So I finally saw Batman v Superman and here are my thoughts on it.



Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)
Directed by Zack Snyder
Starring Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams

Batman V Superman is about how controversy surrounding the morals of Superman escalated after Man of Steel, causing Batman to become involved in case he one day has to stop Superman. It was one of my most anticipated movies of the last few years, but now I have finally seen it I have somewhat mixed feelings about it. There are things I loved and things I didn't like so much.

First of all, Batman is awesome. Almost everything about him, from the suit to the Batcave to the action was great. Ben Affleck gives a good performance as both Batman and Bruce Wayne, which is very important (looking at you, George Clooney). He was like a super bulky ninja and the fight scenes looked like they were straight out of the Arkham video games. However, the thing I didn't like that much about him was that he's super violent. I don't have a problem with violence itself in movies, but it doesn't really fit with the character of Batman. He's shooting people down left and right. It didn't concern me that much, as everything else about him was great but it's still an important part of the Batman character. I think it would have been better if they acknowledged that he was going too far since Jason's death, like if Alfred (by the way Jeremy Irons is fantastic but underused) told him to rein it in, but the only thing we get is a shot of Jason's suit.

Since it is a Zack Snyder movie, it of course looks stunning. The frames are composed like comic book panels, Zack Snyder's trademark, and I think it's a really cool gimmick. The colours are washed out in some shots and very vibrant in others. The people are pretty, the CGI is pretty, the only ugly thing in the movie is Doomsday, who looks like a mix of a ninja turtle and a cave troll.

However... the movie is kind of a mess. There's just always something that feels off about it. The editing is terrible, one second Superman is flying through a wall then we're in a court room days later talking about it. The cuts are jarring and there are very few establishing shots. The pacing in this movie is also very strange, there are long boring stretches with little action. Dialogue scenes are fine but in this movie they aren't executed very well. Also, there are a few very strange dream scenes that honestly add nothing to the movie. They have cool action but don't affect the plot at all. I don't understand why they're there.

Most of the action is great and is shot very well. Honestly, Batman is the best part of this movie. All his fight scenes are intense, well choreographed, and don't use shaky cam so you can actually see what's happening. The final fight vs Doomsday, though, has some cool shots here and there but mostly is just a gigantic blob of noise and explosions. The actual Batman vs Superman fight only lasts about ten minutes.

I personally liked Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor Jr., I know that's an unpopular opinion but I thought he was fine. Although there were a couple ridiculous things he did that had me laughing at him rather than with him. I don't think he was a great villian for this movie specifically, though. He doesn't really fit in here.

A lot of the best things this movie has to offer are really underused. Amy Adams is a great actress, but Lois Lane does nothing but get captured so Superman can have something to worry about. She's just always falling off buildings and being threatened by terrorists. Wonder Woman was so cool, I really wanted to see more of her powers, but we didn't get it. Jeremy Irons as Alfred is awesome, but doesn't get that much screen time at all.

This movie focused too hard on setting up the Justice League and lost sight of the Batman V Superman stuff. Wonder Woman at one point gets an email which lazily sets up the characters for future movies in a really dumb way but I won't go too much into detail as to not spoil it. We've seen this problem before, with Amazing Spider-Man 2 trying way too hard to introduce the Sinister Six, and Fantastic Four trying to set up whatever the heck it was trying to set up, and it feels like DC is rushing to catch up to the Marvel movies.

Overall , I was somewhat disappointed in this movie. I loved the Batman stuff and I'm super excited for a Ben Affleck written and directed solo movie, but I think this movie tried too hard to kickstart the franchise that it forgot to be a good movie. It's kind of sloppy but I hope we can get to the good DC stuff after this.

2.75/5 stars