in-between. Here he can still fly and fight, but severly weaken and probably in great amount of pain. That combined with being pummeled by an amored Batman finally took Superman out of the fight.
- Main characters accomplish their goals.
- In a way, Lex Luthor wins. He, a normal man, found a way to kill Superman with deceipt, manipulation, and mad science.
- Lois Lane defeats Luthor by finding the truth and expoisng his crimes through journalism.
- Batman defeats Superman using his determination, intelligence, and technology. He also talks of a legacy of making the world safe. He, alongside Superman and Wonder Woman stopped a powerful monster and plan to start the Justice League to ensure protection of the world. That will be his legacy.
- Superman sacrificed himself to protect others, echoing his adoptive father's sacrifice. From the first movie, Jor-El talks about an ideal to strive for. Superman showing humanity, not his god-like abilities, is what changed Bruce's feelings about him. And his sacrifice may have moved Bruce even more. After his ressurection, no doubt he will continue, even if it's one person at a time.
- Jonathan Kent's speech about being a hero is not always easy. Situations are complicted, not always black and white. Its better than the shcool bus incident.
Other Stuff...
- The dream sequences are an interesting way to get into Bruce's head and show us an apocalyptic future visually, without exposition.
- Seeing the rest of the meta-humans was cool. We see Flash from a surveillance video. Aquaman is from a underwater probe. Aquaman looks like he was studying the probe, trying to figure out what it is, before destoying it. Cyborg was from a video journal. It is a good way to show how Lex knew who Superman and Batman are. I guess Lex hasn't gathered any data on Green Lantern yet, GL may not appear on Earth yet, or he don't consider GL to be a meta human, since his powers come from an alien ring and not apart of him.
- Advertising the upcoming films did not bother me. They did not bother me in Ironman 2 or Amazing Spiderman 2 either.
- When Batman was about to kill Superman, he was thinking his parents death taught him to force the world to make sense. We know he was thinking aoubt them, how they were killed senslessly. He also mention Superman not being a man, not being human, but a dangerous monster. He was going to eliminate another threat, to avenge those who died, to continute to avenge his parents. He was at the tipping point, about to cross the moral event horizon, and part of him knew it. When Superman tells him to save Martha, Batman was blind sided. His world view was flipped upside down. A monster caring for someone else? He was thinking of his parents, so his mom is first Martha that popped in his head. It was an internal battle inside his head, is inner demons vs his humanity. When Lois tells him Martha is Superman's mother, he figured it out. Batman stood there, letting it all sink in. All this time he thought Superman was the villain, like Joe Chill, who kills people, but Batman himself is the villain. He was the Joe Chill here, and Clark and Martha are the victums like his family. He then tries to make amends to not only Superman, but also his parents, by saving Superman's mother.
Characters
- Batman (Bruce Wayne)
Good work, Ben Affleck. This is one the best movie portrayls of the Dark Knight I ever seen. Here we have a grim, weary, damaged, Batman. His Batman is not a symbol, but his inner demons. The way he glanced at the Robin uniform, we can get the idea that, whatever bad happened to his sidekick, made him darker and more violent. We have a clear character arc from an anger and hatred to being a hero and having a purpose.
- Superman (Clark Kent)
While Henry Cavill's Superman was trying to find his place in the world in Man of Steel, now he is finding love and dealing with the consequences of MoS. His dad's warnings came true, and Clark is not handling it well. Glad to see Superman learning from his mistakes, trying to knock Doomsday into space. While not yet being the hope and inspiration for mankind yet, but still working on it. I hope they explore his journey from lost soul to Earth's greatest champion like Luke Skywalker's journey to Jedi Master. Maybe in a few movies this Clark Kent will truly deserve the mantle of Superman.
- Wonder Woman (Diana Prince)
I want more Wonder Woman. What little there was, I really liked. Gal Gadot was in the military and a pageant winner. Not bad for someone portraying Wonder Woman. When WW's theme song played when the DC trinity was united to fight Doomsday, I was excited.
- Lois Lane
I thought Lois' role would be just shoehorned in here just to add her in the movie, but I was wrong. Her investigating to incident in Africa ultimately incriminate Lex. Her character also gives Superman someone to talk to, and helps flesh out both characters. The little part with the bathtub scene wasn't just eye candy, but needed to shows more happier and playful sides of Clark.
- Alfred Pennyworth
Jeremy Irons was great and added much needed humor to the movie. His Afred does a lot for Batman, from helping develop gadgets and armor, to investigating crimes, and even controlling the Batwing.
- Lex Luthor Jr
Usually when two heroes meet, their enemies meet as well. Here they combined Lex Sr and the Joker. As Lex's son, he did a good job portraying his father ruthlessness alongside Joker's unpredictablity. At first, I thought he was an uneffective, weird, goofball that rambles on too much. When he taunted the Senator with Granny's peach tea and blew up part of Congress, I was shocked. Kidnapping Martha to blackmail Superman, made him a threat. Having his head shaved in prison, makes him look more like his dad. Maybe there's a parallel somewhere.
I can understand why many hated Snyder's Superman and Batman characters. They simply hate Snyder's style and/or the his version heroes. I understand, since I absolutely hated Fant4stic, Batman from Gotham Knight, and Deadpool from X-Men Origins Wolverine because they're not the heroes at all. When the WB hired Snyder (Watchmen) and Goyer (Blade & Dark Knight trilogy) I figured WB wanted a darker DC universe, so what I saw was no surprise. To me, Christopher Reeves is the quintessential Superman, and Henry Cavill, along with others, is a good alternate interpretation.
Is this movie flawless? No. Does it have problems? Yes, of course it has. In my opinion, everyone movie has some issues. I have issues with the Marvel and Avengers movies, but like MoS and BvS, the good far outweigh the bad, and my brother I had a blast. I can't wait for the Justice League movie, Suicide Squad, and others.