It took me a while, but I finally sat through BATMAN v SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE last night.
My first attempt was cancelled after 15 minutes in. I couldn't get past the set up, which feels left over from MAN OF STEEL, which you may recall I despised big time.
But, once the story kicks in and the conflicts are built, it actually becomes pretty entertaining (albeit long, and long-winded).
Here are some thoughts...
The Good
- Better plotting and pacing than MAN OF STEEL
- Way better character design and loved the use of Martha-moms coincidence to connect Batman emotionally to Superman during the battle that becomes a team up.
- The “can we trust” Superman backlash of the public being generated by media, scandal, and political bad doings added a relatable touch to the story.
- A few genuinly beautiful sequences visually, and LOVED Superman catching Lois from falling - stunningly shot/set-up and emotionally pure Superman.
- The Ultimate Edition improves the story (according to what I’ve read about the original cut), and the film is justly R rated as it should be.
The Bad
- Lex Luthor: Jesse Eisenberg overdoes his performance, and the character is so insane and annoying that it leaves no room for the things that make Lex a powerful villain in the Superman canon. His Lex Luthor bothers me more than how much Superman was changed in MAN OF STEEL.
- So many plot holes and ultimately ridiculous situations, dialogue, and in some cases relationship of characters to geographic location (how does Lois just walk over to the dead Superman at the end, where are they even, where’s everyone else?).
- EVERYTHING about Doomsday. Its look, its changed backstory, its motivation, AND I’m pretty sure that it turns into “Nuclear Man” at the climax, as a this-shouldn’t-ever-happen tribute to Superman IV.
- The excessive use of cameos of real media personalities. Forced and tired.
- The introduction of Aquaman and Cyborg (and technically Wonder Woman) on the Bat Computer was a lame device used in music videos for songs from movie soundtracks when the band can’t figure out how to get clips from the movie into their music video.
- And this, most of all, this...
The world has been so caught up with what Superman can do that no one has asked what he should do.
- Senator Finch, Metropolis
Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could that they didn't stop to think if they should.
- Dr. Ian Malcolm, Jurassic Park
