Directed by: Zack Snyder
Starring: Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Jesse Eisenberg, Diane Lane, Jeremy Irons, Gal Gadot, Laurence Fishburne, Holly Hunter
I admit my expectations for Batman v Superman were not high. Snyder's Man of Steel (2013) was a loud, incomprehensible mess, so why wouldn't Batman v Superman be? The good news is Batman v Superman was actually a thought-provoking film that was about something other than mindless violence and CGI run amok for a long while. It was about the consequences of such violence and how fear distorts perception to dangerous levels. Bruce Wayne (Affleck) fears that if Superman (Cavill) goes unchecked, what is to stop him from taking over the planet or destroying humankind at his whim? We see the origins of the impending battle from a revisit to Superman's battle with General Zod from Man of Steel. This time, we see it from billionaire CEO Wayne's point of view. He sees building destroyed and many of his employees die or maimed. He feels Superman recklessly disregards the people he claims to be saving, so Wayne takes it upon himself to be the one to hold Superman accountable.
Batman v Superman becomes the movie I feared it would be in the final 30 minutes or so. Not content to merely have Batman and Superman fight to the death, Lex Luthor (Eisenberg) unleashes his giant monster made from part human blood and part Kryptonite on Metropolis, which must be battled by Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman (Gadot). Wonder Woman is first seen as a mysterious woman with murky motives. She is connected somehow with all of this and a 100-year old photo provides the key to her connection. Gadot is attractive, but she does not arouse male fantasies like Lynda Carter did on the 1970s TV show.
Any qualms anyone has with buildings being destroyed and people put in harm's way are forgotten in the battle against the giant thing on Kryptonite steroids. Metropolis is in ruins once again and the residents are probably bone-weary of these battles by now. If I were them, I'd move to the country. Batman's entire argument against Superman flies out the window and the movie becomes just another loud, CGI explosion. With that being said, Batman v Superman is written thoughtfully and the performances are very good. Cavill was made into a boring Superman in Man of Steel, but here is a physically imposing presence and interesting to boot. We see his pain as the grumblings start from disillusioned, fearful people who resent his interference in people's affairs. (Although if faced with the giant monster, I wouldn't mind his involvement so much, but that's just me).
The sneering and punch lines that accompanied the news of Ben Affleck playing Batman were unlike any we had seen since Affleck trotted out Gigli and Surviving Christmas. Yet, Affleck handles himself well and is convincing. He is a Bruce Wayne/Batman who is scaled down and with a chip on his shoulder. Superheroing does not seem like a burden to him. The death of his parents, which is revisited for the umpteenth time in the beginning, provides sufficient motivation for him to prove his worth to a lawless society. Ironically, Clark Kent/Superman becomes alarmed at the Dark Knight's vigilantism and believes that Batman should be watched as well. The battle lines are clearly drawn and we dig in.
It is a pity that Batman v Superman could not leave well enough alone. It is the first in a series of future Justice League films, which hopefully do not become crowded monstrosities like The Avengers movies have become. Snyder and the writers (including David S. Goyer who wrote the Dark Knight trilogy), hedged their bets and played to the crowd that wanted to see an epic battle gone haywire. I am weary of loud, CGI fests where he can't follow the action and objects and bodies fly around at a dizzying pace. If you have seen one superhero battling a seemingly unbeatable creation, you've seen them all. What we are left with is a near-miss, but truth be told, Batman v Superman is better than I had any reason to anticipate. I very much enjoyed the idea that a superhero film could be engaging on an intellectual and emotional level. Who needs Luthor's nonsense?
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