Dark and brooding.
This describes both Batman and Superman. It's also very similar to
how the film is shot. This colossal movie takes the opposite approach
to Marvel and The Avengers, but that's pretty much how they
want to compete with them anyways. A follow-up to Man of Steel,
Zack Snyder is once again at the helm. I'm thinking his visual style
should be the opening topic.
First, let's talk
about the introductory 10 minutes. The opening credits is a stylish
way to bring Batman's story back, and I enjoyed how it was kept brief
with only the highlight moments (if you consider a double-homicide of
his parents a highlight) since we all know the story already. The
slow-mo works well in opening credits, and it's certainly cool, but
Snyder definitely gets excessive with it. My favorite part of the
film is what follows immediately afterward-- excluding the fact that
Bruce Wayne was driving a Jeep Renegade. My favorite shot as well is in the 9/11-like destruction during the Man of Steel climax, but
this time from a different perspective; and as the people dash away
from the rubble, Bruce rushes towards it. The entire sequence, in
fact, is powerful, for the film does a great job of playing off of
one of my biggest complaints about Man of Steel, the
destruction. Not only does this introduce the political aspect, but
it also provides sound motivation for Bruce as he is unable to save
the innocents from the crashing towers. This type of storytelling
worked well, and maybe Snyder tried using it more in the form of
those dreams/premonitions, but the vague references to comic book
story lines didn't pull through in those scenes that may have been
added just to put in the trailers. I will say, the one awesome moment
is in the Batcave, and off to the side is what is presumed to be a
Robin costume with a message from the Joker; don't worry, Snyder, I
see you being clever.
All right, let's
talk us some superheroes. The movie toys with interesting moral
dilemmas with Superman, and I still love Henry Cavill, but the
overall impact isn't there. There are some cool shots with him still: the people surrounding him with their arms outstretched, and then
when he's in space with the sun behind helping to rejuvenate him. On
the other side of the two-headed coin (Batman reference), I mean,
c'mon, Ben Affleck is awesome. I have always been a firm believer
that his directing is far superior to his acting, but don't let that
take away from what he does. With the Dark Knight himself, I love the
branding. I'm all for it. I was slightly taken aback, however, by the
free-spirited use of lethal force employed to take out the goonies.
Maybe more interaction would have me more willing to simply say
bye-bye to the baddies, but it does retract a little from what Batman
usually represents and is used more of a way to set up conflict with
Superman. I have no issues with the bulkier suit either; it makes
more sense to me as they play with this older version of Batman.
Which reminds me, I wasn't as much of a fan as some of my friends were and how they will say how awesome it is, but watching The Dark Knight Returns
(animated but still dark) is highly suggested to get more of a full
circle of Batman. Oh, and brief shout out to Jeremy Irons. You
weren't fully utilized as Alfred, but I look forward to what you will
give us in the future.
Now we all know
this sets up Justice League. And I was the most skeptical
about cheap, forced ways of introducing the rest of the lineup, but I
was pleasantly surprised. It was smart and to the point. Not sure how
their looks are going to turn out, particularly when they get
stand-alone films, but that will be a discussion for when the time
comes.
The other very,
very smart move was having Gal Gadot be Diana Prince for the majority
of the film instead of Wonder Woman even if how it was handled still felt clunky in areas. The reveal worked in to their favor. But it does
leave much to look forward to with future outings.
One of the issues
I've noticed people have been most split on is Jesse Eisenberg as Lex
Luthor. The best way I can describe his performance is as
unconventional. At moments he was trying too hard to bring a more
psychotic, schizophrenic approach, but in the context of the film it
was a contrast vastly needed.
And that ties into
the next topic: Hans Zimmer. When we last saw him in the previous
caped entry, his dull performance led me to miss the John Williams
theme. One of the best parts of the movie was Zimmer bringing out his
creative soundtrack; each superhero got a unique theme, and Luthor's
blend of quick violins was pure awesomeness and was a redeeming grace to
every scene featuring him because it brought out the character
Eisenberg desperately tried to portray.
To go back to the
visual style, the film is too bleak; the lack of lighting renders
some scenes as less effective, like the climax I will describe later.
It caused too much straining to know what was presented on the screen
instead of doing something like drawing attention to details to treat
the observant, smart viewer. There are moments, but there's still a
feeling that Snyder had to make sure he appealed to a wide audience,
so the more hopeful viewer ends up being dumbed down to size to fit
with the marketing. This isn't a dumb film, but a lack of deeper
meaning behind visuals doesn't do much to stretch the brain.
Before we move
closer to the climax, lets talk about Batman scenes versus Superman
scenes. I enjoyed Snyder's use of Bruce. Sure, some scenes dragged
the run time out a little, but you could tell he was having fun
working with such a different character. This is most evident in the
action sequences. You know what I'm talking about from the trailers
when I say I loved the Batman: Arkham style fighting. As a
slight downer, in one of those weird vision scenes, there's a really
long, circling take where Batman tosses bad guys all around as they
take him on one at a time for the most part. While the long takes are
always appreciated, the delicate nature of not wanting to mess up the
fight choreography did lead to a held-back effort from the stuntman
and actors.
With glasses-wearing Clark Kent (still find the disguise
lame, but I've had it explained that donning the glasses changes
Kent's entire appearance, making it full disguise-- I like that
explanation more, but it still seems kind of half-hearted), you'll
get your fill of Diane Lane, Amy Adams, and Laurence Fishburne; but
nothing better than from Man of Steel comes out, only scenes
to propel the plot.
Maybe this is a
slight spoiler coming in after 2 hours, but if you don't know that
Batman and Superman fight and that Doomsday makes an appearance, then
you're already a lost cause. Go be like Tom Hanks in Cast Away,
but change up the story and stay on the island. And now that I have
tossed out the people that must have put life on mute for the opening
weeks of the film, let's talk. This movie has my favorite use of
kryptonite. It makes sense, and Batman uses such a cool array of
gadgets during the fight. I will say that the fight was totally
unnecessary, but if I'm like anybody that paid to see this, I wanted
a fight, and a pretty darn good one I got. I also enjoy the idea of
putting Doomsday in. But if you've seen Godzilla, King
Kong, or even Clash of the Titans (not the laughable
original, doesn't count) and its older brother Wrath, then
nothing new is added honestly. Big, huge, ginormous, CGI creature
with a menacing roar threatens total destruction. I guess teaming up
on him can satisfy the nerd in us, but it went too far over-the-top.
I am pleased with
the outcome of the film, but the end has its predictable moments. If
I had to summarize in one sentence, I would say that Batman v
Superman: Dawn of Justice is a large improvement over Man of
Steel and a very entertaining watch, but it doesn't hold the
substance seen in The Dark Knight. I believe Zack Snyder has
earned back enough faith in me for Justice League, and it will
be interesting to follow all the solo movies, including the reboot
for Batfleck.
Next week, I will
look at a coming of age movie, and I look at a series that swooned
too many girls for years.
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