A review of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)
By Bram Medelli
At long last, DC’s epic Trinity has shared the big screen in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016). Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman stand together to face a threat big enough to unite them as director Zack Snyder lays the groundwork for DC’s Cinematic Universe. Box office wise it has outdone Fast & Furious 7, which came out around the same time, but we cannot say the same about its reception with the critics.
The premise for Batman v Superman was born in 2001 already. The film was even teased in I Am Legend (2007) when Will Smith passes a gigantic Batman v Superman billboard. Now the film is finally here and comic book fans are rushing to the cinema to see it. I joined the masses and was happily surprised by it. As a Marvel fanman, my expectations were quite high of DC but director Zack Snyder did not fail to deliver. Although the film was a tad confusing if you had not seen Man of Steel (2013), as it explains a lot of events that caused Batman v Superman, the film was still very much enjoyable. The pace of the 151-minute-long film was perfect. There was never a moment where it dragged on or went too fast. Seeing the three core members of the Justice League, Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman, slowly but steadily assemble was really cool to see.
Against a lot of fans’ expectations, Ben “Batfleck” Affleck pulls off a great Batman, who clearly has a ton of experience from protecting Gotham for 20 years. Henry Cavill reprises his role as the man of Metropolis, Superman. We see him 18 months after the events of Man of Steel as he is starting to get used to being Superman and his relationship with Lois Lane (Amy Adams). The world is still dealing with Zod’s attack from Man of Steel though. The issue of Superman and all the destruction he has caused has become a hotly debated topic in DC’s Cinematic Universe. This made everything in the film feel real, as if every building that gets destroyed and every victim that dies is important. Whereas in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, helicarriers crash into Washtington, buildings disappear and cities fly through the air and nobody bats an eye until the upcoming Captain America: Civil War (2016).
Unfortunately for DC, critics are tearing Batman v Superman apart. They are calling the story incoherent and confusing, a magnificent epic ruined by too much action and computer-generated imagery (CGI). Actor Jesse Eisenberg has also received a lot of criticism about his role as Lex Luthor. Critics and even some fans found him annoying. The Hollywood Reporter writes: “The villain here, Jesse Eisenberg’s Lex Luthor, is so intensely annoying that, very early on, you wish Batman and Superman would just patch up their differences and join forces to put the squirrely rascal out of his, and our, misery.”. I thought Luther was an interesting villain. A bit odd at times but his masterplan is still quite brilliant.
In contrast to the critics, the fans have received the film rather well. On Rotten Tomatoes the fans gave it a 72% versus a 28% score by the critics. This aggravates the debate started by the Oscars last year. People are claiming that critics can only appreciate art-house films and criticise blockbuster films when in fact their role is to inform the audience of the quality of a film. However, in this case I think the critics have a point. It feels like DC is hurrying its shared universe in a desperate attempt to catch up to Marvel. BvS was a great film for comic book fans that get all the references and understand the quick pace of the film but for the mainstream audience I can definitely understand why it is seen as confusing.
Despite the bad reviews, anyone can still enjoy the modern day epic that is Batman v Superman. It is a cinematic spectacle from beginning to end, complemented by Hans Zimmer and Junkie XL’s score. The final act of the film even reaches a Lord of the Rings-level of epicness. I would recommend anyone to go see for himself if the fans or the critics were right about Batman v Superman.
Bram Medelli, Class of 2018, is an Arts & Humanities major from Groesbeek, The Netherlands.
