Ok so as per usual I’m going sort of stream of consciousness here. Its not like this is a really formal venue for cinematic discussion as is. I may very well only be writing this for Ron and myself to read. But the exercise is still a valid one that I enjoy. I’m not sure what really prompted this. I know we were discussing Batmen the other day, and yes that is the plural according to me. I’m toying with the idea of revisiting the entire series and doing my own personal run down of each film. Not a breakdown of the actual movies themselves but perhaps more of a realistic and honest take now that much of the Batman legacy likes firmly in our past. I know we have the current Pattinson Batman, which I did enjoy given the parameters of the particular mode of storytelling intended behind the film. It was a cohesive venture that held up well even with a significant run time. But as it stands today, I’m watching the Man of Steel sequel known as Batman v Superman. I should qualify that it’s the “Ultimate Edition” that I’m viewing. I don’t know what sets it apart and honestly I don’t think I care that much. I feel like it’s the more cohesive story told betwixt the two versions available. So it’s the one I’ve chose to review.
Before I dive into the movie I should add a little personal context. My first viewing of this movie was pretty meh. I wouldn’t pretend a criticism that it’s “garbage” or anything of the sort is fair, though I could have easily used that sort of language previously to describe the film due to my own biases against Superman and the meme-worthy content it initially generated. “Do you bleed”, “Martha” and a number of other plot points in the movie are easily exploited. Some missteps in casting, fake cough here with Jesse Eisenberg’s name not so cleverly concealed in said fake cough, may have enhanced the movie but I don’t fully know that it detracts as much as previously noted. I also just didn’t like Superman as a character. I have a soft spot for Christopher Reeves as his series were ones I have nostalgia viewing from my childhood. They are cheesy but at least a couple of them somewhat hold up still today. Honestly even the anecdotal evidence of how lackluster the DCEU was at the time and how hard it was trying to be the far more superior MCU powerhouse dominating at the time. Warner Brothers always felt like they were circumventing quality in product, ie films for DC fans, in lieu of attempting to harness the Marvel money they desperately wanted to bring in at the time. While Marvel was patient and methodical, delivering great films time and time again that fans enjoyed while making whole new fans out of causal viewers, WB seemed to cut and paste together whatever they could to bring it to market and capitalize on superhero fever at the box office. So my initial viewing was really more to maintain continuity in the zeitgeist than out of desire to see the film. I’d say there may have even been slight reluctance to even entertain the film at first. Resignation eventually paved way to sitting down to take on the Batfleck.
Well some time has passed. Probably around 9 years. That’s how long ago it was that the movie was released. I think I probably saw it somewhere in that year it was released. I know I wasn’t first in line but I don’t think I waited until it was playing on TBS ad nauseum. But a good bit of time has passed regardless and whatever has brought me back to this sophomore entry in the Kal-El saga Zack Snyder developed, I have conscientiously made an effort to block my previous reservations about this world they attempted to create and consume this movie for what it’s worth. Because, and I acknowledge in many ways this may be the hottest of takes, Affleck’s Batman may be the best entry we’ve ever had as a fully dimensionalized character. Affleck’s portrayal of both Batman and Bruce Wayne is entirely well rounded and fully encapsulates the character in each dichotomy that comprise the full person. Additionally, my appreciation for Henry Cavill as an actor has come to a much fuller scope. My gripes with Superman are mostly that he’s too perfect of a creation and the flaw they gave him after the fact is too feeble of a component to truly make the full story as good as it could be. Granted, being one of the first iterations of the superhero genre resulted in aspects of the man of steel being overlooked in the creative process. While Kryptonite feels like a very convenient weakness, it kind of is what it is. I don’t think I need to pick at the emotional scab this oversight seems to be and just accept it and move on. So that’s what I’ve done. I’m not starting with a preconceived negative connotation of either of the major players of the film. If anything I probably don’t even have a neutral outlook. I’m not going to let this necessarily sway me solely towards the positive just because time has passed and I’m not as salty about the movie as I once was. I still want to be objective. I just don’t particularly want my criticisms to be echoes already existing in the vacuum of review for this movie. With that being my preamble, I will add one last thing. This isn’t a peer reviewed article for any prestigious journal. This isn’t a passion project. I’m literally watching the movie right now and somewhat reacting to it in real time. I’m not furiously scribbling down notes so I can review them all later and research aspects of the film as they exist in comic lore or literary allusion. I just want to give the disclaimer that while I’m going to attempt to keep my thoughts, feelings and perspectives as tight and organized as possible, I’m still just sort of word vomiting onto the page as I watch. All that in clear view for you, the imaginary reader of this post, I think we can get started.
I will say that I significantly enjoyed the opening of the film far more than I did the first time. The concise way of introducing Batman into this developing franchise without having to do the extensive groundwork of an origin story film. The imagery ties together well. We get the necessary elements of what makes up the duplicity of Bruce Wayne and Batman while bringing his persona squarely to the events that concluded Man of Steel. Seeing his perspective during the battle between Superman and Zod reinforces Bruce Wayne’s tortured hunger for justice through whatever means necessary and how it ultimately personifies itself in the iconic cape and cowl. His ability to not only think clearly in the midst of epic calamity but calculate and execute heroic rescue attempts for regular citizens amidst falling skyscrapers stands out even amongst those simultaneously desperately trying to save others. We see the world through both sets of eyes and watch the anger percolate inside Bruce that eventually comes out through Batman. The important part is we begin the movie understanding how integral perspective really is. It fuels the primary conflict. It drives the wedge between Batman and Superman.
The flip side of this coin is not as clean. Henry Cavill is a great Superman. I don’t love his Clark Kent as much. One of the things I’m eagerly anticipating about this summer’s Superman reboot that James Gunn has helmed is there is a real split between Clark Kent and Superman. This iteration Cavill brings to screen is unfortunately too much of the old joke where you simply remove the glasses and there is Superman. The new film seems to really appreciate that argument and does a great deal more to separate the two entities in a much more deliberate fashion. Cavill’s Kent is also far less believable as a reporter. One of the elements of this character that I still have a problem with is that Kent is clearly not a qualified reporter in the least. He has no background in journalism and even in the Man of Steel movie, he is a fish monger at one point. So to make that leap to believe he’s not only a reporter in the massive publication that is The Daily Planet but one SO high up in the organization that he writes front page stories and reports to the editor in chief directly is more of a stretch than I think anyone really decided to try and makes sense out of in the end. That particular characteristic of Clark Kent still bothers me to date. Especially because the Planet is such a focal point of the story. His perspective on Batman is derived from his investigation into the story behind it all. Again, this is a flimsy way to uncover this as they establish Metropolis is just across the bay from Gotham. The emergence of the Batman seems to be a complete mystery to Kent and that just seems hard to believe. If there was a legitimate crime fighter in a major city in America, you’d have some foreknowledge of whoever that is well before you went to that city to investigate. This bothers me simply because in the thematic element of perspective, which this movie is centered around, Clark’s is poorly arrived at ultimately. The redeeming factor is while we firmly understand that Bruce’s point of view and how it is cultivated internally for him, we find he’s blind to the reality that his judgment of Superman is precisely how much of the public views his efforts to clean up Gotham.
This means we have a really well developed source of conflict. Each protagonist genuinely believes themselves to be noble in their efforts while simultaneously arriving at the misguided conclusion that the other is some version of a villain to them. This smoke screen allows Lex Luthor to emerge as the true villain of the story. I’m not going to jump to Lex quite yet as that is it’s own can of worms, but establishing that we have a truly solid premise in the conflict that skewed perspectives presents in the absence of understanding or curiosity, there’s a real foundation for this movie to be a really great film. In the chaos of their developing feud, Luthor is free to wreak havoc in the background. Which is actually very well written and played out well on screen. It’s mostly just that they completely cast Lex horribly. Jesse Eisenberg is a great actor I’ve enjoyed in a number of films. He has flashes of greatness in this film. But ultimately he’s far too unhinged like an iteration of the joker that is waiting to emerge. While I’ll gladly admit that I don’t come from any kind of place of authority when it comes to comic prowess in the DC universe, I do understand the complex nature of the villain in Lex Luthor. He’s a front facing billionaire that the public loves. In the shadows he’s a maniac with a precision and chess-like pursuit of Superman in an effort to guarantee his eradication. My ignorance as to his comic motivation for this doesn’t come into play much when dealing with this film. Luthor’s primary driver seems to be power and control. He has the wealth. Superman is a threat simply because his power outdoes whatever Luthor could ever hope to accomplish. So he goes to work attempting to pit one hero for another to eliminate them both and clear the board. If he is the only king standing at the end, no one can stop him. Not even the government. Ultimately his character proves repeatedly through the film that he is easily the most clever person in the room at all times. Yes, that’s a not-so subtle nod to a line he has in the first “Now You See Me” film. An Eisenberg role I much prefer to his Lex Luthor. But his story arc is very well written. When you do view the plot of this film in its entirety, there is a progression throughout where Luthor is working every angle quite expertly and even when his tactics and plan are revealed at points throughout the film, anyone who would have been able to stop him was too busy not stopping him. Which is his design. So there is a real genius to his approach that I think is overshadowed by his crazy persona on screen. This is the most unfortunate part of the Luthor element to the film.
Now that we have a solid premise and a well written plot, why do so many elements of this movie feel like they fall apart? Well, there is the lingering stench of some lazy writing. It’s not prevalent throughout the movie but at some of the most important parts of the movie, there’s a real lackadaisical approach to resolution that leaves the viewer hungry for something better. That’s how we get to the “Martha” line. I will say that anticipating that bit of dialogue, I do try and give it a little more credit. The problem is that Batman’s rage had fully taken over and in the pivotal moment where he’s completely ready, mentally and emotionally, to end Superman he gets a dose of his own Kryptonite. His mother’s name is the key phrase to unlock his compassion once again. It’s a really convenient way to dismantle the conflict that has carried the film up to this point. The reality was that they had to stop their individual selfish pursuits in attempting to judge each other according to their own moral code and find a common ground that would reset the conflict and allow them to align their causes to stop the true evil in the film. That’s what we were building towards. The fact that this is revealed in a single line of dialogue as simple as “Martha” is both egregiously convenient and terrifically disappointing. Had either one of them done a modicum of research into the other, looking at you Clark since you knew Batman was Bruce Wayne well before the inverse was true, they’d have found this common ground. But this would have also taken away whatever power the “Martha” line had. Ultimately its seems like they just accepted this reality and moved on because we still had a whole Doomsday sequence to get to after this.
I’m on the fence, personally, when it comes to the Doomsday finale. The revelation that Luthor has been pulling the strings isn’t quite as shocking as it’s supposed to be as Bruce is on to him through most of the movie. Despite his suspicion of Luthor’s nefarious dealings, Wayne is still blind to the larger game being played, mostly due to his obsession with revenge. But when we get to the point where Batman and Superman ultimately join forces, Luthor is not a physical threat to either one of them. And as the two adversaries transform into a duo, they strategically remove all of the cards Luthor has to play against them. However, that doesn’t make for a very convincing conclusion to the story. The two of them simply showing up to Luthor’s office and hauling him off in a paddy wagon for his day in court isn’t a very appetizing way to finish off this meal. So Lex plays the one card he has left in his hand. He introduces Doomsday which he essentially cobbled together out of alien tech and Zod’s corpse and the afternoon he had to fiddle around on Zod’s spaceship. Now I get that Luthor is a smart cookie, but again, it feels like that lazy writing where we just sort of let him engineer his “get out of jail free” monster. You aren’t meant to realize that because you’re supposed to be enthralled with the DC Hulk complete with laser eyes upgrade. That’s who Doomsday is, btw. He’s pretty much a carbon copy of the Hulk but they gave him a couple Kryptonian attributes left over from Zod. Conveniently we still have that Kryptonite spear old Bats was gonna use to ruin Clark’s weekend so we have to team up and go get that. It’s still in Gotham. This is where that geographical business gets a little wonky. Gotham is RIGHT there. They don’t have to fly for days to go get it. It’s like running to the gas station for a snack and realizing you left your wallet at home. Sure, it’s not ideal but you’re three minutes from home. So you run back, grab it, and go get your Clark bar. Yes, pun FULLY intended. I could have used any candy bar but I went with the Clark. It’s fitting. And not lazy writing. It’s comedy gold. Had there been a Martha candy bar, that would have been the lazy joke. But that’s not a real candy bar and I didn’t make that joke.
So we draw out the Doomsday fight and Supes dies in the end. Sacrificially offering himself to save the world. Kind of a righteous middle finger to the critics who thought he could destroy the world. Which I appreciate in the end. But whatever emotional tone we’re supposed to leave the movie with in the next 15 minutes as we tie up the other story element loose ends, the real emotional turmoil this voluntary gesture elicits is completely disrupted by the reality that he’s NOT actually dead. We don’t even get to leave on that down note. Sure he’s dead now. But we also know he’s not dead. It’s really hard to have a Justice League without Superman. It’s not on par with the utterly gut wrenching conclusion of Infinity War but the imagery we are bombarded with in the final moments of the film is demanding we mourn the loss of Superman. This kind of cinematic emotional manipulation drags me back to lazy writing. I hate to keep beating that drum but it’s probably one of the biggest mistakes the film perpetrates repeatedly, especially in the third act of the movie. It’s like they had really great ideas for about 80% of the process of making the film and then decided on the last day they really wanted to go to a water park so they had to quickly write an ending to the film and make everything work. Instead of carefully and painstakingly crafting a narrative that unites Batman and Superman, focuses their efforts on a common evil and then decidedly dispatches said villain, they wrote the Martha bit, tossed Wonder Woman into the mix, concocted a giant fight sequence, not entirely unlike many of the initial elements of the story that created the conflict, once again talking about massive destruction due to overpowered very public fights involving a laser eyed monster. Not that there’s a great place to do that, and I appreciate that they brought the fight to a remote island that appeared to be quite near where they had been previously fighting, but it also kind of undercuts that whole opening idea that the irresponsibility of heroes whose battles inflict huge casualties is problematic. Also kind of poses the question of why did Superman and Zod fly through and laser eye each other in so many big, public buildings where innocent people were trapped fearing for their lives when an uninhabited island perfect for fights of this caliber is very nearby. Curious. So we circle back to that issue in a slightly more conservative fashion but still not really the best way to finish things off. Then we get a montage where Luthor gets his head shaved, we bury Superman, and everybody is bummed. And while we believed that everyone who was dusted at the end of Infinity War would somehow come back, it was also on such a scale that we didn’t really know what was going to happen. I sat in my car literally for 45 minutes after the movie ended just trying to make sense of it all. The “death” of Superman is not on par with this. While, again, we don’t “know” that Superman is coming back for Justice League, we know he’s coming back. And if this is where the whole thing ends and we never get a Justice League, the ending sucks. It’s just like Empire Strikes Back. Everybody loves that movie, but without Return of the Jedi, the ending of Empire REALLY sucks. Superman being permanently dead is a horrible way to conclude this entry. I get that he really died in the comics with Doomsday. At least I’m relatively sure he did. So that’s probably where they got the idea. But they also brought him back in the comics because they still make Superman comics. And so also he just comes back in Justice League too. It’s a thing. I don’t even totally remember how it happens. But he’s back. And it’s happened. And they win. And then it’s all over.
My last thing I’ll really cover about the movie is Wonder Woman. I get that they were being relatively elusive about their intention to create a Justice League movie during this movie. But they also weren’t. They did the Amazing Spider-Man 2 thing where they very intentionally showed you all the things you needed to see to know that The Flash, Aquaman, Cyborg, and Wonder Woman are all being tracked and were definitely showing up in a Justice League movie. I will say that Gal Gadot is another perfect casting and so I really don’t have anything poor to say about her or her performance. I think it’s a little over the top to include her in the cover art. Yes, she’s very important at a very pivotal moment of the movie and her entrance is pretty epic. She comes in and kicks ass like she does. That’s fine. And I even appreciate that they didn’t just drop her in haphazardly. They peppered her into the story here and there so it wasn’t abrupt. But it’s almost like Schrödinger’s Wonder Woman. If we don’t watch the movie she’s both necessary and not necessary to the plot at all. She shows up. She fights. It’s fine. But does it impact the story? Not really. Yeah they get the “Is she with you?” gag. And it’s a good enough joke for a trailer. But that’s about it. So I have no objection to her being in the movie. Her addition is probably at least even a little bit positive as she’s very nice to look at and she does whoop some serious ass in the time she’s in the film. But using her to promote the film is like telling folks you should watch it because Laurence Fishburne wears pretty smart bowtie in the film. Sure that happened. But it’s not why people bought tickets. She’s great as an actress and great as a character. Her origin movie is wonderful. Clearly. WW84, that’s another story. But Wonder Woman as a whole is fine. It just kind of puts a punctuation mark on the notation that this movie truly suffers from some lazy writing at times.
I’ve completed the rewatch now. I’m sitting here completely caught up and the movie is over. I will say on second viewing, being far more objective, I enjoy the movie a good deal more than I did the first time. I think it does stand firmly on it’s own two feet. Sure it’s got some flaws. Nobody is going to make the case that this is a five star, perfect movie. But is it utter garbage like some fanboys are accustomed to parroting these days? Not hardly. There’s some really well crafted parts of this film. The acting is great. The casting is nearly spot on. I’d make a couple strategic replacements. I have nothing negative to say about Amy Adams. She’s an incredible Lois Lane. My only issue is I don’t buy her and Cavill as a couple. I should probably have thought about it more than the run time of the movie but I think I’d be happier with someone like Olivia Wilde. I think she’s got that same charisma and drive that would make her a compelling Lois Lane while still fitting the character mold and meshing a little more fittingly with Cavill as a believable love interest. I’d also replace Eisenberg with Dan Stevens in a heartbeat. He’s a terribly capable and vastly underutilized actor who has expertly played very lovable protagonists and very dark antagonists. His range is spectacular and the ability to play both Philanthropist and Villain in the same package is very much in his wheelhouse. So that’s my pick. You put that all together and I think the casting gels a little more globally in the film. Eisenberg is the real problem. He’s a fine actor and does an interesting and well acted performance. It just isn’t who Lex Luthor really is as one particularly complex being. If you tighten up the writing in a few places, namely the Martha thing, the story improves as well. I’ve not spent enough time genuinely pondering how to bring the Kent/Wayne diversion of perspectives into a singular focus and I don’t want to shoot from the hip on that one. I just know there’s a better way to merge their opposition into cooperation in a much more satisfying fashion. But you tweak a few things here and there and this movie really does begin to transform into a much stronger entry in the DCEU than it previously was. I do acknowledge that the criticisms of this film are also harshly undue in many instances. They are over the top and particularly visceral for no good reason. I know there are hasty elements of the film that could be better. But in the 3 hours that I sat here and consumed the piece of cinema that is Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, I was rarely less than entertained. There are fantastic action sequences and for the elements of lazy writing, there are some terribly clever moments where plot points come into view at just the right moment for a revelation to be nearly surgical in how it hits you. And this is coming from someone who has already seen the film. I really feel like I’m hovering in the B to B- range for an overall rating of this movie. It’s not C work. And it’s certainly not below that. Any mistakes this film makes are far from jarring enough to diminish the value of the substantial elements shown on screen. Even in evaluating my own past critiques I have to agree that some of them were too much. Some of them are still on point and they don’t overcome their own nature as a flaw in the movie. But some have found redemption, and as I said, none of the detract enough to seriously injure the integrity of the story as a whole. Ultimately this movie has found it’s way into favor in my eyes and even with a 3 hour run time, I don’t regret the rewatch. I’m quite happy I did revisit it because I feel like my own perspective on the film has had ample room to grow and my appreciation for this entry in the DCEU has also increased considerably. I think there’s real value in being able to do that. Revisiting films is a superb way to measure your own growth as an appreciator of movies. We grow as people. Our tastes change and mature over time. Our own personal views morph and evolve as we do as people. Having the ability to revisit a work of any kind and find vantage points you didn’t notice before and potentially unlock levels of value and appreciation you didn’t have before is incredibly worthwhile and the pursuit of that newness is unmatched in many ways. So I highly recommend finding movies you once wrote off as garbage or a waste of time and see if that stands the test. It may. I’ve revisited films before I’ve enjoyed in the past only to find I don’t have the same love for them. I’ve had movies I’ve watched after long periods of time and found I still dislike them and nothing changed. So there’s no promise of revelation in a rewatch. But I do submit that the possibility for that new value is definitively worth the time and effort. And with that I’ll conclude my piece on Batman v Superman. I’ll catch you on the flip side.
