Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice
**Spoilers Where Needed. Don’t say you weren’t warned.**
One of the things I appreciated so much about Zack Snyder’s “Man of Steel” was how it seemed that the director of “300,” “Watchmen” and “Sucker Punch” was eschewing the visual cliches that had become a part of his style- namely, a use of slow-motion and freeze frames that made many scenes feel like gratuitous “hero shots”- and focus on telling a strong story. It felt like the director had gotten that “crutch” out of his system with “Sucker Punch,” and would start to focus on a strong visual pallet in the service of telling a smart narrative storytelling. Unfortunately, the opening sequences of “Batman v. Superman” show that I was mistaken in him having gotten that out of his system, and he was going to use the first time we’ve seen DC Comics’s most iconic characters together to pull out all of his cinematic tics to make a comic book epic that felt like we were reading a graphic novel for two and a half hours rather than watching a movie. For some reason, that worked pretty well for “Watchmen,” but when it comes to this, “300” and “Sucker Punch,” all it’s done is show how shallow the story it was telling was in the first place. Let’s start in on breaking down that story where it begins.
Can I tell you the sigh of relief I had when it was announced that, when Marvel was finally going to be able to bring Spider-Man into it’s Marvel Cinematic Universe with this May’s “Captain America: Civil War,” it was going to eschew yet another telling of Spidey’s origin story, and the death of Uncle Ben, and Peter Parker was going to be active as the web crawler when we met him? Marvel’s reasoning is such that after two versions of the character in five movies over 14 years, people know the “why” of Parker’s decision to become Spider-Man, and now they would rather just see him in action already. Contrast that with what DC, Snyder and writers Chris Terrio and David Goyer do here by having the opening scene (which also has the credits) of this film be yet another retelling of the death of Bruce Wayne’s parents in front of him as they leave the theatre, and him falling into a well with bats. Between Tim Burton’s 1989 film, Christopher Nolan’s “Batman Begins,” TV’s “Gotham,” 75-plus years of comics, and the beloved “Batman” animated series and animated films, it’s hard to imagine a moviegoer on Earth who would possibly need another sequence showing this crucial moment in the journey of a billionaire orphan to a vigilante crimefighter- even the most casual filmgoer could probably tell you why Bruce Wayne became Batman, and would probably rather just see him in action, at this point. To start off this film with the sequence feels like Snyder and the decision makers for the hopeful DC Cinematic Universe don’t trust their audience to know why Bruce Wayne is Batman, when his origin is arguably the most famous in modern pop culture, because having it in there adds nothing to the narrative of this film. I would rather they had started “Dawn of Justice” off with it’s next scene, which shows the battle between Superman and General Zod from the end of “Man of Steel” from Bruce Wayne’s point-of-view, as he goes into the fray to try and rescue as many of his employees from the Wayne Industries building as possible. Do that, and lose the condescending title card telling us it’s “Metropolis: The first sighting of Superman,” as if moviegoers couldn’t put that together for themselves, and just let us catch up on our own. Take a leap of faith, like a preacher told Superman in “Man of Steel”; the trust will come later. Or, maybe they don’t trust in the story they’re telling. Honestly, I can’t say I blame them.
Take Lex Luthor, Superman’s most famous villain. He’s played here by Jessie Eisenberg, who in and of himself is not a bad choice in the least to play the role, especially if you saw him in “The Social Network” as Mark Zuckerberg. The problem is in the writing- this is not a calculating, brilliant businessman who hides his villainous tendencies through being charismatic and a social magnet, as he is usually portrayed, and which Eisenberg could have easily handled on the basis on “The Social Network” alone. The most obvious comparison I could make to the choices Eisenberg and Snyder make here is actually the most iconic portrayal of Batman’s most famous adversary, Heath Ledger’s Joker from “The Dark Knight,” which is inexplicable in so many ways. Regardless of what I thought of Bryan Singer’s “Superman Returns,” I will never be critical of the way he portrayed the characters, especially Kevin Spacey’s Lex Luthor. Eisenberg’s Luthor serves in the same perfunctory manner of other villains in superhero movies, as the catalyst for the story, but the choices made for the character are all wrongheaded, not the least of which comes from his manic demeanor. He talks like Ledger’s Joker, and has the same penchant for chaos, when that has never been Luthor’s MO. (There is also an implication that Luthor has insight on the other, future members of the Justice League, but that’s another strike against the way the character is handled rather than a plus in the film’s favor.) The genius of Luthor as a character has always been his ability to challenge Superman intellectually when he can’t physically match up, not by turning the world into a maze of uncertainty. It’s true that both he and the Joker can prey on fear to instill distrust in their adversaries, but Luthor uses reason, while the Joker touches on something baser. None of this is present in Eisenberg’s version of Lex Luthor, and it’s even more absurd a choice when we know the Joker will be in this universe soon enough courtesy of Jared Leto in this summer’s “Suicide Squad.” Say what you will about Lex Luthor, he’s never been a big ball of crazy. Now, he is, and I can’t for the life of me understand why. It’s easy to criticize Michael Shannon’s General Zod from “Man of Steel” because of how big he went with his acting choices, but at least you can explain how that feeds into the character itself; the same cannot be said with Eisenberg’s Lex Luthor.
By now, you might well be asking, “So, is there ANYTHING this film gets right?” It’s a completely valid question, and I can say that yes, there is, and it has to do with Batman. I may dislike the fact that we see the death of his parents yet again at the start of this film, but the way Snyder, Terrio, and Goyer bring him into the “Man of Steel” DC Universe is one of the strongest parts of the film. Sure, the choice of Ben Affleck to play Bruce Wayne/Batman felt like a mistake for many at first, and he’s a much better director than he is an actor, but he’s exactly right for the version of Batman Snyder is offering up here. The older Affleck has gotten, the more he has directed, the more he has grown into himself as an actor, and his Bruce Wayne projects the pain of loneliness that drives the character to go out every night and be a vigilante, combating the crime in Gotham with the same wonderful toys we have seen in every version of the character since 1989. Seeing him next to Henry Cavill, whether they’re getting ready to throw down as their superhero alter egos, or dancing around the truth about one another as Wayne and Clark Kent at a benefit put on by Lex Luthor, we buy the character as someone who can go toe-to-toe with a super strong alien and not get his ass completely handed to him. As his Alfred, we have none other than Jeremy Irons, and while seemingly younger than Michael Gough (from the 1989-97 films) and Michael Caine (from the Nolan films) in the roles, he is an ideal choice for the role opposite Affleck’s Wayne. It’s a bit of a different choice, less the elderly father figure and more a cool uncle who bonded with his nephew over a specific interest, but it’s an effective one for the franchise we are to see in the films ahead. Christopher Nolan’s “Dark Knight” trilogy is a hard act to follow, but Snyder and Goyer find a way to present a fresh take on the character, and make him their own. I cannot wait to see how he develops in the coming years as part of a team.
Unfortunately, that’s where we must go back to what doesn’t work about the film. As a follow-up to “Man of Steel,” this is a weak Superman story. A big part of it is how I feel like they dropped the ball on Lex Luthor, but the fact of the matter is, they didn’t do enough to address the aftermath of “Man of Steel’s” near-destruction of Metropolis beyond showing it from Bruce Wayne’s point of view. The way they approach it is the DC Universe equivalent of 9/11, with a memorial present for those who were lost, but while much talk is made about the moral implications of having a “savior” of Superman’s strength around staving off disaster, it doesn’t feel like they commit to it completely because they have so much they’re doing with Batman in the film. One of the best things about “Man of Steel” was how it took the implications of Superman’s arrival on Earth seriously as a threat, as something that wasn’t an obvious good, but not necessarily a bad thing, and given the destruction at the end of that movie, the assumption was that “Dawn of Justice” would continue that debate. But while lip service is paid to that, especially through Holly Hunter’s Senator Finch, a bomb going off during a Congressional hearing on the question of Superman’s interventions, and the destruction that leaves in it’s wake, feels more intended to add shock value than a significant moment to be dealt with in it’s entirety. Our first time seeing Superman in action beyond the rehash of the Battle of Metropolis with General Zod is when he rescues Lois Lane (Amy Adams, still strong in the role, despite not being given as much to work with this time out) from a terrorist cell where she was used by the government (without her knowledge) to get close to them, which leads to much destruction, and is why the hearing is called. If that makes you wonder what’s going on with Superman’s thread of the story, I wouldn’t blame you, because that’s basically the extent of his involvement in the film, and it’s a disappointing step back after Snyder, in my opinion, crushed it in “Man of Steel.” No real involvement at the Daily Planet through much of the movie, and no real interaction with Martha Kent (Diane Lane) until she becomes a part of the plot in the most cliched manner possible at the end. This is all about teasing the battle royale he’s supposed to have with Batman, although I will admit, that was pretty good, even though it came to a halt after a simple coincidence was exploited as an attempt at profound emotion. It doesn’t work. Thank God Doomsday comes into the picture shortly thereafter to get them fighting again. Oh yeah, Luthor had a hand in that in a way that makes no sense whatsoever. At least it gets Wonder Woman in on the action. Yes, after years of false starts, the Amazonian princess has finally arrived on the big-screen, and while Gal Gadot’s Diana Prince sits on the sidelines through much of the movie, usually watching things unfold around her and flirting a bit with Bruce Wayne, watching her heap loads of whoop-ass on Doomsday and barely break a sweat is probably one of the most exciting things I’ll see in a movie this year. Now, she just needs to become a fully-realized character in her own right, and it’s a good thing she’ll be getting her own movie (already in production) to make that happen next year. That will (hopefully) make it even better when these three are back on-screen together in the inevitable “Justice League” movie in a couple of years.
In the end, the re-emergence of Batman, and the introduction of Wonder Woman, are enough to make “Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice” worth watching, especially if you are wanting to see the building of a DC Cinematic Universe to rival Marvel’s. It’s too long at 151 minutes, the dark visuals feel as overdone as Snyder’s penchant for slow motion “hero shots,” and Hans Zimmer and Junkie XL’s collaboration on the score leaves much to be desired after the superb work on “Man of Steel,” but there are some great moments in the film that help offset the not so great. Ultimately, what really weighs “Dawn of Justice” down is the relentless setup for the eventual “Justice League” movie. Quick moments seeing The Flash, Aquaman and Chaos don’t work. The implication that Lex Luthor is aware of the threat of usual Justice League baddie Darkseid feels forced and unnecessary. And Wonder Woman feels more like a gratuitous add-on to the film than an integral part of it (at least she kicks ass during the finale). In the grand scheme of things, this is probably DC’s “Iron Man 2” moment, where they spend too much time setting up the future they forget to tell a story worth telling in the present. The biggest problem with that is that it happened during the first-ever big-screen team-up between DC’s most famous characters. That should be a moment worth remembering. Instead, we run the risk of remembering it for all the wrong reasons.
