(Image Source: Google Images)
Now that Captain America Civil War is no longer in theaters here in our country, I can finally do a review of the movie Batman vs Superman (the movie’s full name is Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice). I was supposed to do this a few months back, but opted to wait until earnings for both Warner’s BvS and Disney’s Civil War are somewhat finalized.
Anyway, if one is to look at the financial aspect, MCU's (Marvel Cinematic Universe) Civil War is the clear winner since it broke the $1 billion mark – whereas DC's BvS only surpassed the $800 million threshold. This is actually not bad and all profit for Warner Bros, but still, it is considered a disappointment by some industry analysts since the movie was greatly anticipated by millions of fans.
A kiddie meal for a kiddie film
(Image Source: Google Images)
However, besides the financial aspect, let us look at things from a fan's perspective. As a former comic book collector, I am a fan of both brands. But when it comes to move transitions, I have always favored DC movies since I see the other as more inclined or what I consider as too kid-friendly (except for Deadpool).
Naturally, some readers would wonder why do I say this? The answer is actually quite simple. Let’s just say that every time I watch a Marvel film, I see it with my six year old son. But when I saw DC film in the movie theaters (The Dark Knight, Man of Steel, etc...), I am with my fellow friends of the same age group.
Disappointing or Unnecessary?
(Image Source: Google.com)
Anyway, let's move on with the review of Dawn of Justice. It is unfortunate to say that when we saw BvS, we are all confused for most part of the film (up until the epic clash between our superheroes and Doomsday).
Watching Batman v Superman left us somewhat disappointed (apologies for the strong description but I can't find a better term) as there are different parts of the movie that just didn't jive, didn't made sense, and can be left out. Anyway, to make my points clearer, below are of the instances that I am referring to.
(Image Source: Personal – created by jikZ to inform the reader that the following may contain spoilers)
1. The focus on the murder of Bruce's parents
(Image Source: Google Images)
The first one I’ll be discussing is the murder of Bruce Wayne's parents. Even though it is a pivotal moment in Bruce's life choices, almost every Batman fan already knew this. In fact, even the non-Batman fans know this particular even in hero's backstory.
Interestingly, the BvS film seemed to have given more focus to this than what is actually needed. Such scenes are long winded with a melancholic background sound. Granted that they wanted to show the impact of this on Bruce’s perception on the world and his mother’s name (Martha) to that of Clark Kent, it just seems that too long that what is needed.
I'm pretty sure that the people who saw Batman Vs Superman are already aware of Batman's past and would want to see something other than that.
2. Incoherent sequence of events
Strangely, BvS suffered from hard-to-follow sequence of events. At one point, where looking at Superman reading a newspaper headline involving Batman. He got enraged and all of a sudden he appeared in front of the Batmobile and stopped Batman from taking the kryptonite. Wait, What, Whoa! I know what you mean, I felt the same.
In another instance, we have Batman having a dream, cracking Luthor's code. Afterwhich, there was an exploding in a government building, Luthor goes home, and discovers that Batman stole the kryptonite.
Or what about the time where Diana Prince (Wonder Woman) stole Bruce’s gadget, who is in-charge of mining the leftover kryptonites, etc…
There’s just so many questions that only became weirder due to the incoherent sequence of events.
3. Scenes that didn’t made sense
(Image Source: Google Images)
Aside from hard to follow sequence of events, there are also some scenes that did not made sense. One great example is the supposed murder of villagers by Superman. There was no direct witness account stating that Superman killed the villagers. Why then is the government (and many other people) so focused on pinning the blame to Superman.
Another situation is the capture of Martha (Clark’s mom). We all know that Superman has super hearing, a single shout from Martha could have signaled her location to Superman.
Other notable scenarios that didn’t made sense are the following:
• Does Luthor know that Bruce is Batman?
• Why do the cheques of the injured security personnel bounced back to the Wayne company?
• Why does Luthor want Batman and Superman to fight? What is his grudge with the Dark Knight?
• Why does Batman brands the criminals he captures?
4. Great scenes already appeared in the trailers
Lastly, it’s sad to say that the trailers revealed too much. Thinking about it, the trailers already showed the great stuffs and the ones left out does not put any more excitement to the audience. It’s like the ones not shown on the trailers failed to grip or maintain the anticipation of the movie viewers.
Here is the trailer of the so-called BvS: Dawn of Justice Ultimate Edition. It is taken from YouTube is uploaded by Warner Bros itself.
It’s not all bad
The above mentioned items are the key factors why I am quite disappointed with the BvS film. But of course, the film also has a number of redeeming elements.
1. The Portrayal of the Actors
One of the redeeming factors of BvS is its ensemble cast. Some people say that Ben Affleck is not a good choice as Batman – and so is Jesse Eisenberg for the role of Luthor. I don’t know about those people, but personally, I love all the actors and give them thumbs up to the characters they portray.
2. The fight scenes
(Image Source: Google Images)
Yup, the fight scenes are awesome. Others say that they have overdone it, but c’mon people, we are talking about three super-powered beings clashing. It’s only natural that buildings collapse, windows get shattered, and explosions everywhere.
3. The Batmobile
What can I say, any Batman film should also have sufficient screen time for the Batmobile.
(Image Source: Google Images)
3.5 Stars
(Image Source: Personal – created by jikZ)
Overall, I would rate the film 3.5 stars out of 5. Although the Batman vs Superman movie suffered from some major hiccups, it still served as a good founding premise for upcoming DC films. Additionally, after the various bad reviews the movie has received, it can be assumed that the team behind it will take everything into consideration to provide a significantly better sequels.
That’s just about it. To end this blog, here’s the major cast of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice in ABC News. Clip is from YouTube and Uploaded by the news outlet itself.
