Batman Vs Superman: Dawn of Justice
Director: Zac Synder
Cast: Henry
Cavil , Ben Affleck , Amy Adams , Jesse Eisenberg , Jeremy Irons,
Gal Gadot , Lawrence
Fishburne
Genre: Action, Adventure,
Sci-Fi, Fantasy
Released: 24th March 2016
For years it has been one of those "who'd win
in a fight" questions - Batman or Superman? Son of Krypton or Bat of
Gotham? Two of DC's most popular and most reincarnated on screen are once more
brought to life in a battle of the Titans with director Zac Synder
continuing what he started in Man of Steel. Henry
Cavil and Amy
Adams return again as Superman/Clark Kent and Lois
Lane, while Ben
Affleck is given a chance to
redeem himself in the superhero genre as Batman/Bruce Wayne.
Taking place following the events of M.O.S.,
Bruce Wayne
witnesses firsthand the disastrous effects of General
Zod and Superman's climatic fight.
The damage caused to his building, colleagues and other innocent people opens
his eyes to the dangers of powered beings. The aftermath of this clash sets off a
chain of events that changes everyone in this film. Superman himself has settled
into his new role as worldwide protector, while still putting in time as alter
ego Clark at The Daily Planet and rescuing Lois . Meanwhile, Bruce Wayne/Batman
has to decide what to do about the threats beyond Gotham's walls. Naturally, in
a film called Batman Vs Superman: Dawn of Justice, it's inevitable
everything leads to the aforementioned title fight, and thus seeds for the Justice
League (DC's equivalent of Marvel's Avengers) are sown.
Taking inspiration from Christopher Nolan 's
gritty and realistic Batman films, B.V.S. explores moralistic
themes of power, the consequences of having great power, and how much people
are willing to sacrifice in order to take it. This serious tone may be DC's way
of distinguishing its superhero films from Marvel's: in comparison to the sassy
banter that has become commonplace in Marvel films, thus far what seems to come
across in abundance with DC's films is a lot of brooding stares.
Though B.V.S. follows
on from M.O.S., it is not a
straight-up Superman sequel: each titled character has its individual story
arc. Cavil's take on Superman has already been established in M.O.S., unlike
Affleck's Batman. This Batman hasn't been given a complete origin
storyline, the story instead picking up at a later stage in Batman's timeline
after years of being the caped crusader have taken their toll. It's easy to see
why Affleck was cast as Batman in this film: with Affleck himself has
experienced highs and lows in his own acting career, he does surprisingly well
in portraying a more grizzled hero who's seen more knockbacks than victories
but still has some tricks left up his sleeve. Batman's storyline has been given
more screen time throughout this film, resulting in his overall story arc
feeling more fleshed out and resolved by the end. The development of Superman's
character, however, due to the unevenness of screen time given, is considerably
less satisfying.
Unfortunately, the uneven screen time of the major
characters isn't the only inconsistency in B.V.S. With this film being
basically a set-up for the Justice League film
(coming out in 2017), there are blatant cameos from other Justice League
members. Some are presented in a series of dream sequences before their
appearance in the "present" timeline of the film. If it sounds a
little confusing, that's because it is. It doesn't suit the overall themes and
story arc of B.V.S. and would have
been better suited as an end-credits scene or to close the film leaving the
viewer more excited and hopeful for what is to come.
Inconsistencies aside, the final battle is well
stylised, each character is given their props, and the climax is a natural
outcome of the preceding story. Batman's action scenes in the finale are
particularly noteworthy, and even fans of Batman's previous incarnations will
be left feeling satisfied. In a way, the film begins to answer the question
of "who would win a fight between Batman and Superman?" but any
definite conclusions are prevented by the intervention of a third party (damn
pesky reporters).
2 1/2 stars