FLY, FLAP OR FLOP? “BATMAN VS. SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE”

March 25, 2016
10 mins read

batmanvsupermanposterRelease Date: March 25, 2016
Running Time: 2 hours 33 minutes
Directed by: Zach Snyder
Rated: PG-13 for intense sequences of violence & action 
Starring: Ben Affleck as Bruce Wayne/Batman, Henry Cavill as Clark Kent/Superman, Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor, Diane Lane as Martha Kent, Jeremy Irons as Alfred, Holly Hunter as Senator Finch, Scoot McNairy as Wallace Keefe, Laurence Fishburne as Perry White, Tao Okamoto as Mercy Graves, Kevin Costner as Jonathan Kent, Callan Mulvey as Anatoli Kynazev, & Gal Gadot as Diana Prince/Wonder Woman

Lives were changed the day Superman (Henry Cavil) fought against General Zod (Michael Shannon). A city was left broken and the world was left vulnerable. In doing the “right thing” Superman unintentionally caused an upheaval in Metropolis that resounded across the globe. The victims of the battle have cried out for justice and Billionaire Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck) has come to answer that call. He does this as his caped dark persona Batman, the figure of night. He isn’t just a man with the means and money he is also an orphan. Bruce loss his mother and father and he’ll do anything to make sure no else goes through that type of pain. Clark Kent is a newsperson even though his alter-ego Superman is called a “god among men” he is humble. He wants to protect his home, Earth and Lois Lane, (Amy Adams) the woman he loves. Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) just wants to remain anonymous; covered in the shadows away from humanity. Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg) is a wealthy mastermind. He is like a chess master watching every move; never missing a beat. Lex schemes to use the pain of others to gain what he really wants.

Batman V. Superman: Dawn Of JusticeBatman V Superman is a dreamscape of cinematography. Moments are memories. Words are like open windows where we the audience get a glimpse into a different reality, a reality where comic books become real. The death of Thomas Wayne (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) and Martha Wayne (Lauren Cohan) leave their child Bruce reeling in inescapable torment. This is illustrated with a slow motion pen that writes out every elegant detail. Thomas Wayne’s clinched leather glove tightly holds back young Bruce. Martha’s pearl necklace rains down to the cold concrete in front of their attacker. All the square inches of this drama sing out from the screen. The tension of the Batman versus Superman’s rivalry is clearer than the high definition screen its projected upon.

Batman V. Superman: Dawn Of JusticeMy conclusion is that the director Zack Snyder (300, Watchmen) is a cinematic wizard. His movie magic has continued since his motion picture “Man of Steel” from 2013. All of the brilliant energies, graphic impacts of action and climatic reflections from before were conjured into this new film. The supporting cast is a garden of stars Laurence Fishburne as Perry White, Holly Hunter as Senator Finch, Jeremy Irons as Alfred, Diane Lane as Martha Kent, Callan Mulvey as Anatoli Knyazev these are just some of the familiar faces. There are also other comic book favorites from the DC world that will catch everyone’s attention. Ben Affleck was highly doubted as being the new Batman and he nailed it. The shuddering chill of loss surrounded his character. It was really who he was as a person and as a determined individual. Superman didn’t stray from the personality that was first shown in “Man of Steel.” Henry Cavill extended Clark Kent to be human and Superman to be the strongest hope on a day of doom. Jesse Eisenberg’s Lex Luther was jittery and calculating, I felt from his first appearance that he had a spider web of deceit but I had no clue how intelligently it was designed. His assistant Mercy Graves (Tao Okamoto) also appeared in a notable way. Most surprising to me though, was the representation of Wonder Woman. Since Linda Carter‘s portrayal from the famed TV show, there has been an empty space for the heroine. Gal Gadot has picked up the vacant lasso of truth and she wasn’t a cutesy-glorified-cheerleader. She was beautiful and strong. She could of easily taken over the film if it weren’t for the steady balance between the depth of Batman’s justice and the weight of Superman’s responsibility. When the credits rolled it felt like I woke up from an action packed dream. In my opinion this is DC’s answer to Marvel’s Avengers. For comic book fans this upped the bar, which mean movies are going to get a lot more interesting. ~ Perry Boyd

He has the power to wipe out the entire human race. If we believe that there is even a 1% chance that he is our enemy then we have to take it as an absolute certainty.

After defeating General Zod, Superman tries to continue his life at the Daily Planet and his relationship with Lois Lane. Unfortunately, the casualties and damage that was left behind have left a bad taste in the mouths of the citizens of Metropolis. One citizen in particular, Lex Luthor, is determined to find a way to defend the world against the powers of Superman. Unbeknownst to Bruce Wayne, he has fallen into a masterfully crafted plan of the evil genius that involves theft, the government, and images of meta-humans. As Bruce tracks the activities of Lex, he meets an intriguing lady named Diana Prince. The disdain that Bruce Wayne feels for Superman comes to a head when an ex-employee who lost his legs during the battle with Zod comes forward to tell his story. Can Superman get through to Batman before it is too late or will Lex Luthor succeed with his evil plan?

Batman V. Superman: Dawn Of Justice

Black and blue fight night! The greatest gladiator match in the history of the world. God versus man. Day versus night! Son of Krypton versus Bat of Gotham!

Continuing where Man of Steel left off without missing a beat, Zack Snyder uses his amazing talent of directing, storytelling, and special effects to introduce Batman, Wonder Woman, and Lex Luthor into the loop while setting the stage for The Justice League films. His passion for comic book movies absolutely shines as bright as Earth’s yellow sun in this film. The performances from the ensemble cast were all outstanding with Jesse Eisenberg standing out with an evil performance that we have not seen before in the role. Where Henry Cavill excels as being a god-like being of goodness, Ben Affleck steps up his game as the borderline criminal with good intentions. Amy Adams is still my favorite Lois Lane of all time. Last but not least, Gal Gadot portrays Wonder Woman with all of the style and grace that I expect as a comic book lover. Kudos to Chris Terrio and David S. Goyer for weaving a tale that pays homage to the comic book stories by not straying too far from the fine work that the original creators dreamt up. Even though I was entranced during the 2 hour and 33 minute running time, I took a moment to glance around and saw that the audience shared my enthusiasm for the wonderfully entertaining film that the entire cast and crew obviously worked diligently to bring to the big screen. I’m looking forward to Suicide Squad which will be released (hopefully) this August and The Justice League Part One next year. Whether you are a fan of the Bat or the Man of Steel, fly into the theater to see this one! Grade A-~Movie Buffette

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sam_r4_v11c3_151002_17mj_g_r709f.359395.tifBatman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice exceeded my expectations.  Unlike my fellow critic, I did not grow up reading comics and therefore have no predisposition for how the story is supposed to be told.  The movie captured my attention and brought something for everyone.   The action adventure film delivers on special effects, set design, plot twists, screenplay, direction and casting.  Jessie Eisenberg is brilliant as Lex Luthor.   His insane portrayal of Lex reminds me of Heath Ledger’s performance of the Joker in The Dark Knight.  I can’t wait to see what he brings to the next film.  I really loved how executive producer Christopher Nolan influences the backstory.  It has his signature all over it and I love it!

czzkwrovaaaacu7Since the project was announced, I have been at war with myself over who I would choose: Batman or Superman.  I love both for different reasons and thought, how can they do this.  Without giving anything away, I will say this, director Zach Snyder has succeeded in putting two of my favorite characters on the big screen together.  I can’t get enough of Henry Cavill as Clark Kent/Superman.  He has the commanding presence of the God-like character along with the innocence of man. He loves the world he has adopted as his own.

cekg4mxwiaaunwySeveral of the fight scenes reminded me of the Batman television series and I expected any minute to see the word “pow” on the screen.  Newcomer Gil Gadot’s portrayal of Wonder Woman is excellent.  She is woven into the storyline in a very strategic way.   I could go on and on about this film and talk about the origins of Superman, but I will wrap it up with this.  The world needs superheroes, now more than ever, and especially Superman.  Take a look around you.  He is here in the person that saves a child from being kidnapped, rescues a drowning dog in a frozen pond, wrestle a burglary suspect and more.

Thank you to the superb cast and crew for bringing this film to the big screen and allowing the everyday person to escape from reality for a little while.  ~A.S. MacLeod

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FROM THE MOUTHS OF…..

Stanton College Prep DEVIL’S ADVOCATE film review

From day one of production, the makers of “Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice” were challenged with a seemingly impossible task as they sought to merge the worlds of two of the greatest superheroes of all time. What could possibly go wrong?

In this Zack Snyder-directed film where Gotham meets Metropolis and man meets metahuman, Ben Affleck and Henry Cavill star opposite each other as Batman and Superman, respectively. The timeline overlaps with that of Snyder’s “Man of Steel,” as Superman defeats the Kryptonian General Zod (Michael Shannon) and is subsequently met with both ire and admiration because of the human destruction caused by his actions. Among Superman’s critics is the Caped Crusader himself, and increasing tensions between the two build and lead up to their “epic” showdown and eventual partnership. Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg) serves as a catalyst for the action between the aforementioned superheroes and Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) joins the pair in order to defeat the Kryptonian monster Doomsday.

On the surface, the plot sounds solid, as dark is juxtaposed with light and themes concerning everything from the nature of power to the relationship between man and god are explored. However, for me at least, the film didn’t quite live up to the hype surrounding its release.

For starters, I took issue with the portrayal of several of the film’s main characters. While I appreciated the complexity of Lex Luthor—exemplified by his use of psychology against his foes and characterization as a neurotic, yet brilliant man-child—I was disappointed by the depictions of Batman and Superman. I couldn’t help but hearken back to Christopher Nolan’s “Dark Knight” trilogy where the lines between good and evil were less clearly defined and it was harder to read the emotions of Christian Bale’s Batman. In that film, Batman was more covert and less clunky, and his character was both darker and twisted.

In contrast, machismo and emotionalism are the driving forces behind the growing antagonism between the main superheroes featured in “Batman v. Superman;” Batman works to bring about Superman’s demise because of fears over what-ifs pertaining to the fate of humanity while Superman is putty in Lex Luthor’s hands as he keeps tabs on the vigilante. In the case of Batman in particular, I was annoyed by the repeated use of dream sequences in order to give more credence to his paranoia. I was also surprised to see Batman work in conjunction with the same fear of the unknown found in his most ardent detractors.

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As a final note on characterization, I’d like to give props to Gal Gadot for her portrayal of a fierce, crime-fighting Wonder Woman who stood in stark contrast to the damsel-in-distress archetype found in Lois Lane. That said, neither Diana Prince nor Lois Lane were developed fully in the film, and considering the buzz surrounding Wonder Woman’s appearance in “Batman v. Superman,” I was disappointed by the extent to which she played second fiddle to Batman and Superman until it came time to battle Doomsday.

One of the other major areas in which “Batman v. Superman” fails is dialogue, as the lines spoken are mostly expositional and leave little to the imagination. In real life, communication serves a number of different purposes; yes, people talk in order to handle matters of business and carry on with their lives. However, communication—both verbal and nonverbal—is also used to delude, arouse emotions and complicate matters further. Additionally, that which is left unsaid can be far more important than that which is stated explicitly.

Unfortunately, with the exception of Lex Luthor, the dialogue in this movie merely reinforces mostly weak characterizations. There are few memorable lines. Batman is uncharacteristically tunnel-visioned and obsessed while Superman is down in the dumps (and for good reason) for the better part of the movie.

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On a more positive note, I did appreciate the early use of cinematography and setting in order to tell a story more beautifully than words ever could; although slow-motion effects were overused and some of the opening crosscuts and timeline jumps were dizzying, I appreciated the near-silent (in terms of dialogue) introduction to Batman’s backstory and the use of shot reverse shot to detail his disillusionment with Superman after witnessing the defeat of General Zod and destruction of Metropolis. I was also mesmerized by the beauty of the scenery and special effects and I must give credit to the filmmakers for subtly tying the events of “Batman v. Superman” into the chronology of “Man of Steel.”

Ultimately, I was left wanting more from “Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice,” but for now, I’ll have to settle.

By Valerie Starks,

Stanton College Prep Devil’s Advocate Student Life Editor

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