Disclaimer: This review is spoiler-filled. Turn back now if you don’t want spoilers.
A few weeks ago I wrote an article defending the potential merits of the film: "Batman V Superman." After three long years of near-obsessive tracking in every step of its production, I finally got to see it. Twice, actually. As far as critics are concerned, it’s definitely a mixed bag. The movie has landed a dismal 29 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 44 on Metacritic. What do I think about it? Well, that’s sort of a loaded question because there is only one thing I can say about the movie without fear of backlash: it is incredibly dense. So I’ll dissect the different aspects of the movie as best I can.
The Ugly...
…is the editing. I have absolutely no idea how a movie that was in production for as long as the movie was could end up being what I saw in theaters. A number of great scenes were just smashed next to each other with no narrative flow whatsoever. The first half of the movie set up a lot of really great storylines but, in doing so, they forgot some fundamentals of storytelling. The futuristic nightmare/vision was great, but just one shot of Bruce resting his eyes to give us some context would be helpful so members of the audience who weren’t prepared for this sequence of events wouldn’t completely freak out, saying, “What’s going on? Why is Batman shooting people?! WHO IS THE GUY COMING FROM A PORTAL AND TALKING TO BRUCE? AHH!” All throughout the movie, we see no context for random scenes. You can’t just jump to Clark in Kansas having an important conversation with his mom without giving us some sort of a heads up, and expect the audience to not waste time thinking, “wait where is he now? Oh, OK. That’s his mom.” They understood this for the opening when Lois is in the desert somewhere, but why not apply that same concept throughout the film? Overall, they butchered the pacing for most of the movie. However, there is a longer director's cut that I think will fix these issues and ultimately give us a better look at how the movie was intended to be watched.
The Bad:
They’ve had three years to work on the film so some of the scenes really should’ve been touched up a little more. When Flash comes to Bruce in the vision it’s unclear as to who he was. Sure, the intended shock factor was there but in general, this was just cause for mass confusion. Doomsday needed more spikes. Period. He evolves but falls short of the intimidating monstrosity we see in the comics. The scene where Wonder Woman watches the Justice League teaser trailer that Batman sent her is fun at first, but after seeing it again, it grows old and anyone would realize how out of place it is. Don’t get me wrong, I loved seeing Aquaman, Cyborg, and Flash in action, but having this scene right after they’ve built the tension between Batman and Superman and had Lex kidnap Martha Kent was not good timing. The scene is better suited for post-credits or some other time in the movie that is not right before the climax. Last of all, the movie was really loud; the sound editing was poor. Not a huge deal, but it’s worth mentioning because it became distracting at times.
The Good:
Despite all my previous comments, they did a lot of good in the movie. I had a lot of fun watching it. The opening sequence was a brilliant way to show us Batman’s origin without wasting too much screen time. That, followed by a scene with Bruce Wayne trying to save his friends from a different perspective of Man of Steel was perfectly sequenced. It all shows that rather than glossing over massive amounts of death and destruction with a few quips between heroes, DC films understands the impact these superhero battles would have on a city. Batfleck, to no one’s surprise, delivered an outstanding performance. Every scene he’s in is amazing. His fighting, his vehicles, his utter and complete brokenness...we got a Batman we’d never seen before. We’ve always accepted that Batman won't kill, but we’ve never seen him cross the line in anger like he did here. Henry Cavill shined again as Superman. They’re taking several movies to develop him into the classic Superman we know and love, and I can’t wait for his triumphant return. The one person who really stole the show, however, was Wonder Woman. Every scene that she played was pure gold. Her battle cry, her smirk when getting knocked down, her confidence in her abilities as a warrior...the list is endless. She is truly the feminist icon that the genre sorely needed. While the new take on Lex Luthor was divisive, I enjoyed a fresh take. A true psychopath. The philosophical ideas presented, though heavy handed, were beautifully woven into the fiber of each individual character. From Lex’s Nietzsche-esque view of God, his deeply rooted hatred of Him, and his need to bring Him down to Batman’s nihilism, and search for something to justify his life and leave a legacy, to Superman’s belief in absolute good that we see as he saves people again and again while being criticized for his every move, the potential for post-viewing discussions is endless. My favorite shot in the whole movie is as Superman is handed down from where sacrificed himself to wrapped in his cape and given to Lois as she mourns over him perfectly recreating the "Pietà." The fact that they released "Dawn of Justice" on a Good Friday, too, makes it clear they’re really pushing him as the Christ figure, which makes me really excited for the movies to come.
I’ll be frank: I liked the movie. Sure, it irks me to see them fumble on the simplest of matters because it gave everyone a reason to doubt the DC universe. But ultimately, this movie did nothing but reassure me that my favorite superheroes are in good hands.
