Thoughts on BvS: Dawn of Justice

Entry posted by Toa Smoke Monster March 31, 2016

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So I was able to see Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice last weekend. I just haven't had a chance to post anything about it until now thanks to work and other events in my life. Sometimes, I really think I need to go on more vacations...

Anyways, here are my thoughts on Dawn of Justice. It contains spoilers, so don't read it if you haven't seen it yet and don't want to know said spoilers about it.

The Good:

1. Ben Affleck's portrayal as Batman is the best thing about the movie IMO. He does a good job with the character, and always gets your attention whenever he's on screen.

2. While the death of Bruce's parents is once again shown in the movie, it's done in the same way as the Hulk's origin story was done in the 2008 Incredible Hulk movie. It's as if they knew that we knew already happened to them, so they showed the scene, established what happened, and moved on very quickly from it.

3. I also really like the beginning scene where we saw some of the events from the end of Man of Steel from Batman's perspective. It was a good start to show why Batman didn't like Superman, plus the scene itself was really cool.

4. I like how the movie showed the world's reaction to someone like Superman existing on the planet. Some people see him as a hero, while some see him as a possible threat. The movie also raises the questions like 'When should Superman react to a situation, if he should at all?' It brings up stuff that the people would really talk about if someone like Superman was actually real.

5. The actions scenes, when the movie finally gets to them, were good. The best fight scene IMO is Batman taking on the men holding Martha Clark hostage. It's probably one of the best fight scenes ever seen by Batman in any Batman movie.

And now for the bad:

1. Jesse Eisenberg's as Lex Luthor. He was just a little too over the top with his performance to me. I just couldn't take him seriously through most of the movie. He did have a couple a scenes towards the end where he actually got a little more serious with the character. And if he had been like that from the start, I might've liked his performance a little more. But as is, it just wasn't my favorite take on the character.

2. Superman's role in the story. It really feels like Superman is a secondary character in his own movie here, overshadowed by the Batman himself. I read a review about the movie on another site, and it said that 'this movie felt like a Batman movie with Superman elements forced into it.' I definitely got that same feeling after watching this.

3. Batman's nightmares about Superman. Particularly the desert scene. It's a cool sequence, but it doesn't really add anything to the story except to reinforce Batman's motivation to take out Superman. And that could've been done on other ways. It just felt a like unnecessary filler to me.

4. And speaking of filler, the film spends most of its first half with just the characters talking. Nothing really exciting happens here, and it goes on for at least 30 to 45 minutes. And look, I'm not saying that comic book movies have to have action scenes every ten minutes. There's nothing wrong with them having characters just talk to each other. The first Avengers movie did a great job at this with its first half. But the conversations here just aren't that interesting after a while, and it does get a little boring as time goes on IMO.

5. Batman and Superman suddenly becoming friends at the end of their battle. This is probably my biggest complaint about the movie. Everyone knew that Batman and Superman would eventually put their differences aside in the movie and work together, but the way that came to pass just doesn't make scene. Batman is about to kill Superman with a Kryptonite spear when Superman tells him to 'save Martha.' (Lex kidnaps Superman's earth Mom, Martha, to force Superman to fight Batman.) This causes Batman to stop what he's doing, because his Mother's name was Martha as well. He then questions Superman on who Martha is to him, to which Lois runs in and tells him that Martha is his Mother. Realizing that they both have Mothers named Martha, he throws away the spear and promises to help Superman save his Mom from Lex.

I guess the power of the name of Martha is enough to quell even the rage of the Batman. :notsure:

Overall, it was a decent movie. I didn't go in with the highest expectations for it, simply because I think DC is rushing to catch up to Marvel with their own cinematic universe. Because of this, the development of Superman, Batman, and everyone else in the movie is hindered. I'm not sure if that is what DC is doing here, but this movie does give off a rushed vibe IMO, which hurts its story a lot. Even though some good performances and action scenes still make the movie enjoyable to somewhat of an extent.

But its not the worst comic book movie ever made. At least its better than that Fantastic Four reboot from last year. That alone is a plus for this movie.