Movie Review: Batman V Superman Dawn of Justice (2016)

 BATMAN V SUPERMAN

Superman Evolves and Batman Involves

Firstly, let’s deal with the weirdness that happened before the actual movie was released. When Ben Affleck was cast as Batman (instead of Christian Bale) the internet(s) lost its bat-mind. Not Affleck! Not Daredevil! And yet, this same pattern has repeated itself time and time again. Heath Ledger went from Brokeback Mountain to the joker, Hugh Jackman was all parts wrong for Wolverine and Ryan Reynolds was a ‘bad” Green Lantern and a bad Deadpool the first time around in X-Men Origins and the right Deadpool in, um Deadpool (2016).   I was 100% against the switch too- and I’m saying if you have the recipe right, don’t go changing the ingredients. Now that I’ve seen the movie, it all makes sense.

This is the EVOLUTION of both characters. And that’s the difference. If you can remember with me- The Silence of the lambs franchise (I know, we’re reaching) Agent Starling was recast after Jodie Foster with Julianne Moore. Moore played an evolved Agent Starling that was tougher and far removed from where we left Clarice. Jarring. So Ben Affleck plays an EVOLVED Bruce Wayne/Batman. Clark Kent is no longer the clumsy goof that pines for Lois and does whatever he’s told. He’s got the girl now. He stands up to Perry (Laurence Fishburne) and he is certainly his own (super)man and grappling with his choices. Wayne has been doing this a while now- 20 years by the movies admission. So who should he be, twenty years LATER? Same guy womanizing and stopping bank robberies in Gotham? Batman needs to bump up from fighting skilled-human thugs to dealing with gods, monsters and well….superheroes (meta-humans as the movie calls them). Clark should be doing what? – hiding behind Lois and saving kittens from trees?

Understand their fundamental differences. Batman stops crime. Superman saves lives. I’ll repeat this because many people seem to be lost on who these two characters actually are and how they were made. Batman was created by witnessing a crime, which robbed (pun intended) him of his parents. And so, he is obsessed with stopping crime. That’s his motivation. Superman is an orphan from an entire planet/race that died. His own father (Kevin Costner in Man of Steel) is portrayed as a life he couldn’t/didn’t save. He is obsessed with saving lives. Should these two get along? Maybe, not really. Batman V Superman is really serving as a bridge to the future where we go from solo adventures and personal quests to epic clashes where more than just cities are at stake. Basically, where Marvel’s Avengers are right now.

Director Zack Snyder takes the task of combining two beloved franchises and giving birth to a third and maybe even fourth (Wonder Woman, anyone?). It takes all of 2 + 1/2 hours to cram all this in and do …justice (ahem) to each caped crusader and their back stories. The story is supplied by Chris Terrio [Argo (2012)] and David S Goyer [Batman Begins(2005) The Dark Knight (2008) The Dark Knight Rises (2012) Man of Steel (2013) which explains why the tone was rightly dark and felt like the next chapter in each heroes timeline. So what do we get?

 

We get a sequel, prequel, sequel… prequel. Before there can be a Justice League (a grouping of DC’s greatest heroes) they have to come together and find a reason to do so. Superman has to more than stand a symbol for the sanctity of life. He has to accept that there are consequences and new responsibilities and yep, his hands are gonna get dirty. Batman has to let go parts of his personal vendetta(s) and stand for more than vengeance. They both need to stand for JUSTICE. So it’s not the ‘Dawn of the Justice League’. It’s the dawn of justice as an idea or concept for the assembled characters to rally around. We have, basically, two movies in one. Yes, Batman VERSE Superman does go down, but we also have the awakening to a new world, a great cameo by Wonder Woman and an interesting future blueprint. Should it really have been split in to two movies? Probably. Most ‘fixes’ by unhappy moviegoers tend to involve adding more, which suggests future movies or side adventures in some other medium.

So why all the bad reviews? I have no idea. The movie audience clapped at the end so I’m wondering where all the early hate came from. I hear a lot of nitpicking which can be done with any movie- so I’m not understanding how warranted all negative feedback is. – After all, it’s based on characters from comic books so historical-documentary-like treatment isn’t required. Yes, expect common comic-tropes and clichés. Flimsy reasons for the two good guys to battle, perfect coincidences and quick resolutions that make everything pretty okay by the end. Yeah, that’s a movie.

Face it, as children we were raised on brightly colored super heroes who used punches and kicks to defeat bad guys in face masks. They were born from a world at war and our heroes inhabit a much darker universe. We are at war right now. We don’t even think about that fact. We are not sure what to believe. Who are we fighting? How truthful is our government? A Batman can’t save us- nor can a Superman. But something in the middle would be rather fitting and that’s where justice is found. This movie is much more like Man of Steel II: Batman comes to Metropolis than anything else. If you expect that walking in, you’ll be fine.

 

See all the movies reviewed here.

 

 

 

Movie review Man of Steel (2013)

Man of Steel is a great story about a super man

Steel strength and super man

Superman was in danger of falling into a bad stretch like the Batman franchise was in before Christopher Nolan and Christian Bale settled in. Do we get a great actor and a terrible story? Or do we get a great narrative with the wrong voice behind it? What if you get both parts right, but fail on the reboot’s twist? What’s that twist? It’s the extra element a director or screenwriter adds in or on to make the story, lore and legend their own. You know, it’s Spiderman having organic web secretions instead of a homemade gadget. It’s Robin being a police officer before becoming Batman’s youthful ward, it’s Loki being the frost- oh you get the idea.

In Superman Returns (2006) we had the great casting of Brandon Routh saddled with the weirdness of Superman having a babies momma. We had the untruth of Cyclops [is he gonna lose his girl in every damn movie?] raising a kid that’s not his and that’s simply not Truth, Justice and the American Way. Well it might be the current American way, but we didn’t need to see our hero behave like us.

Superman is an icon of values. And therein lies the spirit of Man of Steel. He is sent to earth to serve as an example of what we could aspire to be. And it’s not just his strength or abilities that we are drawn to, it’s his humble demeanor that covers his god-like powers. As an overall symbol, he is the largeness beyond us that still cares about the smallness within us.

This is a Symbol of Hope

The S on his chest

Henry Cavill plays a true immortal and brings Superman to life as a heroic and physical specimen. We have Russell Crowe doing a great job as Jor-El, Kevin Costner as the father kent and a few other notables handing in solid performances. I was hoping for more of a Margot Kidder-styled love interest, but Amy Adams does a serviceable job as Lois lane. But I must say this is one of those movies where the trailer fails as a prelude and promise of what’s to come.

Early on we were given a trailer showing the child Clark playing along the laundry line and the Man of Steel streaking upward into the heavens. Cool, but that doesn’t tell us if the movie is any good. From watching the movie (almost) twice, I can only wonder why you wouldn’t reveal more- much more. There are so many epic moments, fights, battles, scrapes and scraps, there was no reason to tease.

What we do get is a reboot and retelling of Superman II (1980) where Kryptonian General Zod and his soldiers attempt to take over the earth. It’s a bit of a jump in the Superman story, but that does leave room for Lex Luthor to arrive in a sequel. Michael Shannon does a wonderful job embodying Zod and plays him as the perfect balance between misguided and maniacal. This is in step with Kent who is a timid titan trapped between two worlds: The Krypton that no longer exists and our earth, which he is alien to. And ALIEN is the angle of this move. We are given a true sense as to what the Kryton world represented. It feels like a true origin far point and hints to a much larger universe. We see true alien technology and Superman is reduced to a misplaced child from the stars. And that loneliness and quest for self-identity fuels Clark’s youthful wanderings. The question is asked, is the world ready for Superman? The better question is- is the Man of Steel ready for the world?

Action Comics

The fight choreography is some of the best and most imaginative I’ve ever seen. It’s the attention to detail that really catches the eye as the small gestures, centered on Superman’s abilities, showcase his godlike-nature. It is a true clash of titans and the action resembles the imagination of a child playing with action figures. Well done. It says the soundtrack credit goes to Hans Zimmer. You will recognize the two ominous tones from John Woo’s The Killer or A Better Tomorrow. I’ll have to do more research into how those compositions are related.

In summary Superman is a solid entry into the super hero flow and stands tall among all Superman renditions. Writers, David S Goyer and Christopher Nolan [also directing] have taken a few liberties and tinkered (and removed) some of the common plot devices from the TV serials. I accept these changes and am curious to see how they figure to play out in future movies. We also have good pacing as it’s not another slow start like endure the origin part, while we wait for the coming out party. Meaningful flashbacks serve to add weight to many of the key moments and overall the movie feels like the perfect length. Sometimes it seems like Batman doesn’t know when to end.

We’ve seen Lois and Clark, Smallville and now Man of Steel. When you create a movie this grand that does such justice to its franchise, it should have really been titled Superman: Man of Steel. Up, up and away.