Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice Review

A Double Dose of Justice

So after seeing Dawn of Justice twice, I can safely say that I have formed an opinion on it; I liked it. I thought it was good. It was not great, but it certainly was not a train wreck. This movie was made for comic book fans, and not strictly for critics. It was not meant to be at the caliber of what the critics desired. That being said, I still recognized Dawn of Justice’s faults, but that did not stop me from enjoying the movie.

Pros

Story

There was a consistent enough story in Dawn of Justice; the aftermath of Man of Steel and how this causes Batman vs Superman. The movie did a good job with presenting both perspectives of The Man of Steel and The Dark Knight. Batman sees Superman as a threat, and Superman sees Batman as a brutal vigilante. We got to see both their stories and how they connected with each other. The foundation was laid out very well before the fight. We had Batman’s personal reasons against The Man of Steel, Superman’s struggle as he tried to do the right things, and Lex Luthor setting Superman up as a target for the world. All these things were presented properly, and they helped fueled the motive behind the fight. The story is also good because it shows us that even in great conflict, people can compromise and work together, as it is shown in the final battle against Doomsday. Overall, the story made sense.

Characters

Like many others, I was nervous because of the introduction of many new characters. Obviously, we have the titular Batman, but we also have Wonder Woman, who we know is extremely important in the DC Universe. Since this is technically a sequel to Man of Steel, Superman needs more development. But that is not all, we also have Lex Luthor, Aquaman, Cyborg, and The Flash showing up. Many were worried that this movie was going to be a hot mess because of all these characters. However, I thought that the characters were introduced and developed properly. First and foremost, I am glad that we have an already established Batman. The movie would have been even longer if we were shown all of Batman’s story: young Bruce Wayne grieving his parents, Bruce training to become Batman, and the duo of Batman and Alfred taking on Gotham’s criminals throughout the years. Many of us already have a good knowledge on Batman, so we did not need all of Batman’s story. That being said, what we were given of Batman’s story was enough. We were shown his emotional scars after the death of his parents, and that he is against Superman because of his absolute power and how it can destroy humans. These things created a bitter and brutal Batman, which is not the Batman that we are familiar with. However, I like to believe that he changed at the end. I believe the conclusion of the movie will create a more understanding Batman.

I thought the movie developed Superman well. “Absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Superman was trying to prove that quote wrong throughout the movie. He really wants to do the right thing and help humanity, but more and more humans keep rejecting him. It is really conflicting to him, but thanks to his good nature, it does not stop him from being the hero that humanity needs. I have always been okay with Superman because it is not always about his unlimited power. The character shows us the importance of one’s nature.

I thought Wonder Woman was a good addition to the movie. DC is trying to set up Justice League and we obviously need Diana for that. There was not much background on her, but that is okay because it gives us a reason to see her solo film, and it does not take away the main focus on Batman and Superman. I really liked the interactions between her and Bruce. There were funny moments as she stole Batman’s drive, and them sort of flirting with each other. Of course, she was also a badass in the final fight, which I liked. The movie handled Wonder Woman the best that it could, and I accepted that.

Aquaman, Cyborg, and The Flash, man DC really wants to get Justice League going. I was really nervous when I heard that they were all going to be in this movie. How will the movie introduce them without taking away the importance of the big three? Easy, with quick cameos. But will the cameos be acceptable? They were for me. Lex Luthor had secret files on them, which Wonder Woman saw. Each file were quick clips of the three heroes, introducing them to the cinematic universe. This is acceptable for me because it sets them up to be found and eventually for them to be in The Justice League. I am really looking forward to these heroes to be cemented in future movies.

I will dedicate a whole section just for Lex Luthor because he is a great villain. A billionaire evil genius, this was presented well in the movie. Lex was pulling all the strings and that was great. He had everyone in his pockets and had several contingency plans, which is so Lex. We knew he was bad, but the evil side shined when he kidnapped Martha Kent as leverage against Superman. I was okay with him creating Doomsday because Lex is also a Dr. Frankenstein character with all his crazy experiments. This Lex was a lot different because of his flamboyancy and borderline insane persona, and I will focus more on that later.

Cons

Lex

Actually, let me get to what I was saying about Lex right now. I appreciate Jesse Eisenberg’s portrayal of Lex, but it just did not feel right. This Lex was way too weird for me. It felt like a borderline Joker persona. He was too insane, and the Lex that I am familiar with is calm and collected. I felt like even if we did want a crazy element to Lex, it should have been only towards the climax of the movie. Throughout the film, Lex barely formed coherent conversations with people, which is not okay. Lex is supposed to be very presentable. This Lex was probably seen as a rich boy who is probably on drugs most of the time. Also, I do not believe Lex should have ended up in prison that easily. He has a massive amount of resources and a lot of people in his pockets. He once built a space station behind the government’s back and did not give a damn. Lex’s resourcefulness should have been a key element, which would allow him to avoid capture or at least escape prison. Dawn of Justice’s Lex, to me, was not Lex Luthor.

The Pace

Overall, I did like the story, but I had issues with the pace. A lot of things felt out of place. Some scenes were arranged in what seems to be the wrong order. An example would be when Wonder Woman saw the secret files. This was right before Batman vs Superman, which took away the dramatic buildup. This scene should have been further back before the fight. Some scenes felt unnecessary, such as when Superman kicked the batmobile and ripped the hood off. This was a warning from Superman to Batman, but was it really necessary? The outcomes were a tease to the audience, and just to have Batman break into Lex Corp, which would have been more necessary to show. The batmobile scene would have been more appropriate and epic if it was a part of the actual fight. Back to Batman breaking into Lex Corp, it was shown after the tragic death of everyone at the Superman hearing. This took away the dramatic aspect because we were all still trying to process and connect with what happened. Some of the Batman dream sequences also felt out of place.

Batman Dream Sequences

So does Batman have a new power, or was he just on some crazy ass drugs? It just felt weird for Batman to be having these dreams, which were quite frankly visions. The only one that was justifiable was when the bats picked him up at the beginning of the movie because it is a metaphor of the bats. There was a dream of what seems to be a man in a cheap ass red suit (Flash?) telling Batman that Lois is the key, and that Batman was right about him (Superman?) all along. This did not make too much sense to me, and I thought it was very unnecessary. The only way to justify it is if that man really was The Flash, and he was time traveling to warn Batman. One sequence that absolutely made no sense is the one were Batman is at a post-apocalyptic future that seems to be foreshadowing Darkseid. Again, does Batman have an ability to glimpse into the future or what? Also, Batman is seen fighting soldiers who sided with Superman, but why are they and Supes not going for Darkseid? There are too many holes with these dream sequences, and they are unnecessary.

I knew too much

This was because of the trailers, which were too revealing. I knew exactly what scene was coming up, such as the Clark Kent and Bruce Wayne conversation with Lex in the middle. I knew it word for word. I knew that Batman was not going to kill Superman in their fight because Superman has to be alive to fight Doomsday. I knew that Batman was not going to die during the “Oh shit” moment because the trailer shows Wonder Woman shielding him. We all knew there was no point for Diana to be leaving the city at the end because we see her fighting Doomsday, again thanks to the trailers. Even most of the scenes of the titular fight were already shown months ahead. There were hardly any shock factors during the movie, and this was absolutely a huge problem for me.

The Ending

I did not have a problem with Superman dying, but it did not feel practical. It seems to me that the writers had to have Superman be the hero when he drove the kryptonite spear into Doomsday. I get that there is a conception that Superman always has to be the hero, but he really does not. Wonder Woman could have easily driven the spear into Doomsday, and maybe even Batman. Bruce knew right away that he had to get the spear in order to kill Doomsday. He even told Alfred that he was going to do it. We know that Batman has a plan which would allow him to be able to drive the spear through Doomsday. Basically, Superman did not have to do it because he was not the only one who could have done it. For me, it would be more acceptable if Doomsday straight up killed Superman like he did in the comics. It would still have the same dramatic effect. Also, I really hope that Superman stays dead leading up to Justice League Part 1. He will obviously come back, but it needs to be through some decent writing. Maybe The Flash can time travel and save him? Maybe talk some common sense into Superman, and convince him to give the spear to Wonder Woman. Hell, even he could do it himself. He could run 200 miles back and 200 miles forward. I am pretty sure he would be able to pierce through Doomsday with the spear.

Honorable Mentions: Lois Lane, Martha Kent, and Alfred

These are three key supporting characters in the movie. They tried to make Lois very useful, but it did not do it for me. Yes, she is a die-hard reporter, but it just did not feel right for her to be in the desert just so Lex can set Superman up. I would have liked it if Lex pulled the strings to get Lois there, and then set Superman up. Lois was playing secret spy reporter as she was trying to uncover the truth, but it seemed that the writers conveniently wrote her to be able to successfully uncover the truth. It did not feel like Lois was being clever or anything like that. Still, Lois was Lois. She was there to support Superman, and that fulfilled her purpose. I really enjoyed Martha Kent in Man of Steel, and the same can be said in this movie. Her one scene with Clark was enough to convey a message; Clark has freewill to be whoever he wants to be. It was also very suspenseful when Lex abducted her. I cared deeply about Martha being safe. Jeremy Irons’ Alfred was not as enjoyable as Michael Caine’s. There were a few things missing. The quirky remarks did not do it for me, and there just needed to be a bit more interaction between him and Bruce. Still, this Alfred fulfilled his role, he was there to support Bruce.

There were definitely flaws in Dawn of Justice, but they did not completely ruin the experience for me. DC rushed into this one since they are playing the catch-up game with Marvel. I personally thought it would have been the right move had they waited and took their time with the movies. However, the movie did pave the way for Justice League, which I am extremely excited about. Now that they have their cinematic universe, I hope they will take their time with the future movies. I give Dawn of Justice a 7/10.

#BatmanvSupermanDawnofJustice #Movie #Review