Review: Was all the Batman V Superman hype really worth while?

Review: Was all the Batman V Superman hype really worth while?

29th March 2016 Off By Luke Smith
Source: Promo Image

Source: Promo Image

For years now the whole comic book movie world has been blowing up. With both comic giants Marvel and DC adapting several of their spandex-clad heroes to the big screen. It’s been every comic nerds wet dream to see the man of steel and the dark knight duke it out for our entertainment, and after years of hype and speculation that dream has become reality in the hands of director Zak Snyder.

Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice was expected to be the next big thing from DC comics, and the beginning of their own cinematic universe. Did the movie succeed in doing this however, or did it fall flat like a cape made of lead?

The Dark Knight Trilogy from director Christopher Nolan gave us a faultless Batman. Okay, the infamous strep throat Bat-Voice was questionable, but Christian Bale’s take on the caped crusader was without a doubt the best we’ve had yet. Hence why when Ben Affleck was cast to take on the cowl, the nerd world collectively went ballistic. Affleck had already tried his hands at heroics in 2003’s Daredevil and we all saw how that turned out… It was all a big waiting game to see if Affleck could do the Bat justice, pun intended.

On the other hand, someone we have grown more familiar with in recent years is out new Superman. Henry Cavill of course looks the part, with his shiny slick hair and skin tight red and blue number. Although his characteristics as the man of steel have been questionable. Snapping General Zod’s neck in your very first outing? Way to secure your gritty big boy pants Clark, is that why you wear them on the inside of your costume? After 2013’s Man Of Steel came along with its massive emphasis on realism and appetite for destruction, we all new what to expect from its follow-up. However, what we didn’t expect was for something backed by so much hype to end as bitter as compost cocktail.

Marvel have been doing it right for years, building their cinematic universe around a handful of interesting and complex characters each, with their own array of awesome powers and abilities, and endless amount of quick quips.

We’re looking at you Robert Downey Jr. However, when it comes to awesome characters, nobody comes close to topping the Batman. Batman v Superman even gave us a brand-new BatSuit, BatMobile, BatCave you name it, and yet for the majority of the movie we’re sat gawking at a brooding Bruce Wayne, still crying over his parents and crapping his bat briefs at spooky dream sequences. YAWN.

Source: Promo

Source: Promo

It’s even worse when we take a look at our man in red. Once again old Kal-El straight up murders a dude, not what we’d expect from Metropolis’s apparent saviour. It’s hard to have faith in a big movie like this when the main characters in question do nothing to satisfy your nerd needs.

It’s not difficult to pull off; someone needs to read a comic book. Aesthetically both Supes and Batsy look great, but two chocolate chips just aren’t enough to sweeten a turd soufflĂ©. Just when you think it couldn’t get any worse on the character front, more edgy heroes are shoehorned down out collective throats.

Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman floats around for the majority of the movie although coming across as more bond girl than Amazon Princess until the final act, backless dresses for days. Wonder Woman was one of their highs of BvS in my opinion, despite her appearance being a little unjustified in the first place. Her ferocity on the battlefield and modern day reworking of her timeless outfit ticked all of my boxes. But BvS fell into the bottomless void of just being another set up movie.

Cramming in nods to Cyborg, The Flash and Aquaman into a BATMAN AND SUPERMAN movie, this isn’t the Justice League just yet Snyder. Quit getting ahead of yourself. I don’t care how awesome Jason Mamoa looks as the King of Atlantis, I’m patient, I can wait.

Another pro among all the cons, in my opinion, is the character of Lex Luthor. Just like the casting of Batfleck, Jesse Eisenberg as the nemesis of Superman was a bit of a bitter pill. However, I was pleasantly surprised at his “interesting” take on the criminal mastermind. Nod’s to the Joker and even the Riddler throughout Gotham were also effective, establishing that a Batman universe already exists, despite this variation of the character being yet to star in his own solo movie. Bringing in Doomsday as the big bad for the movies final act was both a mistake and a wasted opportunity in my opinion. Doomsday is one of the most powerful beings in DC lore and now he’s gone. Underdeveloped and wasted.

Jeremy Irons, as Alfred, was also a bit of a let down, relying too much on cheesy dialogue and leaving his wise father persona in the shadows, something that Michael Cain’s take on the character really thrived on.

Overall, I can honestly say that I was by no means impressed with this movie. There were high parts, like the Batman warehouse scene, but the lows outweigh the highs in titanic fashion. Zak Snyder hasn’t done an Amazing Spider-Man 2 and killed his franchise, although some serious work needs to be done to the creation of future installments to avoid a rebirth of another multi-million dollar mess such as this one.