Skip to main content

Movie Review: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) *Spoiler Free*

Go and see this film. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is not deserving of the many negatively focused pre-release reviews it received. The movie will leave you wanting to see more of Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman in this particular incarnation - particularly if you were a fan of Man of Steel, which BvS is a direct continuation of.

Let's start this review by reminding ourselves that this film is a history-making piece of cinema. It's the first time that not just two but three of the (arguably) most well known superhero comic book character icons on the planet have featured in the same live action film.


That's a bigger history moment than the first Avengers movie (arguably) because that was a bunch of B-list superheroes that most of the mainstream have really been getting to know since the first Iron Man movie in 2008

You've already got a taste of Henry Cavill's Superman in Man of Steel so the big question is 'is Ben Affleck's Batman and Gal Godot's Wonder Woman any good?'

I'd say a resounding YES.

Ben Affleck as
Batman.
This version of Batman is, at last, my version of Batman - with perhaps one fairly major caveat that he's particularly lax with his 'no kill, no guns' rule. That aside Ben plays both Bruce Wayne and Batman with an intensity of purpose that not even Christain Bale quite reached (in my opinion).

Jeremy Irons' Alfred is quite possibly my favorite version of the character with his dry wit cynicism and heavy engagement in supporting both Bruce/Batman whilst in the field. He's pretty much mission control for Batman.

Together Bruce/Batman and Alfred make for a compelling team that you'll want to see more of in a solo movie. This Batman you get more of a sense that the detective side of the character is just as important as head kicking, action hero.

Gal Godot.
Gal Godot's Diana Prince/Wonder Woman makes the most of her screen time. Whilst she doesn't get as much as Batman or Superman, her scenes are memorable and a strong, origin free, introduction to the character (thankfully because this movie already has a lot of story packed in). Gal is commanding in the role and will have you looking forward to the Wonder Woman solo movie that is already being filmed.

Beyond that, Cavill's Clarke Kent/Superman is still just as solid as his performance in Man of Steel. We get to see Amy Adams continue to play a the globe trotting Lois Lane, chasing a story like an actual high profile journalist might.

Jesse Eisenberg's Lex Luthor, based on the trailers, has been a concern for many, including myself. It's a very different take on the character but surprisingly I warmed to it as I got deeper and deeper into the film. It's probably not the Lex you were expecting but it is a more interesting take than previous movie versions of the character. I enjoyed Jesse's performance once you get past the way Lex was presented in the trailers.

The performances are what make this film great and worth your time. As far as the plot goes there are definitely problems and, I think, this is the main reason for the negative reviews (though there's a lot of just general dislike of Zack Snyder as a director too).

If you just let the story play out in front of you without analyzing it too closely, you'll get a few WTF moments where the film is trying to set up the currently filming Justice League movie. The rest will kind of come together coherently. You'll be entertained and you'll get to see Batman fight Superman (if that's what you wanted to see).

There are a few plot twists you may not see coming because the trailers gave a very different impression of how some scenes would play out.

Like Man of Steel, this movie is very CGI heavy and obviously so. That's to be expected of a Zack Snyder film. Most of the time the visuals are strong but there does come a point where it seems like you're looking at nothing but wall to wall CGI for quite extended periods without much focus on any of the characters in the scenes. Sometimes I just wish Zack would hold back on the CGI and aim for shooting more with practical effects and particularly with the actors.

Zack Snyder seems to be a divisive director. I'm not fussed either way other than his movies can be a little too CGI heavy. If you genuinely don't like Zack Snyder films then this isn't going to change your mind.

For everyone else, I'd suggest seeing the film for the performances. Most reviews seem to agree that this is the strongest part of the film. As far as the story goes, there's plenty of interesting ideas and set up for the next film to wrap your mind around. Even if the story doesn't come together for you, you'll at least get to see some very cool moments.

Personally I'm hoping the extended DVD cut that has been announced for release in July 2016 will fix some of the story issues of the theatrical cut. Rumor has it, the original cut of the movie was much closer to three hours long, so, hopefully what they put back will fill some of the plot holes.

It's definitely not a perfect film but it's not a complete mess either. Like many comic book films it's best not to analyze every detail and just enjoy the ride.

Comments

Buy Gifts and Apparel featuring art by TET.

Popular posts from this blog

Movie Review: Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024) *No Spoilers*

T his is another film that I would have liked to have seen in a theatre but, for whatever reason, didn't get to. Having now seen  Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga  (2024) almost a year later I'm glad I didn't. Which is not to say it's bad. Like its predecessor Mad Max: Fury Road (2015), which I enjoyed in a cinema immensely, this film would definitely benefit from being on a big screen for the spectacle and epic visuals of it all.  However unlike its predecessor there is so much going on, with back and forth between the waring parties, and Furiosa's story as well, you can't just sit back and kind of enjoy the ride. It's like writer/director, George Miller, wanted to cram in as many of his ideas as possible for the post apocalyptic world of Mad Max, because it's not likely he'll make another one, but whoever does, has a rich, detailed world of on screen source material to draw upon. The story begins with young Furiosa (Alyla Browne) and her journey from the ...

I'm Confused About Why People Prefer to Say Discombobulated?

D iscombobulated. Is a word that I think someone rediscovered about three or four years ago (maybe more because the pandemic years have thrown out my sense of time) and now I hear it a lot. It's not a new word by any means, but when I started hearing multiple celebrities using it in everyday sentences, I actively had to look up what it meant. Define it with as many synonyms as you like but essentially it's just another word meaning 'confused'. Seinfeld Quotes: Quotes.net The words are pretty much interchangeable. He was discombobulated by too many choices. He was confused by too many choices.  My confusion is the length of the word. It's unnecessarily long with too many syllables. There are many other words that mean confused, and therefore also mean discombobulated. Most of them are shorter and easier to say. So why not just say 'confused'? Perhaps discombobulated sounds more intelligent, maybe?  Hawaii Five-0 Quotes: Quotes.net I've noticed it gets us...

Second Sunday Skateboard Session Episode 3, 4, and 5 - Definitely Seeing Progress

TET, Episode 5 Heelflip attempt. C ontinuing my ten part series of Second Sunday Skateboard sessions , the series where I'm attempting to master all seven basic skateboarding tricks in Braille Skateboarding's Skateboarding Made Simple Volume One , over twenty weeks (or ten fortnights).  Each episode is a short Sunday check in to show where I'm at after each two week period of practicing. Generally I aim for at least an hour practice session every second day if weather or my work schedule permits. These are the links to Episode One and Episode Two  should you feel the need to see where I started.  I'm not a complete newbie, having been a relatively hardcore skater through the late eighties and early nineties, however I was mostly a mini ramp and curb skater, and never really maintained my skills beyond riding and ollies.  The explosion of council built concrete parks came a decade too late for me to maintain my mini ramp skills. Once we closed our own skate park in ...

Boom Crash Opera Born Classic But Not Again

Boom Crash Opera are an Australian Band that reached the peak of their popularity in the mid to late nineteen eighties. They are a band that I knew about at that time but was never really excited by until they released their ill fated double album Born and Born Again in 1995 (Album cover pictured). At the time of its release I was very much into emerging Australian musical acts and was also looking out for new sounds that were different and had kind of a futuristic/electronic sound. Artists that I was buying at the time included; Swoop , Nine Inch Nails and Pop Will Eat Its Self . As well as a really interesting release by David Bowie, the concept album, Outside . Born was a fairly radical departure for Boom Crash Opera (BCO). The first single, Gimme , was often compared to the sounds of Gary Glitter, particularly his single, Rock n Roll part 2 , because of the pounding drum loops. Watch the video below. My favorite single from the album is dissemble which probably went now...

Australian Federal Election 2025 - World's Most Boring Government Re-elected by Landside - We're Even More Fine!

Anthony Albanese Victory by ChatGPT and TET. W hen I started writing about the 2025 Federal election the polls were suggesting the world's most boring government was crusing to a defeat . As it turns out, boring is good, and Australia wants more of it, handing the current government a landslide win with a majority vote. Anthony Albanese became the first PM since John Howard to win a consecutive term, and the first Labor PM since Bob Hawke to do so. Some of that comes down to the leadership revolving door both major parties had through the mid 2000s. Although Anthony is my preferred PM over Dutton the irony is Dutton sounds more like a leader with a fairly commanding voice and an ability to speak well, without sounding like he's waffling and dodging questions, even if he is. Anthony, on the other hand, does have the ability (and speech writer) to say a lot of inspiring things but it gets lost in the delivery. He doesn't seem to know when to emphasise a point for effect. In h...

Australian Federal Election 2025 - The Australian Democrats (Please Like Us Again) and The Greens

Image: Reve AI T here's not much to be said about the current Australian Democrats other than in 2025 Australian election, in May, they'll be out there hoping they win a seat... any seat... 'please like us again!' The Australian Democrats For just over two decades, from the late seventies onward, the Australian Democrats were the third most important party in the Federal government (if you don't count the National party since they've been on that coalition ticket with the Liberals for as long as I can remember). In fact, once I moved away from the Labor party, they were my top pick until the party slowly imploded in the early 2000's from a series of unfortunate events like leaders defecting to other parties, and a highly publicised incident of drunkenness, bullying, and abuse from a male party leader to a female colleague. It's been two decades since then (and that guy's with the Greens now)... please like us again! That aside, the party is still t...

Australian Federal Election 2025 - Highlighting Some Minor Parties and Independents

W hile I am all for voting for minor parties and independent candidates, it can be concerning if too many of them win their seats. When independents hold the balance of power it gives them a lot of leverage to get their own policy ideas inserted into the mix. This is not necessarily a good or bad thing but it can slow everything down, and even sabotage policies and promises, that the government won the election with. It requires the government to work harder, and possibly make compromises, to get their policies implemented. Essentially they do what Australian pollical legend, and founder of The Australian Democrats, Senator Don Chipp, expounded in such simple terms, "keep the bastards honest." While I can't list and write about every independent and minor party candidate I can highlight a few, who already hold seats in parliament, and will no doubt be looking to hold onto them in 2025. The Conservatives Bob Katter - Katter's Australian Party There's a joke in the ...