Film Review: "Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice"

Christian Burns 

For The Clock 

cab1031@plymouth.edu

Who would win a fight between a solar-powered, god-like alien and a billionaire detective with unlimited resources?

Logic dictates that the extremely powerful Superman would crush the weaker Batman. But Batman’s unlimited resources and excellent strategy give him a sizeable advantage.

Surely this battle will never appear on the big screen. After all, a comic book movie with superheroes teaming up could never actually happen. Right?

The Marvel Cinematic Universe changed everything. It proved that you could not only create a series of linked films based on superheroes, but said films could actually be… good. With the massive critical and commercial success that was “The Avengers,” the beautiful monster thatisthe modern comic-book movie industry was born. 

DC noticed, and panicked. Marvel and Disney were becoming the premier comic book moviemakers, leaving DC and Warner Bros. in their brightly colored dust.

DC announced their cinematic universe, starting with 2014’s “Man of Steel”, the first Superman movie in seven years. While it was commercially successful, critical response was mixed at best.

But with Marvel continuing to see success with their formula, DC rushed their plans. Instead of releasing individual films to introduce a slew of heroes, DC planned to release a Justice League film sooner rather than later.

First, they needed to introduce at least one more superhero in a film. “Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice” was born, with the intention of introducing the rest of DC’s Trinity, Batman and Wonder Woman, and setting the groundwork for “Justice League”. They did that. But did they do it well?

This movie has been highly divisive amongst comic book fans, with some calling it the greatest comic book movie ever, and others claiming that it destroyed both characters. Critics have been less divisive, panning the film. And while this film is not irredeemable, it certainly doesn’t deserve much praise.

The acting is fine (with the one exception being Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor), and the writing is serviceable. Some characters, especially Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) were done fairly well. The action scenes, though few, are good, and there is space leftfor character development.

The film takes several missteps along the way. It could have gone in two directions. It could have been an active, colorful, exciting romp that showcased the abilities of the superheroes, while having them unite against a common enemy.

This is a very stereotypical formula, but one that works well.While some of those elements are present, the film is certainly not colorful. Or an action-filled showcase. Or fun.

Instead, the film chooses to focus on the consequences of Superman’s actions in “Man of Steel”, in which he essentially destroys Metropolis during his fight with Zod.

This is a wise, self-aware approach for the film to take, but then completely ruined by doing the exact same thing during the film’s climax. Buildings destroyed, people killed, and no lessons learned by the characters or the filmmakers.

The film also manages to destroy the long-held ideals and character traits of both Superman (Henry Cavill) and Batman (Ben Affleck). During no point in the film are we truly able to sympathize with Superman’s point of view.

We are repeatedly shown that Superman is performing good deeds, and that he is a symbol of hope for many, but never do we actually feel that through his actions.

By the time the end of the film comes around, we have never truly been able to care about the character as a person. Instead, he’s simply an allegory of Jesus Christ upon our planet, as he was in “Man of Steel”.

This makes him an uninteresting bore of a character. He doesn’t represent the beacon of hope, compassion, and sympathy for the human condition that the original character radiates.

Batman, on the other hand, is mostly faithful to his comic book origin (which is shown once again, despite the public’s over familiarity with it).

Said origin is vital to the conclusion of the film, in one of the most ridiculous decisions that the movie makes. And while the movie does act to set up the “Justice League” films, it does so in perhaps the worst way possible.

For a fan of Superman or Lex Luthor, this film is terrible. For a fan of Batman, it is tolerable. For a fan of Wonder Woman, this film isn’t that bad. And for an action-packed superhero movie fan…go rewatch “Deadpool” and wait for this to come out on DVD. Hopefully “Suicide Squad” and “Justice League” are better than this.

COURTESY PHOTO