There are so many things that were done right in ‘Batman v Superman’ that it makes no sense to me that I didn’t like the end product. The characters were treated with respect and authenticity to the source material. The casting of Ben Affleck and Gil Gadot turned out to be perfect choices for Batman and Wonder Woman respectively (we can debate Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor later). Storylines and even actual dialogue were adapted faithfully from Frank Miller and other well know DC storylines. The battle itself was everything one could hope for and, once again, loyal to the epic comic book source material of ‘The Dark Knight Returns’. So how could a movie with all of this going right be a film that didn’t deliver? I’m sure there will be countless meetings in the Warner Bros studios among execs to determine exactly why this didn’t click the way Marvel movies do, but they will have consolation, because despite being almost universally panned by the critics and audiences, despite a dismal score of 31% on Rotten Tomatoes, ‘Batman v Superman’ is set to break Box Office records for a pre-May opening. They are estimating a $171 million take over the Easter weekend.
Sure there wasn’t much competition this weekend (I’m not going to count ‘My Big Fat Greek wedding 2’) and there was a 36 month advance marketing blitzkrieg that never lost its’ steam, but this was something comic book fans have been craving for decades. And despite what critics want to believe, the public is a long way away from the super hero fatigue that they all predict will happen. So, what didn’t I like about it? What does Marvel do so well that DC hasn’t been able to capture? The answer: Marvel is able to make their intellectual property accessible to the general masses. Marvel is able to take something non-comic book lovers originally thought of as silly and immature, i.e., super heroes, and give it a gravitas and relateability that has allowed it to cross over to mainstream audiences. They give us stories with depth, but never lose sight of what made comic books magical to us as kids: they are fun. Director Zack Snyder lost sight of that fact and while he infuses these mythical characters with a seriousness, he takes it too far. Snyder’s vision is dark and gloomy and lacks any of the wonder and joy associated with superheroes; especially franchises like Superman. This movie is dark almost to the point of gothic.
Another complaint I had was in defense of non-initiated super hero movie goers. Marvel is able to deftly have story and plot lines that ones doesn’t need to be familiar with in order to enjoy. This film tried to cram so much stuff in that I felt the layman would be left confused and with their head spinning. One semi-dream/vision sequence in particular involved the ‘Flashpoint’ storyline. This was complete with a post apocalyptic world where Batman battles para demons and The Flash coming back to warn Batman about Superman. After the sequence, I wondered how anyone who wasn’t familiar with all those storylines would even know what’s going on. That’s called alienating of your audience. Sure, it made all the fanboys giddy (and in fairness there are more and more of them), but you need that cross appeal to make the stories accessible to all. I think this film lacked that.
The writing and editing were sloppy. I can’t go into too much detail without giving away spoilers, but the only character whose motivations I understood were Batman’s. There were so many holes in the story that were never explained and upon closer examination made no sense. Characters that were actually intriguing were not developed in any way. Lex Luthor (another controversial casting of Jesse Eisenberg) was an interesting modernization of the character to a malevolent Mark Zuckerberg style villain, but had motivations that were never really explained. We never understood why he was so desperate to destroy Superman. Jeremy Irons reinvented the role of Alfred (even if much of his dialogue was taken straight from the ‘Dark Knight Returns’ comic series). He was woefully underutilized. Wonder Woman (controversially, but perfectly cast) is an un-named character in this movie. Even though we know she is the Princess Diana, it is never explained who she is or why she is involved or why she even cares to show up and help Superman and Batman. Despite this, she was the most magnetic part of the final fight with Doomsday. Her performance makes me excited for the upcoming Wonder Woman movie, but that was it.
I don’t mind new or alternate takes on franchises. I even enjoy controversial re -imaginings, but one thing a super hero movie must have is excitement and wonder. I felt despite all the great pieces and parts, ‘Batman vs Superman’ lacked that essential magical ingredient. I’ll go so far as to say I respect the accomplishment that is this film. Unfortunately, as much as I wanted to love this film, I just didn’t. I feel I am being kinder to it in hindsight, but I must be honest with myself and felt something was missing when I was watching it. There is no way I can talk myself out of that. The odd thing is that I’m going to recommend seeing it. It is a good introduction to the new DC extended universe that hopes to compete with Marvel. My personal opinion is that, while I consider Zack Snyder an exceptional Director, his style and vision is not the one to go forward in this new universe. Warner Bros studios should regroup and try to find the magic elsewhere. Despite my misgivings, this film has whetted my appetite for more.
I give this film ** stars
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