BATMAN V. SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE(PG-13)
**** (out of 5)
March 25, 2016
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
Laurence Fishburne as PERRY WHITE
Jeremy Irons as ALFRED
Holly Hunter as SENATOR FINCH
Gal Gadot as DIANA PRINCE / WONDER WOMAN
Scoot McNairy as WALLACE KEEFE
Studio: Warner Bros.
Directed by: Zack Snyder
BY KEVIN CARR
Listen to Kevin’s radio review…
I took the long way around to warm up to “Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice.” Coming off the painfully flawed “Man of Steel,” I was initially excited to see a big-screen version of the decades-old feud of Batman and Superman (the seeds of which had been planted in the comics when John Byrne revamped Supes in the 80s and Frank Miller had published his groundbreaking “The Dark Knight Returns” graphic novel).
However, once it was clear that Warner Bros. and DC Comics was planning on using this film to be less of a Superman sequel and more of a launching pad for their DC Cinematic Universe so a future “Justice League” movie could make the billions of dollars that “The Avengers” had done for marvel, I quickly became skeptical.
Then came the casting. Sure, I was one of the few people who was kind of excited to see Ben Affleck play Batman, and more importantly Bruce Wayne. However, I was not sold on Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor or the whisper-thin Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman. Following these casting announcements, the marketing hype machine wound up. Trailers were dropping more than a year before the release while concept art, set images and cast rumors were trickling out on a near weekly basis.
Like the banking industry in 2008, this superhero movie project was deemed too big to fail by the powers that be.
But the film had yet to prove itself.
Finally the time came to actually watch the movie. And while I went in with a skeptical eye, I also went in with an open mind. I wasn’t ready to turn the screws on Zack Snyder. I had forgiven him for movies like “Sucker Punch” and his mediocre film “Man of Steel,” which thumbed its nose at some of the most established source material (like Superman getting his powers from Earth’s atmosphere and not our yellow sun). I was ready to take “Dawn of Justice” at face value.
The story begins with Batman, which makes sense because “Man of Steel” sequel be damned, this is more of Batman’s story than Superman’s. We see how General Zod’s attack on Metropolis has impacted Bruce Wayne, and we also see the lingering guilt that Superman feels from the devastation he was partly responsible for. While a hot-headed senator (Holly Hunter) is leading a witch hunt against the Man of Steel for his part in the events, maniacal businessman Lex Luthor is pulling the strings to help bring Batman and Superman to a violent confrontation.
Yeah, the story is a bit convoluted at times. However, considering the immense pressure that DC and Warner Bros. had put on Snyder, he managed to deliver a movie that had a specific narrative direction.
Is the movie crowded? Perhaps a little bit, but it’s hardly insurmountable, and it’s far less crowded than a movie like “Avengers: Age of Ultron.” A lot of the relief to this crowded movie is the inclusion of simples teases to other elements of the DC Cinematic Universe (like a fleeting glimpse at Aquaman, The Flash and Cyborg) rather than extended scenes and drawn-out cameos. Only Wonder Woman in her secret identity guise of Diana Prince gets considerable screen time.
As far as the cast goes, I was happy with almost everyone. Affleck made a great Bruce Wayne and a great Batman, and it was nice to see him doing the work of a detective again rather than just a brawler. Henry Cavill still works as the boy scout superhero, and his clean-cut demeanor plays off nicely against the grittier and more gruff Affleck. Jeremy Irons is pretty great as Wayne butler Alfred.
Even Gal Gadot, whom I was very skeptical about, shines as Wonder Woman. Granted, a lot of this is because she’s easy on the eyes and has some great combat scenes. She’s also given scant dialogue moments, which works to her advantage because she’s really not that good of an actress at all. Let’s hope she got some acting lessons before she dove into the standalone “Wonder Woman” movie due out next year.
In fact, the only real complaint I have about this movie is Eisenberg’s Luthor. It’s downright embarrassing, showcasing the actor’s one-note range. Instead of being the mad scientist from the silver age or the post-Byrne cutthroat businessman more people are familiar with, Eisenberg comes across as Mark Zuckerberg on speed. It’s not as bad as Kevin Spacey gleefully yelling, “Kr-r-r-r-r-yptonite!” but it’s damn close.
With a 151-minute running time, “Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice” has some fat that could be trimmed, but I didn’t find much of it to be a waste of time (multiple Bruce Wayne dream sequences aside). The action was great, and the effects were generally pretty good (aside from a few overly-CGI’d moments).
“Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice” isn’t going to please everyone, but it certainly achieved what it was aiming for in this bout. I, for one, am now quite eager to see what we get from a full dance card in the upcoming “Justice League” movies, due out in 2017 and 2019.
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Are you suffering from brain damage? You say that “Man of Steel” was ‘painfully flawed’ then go on to say that Eisenberg was your ONLY REAL COMPLAINT? You need to seriously rethink what you’re doing with your life and/or demand more money from WB next time for distributing such drivel, sellout. This movie was complete and utter garbage. Which is actually an insult to garbage.
Well, we are all entitled to our opinions, aren’t we? Thanks for responding. I’ll be sure to send you some of my phat Warner Bros. sell-out money. In fact, I’ll send you half of it.
can ummm…can I get some of that money? lol, some people right? assholes everywhere. nice review man.
To be fair Eisenberg is a slightly better actor than Michael Cera.
Loved your review…spot on.
Considering how “awesome” this movie was supposed to be and considering your review is one of the most favorable I’ve seen…. It just reaffirms how I felt when I left the theatre… that it’s not a bad movie, and it had some good actors. You are right in that Eisenberg was the worst part of the movie, he felt more like t he joker than Lex.
But personally, I didn’t like Affleck’s Batman. I’m not laying the blame on him, I just don’t like Snyder’s direction for the character.
I thought it was a fair review. The film is actually quite bonkers but not in a terrible way and its not half as bad as they say. Eisenberg was dreadful though.
I’ve been struck by the gap between the bulk of the critical reviews and the reaction of moviegoers. Anyone can see the big difference in the average critic and audience scores on, e.g., Rotten Tomatoes, and I’ve also experienced it myself and heard it from my relatively geeky, DCU-aware friends. This is the first review I’ve read that I agree with nearly completely, though I have to say I was probably more behind Gal Godot’s performance than you, Mr Carr.
I honestly feel like there’s a bit of a herd effect happening among the critics on this movie. I’m not Zack Snyder’s biggest fan. He has some problems with the way he portrays female characters, though I think he’s also making progress on that front (Wonder Woman being a step forward in this film, and Lois Lane’s constant damsel syndrome the two steps back). He tends to stage fairly generic action setpieces that rely on CGI spectacle to make an impression, as contrasted with the heavy CGI with character you see from Robert Rodriguez. His moral themes get very confused when they gain any nuance. You’d never mistake him for an auteur with a vision, like the Coen brothers, Wes Anderson, or Guillermo del Toro, among many others. The critical consensus on this is a bit of an ad hominem reaction, in my view. That’s not to say these flaws don’t all come up to some degree in Bats v Supes, but compared to 300 (which I was not particularly impressed with) or Sucker Punch, he’s clearly making progress on most of those.
I just rewatched Man of Steel tonight. Maybe it’s knowing the emotional and reputational fallout for Superman that will come up in the new movie, but the ethical issues around the destruction of Metropolis and death of Zod that seemed so much bigger at the time struck me as much more understandable on a second viewing.
Anyway, thanks for what I felt was a much fairer review on the merits of the film than what it seems like I’ve seen from other critics on this one.
Film was bad-incoherent-no vision-no organization-no motivation-no good
A very fair review and I’ve shared it with others who also agree. Remember, the very difficult task to feature both Batman & Superman and maintain some sort of balance. Mr. Carr never gave the movie a “glowing” review and, in fact pointed out numerous flaws. I rate it 7.75 out of 10. I enjoyed the movie and plan to see it again. You’re spot on Kevin Carr. Thanks.
Best Lex Luthor was….Gene Hackman
Come on, when we were kids (1960s) DC comics were fun..today, they are dark….yuk. No one will top Chris Reeves, at least the first movie he made.
Hope this even logs in ok!?
You seem to be among the chosen few that rate this over-the-top CGI epic that high?
But, you were on the $money$ in regard to Eisenberg, perhaps the most obnoxious villain in all of these type of flix!!!
Personally, I’m not a big fan of these now far too-=many “comic books/superhero films”
& still like Tim Burton’s 1989 “Batman” the best, barely over “The Dark Knight”
It’s obvious that all these filmmakers really care about is the bottom line at the $B.O.$ & not quality i.e. “The Revanant” *”Birdman” “Inside/0ut” (NOTE: Have yet to see the surprise *Oscar winning *”Spotlight:” as yet)
& am not totally againt visuals either & thought “Gravity” was tremendous at every level!
Thank You
Yes, GRAVITY was fantastic. And I do like Burton’s BATMAN, tho the purist in me has some issues with it (e.g., Alfred would never bring anyone like Vicki Vale into the Bat Cave). Probably my favorite is THE DARK KNIGHT.
(TRIVIA/NOTE: Some on here may already know this Robert Downey, Jr. according the “Forbes” annual list, is the highest pd actor in the industry! & for a couple yrs running now
Of the ladies, it’s of course *Jennifer Lawrence.)
Often heard you on WFLA in the morning & do you have a section on here on your all-time favorite’s???
I’ve known both Steve Persall & Bob Ross for yrs now, although the latter is not w/”Tampa Tribune,”etc’ any more
(NOTE: & what do ya’ think of (www.imdb.com), (www.rottentomates.com) & or any other movie related site’s?
Leonard Maltin has a marvelous new one at (www.moviecrazy.com)
(P.S. please also drop me a line about anything cinema sometime)
THANX
(jeffshannon50@gmail.com) I’ve also been a card-carrying AFI member-(though was at lower level of course) back starting in 2001 or so
& have been an *Oscar oddsmaker dating back to when I was a kid of 18 or so in 1982 But did lousy the first few yrs & for last yr as well, only hitting (14 for 24 correct) However, the previous yr I hit my highnote at (20 for 24)
Rarely agree w/the *Academy, but still love to try & outguess ’em
Thanks for listening to me on WFLA. I don’t have a list of my all-time favorites here, but I have some notes on my Letterboxd account (http://letterboxd.com/kevincarr).
The movie sites are good for what they are specialized in… IMDb has great data but terrible reviews (anyone can post anything). RT is good for an overall consensus, but it measures a compilation of up/down votes rather than degree of quality. Haven’t seen Maltin’s new site yet.