“Batman V. Superman: Dawn Of Justice” Review (2016)

Written by J. Johnson

Starring: Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Jesse Eisenberg, Diane Lane, Laurence Fishburne, Jeremy Irons, Holly Hunter and Gal Gadot. | Directed by Zack Snyder | Running Time: 151 Minutes | Rated PG-13 & R (For extensive violence & language)

(WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!)

The success of Marvel establishing their own cinematic universe with cohesive superheroes that can actually coexist has proven well for them, that sparked the DC Comics to begin setting up their own universe. 2013’s Man of Steel was the first to be tested for the first initial start for DC’s cinematic expanded universe, with the next chapter introducing Batman and Wonder Woman. Many mixed reactions to the Man of Steel wasn’t enough as the movie took a darker undertone approach than prior films trying to establish a story for Superman. That being said, the reported budget of 250 million dollars for Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice has a lot riding it.

Many fans of arguably the two most iconic characters in American pop culture have their time to share a big screen and what has been built as a big deal. The story centers around the notion that Superman has become too powerful and there must be a pseudo checks and balance to his power. One man that sees Superman as a threat that has the power to destroy the human race is orphan-millionaire, Bruce Wayne.

In the DC universe Metropolis and Gotham practically side-by-side from each other. In the movie, Batman and Superman become aware of one another and as the title promises, eventually their conflicting ideologies forces them to fight each other… with some mixed reactions.

For those wondering, Batman V Superman is a greatly amazing mess. You have the good along with the bad; like all movies especially ones that are adapted from the comic books. There’s a lot to be expected from the fans and the production companies try the best they can to please the fans, but always add a spin of their own. Visually the director behind 300 and Watchmen can create an action movie with a beautiful image, but the film sorely lacks the storyline most people expect. I appreciate what Snyder tried to tell as he heavily followed the comics (which most fans of comic books want), but this is only the setup movie for the big payoff that Warner Bros expects will be huge.

Although I’m trying to find redeeming qualities in the film, the one thing that the film did have that stuck out was the disjointed jumping from scene to scene. At times, there’s that notion of too much going on in this film which there was which for me I was able to follow it for the 2 hours. It’s simple, you have Batman and Superman’s motivations; the hero trying to show he is the hero, another hero trying to find out why one can be so powerful. Follow that up with the supporting characters centering around the main characters not too much to be confused about.

Speaking of the characters, a lot were worried about Affleck playing the iconic role of Bruce Wayne/Batman, but he fits perfectly in this role, for the fact that it’s darker and violent however many won’t relate with this Batman as they did with Bale’s Batman. Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor was another role I liked for Snyder captured a cynical side of Luthor than the ones we have been exposed to. I rather Eisenberg than Spacey no offense to Kevin Spacey.

Batman V Superman has the problem with this the pacing, structure, and script. I didn’t go into the movie looking for the greatest movie of all time, but I did see an exceptional film for what it was. From start to finish I was a little confused by some of the scenes but was able to make sense of them by watching and enjoying it. The two hours to set up the DCCU was full of  CGI destruction, countless nods to other comic book characters that it relied on it a little too much at times. That being said the movie isn’t boring or poorly made by any stretch. For comic book fans this a dream come true only to be realized with the glass half empty/full theory. Simply put many people were expecting too much out of this film, while the production company marketed it as the biggest movie of all time and that just not the case here.

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‘Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice’ is out in theaters now!