‘Batman V Superman’ Dawn Of Clumsy
I wish there was a different word that applied to Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, but the film is as clumsy as the title. Clumsy (OK at times plain bad) writing, clumsy directing and clumsy editing. Not that there aren’t enjoyable — in some cases outstanding — moments in the film, but overall it is a problematic mish-mash. Below is my spoiler-free review, assuming you have seen at least some of the posters, trailers and commercials (how could you not with all the hype?).
Right out of the gate it becomes clear that this sequel to Man of Steel is actually Batman’s movie. And that is both a refreshing change and a serious problem. Because buried inside the rushed (yes, even at two-and-a-half hours) origin story is what looks like it could have been an smart crisis-of-faith story that deals with the implications of the destruction that happened in Man of Steel and the awareness by people of Earth that essentially a god is among them. Instead of exploring that in depth, we get it wedged into a pretty good Batman movie and a thrilling Wonder Woman short.
Repeatedly there are clumsy editing jumps in the story, and in every instance it is clear that part of Superman’s story got the short shrift. I understand the desire by DC and its Warner Bros. parent to get a Justice League movie fast tracked, but this shouldn’t have been it.
Since this is mainly a Batman movie, one of those refreshing things is how good Ben Affleck is as Bruce Wayne/Batman. He and Jeremy Irons as Alfred might just be the best Bruce/Alfred team in film to date. Irons’ Alfred is as much a wise-ass as he was portrayed in Batman: The Animated Series and in Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns, from which the movie obviously draws much inspiration.
But it is Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman who completely steals the movie. I was not familiar with her work before this movie, so her serious acting chops and marvelous rough alto voice surprised me. Seriously, she sounds like a cross between Lauren Bacall and Monica Bellucci. A voice that could cause shivers up your spine, and lead armies at the same time.
Then there is Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor. I loves me some Jesse Eisenberg, but his portrayal of Lex Luthor brings zero menace to a role that should be Superman’s arch-nemesis. He comes across as a spoiled genius rich kid who should pose no more trouble for Superman than a barking dog. What a waste of a very good young actor and a poor choice of direction to take an iconic villain.
As bad as Eisenberg is as Luthor, the writing throughout the movie is worse. Cliched dialogue, completely pointless scenes that do nothing to either move the plot or grow the characters, and the plot device used to get to the “versus” part of the movie title is so thin, only Eisenberg’s squeaky voice is thinner. How bad is the writing? Without spoiling anything, it will come as no surprise that Batman does some World’s Greatest Detective work to find a piece of vital information — which turns out to be something he could have discovered with the most rudimentary of Google searches. Additionally, characters do dumb things and they do things dumb for their character even as portrayed already in the movie. To twist a phrase common in my home state of Maine, the movie may not be dumber than a box of rocks, but it is on equal footing.
We finally get to Zack Snyder. I am not a knee-jerk Zack Snyder hater, and I thought Man of Steel, while misguided and with just average writing, was the least Snyder-like movie he has made to date. Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice lands him with both feet and waist deep in the Snyderisms. Pointless slow-mo? Check. Clearly overly processed CGI set shots (also slow-mo)? Check. During the first quarter of the film, any time a blatantly obvious Snyderism moment (also known as a John Woo rip-off) appeared it was quickly played as something that could have been him actually making fun of himself (sorry, I can’t describe that more clearly without spoilers). Then we get a slow-mo crowd moment that looks like it could have been lifted straight out of The Watchmen. After that the floodgates open for a rush of Snyderisms.
To be clear, the action, while mostly illogical, is also mostly outstanding. And this Batman’s fights are brutal at a level not yet seen on film. Both Irons and Laurence Fishburne as Perry White have the few humorous moments in the film and they are each wonderful at it. And of course there is Wonder Woman. Her solo movie can’t happen fast enough.
So go see Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice because it is exciting; Affleck, Irons, Fishburne and especially Gadot are very good; and mainly it is an important launching point for what Warner Bros. wants to be the Marvel-beating DC Universe series of connected movies. But leave your brain behind.
