Batman vs Superman: A Review
Mar. 28th, 2016 03:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
hilsToday I bit the bullet and went to see Batman vs Superman. I was more than a little wary. I really, really hated Man of Steel and coupled with the fact that the media has been making a huge deal about all the bad reviews this movie is getting I went in with pretty low expectations.
Now, I'm not going to say this was an excellent movie and all the critics are wrong BUT it was infinitely better than everyone is making it out to be and it's a VAST improvement on Man of Steel
What Hils liked
Lois and Clark's relationship. One of the many things I hated about Man of Steel was the way Lois and Clark's relationship 'developed' in that it didn't really. They had a couple of conversations and then at the end it was as though Zack Snyder suddenly remembered they were supposed to be in love so had them kiss. In the new movie, although they don't have a ton of scenes together, what we do see is a loving and fully developed relationship. I loved Clark coming home with flowers, offering to cook, sex in the bathtub :D
Batman. Now I will be the first to put my hand up and say that I was dubious when they announced Ben Affleck as Batman. He does not have a great track record when it comes to acting performances. I will also be the first to put my hand up and say I was wrong. My biggest issue with Batman on screen is that I've never really seen anyone portray both Bruce Wayne and Batman to the same standard. Generally the actors are either a good Bruce Wayne and an average Batman (Michael Keaton) or a good Batman and an average Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale). In my opinion Ben Affleck is the first one to get both sides of the character just right. In fact I'd go so far as to say he pretty much carried the movie which spans both what I did like and what I didn't like. This is supposed to be a Superman movie after all, not a Batman movie.
Wonder Woman. This is how a supporting character is supposed to be. She was great. I am definitely looking forward to the Wonder Woman movie but she wasn't in it enough to overshadow Superman whose movie it's supposed to be.
Justice League teaser. Yes, please. I have been aching for a Justice League movie forever and so long as they get someone else to edit and direct it we should be onto a winner.
What Hils did not like
The editing/direction. Now I will admit I don't know a great deal about cinema editing or direction but I know enough to know when it's being done badly and this was SO bad! The scenes were disjointed, jarring and one particular scene (Bruce's dream/vision of the future where Superman has gone nuts after Lois died) made absolutely no sense in the context of the rest of the movie. It got better towards the end but the first half just felt like a load of random scenes just tossed at the screen without any attempts to weave them together in any sort of coherent way.
Lex Luthor. I was really hoping to be wrong about him but Jesse Eisenburg's portrayal of Lex was without a doubt the worst thing about this movie. At the end I still don't fully understand his motivations. He kept talking about his father, who we have never seen or heard from, and I'm still not sure what we were supposed to get out of it. Every line he spoke was grating and far from being any sort of threat or menace I just found him irritating.
Not enough Superman. As I mentioned above there seemed to be more emphasis placed on Batman than Superman. This did not feel like a Superman movie. I would have really liked to have seen more of him trying to come to terms with what his role is in this world, the fact that people are afraid of him or worship him in equal measure, all the things that push him into sacrificing himself fighting Doomsday.
Batman vs Superman. I think it's safe to say that most people went into this movie eager to see Batman and Superman fight. Unfortunately, the whole thing is a bit of a letdown. I mean the fight itself is fine but I just spent the whole thing rolling my eyes because it didn't need to happen. Superman makes one small attempt to explain that Lex is manipulating them into fighting and then just sort of gives up. Considering his mother's life is on the line and he has limited time to save her I just felt like the whole thing was a bit daft. There could have been a million other ways for them to get to the fight without it feeling unnecessary.
In summary
Good movie. Could have been a great movie with another writer and director involved. Which is more or less the same issue I had with Man of Steel, expect that one wasn't even good.
Time to get rid of Zack Snyder and get someone else to move the franchise forward.
Now, I'm not going to say this was an excellent movie and all the critics are wrong BUT it was infinitely better than everyone is making it out to be and it's a VAST improvement on Man of Steel
What Hils liked
Lois and Clark's relationship. One of the many things I hated about Man of Steel was the way Lois and Clark's relationship 'developed' in that it didn't really. They had a couple of conversations and then at the end it was as though Zack Snyder suddenly remembered they were supposed to be in love so had them kiss. In the new movie, although they don't have a ton of scenes together, what we do see is a loving and fully developed relationship. I loved Clark coming home with flowers, offering to cook, sex in the bathtub :D
Batman. Now I will be the first to put my hand up and say that I was dubious when they announced Ben Affleck as Batman. He does not have a great track record when it comes to acting performances. I will also be the first to put my hand up and say I was wrong. My biggest issue with Batman on screen is that I've never really seen anyone portray both Bruce Wayne and Batman to the same standard. Generally the actors are either a good Bruce Wayne and an average Batman (Michael Keaton) or a good Batman and an average Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale). In my opinion Ben Affleck is the first one to get both sides of the character just right. In fact I'd go so far as to say he pretty much carried the movie which spans both what I did like and what I didn't like. This is supposed to be a Superman movie after all, not a Batman movie.
Wonder Woman. This is how a supporting character is supposed to be. She was great. I am definitely looking forward to the Wonder Woman movie but she wasn't in it enough to overshadow Superman whose movie it's supposed to be.
Justice League teaser. Yes, please. I have been aching for a Justice League movie forever and so long as they get someone else to edit and direct it we should be onto a winner.
What Hils did not like
The editing/direction. Now I will admit I don't know a great deal about cinema editing or direction but I know enough to know when it's being done badly and this was SO bad! The scenes were disjointed, jarring and one particular scene (Bruce's dream/vision of the future where Superman has gone nuts after Lois died) made absolutely no sense in the context of the rest of the movie. It got better towards the end but the first half just felt like a load of random scenes just tossed at the screen without any attempts to weave them together in any sort of coherent way.
Lex Luthor. I was really hoping to be wrong about him but Jesse Eisenburg's portrayal of Lex was without a doubt the worst thing about this movie. At the end I still don't fully understand his motivations. He kept talking about his father, who we have never seen or heard from, and I'm still not sure what we were supposed to get out of it. Every line he spoke was grating and far from being any sort of threat or menace I just found him irritating.
Not enough Superman. As I mentioned above there seemed to be more emphasis placed on Batman than Superman. This did not feel like a Superman movie. I would have really liked to have seen more of him trying to come to terms with what his role is in this world, the fact that people are afraid of him or worship him in equal measure, all the things that push him into sacrificing himself fighting Doomsday.
Batman vs Superman. I think it's safe to say that most people went into this movie eager to see Batman and Superman fight. Unfortunately, the whole thing is a bit of a letdown. I mean the fight itself is fine but I just spent the whole thing rolling my eyes because it didn't need to happen. Superman makes one small attempt to explain that Lex is manipulating them into fighting and then just sort of gives up. Considering his mother's life is on the line and he has limited time to save her I just felt like the whole thing was a bit daft. There could have been a million other ways for them to get to the fight without it feeling unnecessary.
In summary
Good movie. Could have been a great movie with another writer and director involved. Which is more or less the same issue I had with Man of Steel, expect that one wasn't even good.
Time to get rid of Zack Snyder and get someone else to move the franchise forward.