Batman V. Superman Is A C+ Film That Could Have Been An A+ Film
Writers know how the hot dogs are made, and can see the future building blocks being laid down in a story. While everyone cried out "oh, the destruction!" towards the end of Man Of Steel, I saw the foundations of MoS 2 and 3. Obviously, I thought to myself, part 2 is Lex Luthor riding into town, rebuilding Metropolis, and branding Superman a threat to global security. Superman then has to spend the rest of the film proving himself, growing up, and becoming the hero we know him to be. Piece of cake- this stuff writes itself.
And honestly, you can still see the basic beats of that story in the final film. Had that been the movie that got made, I think people would have a very different perception of BvS: Dawn Of Justice. But, here's where things take a turn: much like Iron Man 2 and Avengers 2, Dawn of Justice suffers from too many cooks in the kitchen.
The movie is 1/3rd the rise of Lex Luthor... but it's also 1/3rd The Dark Knight Returns (because we've gotta get Batman in there), and it's 1/3rd a very iconic Superman story that shall go unnamed for the sake of spoilers (I'm sure any fan who's seen the trailers knows exactly what's up in this film, but I'm trying hard here to play it daddy-cool). But wait, there's more! On top of those three stapled-together stories, it's also Wonder Woman's introduction. Finally, the cherry on top is our tip of the hat to three other DC hero films coming your way soon (or maybe not), plus, you know, that whole JUSTICE LEAGUE thing.
So, what we get is a film that's... just alright. Liked it, didn't love it. Do I think it's the train-wreck that the press and social media is desperately trying to paint it as? No, not at all. I've seen Spider-Man 2 and 3; you don't get much worse than that. And it's a shame, because this film could have been amazing. It could have set the new standard for middle-chapter films. It could have been so much more than three separate stories forced together into a Frankenstein's Monster of a movie.
I think it was the Bleeding Cool review that referred to BvS as an opera, and I think that's right on the money. This film is an opera without any of the terrible music or singing. It's big, loud, bombastic, and a thing you can almost lose yourself in... until something unnecessary plucks you out of the moment. It happens several times- a plot point that makes no sense, clunky dialog, corporate-mandated story being crammed in at the worst possible moments, characters not thinking- like I said, it happens a lot. These little moments on their own aren't terrible, but little by little they chip away at what could have been, and what you're left with is "oh... ok."
If this film ends up under-performing or outright tanking, I hope Warner Brothers doesn't take the wrong lesson away from it. I hope they don't throw out all their plans. I hope they don't shit-can Henry, Ben, and Gal. For that matter, I hope they don't shit-can Snyder. I like the guy, and I like most of his movies. The faults of this film rest firmly on the shoulders of a film studio racing to play catch-up instead of letting their universe grow slowly and organically, not any of the people involved in its making.
I loved Man Of Steel, and it's a bummer that the best I can say is "liked it, didn't love it."
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