With the recent success of Marvel's cinematic universe, the time has now come for DC to step up to the plate with their follow up to 2013's Man of Steel, Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice. I was really excited for this one as I am a big Bat fan but with recent reviews being so negative I began to grow skeptical, however after sitting down and watching the film today in a packed cinema my worries were put to rest. It is certainly not a perfect film and I must admit there were some aspects that I did not enjoy so much, however it certainly delivered and opened many doors for future installments in the DC Extended Universe. The film follows Bruce Wayne/Batman (Ben Affleck), a billionaire turned vigilante who becomes skeptical of the extraterrestrial hero Superman (Henry Cavill) believing him to be a dangerous threat. It becomes clear that others share his views causing a mass conflict between those who support Superman and those who oppose him. Meanwhile in the midst of it all, the villainous Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg) has his own plans for the heroes.
I'm going to start off by pointing out the films flaws, getting them out of the way before I go on to discuss why I enjoyed it. The main flaw is a combination of the editing and Zack Snyder's sloppy direction. Many of the scenes in the first half of the film seem quite rushed and before we can make heads or tails of what's happening, it cuts to the next brief scene. Snyder really let the film down and his direction is so careless that it will have your head spinning in the more intense scenes. This lack of focus is a continuous trend throughout the film and is also reflected in the score by Hans Zimmer and Junkie XL. Generally the score reflects a films tone as we have seen in the likes of Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy, but the score of Dawn of Justice seemed a bit all over the place and uneven. It was almost like listening to a mixtape put together by a teenage boy for his girlfriend. Also as a sidenote, a bit of humour wouldn't have done any harm. So those are what I felt let the film down, but there was a lot to like about it.
The cast were excellent, in particular Ben Affleck, not only does he make a fantastic Batman but he also gives an excellent portrayal of Bruce Wayne. His Wayne is a man who has been broken, who has has many a loss and is fearful of the likes of Superman, driving him to become such a violent force. All those fears about Batfleck will be put to rest after watching this film. Gal Gadot did a brilliant job of bringing Wonder Woman to the big screen, she too is a powerful force and a worthy match for her male counterparts. Cavill's Superman is not the loveable boyscout we all know and love, in my opinion he was the weakest of the three. I feel Cavill has potential to be a great Superman, he certainly looks the part, but in Zack Snyder's gloomy world he comes across as quite bland. Jesse Eisenberg's Lex Luthor is not for everyone, his portrayal differs immensely from the likes of Gene Hackman's and Kevin Spacey's but I quite liked it, I felt he brought some life to the character and to the film itself. Other highlights include Jeremy Irons as Alfred Pennyworth, Bruce's butler and guardian, it is safe to say Irons was born to play this role.
The film's first act seems very unfocused and slow, at times it is like watching a very long montage sequence and it takes quite a while for something to kick off, however when it finally does the film provides some memorable action sequences that are a worthy match for those at Marvel. In particular the final face-off against Doomsday is one that you will not soon forget. There are several other stand out moments, but I don't want to spoil anything. At the end of the day the primary purpose of this film was to set up a wider universe, something to rival the MCU and it manages to do that. There are countless easter eggs alluding to other DC figures throughout, along with cameos from Ezra Miller's Flash, the frequently paroied Aquaman (Jason Momoa) and Cyborg (Ray Fisher) of Teen Titans fame. It really is a massive prelude at heart but it works, the story of two opposing forces coming together to fight a greater evil seems like something that has been done time and time again, but never like this. Seeing the three founding members of the Justice League looking so well onscreen together (with the exception of Cavill's rather lackluster Superman) was phenomenal.
Aside from being a superhero film, Batman vs Superman is also a political drama. It takes the world of the comic books and our own world and ties them both together to add a sense of realism, faces such as Neil deGrasse Tyson make appearances as themselves to help bring the world of DC into our own. The film also focuses quite a lot on the consequences of superheroism, the collateral damage and the publics reactions which is something that has never really been done explicitly in superhero films (aside from the likes of Watchmen). We see the destruction of Metropolis in Man of Steel from Bruce Wayne's perspective, how the casualties effect him and how that drives him to oppose Superman, it is things like these that help to ground the film. The majority of the first half even focuses primarily on Superman's clashes with Senator Finch (Holly Hunter), a politician who is fearful of the man of steel. This blending of fantasy and reality works very nicely in Batman vs Superman and makes it more than just your average superhero film.
Although it has plenty of flaws, Batman vs Superman is nowhere as bad as its being made out to be. It has some problems on the technical and visual sides of things but as for acting and story it is exciting and enjoyable (albeit a bit bleak). It has given us a fantastic new Batman and has introduced Wonder Woman to the big screen, something that was long overdue. It is not perfect, but it opens a variety of doors for future films within its universe, a universe that I for one am keen to return to. These future films can learn from Batman vs Superman's mistakes and improve upon them while retaining its redeeming qualities to build a cinematic universe that could quite possibly rival Marvel's. It will not please all, but it will certainly satisfy the fans and leave them hungry for more.
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