Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) - Theatrical Review

Director: Zack Snyder

Cast: Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Jesse Eisenberg, Jeremy Irons, Gal Gadot

Country: United States

Rating: PG-13

Run Time: 150 min

I recently revisited Zack Snyder's Man of Steel in order to freshen up on the newly implemented DC Extended Universe. Although I hadn't seen the film since its initial release, I wanted to re-watch it with new eyes a solid three years later in order to give it and Snyder's vision a second chance. While it was a treat to rediscover its pleasures (i.e. Zimmer's incredible score, Snyder's knack for visuals, Cavill's performance, and the entire Fall of Krypton prologue), the rest of the film played worse than I remembered. Therefore, I had hope that both Snyder, screenwriter David S. Goyer, and Warner Bros had learned from their mistakes in order to make Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, the semi-sequel/blatant cash grab, a far superior superhero epic. Besides the obvious Star Wars: The Force Awakens, I can't recall a more highly anticipated and hugely advertised blockbuster in recent memory.

Unfortunately, Snyder has learned nothing since Man of Steel. In fact, he has actually devolved as a filmmaker. There's no other way around it; Batman v Superman is a lousy superhero epic. It's not only more inept than Man of Steel, but miraculously one of the most boring superhero films ever made. It is nothing more than a corporate and studio produced product meant to catch up with Marvel's Cinematic Universe and earn loads of box office dollars along the way. It's almost shocking to believe that such a high profile project, featuring two of media's most iconic characters for the first time ever, could turn out so poorly. In all honesty, I'd much rather watch terrible but entertaining flicks like Superman IV: The Quest for Peace or Batman and Robin over this dull and self serious soap opera of superhero antics that leaves no lasting impression. Besides some solid Batman-centric action sequences, an intriguing exploration of the politics and philosophy of Superman's power, and Zimmer's returning score, Batman v Superman is a nearly joyless affair.

"Do you bleed? Cause you will."

Good luck deciphering a discernible plot amongst this amalgamation of scenes lacking a narrative through-line, as Batman v Superman is nothing but overly complicated from square one. When Zod and Superman (Henry Cavill) engaged in a city leveling battle at the end of Man of Steel, it turns out that several of Bruce Wayne's (Ben Affleck) employees were injured or killed in the aftermath. Fast forward 18 months later, and both the government and public find themselves questioning whether or not Superman should be allowed to police crime with the level of power that he possesses. As pressure mounts against Superman from both the Senate and Alexander Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg), Wayne dons a cape and cowl in order to become the Batman, a masked vigilante.

Tensions eventually rise to a boil between both heroes, leading to a battle of the century based on one another's personal discrepancies and outside influences. However, the two eventually put aside their differences in order to team up against Luthor's destructive alien creation, Doomsday, an unstoppable Kryptonian creature. More fighting ensues, buildings fall, and Wonder Woman joins in for no good reason other than too "expand" Warner Bros' desperate cinematic universe of DC Comics characters. Oh boy, where to begin with this one?

Batman v Superman's plot is made far more complex due to its numerous unnecessary and head scratching universe building scenes galore. Snyder and company seem overly concerned with setting up a larger universe at hand to the point where they are willing to sacrifice their film's practicality in favor of desperate world building. Several odd dream sequences and superhero cameos plague the entire story and rarely add to the plot at hand. One dream sequence in particular truly baffles, as Batman fights off a horde of armed Superman soldiers and flying bugs, which than leads immediately into another dream sequence where a superhero, who shall remain nameless, cameos in a time travel scene meant to set up a future plot point. What the heck is going on?

Snyder even brings the plot to a stand still at one point in order for Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) to view footage of newly discovered superheroes on a lap top right before Batman and Superman fight! Talk about halting all momentum and tension! And speaking of Wonder Woman, Snyder spends no time explaining or depicting her character beyond her strength and powers, thereby proving her inclusion useless. Batman v Superman proves Warner Bros' desperation to build a larger universe instead of delivering a solid film first; which they have yet to do considering their track record of 0-2.

Luthor smiles at all of your suckers, including myself, who paid to see this schlock.

One of my biggest issues with Batman v Superman is that it is not the natural or organic continuation of Man of Steel. While the exploration of Superman's collateral damage from the end of Man of Steel is a natural continuation, and in all honesty a response to fans' chagrin to the end of that film, an epic smack down between Batman and Superman should not be the next step in this universe. After all, no one has been introduced to any of these new characters yet, and here we are already at the epic show down of the century.

The film loosely adapts elements from two of the most famous DC comic book stories of all time: Batman: The Dark Knight Returns and The Death of Superman. Let both of those titles be a spoiler warning for those who have not seen the film yet. Anyways, neither comic book story is done justice, as only choice imagery and plot elements are taken in order to form a mish-mashed plot of nonsensicalness. In a sense, Doomsday is the perfect visual metaphor for this film's plot, an ugly and incoherent beast compiled of several different parts that don't quite go together. Warner Bros. is so overly concerned with making money and catching up with Marvel's world building, that they actually lead their second film with two of the biggest stories of all time. A Superman sequel, let alone a solo-Batman film, would have been a more natural continuation. Regardless, Warner Bros. has proven themselves to not be exact "copy-cats" of Marvel's Cinematic Universe, as they have completely forgone quality cinematic storytelling in favor of whatever marketable event will get audiences' butts into theater seats.

Snyder commits the same sins with Batman v Superman as he did with Man of Steel, crafting an overlong blockbuster than runs for nearly two and a half hours in length. Snyder has proven himself to be an expert at delivering cinematic gauntlets that act more as torture sessions or endurance tests than they do enjoyable or entertaining cinematic experiences. After a particularly dull and emotionless first half, Snyder dives head first into what he does best worst, non-stop action that over runs its stay long before it ends. By the time Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman team up to fight Doomsday, the film exhausts all momentum, or any momentum, it already had building up to the finale. 

The holy trinity is here...and I couldn't care less.

If you thought that Snyder had brought Superman down to Batman's level of self-deprecation and brooding with Man of Steel, wait until you see both characters on screen at his fingertips. Superman is portrayed at his dullest and drabbest to the point where he ceases to be the Superman that people know and love. Ben Affleck's Batman, arguably the highlight of the film, even proves to be wasteful, as his character is imbued with zero personality or charisma. It turns out that DC's rumored "no jokes allowed" rule did nothing but drain their characters of any character in the first place. With such flat characters, and an overly serious tone that borders on accidental hilarity, Batman v Superman is nothing but melodrama.

Another major issue with the film is that it doesn't bother to introduce any character or their motivation and instead coasts on the work laid out by previous Batman and Superman films. Although Jeremy Irons looks to be a promising Alfred, more of a technical sidekick to Batman's brawler, he is given no proper introduction. Lex Luthor, who operates as the film's main baddie, is also given no introduction and barely feels defined beyond, "evil genius," which is about as archetypal as a villain can get. Every single character in the film is always in service of the plot, which happens to make no sense in the first place. Therefore, Snyder forgoes character entirely for plot, thereby crafting one of the least human superhero dramas to date.

From an action stand point, Batman v Superman is a big improvement over Man of Steel, mainly because its action is a tad more grounded (i.e. guns, fists, cars, etc). Whenever Batman takes the center stage and goes up against criminals, the film roars to life. Super fans will be nerding out over these action sequences for some time now. However, when the film reaches its climactic showdown between Batman and Superman, it completely falls apart. The fight is not only dull and lifeless, but the reasons behind said fight are overly complicated. I honestly could not tell you what makes Batman turn on a dime against Superman, and than back to being his friend. It's all plot contrivances and conveniences, nothing natural or believable.

"They have a cave troll."

If you've seen the trailers for Batman v Superman, than you have already seen the film. Besides small cameos here and there, set ups for future sequels, and an unearned final death, everything else in the film as expected. Batman comes to dislike Superman, Superman deals with the public's animosity, Luthor plots against the two, Batman and Superman fight each other, Batman and Superman fight giant generic monster, Wonder Woman shows up, the end. Superhero cinema doesn't get more uninspired and lifeless than Batman v Superman, other than last year's train wreck, Fantastic Four. 

However, I think the greatest problem at hand are the people working on this property. Besides Snyder, who has proven himself to be as distasteful as Michael Bay, Warner Bros. needs to stop giving screenwriter David S. Goyer a crack at the character. Warner Bros. is clearly still working in the shadow of Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight Trilogy, which Goyer partially penned, as they can't seem to depict any other Batman now than a dark and brooding one. Therefore, Warner needs to completely reboot their Batman character and tackle an edgier and fresher artistic approach, not the same old thing. Unfortunately, this new Batman iteration is meant to launch an all new franchise, so there's no hope for something new for a long while. In conclusion, Batman v Superman is not only a terrible movie, but it is neither a Batman or a Superman movie. In fact, it's not even a movie. It's a product. I guess that's the most damning criticism I can lay upon the film. Much the same way that I wished no luck upon future Terminator: Genisys sequels, I hope that Warner Bros' new franchise crashes and burns.

Rating: 3/10 - An overly self serious and immensely dull blockbuster that fails to entertain or intrigue beyond a few choice scenes of political conversation and exciting Batman action.

Related Reviews:

Man of Steel (Zack Snyder, 2013)

Man of Steel (2013) - Review

If only the film were as good as this Mondo poster.

Director: Zack Snyder

Cast: Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Michael Shannon, Kevin Costner, Laurence Fishburne

Country: United States / United Kingdom

Rating: PG-13

Run Time: 143 min

In honor of the highly anticipated pseudo sequel/blatant cash grab, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, I decided to revisit Warner Bros' first film in their DC extended universe, Man of Steel. Directed by Hack Zack Snyder of 300 and Watchmen fame, Man of Steel immediately became one of the most divisive superhero films ever made upon its initial release. Unsurprisingly, the film is still divisive years later, with some claiming the film to be a masterpiece and others despising the film to its core for its alterations of the character. While I was one of the people who disliked the film upon its release and have yet to see it since, I decided to give the film a second watch a solid three years later in order to reevaluate my opinion in the wake of Batman v Superman. 

Unfortunately, my opinion still stands. Man of Steel is just as exhaustive, manipulative, and overlong as I remember it to be. Snyder, much like the equally maligned and divisive Michael Bay, knows neither restraint nor subtlety when it comes to his film's thematic implications and action sequences. Not only does the man fail to understand pace, but he also can't grasp that a climax should only last a finite amount of a time, not a whopping 45 minutes in length! Still, even with Man of Steel's immense flaws, the superhero epic is occasionally a shining ray of hope, especially in the form of an incredible score by Hans Zimmer and solid performances by Kevin Costner (The Untouchables), Russell Crowe (Gladiator), and Michael Shannon (99 Homes). Otherwise, Man of Steel has done nothing but remind me of the pains I felt when I saw it the first time.

I honestly forgot all about this amazing prologue by the film's end.

Before I get into the review, I thought that I would explain my history with the Superman character in order to explain my reading and opinion of the film. After all, Superman is widely considered to be the most iconic comic book superhero of all time. In all honesty, I have never been a big fan of the character, although I have never disliked him either. Growing up, I was always a Spider-Man or a Batman kind of guy because I found their characters more relatable, as well as more grounded in the type of realism that I gravitate towards. Therefore, Superman and his invincible powers have always left me distant from him. 

As far as Superman media comes, I was a big fan of the Richard Fleischer Superman cartoons as a child and still am; not because they feature Superman, but because I adore their animation style and old fashioned tales of heroism. As far as live action Superman tales go, I have seen no Superman television series, and only two of the previous theatrical adaptations, Richard Donner's widely beloved, Superman: The Movie, and Bryan Singer's hugely divisive but cute, Superman Returns. Therefore, understand that I myself have a brief understanding of the character, although I am no authority in any way, shape, or form. And now, for the review...

Man of Steel opens up with an immensely memorable and powerful prologue that depicts the fall of Krypton and sets up Superman's origin as an alien on planet Earth. I personally believe that the rest of the film does not stack up to the amount of tragedy, emotion, and excitement on display in the opening 20 minutes. It's truly a Shakespearian tragedy, and proof that Superman's origin is one of, if not the, greatest superhero origin of all time. The opening prologue is unabashedly hardcore science fiction thanks to its fantastical creatures and technologically advanced gizmos, something that I always admire in a studio picture (i.e. see Guillermo Del Toro's Pacific Rim for more unabashed hard core science fiction). For all of the complaints that I am going to lay out against Snyder, I can whole heartedly admit that he knocks this prologue out of the park. 

BTW: big black penises shoot into outer space in this movie.

It's important to note that Man of Steel was produced by Christopher Nolan, the writer and director of Warner Bros' massively acclaimed and successful Dark Knight Trilogy (Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises). It was also written by David S. Goyer, the co-screenwriter of Nolan's Batman films. Therefore, it comes as no surprise once Man of Steel starts incorporating numerous Batman Begins-styled flashbacks that bounce back and forth between the present and the past in order to explain Superman's upbringing. It is within these flashbacks that we get the bulk of Superman's adoptive parenting from his Earth dad, Jonathan (Kevin Costner), and Earth mom, Martha (Diane Lane). In all honesty, Man of Steel feels more like a Nolan film than it does a Snyder film with its dark color palette, usage of flashbacks, and brooding characters. There's no denying that Nolan's fingerprints are all over this movie, especially because it operates as a movie long origin story, something that comic book fans have grown immensely tired of.

After the amazing opening prologue and several Nolan-esque flashbacks, the plot kicks into gear once Kal-El/Clark Kent/Superman (Henry Cavil), all grown up and handsome, goes in search of his origins. When he discovers an old Kryptonian ship in the Arctic, he accidentally triggers the reappearance of General Zod (Michael Shannon) and his soldiers. They come to Earth searching for Kal in order to extract the codex, the Kryptonian genome and history of their planet, that Jor-El (Russell Crowe), embedded into his cells upon saving him from Krypton's destruction. What follows is a massive alien invasion in which Superman and the United States Military fight against Zod and his soldiers in order to preserve Earth, or at least what is left of it after Metropolis suffers a nearly post-apocalyptic level of destruction.

The casting of the film is quite excellent, with mostly everyone perfectly embodying their roles despite the lackluster direction or script they had to work with from Snyder and Goyer. Cavil, more or less a newcomer at the time of the film's release, is very good as Superman, although he portrays a far more foreboding and dark Superman than any to come before him. Gone are the days of color and joy, as seen through Donner's heartwarming Superman adaptations and Christopher Reeve's iconic performance. Nowadays, everything tends to be dark and foreboding, which is a shame as it has been quite a while since 9/11 struck and sucked all of the fun and violence out of blockbuster cinema. Regardless, Cavil makes for a solid leading man, and I for one fully support him as Superman. Although, he is never exactly referred to as Superman in the film, just saying.

Supporting performances by Costner as Superman's Earth dad and Crowe as his Kryptonian dad are without a doubt the biggest take aways of the film. Each embodies a different type of parenting style and sacrifices themselves for Superman's well being. Lane is fine as his mom, Amy Adams is decent as Lois Lane, and Shannon is solid as Zod, a surprisingly well defined and highly motivated villain. The only characters who barely make an impact on the film are the employees of the Daily Planet, as few of them get any screen time and easily could have been left out of the picture altogether. I still laugh every time at the scene where Metropolis has already been under attack for over ten minutes, and Perry Mason declares, "Okay everyone, we are leaving," as if they all had to wait for his instruction. Trust me, I would have been out of there at the sign of the first attack. Unfortunately, Man of Steel is nothing but down hill from there.

This was me towards the end of the film, nearly asleep.

Man of Steel features oodles of flaws that make me grind my teeth. Here is a list of everything in the film that rubs me the wrong way: the overly digital action is shot in a particularly shaky manner, the color scheme of the entire film is drained to pure desaturation, the attempts at humor are lame and unnecessary, the entire film is overly manipulative and thinks it is important, the thematic implications are overtly obvious (i.e. the Christ stuff), the product placement is horrendous, and a majority of the film's action scenes, almost all found within the final hour, are boring.

Once Man of Steel moves into its final hour, the entire picture crumbles a part and turns into what I like to call a "third act build up film" of the worst kind. A "third act build up film" is a film that saves all of its action, energy, and special effects for the very end in order to send off everyone on a high note, almost as a way of thanking the viewer for sitting through the awfully slow and dull first half of the film. The worst offenders of this kind include all of Michael Bay's Transformers films as well as Mission: Impossible II (note: successful films of this style; The Matrix, District 9, Hard Target). If you were mistaken, you might think that Man of Steel is a Bay film in and of itself with its immensely long finale, extensive alien invasion, and strong military presence, albeit more mature and deadly serious in comparison to Bay's canon. 

In all honesty, the final hour of destruction and sci-fi violence featured in Man of Steel is one of the most exhausting and grueling experiences in cinematic history. While one may find themselves invested in the initial attack in which Superman fights two of Zod's soldiers in Smallville, all investment and dedication to the picture goes out the window once Zod unleashes the world building machine upon Metropolis and partakes in one of the most devastating depictions of disaster movie destruction ever to grace the screen. Man of Steel might be the only superhero film to turn into a full blown disaster film by its end, which is not exactly what I go to superhero cinema for, to be honest. 

However, just when you thought the film's onslaught of action was over, Snyder saves Superman's penultimate showdown with Zod for the very end of the picture, thereby stacking three massive computer generated set pieces back to back with no breaks in between them. I have to confess that viewing Man of Steel a second time honestly felt like a homework assignment. By the time Superman and Zod started to fight, I got up and started to do things around the house as the film played in the background. You couldn't pay me to be invested in that overlong fight of super powered heroics and villainy. The film had already exhausted all of its energy by the conclusion of the alien invasion. That another fight scene is saved for the end of the picture truly baffles me. Without a doubt, Man of Steel's finale is a complete and honest to goodness endurance test if there ever was one.

Me = On the Left / Snyder = On the Right

It's a shame that Snyder's Man of Steel is such a lopsided picture undeserved of Hans Zimmer's honest to goodness masterpiece of filmic music and heroic motifs. Say what you will about Zimmer as a person and a composer, but the ensemble of music compiled for this picture almost makes up for the plentiful story problems. There are a few moments of cinematic greatness in the film, such as Kal's birth, his discovery of his origin, as well as his first time flying, that benefit from the sheer emotion of Zimmer's excellent score. But alas, that is only a few scenes, and scenes aren't enough to save an entire picture, let alone one that is half dominated by a single epic action sequence.

At the end of the day, Man of Steel is one quarter Shakespearian tragedy (the fall of Krypton), one quarter superhero origin story (Supes growing up on Earth), and two quarters alien invasion movie (Zod's attack on Earth). To be honest, I only find one half of this film, the first half, to be tolerable and engaging. The second half is nothing but torture for me. While I respect other people's opinions about the film, there is simply no way that I will ever come to believe that Man of Steel is a masterpiece, let alone in my life time. As for the haters and detractors, I'm all ears. Unless 9/11 inspired death and devastation is your cup of tea, stay away from Snyder's Man of Steel.

Rating: 4/10 - One of the most exhausting and overlong superhero films to date. Moments of raw emotion from several great performers and Zimmer's score shine through the mess though.

Franchise
Man of Steel (Zack Snyder, 2013)
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (Zack Snyder, 2016)