Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice

Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice is a film of highs and lows -- peaks and valleys. 

In almost every aspect of the film there are moments where it shines so brightly that it's likely to be some of the best stuff you see in a theater this year. But those moments are often snuffed out by other creative decisions that are random, poor, confusing, or a frustrating combination of all three. It's a film that bit off more than it could chew, does a decent job managing it all, though I couldn't help think that there was a way this same story could have been told much better.

BvS isn't the disaster that so many critics have wrongly claimed it is -- there's too much here that's great. Instead it's a film that the general public all cautiously wanted to become a new superhero classic, and in that regard it disappoints.

Given the film is so consistently at odds with itself, this will be my first "uniquely" formatted review in a while. 

Next year on FX: The People vs. Superman

Plot -- I liked Man of Steel more than most, though I admit I overrated it in my initial review. A significant "win" from BvS is that it retroactively makes Man of Steel a slightly better movie as it directly addresses my complaint about the first film's irresponsible destruction. BvS starts with that same attack, but from Bruce Wayne's (Ben Affleck) perspective. It's here that we fully realize why Batman might want to put an end to Superman as the film treats this event much like a terrorist attack and these first moments are chock-full of 9/11 imagery. Buildings collapse, screams are heard, and our Bruce Wayne runs head first into a cloud of dust and debris. This is one of the strongest parts of the film as it's here where we begin to get a feel for the world that both of these men exist in. Unfortunately, the plot eventually becomes convoluted with an unnecessary need to have a villain where it easily could have survived as a character piece between these two titans and their morals. As many who've seen the trailers know (if not, then spoiler alert), Doomsday appears in the final act -- serving only as a tool for certain plot developments that I think could've been handled much differently. Along the way, there are also sporadic moments of quickly changing alliances, ridiculous coincidences, extremely poor character decisions, and superfluous plot threads that bog down a film that sings whenever it's focusing on its main conflict. It's a shame that the writers felt the need to cram much of this in as it all made sense to me, but when the core plotline of your film is as strong as this one's, they should've had more faith that it would carry the film. 

Performances -- One of the stronger areas of the film is almost everyone's performance. Cavill is still stoic and convincing as Superman, a man struggling to cope with what he must do to save this world and if he even wants to keep saving it. Affleck is fantastic as both Bruce Wayne and Batman (STFU haters!) and this weathered-warrior persona is one we're not used to. This is certainly not the Dark Knight that we've seen before but instead it's a brutal, somewhat unhinged, and violent Batman. While I found his fight and his reasoning justifiable, I couldn't help but wish we'd gotten a standalone Batman film before this to feel even more connected to this character. Gal Gadot has limited screen time as Diana Prince/Wonder Woman, but pretty much steals every scene she's in (STFU haters #2!). If there's one thing I came away from BvS most excited about, it'd be her standalone film, and that's a very good thing. Many of the other side characters are great too, with Lawrence Fishburne and Jeremy Irons being my two standouts. But as is the case with this film, there's got to be that "low", and that low is most certainly Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor. I already dislike Eisenberg from the get go, but I actually enjoyed him in the trailers leading up to the film. Unfortunately his character and his portrayal stick out like a sore thumb as goofy, over-the-top, and overly erratic. Whereas everyone else feels somewhat "real", Luthor feels like a caricature of a villain; a dastardly, no-good, bad guy when the film needed an actual presence. What's even more painful, and yes, this will be me complaining about the casting, is how willing Bryan Cranston was to play this part at one point. An obvious choice for Lex Luthor? Yes. But he would have killed it and Lord knows he has the gravitas to pull off almost any line given to him. Instead we're stuck with Eisenberg's brat of a billionaire bad guy who has almost no known motivation to be doing what he's doing. 

"Superman, are you...pooping?"

"Ben! We need you to clench
your jaw more in this scene!"

Writing -- One of my favorite things about BvS is the ideas it poses and the themes it challenges. It's here where I think the DC universe could one-up Marvel because of their more serious tone. Do people deserve to be saved? What happens when we put unknown entities in power? As heroes age, do they turn into the villain? What is a God? Can a God still be good and save everyone? There's some heavy ideas here and the film does a solid job at posing the questions, briefly discussing them, and then letting them settle. Overall, I found the script (not necessarily the plot, but the actual writing) to be quite strong, it's just a shame that so many of these grandiose questions are posed by the most annoying character in the movie, Lex Luthor. 

Action -- This one's a killer because it's where Marvel excels so damn much. Almost every Marvel movie I've ever been to has something where I go "Hmm! I've never seen that before!". BvS has titans locking horns, yes, but the actual fight isn't all that innovative. In fact, none of them are aside from a Batman ass-kicking spree near the end of the film that is superbly choreographed. Don't get me wrong, I definitely enjoyed the actual versus battling as well as the Doomsday battle, but there just isn't much there to stand out and I think they could have tried harder to combine the powers/specialties of their heroes into some cool combinations. The film, much like Man of Steel did, relies too heavily on: "Look how many walls they just broke! Look how many floors they just crashed through! Look how hard that punch was!" rather than unique choreography that would lead me to immediately want to watch it again.


Editing -- There's no doubt that Snyder has a unique eye, and it's often one that I enjoy. BvS is likely to be one of the most gorgeous films you see all year, with a muted color palette and scenes that seem ripped directly from a comic book. Rest assured there are moments of fantastic, controlled editing on display here. I'll cite the final 5-10 minutes as a perfect example of the film looking its best, but hindered by scenes that just aren't necessary or they feel out of order. This plague happens throughout most of the film's first hour where there's a lot going on with each character. For some reason, BvS felt it best to switch back and forth, back and forth between characters rather than giving someone an extended scene and then switching. It's frustrating to be sure, and more than a little difficult to follow at times, but at least it felt like the editing got it right when it counted most, or at least other than an atrociously choppy Batmobile chase that felt like an ad for Dodge.

A very interesting scene, indeed...

Advertising -- A unique subsection, sure, but one that I feel like extremely hindered the film. Everyone remembers The Force Awakens, yes? Remember how very little we knew about it going in? And remember how much money it made? WB should straight up fire everyone on their BvS marketing committee, especially those responsible for the second trailer. You know? The one that told the entire story of the film in the span of a little over two minutes? After I saw that I thought to myself, "I bet they have a hidden ace up their sleeve." Turns out they arguably did not and I couldn't help but be heartbroken that I saw an abridged version of the film several months ago. Furthermore, you're already marketing Batman and Superman. That combined with the stellar ComicCon sizzle reel is enough to guarantee that you'll get butts in seats. Why did you need to market Wonder Woman? Why not keep her completely secret? Given how crowd pleasing of a moment her entrance is in the film, I can't even imagine how people would've reacted if she'd been kept under wraps. People would've lost their damn minds and it would've been a movie moment to cherish for a long time to come. But nope. We already saw that moment in the second trailer. It should be pretty evident after all the success/praise of Star Wars (and 10 Cloverfield Lane to some extent) that less is more. Always.

A fantastic moment, unfortunately spoiled in the trailers

There's no doubt, Batman V Superman deserves credit where credit is due because it does a lot well and it does a few things spectacularly. It's hindered by a few, substantial creative decisions that hold it back from greatness, even if the film contains some of that itself. It will both break your heart and make it soar at the same time and it has plenty of the latter to justify a viewing and make you still excited for the future of the DCCU. 


It's just a shame that this couldn't have been the masterpiece Warner Brothers needed and that we all wanted because there's a version of this movie that could've been. 


CONS:

• Gotta start with Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor. He was by far my least favorite part of the film and he just doesn't fit. His villain is a brat, annoying and unexplained, and when the alternative could've (and should've) been a far superior actor, it counts as a major missed opportunity in casting
• The fact that some of the best dialogue/themes in the movie are presented by Lex
• Doomsday was unnecessary conflict in a film that had enough of it already and there are some really poor plot devices (character decisions, alliance switches, coincidences, etc.) that could have been handled better
• Uninspired action that focuses mainly on destruction rather than uniqeu choreography or use of powers. Entertaining for sure, but nothing to write home about
• Poorly edited car chase that ruins the scene
• Choppy editing here and there that trades consistent scene switches for what could have been some great extended sequences for characters 
• Some of the worst advertising for a major blockbuster in recent memory, if not ever. When you have Superman and Batman in the MOFO title of your movie, ticket sales should be the least of your worry. Building hype should be. That second trailer, which is a 2 minute version of the film, is a travesty, despite how entertaining it is

PROS:

• The core plot of the film, Batman's struggle to cope with Superman and the men's conflicting ideas of justice is superb. Whenever the film focuses on this, it's at its best 
• Makes Man of Steel a slightly better film in retrospect with how it deals with the fallout of that film's insane destruction
• Solid performances across the board, even great ones. Cavill is still an excellent Superman and Affleck has created a Batman all his own and one that I'm very excited to see more of. The supporting cast is strong too
• Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman turned out to be an excellent choice. She's a scene stealer
• The actual writing in the script is consistently pretty great, especially as it relates to the film's best and heaviest themes
• Some entertaining battles of epic proportions
• The film is gorgeous from beginning to end and there are some strokes of brilliance throughout where the editing is on point
• Fantastic original score by Hans Zimmer and Junkie XL
• The ending is one of my favorite parts of the film. It's ordering/editing could use some tweaking, but as a whole I think it left the film with a good taste in my mouth. It's gorgeous and from an emotional standpoint, it's the set of scenes that works the best in the film
• A grand and dark film that is an effective start to the DCCU, even if it had a few missteps along the way

Rath's Review Score: 7.5/10