Decades of build up, Years of hype. It’s a strange thing that Batman v Superman is the first time we ever see the two title characters on screen together in the cinema, despite their countless appearances in comics and animated shows as a duo or as part of the Justice League.
Directed by Zack Snyder (300, Watchmen), Written by Chris Terrio (Argo) and starring the likes of Ben Affleck as Batman, Henry Cavill as Superman and Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor, there is certainly some talent behind the making of this big budget behemoth.
World’s Finest
But Alas, our waiting has come to an end. So how does DC’s finest fair? The answer is not very well. Not very well at all. While the film is somewhat entertaining at times, I mean Batman does fight Superman after all, It’s mostly a confusing, messy, unnecessarily dark film that makes literally no sense at all. It’s not a bad film by any means, it’s just ‘okay’. It’s the wasted potential that makes it such a disappointment. There are some positives, the film looks good. All Synder films tend to, there are typically epic moments with Superman and wonderfully terrifying scenes with Batman. Synder does of good job of using Sound and Visual cues to present his characters. Affleck is by far the best on screen Batman and Bruce Wayne we’ve ever seen, Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman was a plus too. I did also like Zimmer’s score for Wonder Woman and Lex Luthor.
Batman v Superman v Wonder Woman v Bad Script v CGI Monster
The film has countless flaws though. The kind that, the more you think about, the more it frustrates you, a distinct lack of humour and poor use of any existing humour. Flat one dimensional characters who’s motivations aren’t clear. Too many random dream sequences, comic book references and easter eggs, so many in fact a movie goer could never understand what the hell was going on unless they had read at least 50 DC comics in the last 20 years. The editing is shoddy, it’s clear the Ultimate Edition R Rated cut we’ll see released on blu ray was the final version, but had to be cut even shorter for cinematic release. Many scenes are ridiculously short, lasting less than a minute. The film is so concerned about setting up 8 other DC films that it forgets to be a good film on it’s own. I think a lot of people are at fault for the film’s failure to be entertaining or even good. Personally I’m pointing fingers at the Studio for cramming more than a student the night before their A-Levels and the writers for a piss poor, lazy script. It hardly measures up to recent comic book films like Deadpool or even Ant-Man, and you’ll find yourself having even less fun watching it.
THE VERDICT.
The film isn’t completely awful by any means, it’s no Fantastic Four or Batman & Robin. But Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is barely a good film, it’s only enjoyable factors are seeing the best version of Batman we’ve ever seen as well as heart pumping cameo of Wonder Woman. It has it’s cool moments, but those cool moments are worth less than 30 minutes of the film, the other 2 hours is mostly garbage. Yes, convoluted nonsensical garbage that tries to be smart and takes itself too seriously.
Our Rating: 5/10
Words By Levi Eddie Aluede