Where do I begin? Anyone who follows this blog will know that I am a huge Marvel fan. Having said that, I very much enjoyed the recent Bale/Nolan Batman movies and have been a life-long fan of Superman - up to the release of Man of Steel. For anyone who missed my thoughts on that you can read them here.
Despite my loathing of Man of Steel, and despite my trepidation for what Ben Affleck would bring to the role of Batman/Bruce Wayne, I wanted to see Batman V Superman. After all, I cannot critique a movie I have not seen. And after seeing said movie, I can tell you I didn't hate it.
That's not to say I liked it, there was a lot that I took issue with. The continued underdevelopment of Clark Kent as a character, some absolutely appalling dialogue that made me angry rather than just having me shaking my head, and some very unnecessary dream sequences. But on the whole, it was a much better movie than Man of Steel.
Ben Affleck actually isn't awful in the Bruce/Batman role. But Christian Bale he is not. So you really have to go in there with a fresh slate in mind. If you can do that, he does an admirable job. Gal Gadot was surprisingly good in the Diana Price/Wonder Woman role, even if she doesn't have a lot of time to create those much needed foundations for her character (this is still a Zack Snyder movie after all). All those reviews that say this is 3+ movies rolled into one, are all correct. But it's watchable. Even enjoyable in parts.
For me, Jesse Eisenberg didn't work at all as Lex Luthor. And I'm not one of those people who thinks he's annoying in everything he's in. I grew up watching Lex Luthor being portrayed as a very powerful man. He may not match Superman in physical strength, but you always felt he was fiercely intelligent and matched him in other ways. I do not feel this about Eisenberg's portrayal. And I do think that is one major chink in the movie's armor.
I am trying to keep this review as spoiler free as possible, so I will end with this. There is a moment at the end of the film where you are compelled to feel something for Superman. I say Superman because in this Snyder led world there is only really Superman, because he's not bothered to introduce us to Clark at all (we're two movies in and I still don't feel I know Clark at all in this universe).
As I sat there, knowing that I was supposed to feel something, I recalled all of the previous versions of Clark that I have known and loved, and I did feel the thing they were striving for. But it was not as a result of the writing or directing that made me feel those emotions, but rather the memories of the Clark's that came before. Because ultimately, the way to make your audience care about Superman is to have them fall in love with Clark. Maybe not in the traditional sense, I'm not saying that all the little boys who looked up to Superman were really in love with Clark, but what I mean is that without introducing Clark to the world, a guy we can all sympathise with and connect with, the world doesn't care about Superman.
Someone really needs to explain this to the writers before they make their Justice League movie. If you don't get to know the men and women behind the masks and capes and tights, you're not going to care about the invulnerable heroes either.
After thinking about this a lot in the hours that followed my viewing of BvS, I decided to re-watch Lois and Clark, the TV show that really solidified my love of Clark Kent, and in turn Superman. The special effects may not have held up but the storytelling certainly has, the characterisation, especially of Clark, has. I just wish Zack Snyder and David Goyer had watched that, or any of the preceeding Superman movies before they made the monstrosity that was Man of Steel, and continuing their legacy of under-appreciating their characters further in Batman V Superman.
A 'better than Man of Steel' but still disappointing 6 out of 10.
Viewing Date - 28th March 2016
UK Release Date - 25th March 2016
Cast Overview:
Ben Affleck ~ Bruce Wayne/Batman
Henry Cavill ~ Clark Kent/Superman
Amy Adams ~ Lois Lane
Jesse Eisenberg ~ Lex Luthor
Diane Lane ~ Martha Kent
Laurence Fishburne ~ Perry White
Jeremy Irons ~ Alfred
Holly Hunter ~ Senator Finch
Gal Gadot ~ Diana Prince/Wonder Woman
Michael Shannon ~ General Zod
Kevin Costner ~ Jonathan Kent
Director ~ Zack Snyder
Writer(s) ~ Chris Terrio, David S Goyer (Written By).
Bob Kane and Bill Finger (Batman Created By)
Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster (Superman Created By)
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