Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)

By Abir

The name says it all, this is the first film where we see the most iconic super heroes off all time. While we have seen countless iterations Batman and Superman in their own films, they have never appeared together in the same film. Witnessing the success of Marvels crossover movies and their shared universe, Warner Bro who owns DC decided to put their hat into the ring with Batman V Superman: Dawn of justice. Unfortunately, this film sinks under the weight of its expectation. Whereas Marvel has created a series of films, thus introducing characters, fleshing out their backstories and motivations before attempting the crossover. DC and Warner Bros are trying to use this film to springboard a so-called DC cinematic universe.

The film is set 2 years after the events of man of steel, it harkens back to that film by presenting a different perspective on superman’s colossal battle with General Zod. With metropolis and other places reduced to rubble, adding on the loss of life and the great collateral damage. The battle has left many people feeling angry and helpless. Bruce Wayne is one of these individuals, after personally witnessing the battle and losing friends, he views superman as threat to humanity thus ensuing his personal vendetta against the man of steel. Behind the scenes, Lex Luthor launches his own crusade against the caped crusader.

As much as people has ripped this film a new one, this film does have many excellent points. Ben Affleck as Batman and Jeremy Irons as Alfred are in my opinion being the ultimate portrayal of each character. The first 30 minutes of film is truly exceptional, the scene coving Batman’s Backstory with his parents dying in crime alley was a masterful example of film making. we’ve seen this part multiple times before in different batman movies, yet Zack Snyder has really made his own by portraying this scene in somber yet equally haunting manner. 

Bruce Wayne’s motivations are setup and conveyed perfectly to the audience without a line of dialog or exposition, you can tell just by the atmosphere and the expression of Bruce’s face the reason for his crusade. While Gal Gadot was good as Wonder-woman, she really doesn’t have enough screen time to make any lasting effect.

What brings this film down are Superman, Lois Lane and Lex Luthor. Jesse Eisenberg’s Lex Luthor is by far extraordinary odd performance, his depiction of the villain is so off key, it is borderline unwatchable. Lex Luthor is supposed to a calm and calculating villain with a swathe demeanour, who uses his business connections and his intelligence to forward his manifesto. Eisenberg’s Lex Jr. is awkward and aloof, he comes off as crazy and comical.

Cavil is cast well as superman, he both has the look as well as physique. I personally enjoyed his portrayal as superman in man of steel and enjoyed that movie. Yet, in BVS majority of his expressions has been replaced with a superman who is constantly pissed off.

Lois Lane stands in the film for one reason, she is the love interest of superman and his raison d'etre. This is the films biggest problem, Amy Adams and Henry Cavil just have no chemistry, it feels forced and uncomfortable. Adams has proven to be a very good actress and can perform in similar roles yet like Eisenberg’s Luthor and Cavils Superman, she is let down by a poor and over-bloated script along with terrible direction.

This movie is let down by trying to do too much, BVS is trying to set up the justice league (yeah I know it sounds lame when compare to the avengers), set up the DC cinematic universe (called the DCEU DC Extended universe), be the film adaption of the dark knight returns as well as (Spoiler Alert) the death of superman. The so-called fight between batman and superman only lasts 5 minutes and is disappointing at best. We see these characters fight yet we don’t experience them fighting. We love both these characters since they are so different, one is dark and brooding whereas the other is cheerful and optimistic. We want to see them fight since it is a clash of ideologies as well as contest of brawn.

Despite everything I am actually glad that I saw this movie. While it wasn’t the greatest of films, heck it wasn’t really a good film, I found some entertainment with the Ben Affleck as Batman, Jeremy Irons as Alfred. Every Batman scene was outstanding and I find myself re-watching these scenes again and again. I rate this film 6 stars out of 10.

★★★★★★☆☆☆☆