With DC Comics and Warner Bros. Studios releasing their newest and most hyped superhero movie this year, everyone on the Internet seems to want to rip it apart and it's not completely unjustified either. Here's my take on what they did right and what they could have done better.
Story
As it turns out, a lot of the story was actually revealed in the trailers, so a lot of plot points, like the appearances of Doomsday and Wonder Woman, won't count as spoilers. That said, I'll try to avoid the parts that actually are spoilers for those who haven't seen the movie and still want to.
That's actually a poor part about the movie; it's a bit predictable. If you keep the trailers in mind going into the movie, you already know what is about to happen. Superman and Batman disapprove of each other, Lex Luthor gets the two of them to fight (and is so excited about it, he's practically sitting on the sidelines with a bucket of popcorn), Superman has the upper hand until Batman pulls out a trump card, Doomsday appears and the two have to stop fighting each other and work together, and Wonder Woman appears out of nowhere to make the duo a trio because reasons.
The way the story handled Wonder Woman was awkward as well. The actress, Gal Gadot, actually does a decent portrayal given what she had to work with, but up until the final battle scene with Doomsday, she was kind of just there. We never find out why she's in Gotham and interacting with Batman and Superman other than the producers throwing her in there as a lead-in to the eventual Justice League movie we'll be getting a few years from now. Not even a throw-away joke line like, "I heard there's a good burger joint on 7th Avenue."
The story also seems to jump around a lot. Just as the audience is getting invested with one character's story and point of view, it switches to someone else's. We have Superman, Batman, Lois, and Lex as the main four we see and the constant switching between them and the other viewpoints we see through the movie can be a bit jarring for some viewers.
Characters
As the title implies, Batman and Superman are the main characters of the movie. A good deal of their supporting casts are also present. We already talked about Wonder Woman and on the Superman side, we have Lex Luthor, Lois Lane, Perry White, and who I'm guessing is Jimmy Olsen, while on the Batman side, we only have Alfred. The story focuses a bit more on the Superman side of the roster than the Batman side. Understandable since, this is a sequel to Man of Steel and Zack Snyder is the director, but a lot of the story on Batman's end is glossed over. Most people probably know about Batman's origin story by now thanks to the Dark Knight trilogy, but still the story seems to favor one side a bit more heavily.
One of the most glaring issues about this movie is the portrayal of Lex Luthor, played here by Jesse Eisenburg. Some of you may know Jesse Eisenburg from movies like Zombieland, The Social Network, and American Ultra. But Eisneburg was not a good fit for Lex Luthor. In the comics, TV shows, and other movies, Lex is portrayed as an intelligent and serious businessman with a smooth demeanor. Here, Lex is very eccentric in a lot of parts and full-on crazy in others. If Eisneburg were cast in a Batman movie as the Riddler or even the Joker, it would have been a good fit, but as Lex Luthor, it clashes too much with what we already know about the character.
Visuals and Music
With Zack Snyder once again at the helm of the project, his visual style is once again apparent. It has the same grim, gritty, and realistic vibe as seen in movies like Watchmen and Man of Steel and the colorful costumes normally associated with most of the superhero characters are replaced with darker colored costumes to fit this vibe. A good portion of the movie is filmed at night in dark areas (I suppose to accommodate Batman), including the Batman vs. Superman fight and the fight with Doomsday, which add to the dark and gritty tone of the film.
Also, it's clear what most of the movie's budget went towards. The title even hints towards it. It's the big fight scene at the end. When the fight starts between Batman and Superman, it's just full-on spectacle and what a spectacle it is. Batman and Superman are trading blows and the balance of power actually shifts back and forth with the two heroes each having the advantage at different points in the fight. And when their target switches from each other to Doomsday, the action just keeps on going. All three heroes (because Wonder Woman decides to tag in right then) hit Doomsday with everything they've got and it takes a lot to finally bring him down (and the use of something I won't mention due to spoilers).
Overall
This movie could have been a lot better and it seems like the story was just filler to kill time for the big fight, but once the big fight starts, it's a thrill ride from start to finish. While this was hyped to be a huge movie event, it seemed more like a film DC had to get out of the way in order to get a step closer to the Justice League movie. Still, it does do some things right and it could have turned out worse.
Here's hoping Suicide Squad can make up for this.
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