Plot: Fearing the actions of Superman are left unchecked, Batman takes on the man of steel, while the world wrestles with what kind of a hero it really needs. With Batman and Superman fighting each other, a new threat, Doomsday, is created by Lex Luthor. It’s up to Superman and Batman to set aside their differences along with Wonder Woman to stop Lex Luthor and Doomsday from destroying Metropolis.
There may be spoilers the rest of the review
Verdict: Slow Start Big Finish
Story: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice starts with yet another brief origin story for Bruce Wayne as we see his parents killed yet again, but at least this is just through the opening credits. Bruce Wayne (Affleck) is now just a business man but while Superman (Cavill) is fight Zod from Man of Steal he just so happens to be destroying Metropolis.
18 Months have passed since the events of Man of Steel and Lois (Adams) is still journalist looking to interview war criminals where Superman is using his abilities for good, but the world doesn’t see him as good with Senator Finch (Hunter) seeing the consequences of his actions.
Batman is now fighting crime in his own where with Alfred (Irons) helping his operation where Batman knows they are criminals and is happy to brand the criminals he catches while he prepares himself for the day Superman goes too far. This film does need a villain right well here is Lex Luthor (Eisenberg) a brilliant scientist businessman who has uncovered the weakness behind Superman.
So being forty minutes in we are left with Bruce Wayne playing detective in a case that leads him to Lex Luthor where he gets invited to a party with all of the players including Clark Kent and Diana Prince (Gadot) attending.
All this plays out in a very slow building hour to find out that Bruce Wayne is trying to track down his own weapon to use on Superman thee very same one that Lex Luthor is after but Bruce wants revenge for the lives lost in Superman’s battle. All this is leading to the battle between the two while they both miss the enemy standing right in front of them in Lex Luthor.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is a film that I could easily have plenty of hate but I do think it has good and bad parts. First the good, the story of a film that does look at consequences of the destruction unlike many of superhero films that just look over it at times. Lex Luthor’s plan is great because it is the first time a villain has turned too good guys against each other which such ease.
As for the bad side is that everything is very slow with the build-up as we see detective side of the story from Batman. With the new Batman I do understand this is a new universe new version but isn’t the point of Batman not to kill bad guys but he doesn’t seem to care. While the final look stunning it is yet again just a mega destruction scene that feels forced to bring the two back on the same side as well as just forcing Wonder Woman into the franchise. I also feel a lot of the themes as in whether we should allow a hero to stay on Earth or whether we need a hero has been handled in many films including X-Men and Transformers before and this adds very little to the discussion.
While all of this might be looking into too much of the story I feel this is overly long but still a good starting point for the next franchise giving us 3 heroes and a villain that is the closest to a Joker figure we have seen in a long time.
Actor Review
Ben Affleck: Bruce Wayne/Batman as Bruce Wayne he is trying to track down a way to kill Superman after the damaged he caused during Man of Steel. He has turned into a full blown detective only using his Batman suit to take down the people involved. It isn’t long before he clashes with Superman but ultimately it is his acceptance that heroes can’t save everyone now. He clashes with Superman but unaware of the real villain behind everything. Ben is good in this role taking over the cape from Bale and suits the older looking Bruce but isn’t going to be remember for being good or bad.
Henry Cavill: Clark Kent/Superman as Clark he is now just a journalist and boyfriend to Lois but as Superman he has the world divided on whether he is a good or even needed on Earth. He continues to do the right thing when he can but finds himself drawn to the Batman around Gotham as he doesn’t believe in the way he is going about things. He becomes the enemy of the world once framed but will he realize who the true enemy is before it is too late. Henry is solid yet again but Superman is just a very plain character.
Amy Adams: Lois is still the journalist that will take all the risks to uncover the story, he relationship with Clark Kent and Superman will be her greatest weakness as the story will tell once one man knows the truth. Amy is good but we just don’t see enough of her smartest good side character in the film.
Jesse Eisenberg: Lex Luthor is a genius that has learnt about the weakness in Superman, he plays all of his business skills to put him in a position to get everything he needs to defeat him. He is truly a mastermind in this world as he puts together all the pieces leading to the battle between Batman and Superman. Jesse is fantastic in this role easily the best and mostly the only good thing in this movie.
Support Cast: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice has the supporting cast you expect, the returning members of the Man of Steel world, the recasting of the Batman side with Jeremy Irons being hilarious and Wonder Woman getting her first outing.
Director Review: Zack Snyder – Zack continues to do these wildly over the top action sequence with plenty of destruction that makes little to know sense in the universe created but does know how to create the mystery side about it all.
Action: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice has the action we have come to know from Snyder, crash bang wallop destroying as much as possible.
Fantasy: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice brings us into a fantasy world where we have to see the superheroes and Batman fight an unkillable villain that can be killed.
Sci-Fi: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice has aliens in and made fight unrealistic fights.
Superhero: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice puts us in the world of superheroes and villains and Batman building up to something bigger.
Settings: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is set in the main two cities and quite happy to destroy them and magically rebuild them a day later.
Special Effects: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice has the effects you would expect to see without doing too much original.
Suggestion: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is one the fan boys will love but it will soon be forgotten in the world of comic book films. (Fan Boys Watch)
Best Part: Jesse Eisenberg is a great villain.
Worst Part: Too many attempts at the puns/references to previous films that Deadpool was pulling off with ease.
Action Scene Of The Film: Car chase.
Funniest Scene: Jeremy Irons.
Believability: No
Chances of Tears: No
Chances of Sequel: Yes
Post Credits Scene: No
Oscar Chances: No
Budget: $250 Million
Runtime: 2 Hours 31 Minutes
Overall: An over the top comic book action film that is nothing special.
Rating
