Film: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

When I first heard about Batman v Superman I was apprehensive. Not just because it was being directed by Zack Snyder, a director I don’t much care for. Nor was it due to Ben Affleck playing Bruce Wayne, although that did make me pause. No it was because I couldn’t see how they were planning to hinge an entire movie on the conflict between Batman v Superman. The answer appears to be two hours of slow build up before a rushed fight and the inevitable team up. 

Batman’s side of the conflict is at least partway believable, the film works hard to set up the idea of Superman as a terrifying concept. An alien with god-like powers who operates with complete autonomy. A well shot opening sequence sees Bruce racing through Metropolis in an attempt to save his co-workers as Superman and Zod destroy the city around him. 

Superman on the other hand seemingly suddenly becomes aware of Batman, who is established as operating for at least 20 years, and decides he doesn’t like the way he operates. In his defence this is a Bruce Wayne who mows people down in his Batmobile and kills with no regard. The criminals he leaves alive he brands with a bat-symbol like cattle. 

This for me is the film’s biggest flaw, both of its protagonists are unlikeable in their own ways. Henry Cavill breathes no life into Clark Kent, scenes with him attempting to show emotion are hard to watch. The decision to still play him with an alien detachment gives the sense that he doesn’t care much of the people he’s saving. He sets his mind on stopping Bruce, simply because the plot says he has to, and that pushes him towards the titular showdown. 

Ben Affleck brings nothing new to the role of Batman, playing him with a voice at least as ridiculous as the one Christian Bale used, if not even harder to understand. Batman’s origin is explored again but at least the film doesn’t linger too much on recreating this all to familiar story. His Bruce Wayne comes across as a conflicted individual, one who seems to have lost all faith in heroes.

Jesse Eisenberg feels like an odd choice for Lex Luthor, his energetic performance would have probably been more suited to a madcap Batman villain such as the Joker or The Riddler. As it stands he is the most fun character in a rather dull film, his appearances serving to liven up events.  LexCorp’s office clearly draws inspiration from Google and other modern companies, it seems like a fun place to work if the boss wasn’t a total psychopath. He is the true villain in a film that tries to convince you its heroes are villains, an odd position to say the least.

Gal Gadot is able to make Diana Prince a compelling femme fatale sort of character throughout the film, with her origin left to be explored in Wonder Woman (coming next year). However this approach is sure to leave casual viewers scratching their heads. I can’t even think if her full name is said out loud, her Wonder Woman persona is definitely not introduced. My partner, a non-comic book reader, had to ask me after the film who she was, which doesn’t bold well for her brand recognition. We will have to wait for the Wonder Woman spin-off to really see how well Gal Gadot portrays the character, as there isn't enough here to give any real indication.

The final showdown between Batman and Superman isn’t the most exciting. What starts as ways for Bruce to test the limits of Clark’s powers, amounts to lots of grunting as the two through each other through walls. The use of Kryptonite gas grenades at least makes for a cool visual as Clark is engulfed in green mist. The rest of the fight drones on as the heroes chuck everything (including a sink) at each other. The fight ends for as silly a reason as it started, calling back to the fact that both Clark and Bruce have mothers named Martha. 

This of course gives way to the real battle of the film, despite it being called Batman v Superman, with the heroes uniting with Wonder Woman to take down Doomsday. This is where the whole affair begins to feel like two movies squeezed into one. The conflict between the heroes is in no way resolved before suddenly they’re working as a team to take down the uber-threat of Doomsday. This fight scene at least has some exciting moments, mostly due to the arrival of bad-ass Wonder Woman.

At the end of the day, Batman v Superman can’t live up to its own premise, being unable to provide a compelling fight between the two heroes and needing to throw in a big villain to attempt some sort of climax. It tries too much in one film and yet doesn’t feel like it deserves it’s two and a half hour runtime. Perhaps an Avengers approach of introducing its heroes in separate films before having them come together would have served the film better, but with these portrayals it would be unlikely to make the characters more likeable. As it stands Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice seems to exist more to establish a future Justice League film, but I don’t find myself particularly intrigued by the notion.