Thoughts on Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
It's been well over 24 hours since I've seen the movie, I've had some time to gather my thoughts.
TL/DR: The reviews aren't doing it any 'justice'. It's an easy 8/10 - a good movie and really enjoyable if you're looking for something different from the traditional fun loving Marvel formula. And if you pick up even some of the dozens of classic references Snyder made, then like me, you'd probably be jumping out of your chair.
Ben Affleck gave an excellent performance here, and did a much better job of selling me on his character than Christian Bale did. There are excellent homages to The Dark Knight Returns (obviously), Crisis on Infinite Earths, and one story I won't name to avoid spoilers. They gave nods to recent games like Injustice: Gods Among Us and Batman: Arkham Knight. They even went out of their way to address some of the criticism Man of Steel got for blatant destruction and loss of civilian life.
Now there were some things I didn't really like with the movie about how certain characters portrayals and lack of a proper story arc for them but it doesn't detract from the overall experience of the movie.
SPOILER ALERT If you haven't seen the movie, stop reading now if you don't want the movie spoiled for you. You have been warned. Here are some more thoughts I had on the movie. Perhaps the worst thing about the movie was that you've pretty much seen most of the major plot points in the trailers.
Despite the fact that I'm really tired of seeing Joe killing Thomas and Martha over and over again, Bruce's opening dream sequence was really cool and a direct homage to the pages of The Dark Knight Returns.
I really loved the world weary version of Batman portrayed here. He's been fighting a loosing battle for 20 years and numerous losses will take a toll on you, no matter who you are. You can see Bruce's broken psyche from all the trauma he has suffered through his life. The loss of his parents, Joker killing Jason, and what he (probably) did to Barbara - he has had a tough life.
I can totally understand why Batman doesn't trust Superman and wants to stop him.
Bruce is clearly haunted by his past, as seen by the vivid 'knightmares' he has. The one with Man-Bat in his mother's crypt was genuinely creepy.
Speaking of visions, The Flash breaking through time to 'warn' Bruce about a future was a really cool nod to Crisis on Infinite Earths. While the message wasn't clear, it was definitely warning Batman that he shouldn't trust Superman and Lois is key. My guess is that someone (Darkseid?) kills Lois and Superman goes off the rails ala Injustice: Gods Among Us.
Diana didn't have much of an arc at all in this movie, but Wonder Woman was good in the final sequence. I'm really interested to find out what happened to her about a 100 years ago that she gave up on humanity.
Flash, Cyborg and Aquaman reveals. While they were poorly timed, they worked very effectively. And Cyborg's body being constructed of an actual (what the internet now believes is a) Mother Box was an interesting choice. He's definitely going to be a big player against Darkseid.
Looks like Alfred has taken over Lucius duty?
I really loved the homage to The Dark Knight Returns in the fight between Batman and Superman. I only wish Oliver was the one who shot the Kryptonite grenade which Superman catches.
The heartbeat thumping at the end. I liked how the roles were reversed from the original scene in The Dark Knight Returns when Superman hears the heartbeat in Batman's coffin.
Doomsday 'evolution' throughout the battle was really cool. And yes he does have spikes!
Superman's arc was all over the place. He is obviously still not comfortable in his role as the protector of Earth. He makes mistakes and is then unsure about how to act. He needs to start using his head and actually think about what he's going to do. No wonder he was easily manipulated by Lex and Bruce.
Lois needing to be rescued multiple times. I would've liked that she is able to find her way out of at least one difficult situation on her own, like when she was trapped underwater with the spear.
Jimmy and Mercy getting the short end of the stick. I absolutely don't like how they handled Jimmy, who is such an important character. Steve Lombard had a significant supporting role in Man of Steel and they couldn't even find anything useful for Jimmy to do? At least Mercy got a slightly better treatment, but I still didn't like the fact that Lex just killed her off.
There was virtually no supporting cast for Batman aside from Alfred. There were no mentions of any Robin apart from Jason Todd's costume. Oracle was cut from the film. No Dick. No Lucius Fox. No Jim Gordon. No Talia. No Damian. Apart from KGBeast, a passing reference to Joker and a hallucination of Man-Bat, no one from the rogues gallery as well.
Batman didn't deliver one of my most favorite lines from The Dark Knight Rises while beating Superman: "I want you to remember, Clark… in all the years to come… in your most private moments… I want you to remember… my hand… at your throat… I want… you to remember… the one man who beat you."
Doomsday should not have been in the trailers. It would've added so much into the final conflict.
Lex was an insane megalomaniac who clearly wanted to summon Darkseid. But why? Just out of pure curiosity? Is he being controlled by someone, possibly a New God like Godfrey? I guess we'll have to wait to get those answers. I did really enjoy Eisenberg's performance though, no matter how the character was written.
Why didn't Bruce see through Lex's manipulations? I mean I get that it isn't easy to be smart when you start your day with a glass of wine, but he's Batman. I can understand Superman falling into the trap set in Africa. But somewhere midway around the movie, I would expect Batman to start piecing together that Lex was behind it considering he had figured out something was off when he started receiving those checks and notes.
The future dream sequence was definitely weird. The Omega symbol. Parademons. Superman's militia. I really liked how they showed Superman going off the hinge after Lois is killed. But that is a very specific dream to have for a tired Bruce. And if there was a deeper meaning to it, I didn't understand it at all.
tangentwithtanner
blakekathryn
gracieabrams
areudirty
romaincrisis
s-u-f-j-a-n-s-t-e-v-e-n-s