THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
If you’re gonna ask me the one movie I like but a lot of other viewers deeply dislike, my answer is likely going to be 2016’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
PLOT
The sequel to Man of Steel and second film of the DC Extended Universe continues 18 months after Kal El/Clark Kent saved the planet from a terraformed extinction, becoming the hero Superman in the process. Ever since that moment in history, he has been criticized for his actions that leveled both Metropolis and Gotham. Billionaire Bruce Wayne has grown to be more violent as the vigilante persona, The Batman, due to branding criminals. LexCorp mogul Lex Luthor wants to weaponize the mineral named 'kryptonite', which can weaken Kryptonian cells, in order to prepare for metahuman threats. However, he does not get approval of Senator June Finch (Holly Hunter). The Bat has been investigating Russian trafficker Anatoli Knyazev (Callan Mulvey), who has been contacting Luthor of 'The White Portuguese'. Ironically, Knyazev has recently framed Superman of murders in Africa. When Kent discovers the dark knight's actions, he wants to expose him via Daily Planet articles. Wayne is invited to a gala hosted by Luthor, which gives him the opportunity to steal encrypted data from the company's mainframe. He does encounter Kent and they have a minor dispute of their vigilante personas. When attempting to retrieve the data, it is taken from him by a woman named Diana Prince. She eventually returns it to him when she fails to find the information she was looking for. When he gets access, he discovers metahuman files and evidence that Prince is an immortal warrior, due to discovering a picture of her in WWI. He also discovers that the White Portuguese is a ship that is containing kryptonite. He plans to steal it from Luthor and use it against Superman. When discovering the shipment, he is only able to plant a tracker after Superman stops him from retrieving it. Luthor encounters Wallace Keefe (Scoot Mcnairy), who became paraplegic during Superman and Zod's conflict, and encourages him to be part of Finch's congressional hearing, where Superman will be confronted. However, Luthor smuggled a bomb in his wheelchair and it goes off, taking many lives. Superman would remain absent after the event, feeling guilty of not being able to stop it. When Wayne sees this on live television, he steals the kryptonite and plots his confrontation with the Kryptonian. Once Luthor discovers he was robbed, he moves forward with his backup plan. He enters the remaining Kryptonian ship and creates a genetically enhanced hybrid, mixed of his and Zod's DNA. Because of her presence in Africa, Lois Lane investigates a bullet she recovered from the crossfire. When going to Secretary Swanwick (Harry Lennix), she discovers that the bullet was made from LexCorp, implying that Luthor plotted to frame Superman in Africa. After the bombing, she is abducted by Knyazev and sent to Luthor. He pushes her off the top of his LexCorp but Superman returns in time to save her. When confronting the mogul, he demands him to kill Batman, in exchange of saving his foster mother Martha Kent (Diane Lane). Before the conflict, Wayne emails Prince and shows her her picture, along with the metahuman files. The files included a young adult with super speed, one who breathes underwater and another being resurrected with advanced technology. As Superman attempts to confront Batman of his discovery, he ignores him and the fight begins. Batman gains the upper hand when using a grenade launcher made of kryptonite. Before he could stab him with a spear of the same mineral, Clark cries 'Save Martha'. He freezes in confusion as his mother ironically has the same name. When Lois appears to explain this, he tosses the spear and decides to save her. After regaining his strength, he confronts Luthor but must deal with the newborn monster Luthor created. He collides with it and both are hit by a missile. The monster recovers before Superman, causing more wreckage in Metropolis and Gotham. Batman attempts to draw it to the spear and his Batwing crashes when it damages the ship with heat vision. He is aided by Prince and when Superman recovers, all three heroes align to defeat it. Lois had originally tossed the spear into a flooded stairwell and when realizing it'll defeat the monster, she jumps in to retrieve it. Superman helps her do so and he takes it, charging it right at the monster, stabbing it. But it stabs him back due to both being exposed by Kryptonite, leading both of them to die. Lois exposes Luthor of his crimes, leading to his imprisonment. The former mogul also warns Batman that something worse lis coming. After the funeral of Clark (and Superman), the film ends with Wayne and Prince agreeing to find the other metahumans.
THOUGHTS
The best way to describe my thoughts of this movie is through Pros and Cons.
PROS: When seeing this film in 2016, I actually enjoyed it as much as I do now. Zack Snyder gives some kind of balance on setting up the bigger picture while still trying to continue Superman's arc. Writers Chris Terrio and David S. Goyer were bold on providing so much in a sequel and it's a surprise that the franchise kept going after this, because it could've been a backfire if it didn't. The visuals are just as good as what we got in Man of Steel. The score done by Hans Zimmer and Junkie XL is incredible as it keeps the epic tone present. There were some plot holes and thankfully, the Ultimate Edition got us covered. There is a side story of the Africa incident, where Kahina Ziri (Wunmi Mosaku) calls out Superman for being reckless. When she reveals that Luthor paid her to lie of his actions, she gets killed by Anatoli, pushed into a train. There's even a side story of Clark visiting Gotham, researching the Batman and the bat brands. This leads to a discovery that Anatoli plots for people with bat brands to be assassinated. There's also a scene where Clark and Lois have a minor conversation/argument on how she didn't discuss of her trip to Washington for her research. That scene works because it shows how realistic of a couple they were. Lois' perspective gets fleshed out here as she meets Jenet Klyburn (Jena Malone) from STAR Labs. With her, it shows explanation on how the bullet Lois found was made of an unkown metal, leading to asking Swanwick to look into it. She also reveals that the wheelchair was made of lead, designed for Superman to not see it. Lois even visits Wally's house, realizing that he didn't know he would die. We even see Superman helping people escape the destruction of the explosion before disappearing, which works so well because that is in his nature. There is also a scene where Martha Kent gets picked up by the police after being saved by Batman. In the ending, we get a glimpse of Steppenwolf before Luthor is arrested. And lastly, Batman arranges for Luthor to be transferred to Akrham Asylum and pays for Clark's funeral. Would these scenes slow down the story? Maybe, but it's better than having plot holes that would confuse the audience. Back to the main stuff, this movie basically tackled the discrimination on Clark that Jonathan Kent had worried about, which I call clever foreshadowing in my opinion. I also respect it's attempt of realism where we get cameos of Nancy Grace, Jon Stewart, Anderson Cooper, Andrew Sullivan and Neil deGrasse Tyson to give a realistic approach if the Kryptonian was real. I thought that the fight lived to the hype for me, but Batman's warehouse fight is memorable for me because it's so well edited and it felt amazing how choreographed it appeared as if I was re watching gameplay from the video game Arkham Knight. My defense on the 'Save Martha' is simple: Batman spares Superman after this realization because he understands he is just as human or as Justice League implies, more human than him. I know that it was unnecessary to show off Flash, Cyborg and Aquaman but I gotta admit that it got me heavily excited for Justice League at the time. Going into the cast, Henry Cavill is just as good here as he first played Superman in Man of Steel. He's carrying more weight here because he is accepting the criticism his father warned him about while also calling out Batman for his actions because he believes he's gone too far. There's something special to understand here when seeing this situation play out: There will be times where people will forget the good you've done after one mistake or more, but it is up to you to unfaze yourself from the criticism and concentrate on why you do good in the first place. It is sad how he chose to sacrifice himself in order for the world to be saved, but it again comes to show how honorable of a hero he is. This loss may be temporary, but still surprising when it happened because seeing a hero die is the last thing you'd expect. Ben Affleck really surprised me as the Batman and he does great with it. He may not be Christian Bale, but he ain’t trying to be, he’s making his own depth and it works. You just sense that he is experienced as the caped crusader. It was definitely in his character to call out Superman because Batman is the kind of person that has to prepare for the worst with contingency plans. He was there during the disaster he made, so you can say he was terrified of him when he made his presence. The same is said on how he regrets his attitude towards him, which leads to his decision of forming the Justice League. You also have to find it badass that he runs into the fray during the opening, when everyone else panics. I even thought it was intense when the cop spots him in the corner of the room. Seeing him want to be a better hero shows that everyone can have the chance to improve. The only scene I give Jesse Eisenberg credit as Lex Luthor is during his confrontation with Superman. He is expressing his hatred of gods that influenced his hatred of Superman. An aspect of the character that's never been explored. When he blames god for not saving him from his father's abuse, I found it bold because you see that he still feels that pain. And he sells the line 'Now God bends to my will' because that is exactly something Luthor would say. Not once did I ever think to myself who would play Wonder Woman because I was never sure if she would ever come to the big screen. When Gal Gadot debuts as the iconic superhero, I don't see the actress at all, because I see the amazon princess, proving how great of a resemblance she has of her. When she joins the fight, she instantly becomes the best thing about this movie because her cinematic debut was long overdue. That alone hyped me up for her solo film in 2017. Had that one came out first, this movie probably would've had a better response. Seeing her casually hide herself from the public like Clark proves that she's more composed than him. She chose to join the fight after decades of absence because deep down, she still had a commitment to the greater good. In reality, it wouldn't be easy to trust someone like Batman when he could have a contingency plan for her if he wanted too, but it's better than trusting no one and luckily, he trusts her back. I honestly didn't mind Jeremy Irons at all as Alfred Pennyworth. I truly believed he was the wisest character because he's the only one to tell Wayne that he's wrong to fight Superman. I also think he and Affleck had good chemistry, expressing the dynamic between both characters. Amy Adams is still good here as Lois Lane and that is mainly due to the extended edition giving her a stronger presence. She does a good job expressing the character's determination. Lastly, I enjoyed Laurence Fishburne again for playing a realistic boss. It actually sounds realistic for a vigilante to be glossed over on newspaper headlines for other subjects. The scene where he argues with Kent is well acted because again, it feels realistic on what probably does go down at newspaper headquarters, besides The Paper or Spotlight.
CONS: While it was bold on what we got here, it can be too much to take. The biggest mistake here is the marketing because it is clearly more about a fight between the two biggest superheroes, as it is setting up the rest of the DC Extended Universe. They use elements of the comics that include 'The Dark Knight Returns, 'The Death of Superman', 'Birthright' and the New 52 arc of Justice League. I know getting excited about the bigger picture is common for a shared universe, but it doesn't feel contained compared to the MCU. I thought the 'Knightmare' scene was cool to see because I had an Injustice vibe when seeing it, but it only works when connecting to the Snyder Cut, a non canon film. Because of that movie not being canon, the scene doesn't work. The most pointless scene of the Ultimate edition goes to seeing Bruce Wayne taking a shower. Should I care about someone's hygiene in a movie? Hell no, because that does not drive the plot. I know that the death of Bruce's parents is what traumatized him so much that he would become the iconic vigilante we know him for today. But we didn't need it in the opening because we've seen it before in other adaptations of this character. I like Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Lauren Cohan but they are wasted in the most predictable moment of the whole film. I'll give it a pass as a flashback midway but not in the opening. While the visuals of the young Bruce falling are terrible, I am so confused on how and why the herd of bats were able to carry him out of the pit he fell out of. It was also unwise of him to leave his batarang behind at the crime scene. I know he's trying to tell Luthor 'fuck you' but I don't think it was worth it. I know Clark was off grid for a long time in his life, but for someone working in a newspaper company like the Daily Planet, than I find bullshit that he never knew who Wayne is. He's clearly the kind of guy who would reach the headlines every once in a while, despite being a Metropolis citizen because that proves how popular he is in this universe. I gave one good thing to say about Jesse Eisenberg, but he is still not the Lex Luthor I imagined, as he has no resemblance to the personalities that Gene Hackman, Michael Rosenbaum and Kevin Spacey accurately embraced. I respect going different, but that doesn't mean I'll like it. His approach of this psychotic billionaire felt too on the nose of a resemblance of Joker and the Riddler combined and that is not good. I find it confusing on how he found out Superman's identity (and Batman's in the extended edition). I know the movies has implied how smart he is, but I don't want to spend too long guessing when he figured that out. The reveal of Doomsday would've been cool if it wasn't spoiled in one of the trailers. The design is not entirely convincing for me. Grey skin? Check. Bones and claws surrounding his body? Check. White hair? Missing. I know that's the most nit picky I can say about the character but that was the accuracy I would expect when introducing an intimidating character like that. I gave a defense on the 'Save Martha' scene, but there is an offense. I don't understand why Superman calls his mother by her first name, it just makes no sense and creates unnecessary tension. I know Lois wanted to save Clark by getting rid of the spear by throwing it into the flooded stairwell. But it was pointless and stupid because Batman already threw it far enough to not harm him, which leads to more unnecessary tension. Lastly, I thought seeing the dirt rise was a cool visual moment that would Superman would be resurrected but it is sadly now pointless because Justice League retcons it. Overall, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is a movie that is in the middle where it is far from great but far from terrible. If you enjoyed Man of Steel than hopefully, you’ll enjoy this too
Comments