FILM REVIEW - Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
By The Masked Medic
Oh wow, I can’t believe I have another film review for you guys so soon. So listen. I have seen this film over 10 times; it was my comfort film at uni, and it got a stupid level of hate. It might still get hate, but I don’t really care because I’ve waited a long time to write this review. Now that DC is doing well, I felt it was time to return to what could have been and watched the second film in the DCEU!
‘Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice’ starts where ‘Man of Steel’ left off. Only this time, it shows the chaos in Metropolis from the viewpoint of Bruce Wayne. Witnessing the effects that the fight between Superman and Zod brought, Wayne is immediately enraged and vows to never let something like that happen again. Several months later, during an interview with a warlord dictator, Lois is saved by Superman, and in the ensuing destruction, questions are raised if Superman should be allowed to do all these things. Naturally, a US Government committee is created, and they begin to discuss the topic. It’s here that we are introduced to eccentric businessman Lex Luthor, who’s looking to gain influence with these senators in order to carry out some shady plans. Whilst this is going on, in sister city, Gotham, criminals are being beaten up and branded by the Batman. Essentially seeing it as a death sentence, it appears that those who have the mark are deliberately being targeted and murdered in prison, and those deaths are being attributed to Batman’s actions. Clark, in his now second year of being a reporter for the Daily Planet, continues to be intrigued by these stories, believing that it’s far more important that he report what’s happening in Gotham compared to the trivial assignments he’s getting. Whilst Superman is getting grilled publicly, Batman’s investigation into Lex Luthor heralds some very surprising information, which seems to inevitably set the scene for a showdown between the Man of Steel and the Dark Knight. Can the two heroes come to some sort of understanding between themselves? Or is someone pulling the strings behind the scenes?
We have some returning cast members, so I’ll speak about them first. Henry Cavill returns as Clark Kent/Superman. If you thought the guy was having a tough time in ‘Man of Steel’, this film ramps up his misery. I’d say that compared to the first film, there are fewer moments where we get to see a range from Cavill, which I think, given the fact that this film is supposed to be a sequel, is a little disappointing. Alongside him is Amy Adams, who plays Lois Lane. Now I’m not saying this because I generally am not a fan of her, but she is by far the least believable Lois Lane I’ve seen. Laurence Fishburne also returns as a grumpier Perry White. But enough about those guys, let’s talk newcomers. I’ll start with a performance I thought was heavily underrated: Jeremy Irons as Alfred Pennyworth. Now we’ve had a couple of sassy Alfreds before, but this guy cracked me up with his mutterings. I felt he was more in line with the comic book version of the character and deserved more exposure. The addition of Wonder Woman to the film was a nice surprise. No comments about the acting there. We have to talk about our antagonist, Lex Luthor, played by Jesse Eisenberg. Now we all know Eisenberg has this quirky style, and he definitely brings that to his performance in this film. Over the years, there has been a lot of criticism for the way he played this role, and some argued that he gave less Lex Luthor and more Riddler energy. I am one of those people. I didn’t hate it, I just felt like it was too much for the plot of the film. Okay, enough about the rest. Let’s talk standout performance. There was a clear winner: Ben Affleck as Bruce Wayne/Batman. I’ve been a Batman fan since I was 16. I loved the cartoons, I loved the comics, and I loved all the films. I will stand by this opinion; Affleck was the only actor ever to get the dichotomy of the character just right. He may not be the most detective Batman, but in terms of raw power and presence, just wow!
I remember watching ‘Batman v Superman’ in the cinema when it first came out; it was a birthday treat. In the months that followed, I had to hear all sorts of jibes about how DC didn’t know what it was doing. When the Director’s cut came out several months later, some of those voices died down. There was criticism from both casual filmgoers and hardcore comic book fans. Let me add some of my own. I felt that the film jumped a lot from scene to scene, and in that ensuing chaos, it was easy to get confused as to why these two powerhouses were doing what they were doing. Although the Ultimate Edition filled in some of the gaps, I still think the very famous ‘Martha’ scene moved very quickly. A small qualm as a comic book fan (and this is a SPOILER), I didn’t like that Dick Grayson was the dead Robin. That being said, I really, really loved this film. Some of my praise will come in the next paragraph, but I loved the casting and the intricacies of the scenes. Ultimately, it is a comic book film, and this next point is the hill I will die on. This film gave us character development in a way that no other Superhero film has. Superman stands for hope, Batman stands for justice, and Wonder Woman stands for truth. But in this film, we get to see a Superman that loses hope, a Batman that has stopped being just, and a Wonder Woman who no longer wants to tell her truth - before they return to those principles. I loved the way that Snyder achieved that. I’m still excited for what the DCU has in store for us, but for that moment in 2016, I was starry eyed. And after all these years, the film holds up for me!
Let’s talk cinematography. Zack Snyder has a distinct style, and I’ve always felt that it was well suited to this genre. His confidence with the success of ‘Man of Steel’ clearly inspired him to up his game. There was one particular scene in the film, which I still rank at this moment in time, as the best comic book scene ever. I also have to give a shout out to the costume designers. I refuse to hear the ‘Fatman’ jokes. That Batman suit was the most comic-accurate suit we’ve had, and his movement was perfect. In terms of music, can you ever go wrong with Hans Zimmer? That’s a rhetorical question btw, the answer is obviously no. The opening score was almost going to be my wedding entrance music. Overall, as you can probably tell, I love this film. Enough to block out the haters. Thank you for coming to my TED talk!
Rating:
Story: ★★★★
Acting: ★★★½
Cinematography: ★★★★½
Music: ★★★★
Enjoyability: ★★★★½