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| (Warner Bros.) |
Release Date: March 25, 2016
Starring: Henry Cavill, Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Amy Adams, Jesse Eisenberg, Jeremy Irons, Laurence Fishburne, Diane Lane
(I'm gonna be trying out a new movie reviewing technique with this one, so bear with me. Or BAT with me? I don't know.)
So, after that revealing trailer, Zack Snyder's snide remarks, and reading a handful of mostly negative reviews for Batman v. Superman, I was bracing myself to hate this movie. And...I kinda liked it. Emphasis on kinda. Let's break it down!
Story: You'd think it'd be simple and straightforward, right? Bruce Wayne, having witnessed the destruction Superman can inflict firsthand, sets out on a one-man crusade to bring down the Man of Steel. At the same time, Superman is investigating the Batman and sets out to bring him down. That sounds like a meaty enough idea to make a pretty compelling, fun movie. But apparently, to Zack Snyder, that's not good enough. There are so many story arcs and side quests in this movie. More than there needs to be. Some of them go nowhere, some are too convoluted. Some examples: It seemed like this movie would see Superman deal with the consequences of his battle with Zod. And it does! But then it abruptly forgets about it for the rest of the movie. Lex Luthor's evil plan is way too elaborate and has too many pieces that it's very hard to keep track of. Why not stick to the conflict between Batman and Superman? Even though it seems forced and there just because it's the title of the movie (But it's actually awesome, more on that in a bit). So I'm afraid Batman v. Superman fails in the story department.
Star earned? No way.
Characters/Acting: Yes, Ben Affleck is great, both as Bruce Wayne and Batman. His performance is much different than Christian Bale's, so I'm not going to say whether I think Affleck was better or not. But I honestly, think Affleck, and this version of Batman, was the strongest element of the film. Henry Cavill's still fine as Superman, and I really liked Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman. She's not in the movie that much, but she definitely made me excited for her solo movie next year. Was it exciting seeing all three characters in action together? You betchya. The rest of the cast were mostly weak links, besides Jeremy Irons as Alfred. He's cool. There were times when I thought Jesse Eisenberg was doing a great job as Lex Luthor. But then he did some thing quirky or something and it blew it for me. Just tone it down a bit, Jesse. Do that and you should be good. The film struggles to find something for Amy Adams' Lois Lane to do. She a damsel in distress for most of it, but any attempt to make her more than that fails. She does have one fantastic moment, though.
Star Earned? You know what? How about a half star?
Action: The action is actually really great. The fight between Batman and Superman, Batman beating up all those thugs in the warehouse, the Superman/Batman/Wonder Woman team-up. They're all an absolute thrill to watch.
Star Earned? Oh yeah!
"Movie Magic": Hans Zimmer and Junkie XL's score is awesome. I especially liked the theme for Wonder Woman. On a visual level, this movie is fine. There's some great cinematography here and there, but the film has this very dismal look to it, like it's taking itself way too seriously. And the visual effects? Sometimes they're good, sometimes not. Costumes, fine. Production design, good.
Star earned? Half.
Entertainment: You know what? Despite some slow patches and all those story problems, I was still entertained for most of this 2 and a half hour movie. And that definitely counts for something.
Star Earned? Sure.
Rating: 3 stars out of 5
I'd say if you're not totally invested in seeing this movie, wait till it's out on DVD. But if you liked Man of Steel and are a huge DC fan, I think you'll really like it.
I'm not the biggest DC fan, so I thought it was OK. Not terrible, but still very, very flawed. It also got me excited for the upcoming films on DC's agenda.
Noah
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