I have never been more excited about any movie more than this one. My two favorite superheroes fighting it out in a bout billed as "The greatest gladiator match in the history of the world". They have a good fight, they do, but it could have been a great one. The reason it isn't is because of the two men I mentioned earlier, Zack Snyder and Chris Terrio. This movie is a mess. There is good in it but I cannot deny that it is a mess. Snyder may be a great visual director but a focused storyteller he is not. The pacing of this movie is nonsensical. Scenes unfold in a certain order that leave the audience wondering why. David Brenner edited the film along with Snyder. Together the two made a very poorly strung together film. I do not understand how the two sat in the editing room and left scenes in the final cut that did not forward the plot. They had no place of importance in the film. There were decisions made that I do not comprehend how they thought were a good idea.
Zack Snyder directing a character he clearly does not understand.
Snyder's vision for this film is a wholly unrealized one. The movie asks fascinating questions and then proceeds to go nowhere with them. There are great ideas that are dropped right after they're mentioned. Snyder put more on his plate then he could handle. There are many movies crammed into one here and Snyder just cannot balance them. On one hand he is attempting to tell a Man of Steel sequel, on the other is a Batman movie all while trying to do a Justice League prequel. The sequel to Man of Steel could have been its own movie and an interesting one at that if it had been given proper focus. The Batman movie here is directly inspired by the terrific graphic novel The Dark Knight Returns. I love that it's in there but at the same time I don't know if it's used correctly. The Justice League prequel here excites me for future movies despite how forced it felt. There is a moment after a Mad Max: Fury Road like sequence in the film that is tremendously awful. It gets to the point that the actual Batman V Superman angle is left on the back burner. It feels like the movie forgot about the fight and remembered three quarters of the way in.
The Dark Knight blocks a punch thrown by the Man of Steel.
The fight itself is so poorly set up that if the two spoke briefly before throwing punches then no punches would be thrown at all. There are no real philosophical differences between the two, in no small part to Snyder's not understanding what makes Batman a hero. The motivation behind the fight was so forced that it felt unnecessary. This was supposed to be the best fight in all of superhero movie history but it lacked due to not being set up well. To the film's credit the fight is not only entertaining but one with the guts to actually have a winner and not end in a draw.
Ben Affleck is a good Batman/Bruce Wayne. There were things that he did in the movie that were the exact opposite of who Batman is, yet incredibly Affleck is still a Batman straight out of the comics. He may end up being the best Dark Knight we've ever had on screen. His fury and cruelty in the film put a definitive stamp on this movie not being for kids. I liked Henry Cavill as Superman more here than in his previous film. He had moments where I had a thought I previously only had with the late Christopher Reeve; "That is Superman." Amy Adams has never mailed in a performance in the past and she certainly does not here. She's good in the movie and she's given multiple things to do that access different parts of her acting abilities.
Jesse Eisenberg gives a performance that would fit perfectly in Batman Forever or Batman and Robin.
Jesse Eisenberg. Oh, Jesse who told you this was a good idea? He was not written well and he performed exactly what he was written. His hatred towards Superman is never directly addressed although is love for Jolly Ranchers and being wacky is. He never delivered the menace of the Lex Luthor from comics and television. I never felt anything for him other than contempt. Laurence Fishburne is given plenty of bad dialog and scenes that should have ended up on the cutting room floor. Holly Hunter was a throw away character in the film and Scoot McNairy was absolutely wasted. Gal Gadot was perfectly acceptable as Wonder Woman. She did not blow me away, she did not ruin the film. She was fine in the limited role she had.
Superman is once again treated like the Christ like figure he is.
This is a very divisive film for me. The first fifteen minutes I loved. Bruce Wayne being on ground zero while the destruction of Metropolis occurred at the end of Man of Steel was a brilliant decision. He even had a moment that made me tear up. That was not the last time that I teared up. A moment in the third act triggered it in me. Other moments triggered such excitement in me that I got a very painful leg cramp in the theater. The third act itself is completely forced into the movie. An iconic Superman villain appears solely for the heroes to fight. The fight itself is frustrating for the decisions made in it which proves Snyder did not learn from Man of Steel's flaws. I do have to give credit where credit is due and Warner Brothers is owed some credit here. They make some incredibly brave and risky choices in this film. Whether they pay off or not, only time will tell.
I know it seems like I really disliked this movie, it's just that there are more negatives than positives in it. There are things I really enjoyed in here but I cannot in good faith call this a good film. It hurts me deeply to say that, but I would not be a good reviewer if I did not tell you that. Will I be seeing this film again? Absolutely. Why? Because the Batman Superman fight is a good one. Will I be excited for a Snyder directed Justice League? No. I do not believe he is the right man for the job. He is not a focused story teller or someone who understands what makes the DC characters special.
Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice is a mess. There is good in this movie, but it is still a mess.
2.9/5
