Flash Movie Review: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
It is one of the hardest situations to navigate I have found, when two people you are fond of do not like each other. Friends, family, significant others, neighbors; I have seen and been a part of all types of uncomfortable situations. There was a dinner party where 2 of my friends attended and spent the evening staying on opposite sides of me. Mingling among the guests or sitting at the table, the 2 friends kept their distance from each other; however, they each wanted equal time with me throughout the night. It was such a challenge to try and keep a mental log of how much time I was spending with each of them, that I found myself not having a very good time at the party. Now I know I have the choice of stepping away from 2 combative friends and letting them deal with their issues, not altering how I interact with them; but I have to tell you, it is harder when someone you are in love with is disliked by someone else you care about. In this scenario there could be times where you choose not to attend an event because you know your significant other will be uncomfortable. I do not know how you would handle it but I dread finding myself in such a scenario. There standing before you are 2 people you care about and they cannot get along; in some circumstances I just want to say, “Be adults and just be cordial to each other whenever the occasion comes up.” Knowing what you do about me now, you can only imagine how I felt seeing 2 of my favorite comic book heroes battling each other in this action adventure film. Β Β THE seeds of hatred were planted in Bruce Wayne, played by Ben Affleck (Gone Girl, The Town), when he witnessed the people he cared about perishing in a catastrophe due to the actions of Superman, played by Henry Cavill (Immortals, The Cold Light of Day). As the hatred continued to grow inside of Bruce, it would not be too long before his alter ego Batman would take matters into his own hands. This fantasy had a dark brooding look that I enjoyed at first, but as the movie continued to its 2 hour and 31 minutes running time I found myself wishing scenes were brighter and clearer. Where I was concerned about Ben taking over the iconic role, it turned out my fears were unfounded; he was a strong, emotional Batman. With a strong cast of supporting actors, intense fight scenes and fun special effects; all that was missing was a great script. The story was dull and slow for the first half of the film before things started to kick into high gear. Part of the reason for this I believe was the movie studio’s intentions to make this film a vehicle for future multiple stories and spinoff characters; it was that apparent. When I left the theater I not only felt bad these 2 superheroes fought but they had to in this film.
2 1/3 stars
Posted on March 29, 2016, in Fantasy/Sci-Fi and tagged 2 1/3 stars, action, adventure, amy adams, ben affleck, diane lane, fantasy, henry cavill, jeremy irons, jesse eisenberg. Bookmark the permalink. 21 Comments.
I won’t see this movie and will advice my grand-kids to avoid it too. One of them already said he heard it wasn’t that good.
A good idea Gerard and an absolute money saver. Thanks for your comments.
The title just didn’t work for us, no matter how much the studio felt that they had a concept to make money. Though, everyone is saying, Ben Affleck is a pretty decent Batman.
Yes Ben was quite good, but wasted in this dud. Thanks for the comments.
‘o)
I would not mind if Mr. Snyder went full mode on Peter Jackson and cut this film into 2 parts. With more time to properly develop the characters it would be easier to connect to either one of them and really experience the disconfort you brilliantly discribed at the biginning (everybody have those 2 friends…hahahaha). I would have dropped the reenaction of Mr. Wayne’s the traumatic past and focus on how the hero we love so much (I do…) got there, or how Alfred got there… I’d love to know more about that Alfred!!!!
I agree, learning more about Alfred is a good idea. Thank you for the comments, I appreciate it.
I honestly thought this movie was terrible, because I watched it and it ruined me! Superman, in my opinion, should not be a dark character, which is what the director seemed to do. My mom is a big superhero fan and doesn’t like movies like the Maze Runner and Divergent but when I asked her which one she preferred, Divergent Series: Allegiant or Batman vs Superman, she confessed that she like Allegiant more. I did not like Batman vs Superman at all and I wouldn’t recommend for anyone to watch it, especially if you are a superhero fan. I think the director should only make Batman movies ad leave Superman to the people who know what they are doing.
You make a very good point about Superman coming across as a dark character. Thank you for your comments and especially sharing your Mom’s choice!
My husband took our three older kids to go and see this at the weekend. My kids are comic book nerds so they HAD to see it in the cinema despite the stinky reviews. They were actually pleasantly surprised – though, of course, that was partly because they had such low expectations. They all agreed that it was far too long, that some of the references to other movies or characters in the DC realm were done so completely clunkily and that there was a CGI battle that was terrible. However, they actually quite liked Batfleck when they had assumed they would hate his portrayal. My 8 year old said that if he was in charge of Rotten Tomatoes he would give it as much as 80% despite its flaws. My husband said it was a standard 3 star movie, mediocre but entertaining enough.
I am surprised by your husband’s high rating, but I am glad the gang was able to enjoy this film. I agree about Ben, he was good but I just wished he had better material to sink into. Thanks for the family’s mini review.
I don’t intend to see this movie but the review is illuminating as always. Good to know Affleck was good as batman. I agree with a commenter above Superman is not meant to be a dark character.
Thank you for leaving your comments and kind words.
I personally liked it… Maybe comic lovers like this movie…π
I can see where comic lovers would enjoy this movie and maybe this film was made with them in mind. Thanks for the comment.
Haha.. Yeah! Please do make some time to visit my blog..π
I enjoyed your blog and encourage you to keep up the good work. Thanks for the comment.
Thank you so much π
My pleasure, thank you.
I watched this movie, and the way it is not short, with a first half dragging quite a lot, I love Batman, I love Superman but them vs each other didnt quite work for me, did they run out of villains and plot to come up with this monstrosity?
And its not even fair, Superman would absolutely squash batman like a bug if he really really wanted, but Batman he got heart, and a stash of kryptonite….
My favourite part of the movie is when Lex says Bruce Wayne meet Clark Kent. Priceless
but the Lex character was all wrong for me maybe if he had played The Joker or even The Riddler, not Lex ;Lex is not a high strung character who talks too much…
The Superman question was somewhat thought provoking, but my Superman Question is this, how come no one can recognize Superman as Clark Kent?
~B
I agree with your comments; this movie was a train wreck or should I say a bat mobile wreck? I only liked the Wonder Woman character. Thanks for the comments.