It’s the battle we have waiting for to appear on the big screen: Batman Vs Superman. Zack Snyder (best known for Superman Man of Steel & Watchmen) returns to continue Superman’s story with the introduction of Superman to Batman. But wait there’s more! To top it off, if you’re aware of Batman’s story from comics or ever heard of the Justice League team (thanks to DC Comics), we have a film that feels like it is starting the journey for the many characters in that team and who I’m sure we’ll see in other films (like we have seen already with the world of Marvel). However, this could bring excitement to an audience member in the cinema; sadly, one of this movie’s flaws.
As far as the plot goes, many citizens are concerned about the “Man of Steel”: is he a God? Will he bring more dangers to earth (as we saw in the last film)? Could he take over the world? As you will soon discover, Bruce Wayne (Batman) has his opinions towards Superman and reasons for those opinions, but one thing’s for sure. According to Bruce Wayne, Superman must be stopped. We are also introduced to Lex Luther, who only makes matters worse…
So how did the main actors go? Ben Affleck puts on the Batman suit for the 1st time, and I’m happy to announce that he did a great job. Is he the best Batman we have ever seen? Maybe not. But credit where it’s due- I did feel Ben Affleck did a fantastic job as Batman and the role of Bruce Wayne. I would assume it would never be easy tackling the two roles. Superman is back, and he’s the same as we’ve seen in the previous film “Man of Steel” (No complaints about Henry Cavill), and this is the same for actress Amy Adams who returns as Lois Lane. The only actor I found disappointing was the well-known villain from many Superman films, “Lex Luther”, a tackle by actor Jessie Eisenberg (Zombieland & The Social Network). Lex Luther in Batman Vs Superman comes across as more of a crazy person with quick (and yet very random) responses. From what I always recall, Lex Luther was a smart yet calm criminal/evil villain. Jessie Eisenberg hasn’t done a horrible job; I feel as an actor, he would have been a much better choice if he was cast as “The Riddler” in further Batman films. Hans Zimmer’s Score/Soundtrack is also perfect, as we have heard in Batman films, and Junkie XL joined him.
So you’re probably asking yourself ‘if most of our actors did a great job are there any issues with the film’? Sadly, yes there is. The film’s main issues are really relating to the director and the way this story is told. Be prepared to see a film that goes back and forth (to past and then present), but also we experience many “dream sequences”. To top it off, at one point, I personally was confused that we may have had a dream within a dream moment. The story is also cut up to follow many characters of the film and at a time feels it felt like it. As mentioned at the start of this review, many characters “sneak in” hint at things to come with this franchise. Normally I would enjoy these kinds of moments, but with this film, it feels more forced, and it simply adds more to the film when we are already taking so much in as it is. Without giving much away, I can assure you this is something that many people have seen before in Marvel movies (Iron Man, Ant-Man & Avengers, and the list goes on). Does DC Comics want to compete with Marvel?
Overall, if you love your action, you won’t be disappointed with Batman and Superman. The film has done an amazing job of visually presenting such a stunning film, with bright clear sound effects that bring the film alive. The film’s biggest letdown is the storytelling going everywhere with so much being all crammed into one film. The director’s 1st cut was supposed to be over 3.5 hours which I would be curious to one day view in my lounge room. I feel this could be a better version to watch than the theatrical release, which we can assume cut some of the stories you can tell are missing. I also think that if the film had more of a basic story with fewer characters, I would have given this film a greater overall score.
6.3/10
19th November 2016
Written by Peter Walkden
WALKDEN ENTERTAINMENT
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