BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF
JUSTICEÂ (12)
D: Zach Snyder
Warner Bros/Ratpac-Dune/DC (Charles Roven & Deborah
Snyder)
USA 🇺🇸 2016
151 mins
Action/Science Fiction/Fantasy
W: Chris Terrio & David S. Goyer [based on characters from
DC Comics]
DP: Larry Fong
Ed: David Brenner
Mus: Hans Zimmer & Junkie XL
Ben Affleck (Bruce Wayne/Batman), Henry Cavill (Clark
Kent/Superman), Amy Adams (Lois Lane), Jesse Eisenberg (Lex Luthor), Diane Lane (Martha Kent), Jeremy Irons (Alfred Pennyworth), Laurence Fishburne (Perry White), Holly Hunter (Senator June
Finch), Gal Gadot (Diana Prince/Wonder Woman)
*SPOILERS*
So who wins???
In all honesty, Marvel win, and if DC comic properties are
going to continue being tarnished by Zach Snyder it won't even be a close contest.Â
Considering the film is called Batman v Superman, the fight
itself is such a small percentage of the screen time that it might as well just be called Dawn Of Justice, but Snyder even fucks that up, because he's a clueless piece-of-shit
director.
Throwing needless character upon needless character into the
story, the film spends almost two hours creating a tension between Batman & Superman due to their conflicting ideologies, but when the fight does finally materialise, it's all due to Lex
Luthor being a dick, manipulating their differences as a diversionary tactic so he can create a superior creature without distraction. In fairness, the entirety of the first and second act are
completely throwaway. Seriously, just skip the first 90 minutes and watch the action unfold from there.
The action scenes are reasonably well done, with some nifty
visual effects and the introduction of Wonder Woman kicks ass. Unfortunately, it's so boring before you get to this point, it's hard to empathise with the characters, negating any emotion that
comes within the scene. It's just a huge mess.
When casting decisions were announced, there was much derision
over the choice of Ben Affleck as Batman, but it has to be said that he does okay, despite the terrible script. Henry Cavill also looks the part as Superman, but what Snyder has done with the
character is just horrible. Amy Adams is a weak link, lacking the sass which made Lois Lane such a great character in the comics, and she's reduced to a one-dimensional damsel in distress here.
As said above, Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman is a great addition, but her alter ego's introduction goes on for way too long when there's too many other pointless characters getting in the way of
story development. The worst casting decision, however, and by a country mile, is Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor, who plays the part in the exact same way he played Mark Zuckerberg in The Social
Network, although with a loud of nervous tics which seem to emphasis the manic sense of mind, but he's just too obnoxious and irritating. A completely wrong approach since Luthor is the evil
brains to match Superman's heroic brawn.
I'm getting into SPOILER territory now, so if you've not seen
the film yet, or Justice League, stop reading now...
As a huge fan of the first two Christopher Reeve Superman
movies, I'm incredibly disappointed with what Snyder had done with the character in Man Of Steel and this film, and to kill him off in this just to bring him back in the next film is really poor
storytelling. If you're gonna do it, commit to it. Don't hint at drama just to do a complete 360. It's literally the definition of "deus ex machina".
There are some who felt this was an improvement on Man Of
Steel. I, however, consider it much, much worse. Easily the biggest disappointment of 2016.
3/10