Since the first trailer for "Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice" debuted, the film has been touted as 'the greatest gladiator...
Since the first trailer for "Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice" debuted, the film has been touted as 'the greatest gladiator match of all time' -- son of Krypton versus Bat of Gotham. Unfortunately, the actual "fight" between the iconic superheroes only chews up about five total minutes of screen time while the rest of the movie is filled with lackluster back story and an evil genius hell bent on destroying Superman without much reason.Without giving away any serious spoilers that haven't already been revealed in trailers -- "Batman V. Superman" picks up in the aftermath of the battle between Superman and General Zod that nearly toppled all of Metropolis as the goliaths went to war and it was people living in the city who truly paid the highest cost.
Among those who survived was billionaire Bruce Wayne, who has already been Batman for the past 20 years according to the story, but he watches one of his buildings crumble to the ground with little girls left crying for their mothers who were buried inside.
It's not hard to connect the dots why Batman would be upset with Superman -- he fought with another ultra-powerful alien and a lot of people died as a result. Seeing that kind of power unleashed would likely scare anybody so it appears to be an easy sell why Batman is interested in knowing more about Superman but the exploration and eventual showdown between the two characters takes far too long to unfold over the two and a half hour movie.
Instead, the crux of the movie takes place in three parts -- Batman investigating Superman, Superman defending himself against allegations that he's doing more harm than good, and another spotlight on Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg), who has a serious grudge against the "Man of Steel" and he's making it a mission to tear him down.
The movie feels pieced together in that way as three different entities all have varying agendas and when they finally clash together it doesn't feel organic.
Now it's not to say that there aren't positive parts of "Batman V. Superman", particularly in the moments when Gal Gadot shows up and eventually reveals herself as Wonder Woman. For all the excitement about Batman and Superman appearing in a film together, the most jaw-dropping moment is when Wonder Woman finally reveals herself and jumps into the fray alongside the other two heroes.
Ben Affleck is the other standout performer as he picks up the mantle as Bruce Wayne/Batman. There was a lot of concern from fan boy nation that Affleck would flub up the role just like he managed to do as "Daredevil" but rest assured, this is a part he was made to play -- a gritty, elder Batman who has seen far too much crime for far too many years and it's left him jaded and alone.
The action sequences in the movie aren't bad but they also don't jump off the screen the way Christopher Nolan managed to do during "The Dark Knight" trilogy or how Marvel has perfected the big battle scene in movies like "The Avengers" or "Captain America: The Winter Soldier". The other problem is there aren't nearly enough fight scenes to fill a typical popcorn movie like this one with the majority of the battles taking place in the latter part of the film and then that's the only thing that happens.
Ultimately, "Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice" plays like a prequel setting up the larger DC Universe that's about to unfold at Warner Bros. as they look to go head-to-head with Marvel and their impressive slate of films. It feels like every sequence or interaction is just a precursor to the eventual revelation of the Justice League movie that begins filming in early April.
All that said, "Batman V. Superman" is still worth seeing -- there are plenty of eye-popping moments with comic book MacGuffins threaded throughout. The problem is for all the good things that happen in "Batman V. Superman" chances are you'll leave the theater thinking they could have done so much more.
"Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice" is in theaters nationwide beginning Friday, March 25.
via foxsports
No comments