Let Me Try to Defend BATMAN v SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE...

This isn't the typical movie I normally talk about on this blog, but Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is currently the only thing I'm thinking about in general, so I need to talk about it, as well as try to defend it. 

I've seen the movie twice now, and Batman v Superman is by no means the “greatest superhero movie” of all-time. Honestly, I wouldn’t even define it as all that great. But, I think it’s decent. Maybe even good. Certainly better than what the terrible reviews suggest (and, oh boy, the reviews are terrible). I enjoyed it more than pretty much all of Phase Two of Marvel's Cinematic Universe (Guardians of the Galaxy and Captain America: The Winter Soldier are about equal). I liked it way more than the overly obnoxious Deadpool. I always enjoy the X-Men movies and then literally forget everything about them since they seem to reboot themselves after every goddamn film… 

As for my general thoughts on Batman v Superman... it's jaw-dropping in all of the best and worst ways possible. It's loud and grim and takes itself way too seriously, but it's also bold, occasionally quite smart, and exhilarating!

The film made me think more than any other superhero movie in many, many years (for better and for worse), and it has me intrigued for what’s inevitably going to come next in Warner Bros. DC Extended Universe. 

I think that counts for something.

WARNING: I'm literally going to spoil the WHOLE MOVIE in this post, so if you haven't seen Batman v Superman yet, PLEASE BEWARE! However, if you've already seen it or don't mind spoilers, please enjoy :)

Let’s focus on specific sequences:

• Okay, the opening credits aren’t very good. I’ll give you guys that one. Like did we really need to see Bruce Wayne’s parents murdered again??? I don’t think so… and that whole Bruce being levitated by the bats thing was unbearably awful… but also just the right amount of cheese I want in this DCEU, so I got over it quickly.
• I thought showing the Metropolis fight from Man of Steel from the POV of Bruce + the people on the streets was very good. It was obviously reminiscent of 9/11 and I think the scene captured the confusion and incomparable fear that people actually experience during real-life terrorist attacks (though the film never actually refers to Superman as a “terrorist”, which I thought was odd… maybe that would be too much “for the kids”). Not totally positive why the people in Wayne Tower had to wait for Bruce’s go-ahead before they tried to save themselves, but I never said the script was all that great…
• I want to make it clear that I have always been very intrigued and (mostly) excited for this upcoming DCEU, so I’ve been trying to stay up-to-date on every little tease and development. Because of that, I was never lost during the movie. I caught pretty much every easter egg and connection to the future films. I knew that was Ezra Miller (aka The Flash) that showed up in Bruce’s dream. I knew that the film was teasing Darkseid for the upcoming Justice League movies, so I understood Lex Luthor’s speech and Batman’s nightmare (or “knightmare”). If you are not this person, then yes, I can obviously understand why certain sequences seemed unnecessary or baffling.
• The Scoot McNairy stuff was half-baked for sure (he seemed more angry with loosing his legs than his family…), but I think it all paid off with that Congressional hearing scene. The fact that Lex Luthor planted a bomb in McNairy’s wheelchair and the way he manipulated and toyed with Holly Hunter’s character was genuinely surprising. I did not see that bomb coming. I thought the shot of Superman standing in the midst of the explosion, coming to the realization that the public will understandably blame him for this tragedy, was genuinely great. It was the best scene in the whole movie. Then when Superman revealed to Lois that he could have stopped the bomb, but that instead he was too focused on himself and not paying any real attention to anyone else was good too!
• The most glaring problems come once the fighting actually begins. The build up was for the most part very solid. The actual fighting is when all the rules fly out the fucking door. The “Batman vs. Superman” fight was obviously great to look at. Highlighting Superman’s heat vision and depicting how he was weakened by kryptonite, as well as how his powers returned over time, was super, super fun to watch.
• Having Batman and Superman connect over their mothers (both of them sharing the name “Martha”) was definitely eye-rolling, but also slightly sweet. It took my dumbass a long time to make the “Martha” connection, so I mostly bought into it. It did the job adequately.
• Yes, once Doomsday arrives and Batman, Superman, AND Wonder Woman have to defeat it, they pretty much demolish Gotham in the same exact way Metropolis was destroyed in Man of Steel, which is absolutely stupid, especially in the world/script they’ve created… BUT HOLY FUCKING SHIT SEEING THE DC TRINITY WORKING/FIGHTING TOGETHER MADE ME FEEL LIKE A LITTLE KID AGAIN AND I LOVED WATCHING IT!!! (Though, again, the destruction of Gotham and complete lack of negative commentary afterwards was bad.)

I MEAN JUST LOOK AT THIS THOUGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

• Finally, “the death of Superman”… like, I get it, but why? Not sure why his (and Clark’s) funeral had to be so long (there was like 4 different endings to this film, which was also bad) since obvi Superman is coming the fuck back very soon. I like that it made Bruce and Diana (aka Wonder Woman) officially team up in order to find the rest of the Justice League, but audiences at this point know that superheroes, especially Superman, can’t really die, so why even go there right now?

As for the most common criticisms I’ve seen for the film…

• IT’S TOO GRIM AND DARK AND NOT FOR CHILDREN: I agree that it’s trying to be overly sophisticated without always following it’s own rules, but I also appreciate the difference in tone the DCEU is developing when compared to literally every other superhero film being made right now . Also, I don't really care that this isn't for children. Sorry, not sorry.
• THE EDITING/SCRIPT IS ALL OVER THE PLACE: Yes, for the average moviegoer, I can easily understand that point of view and the upcoming films need to be more transparent and less niche if they want to continue to be (extremely) successful. But for me or likely anyone else who keeps up with all this comic book movie news, I really didn’t find the story too difficult to follow.
• ZACK SNYDER SUCKS!!!!!!: I mostly agree, but this is certainly in line with his better movies (none of which are perfect, but some of which are most definitely decent).
• HANS ZIMMER NEEDS TO CHILL: I get a kick out of his bombastic scores every once in a while, but please, Zimmer, we get it... these movies are supposed to be "epic", we know... 
• IT’S JUST SOOOO STUPID!!: This isn’t a real criticism, and I don’t know how to tell you this, but… ummmmmmm, it’s a comic book movie. It just is what it is…

Now, character breakdowns…

• Superman, aka Clark Kent (Henry Cavill): Okay, let’s all say it together… Henry Cavill has essentially no screen presence. He just sort of exists, which sort of works for this Superman since he’s supposed to be so unsatisfied/confused with his place not only in the world, but within the entire universe, but yeah, I totally get why Cavill has been struggling to find success outside of the Superman persona… He’s fine. He does nothing different here than he did in Man of Steel. I’m pretty indifferent towards his Superman. Though, Zack Snyder really knows how to showcase his powers. HEAT VISION FTW!!!!!
• Batman, aka Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck): Not totally comfortable referring to Affleck as the “quintessential batman” just yet, but he was pretty great. He didn’t fully embody the Batman character, but I could see that happening the next time around. This Batman uses guns A LOT, which I thought was a huge no-no for Batman, but I actually think the update felt organic with this much more radical and curmudgeonly version of the retired playboy, so I was mostly cool with it. This Bruce Wayne is a legit detective (or at least the film attempts to make him one), so I’m excited to see more of that in Affleck’s solo film.
• Wonder Woman, aka Diana Prince (Gal Gadot): Gal Gadot simply is Wonder Woman now. I truly loved her! I love that she got to use her natural Israeli accent. She just felt like Wonder Woman to me. Unlike Affleck, she actually embodied the character. I can’t believe she used her lasso and that it didn’t look horrible!! She had just the right amount of screen time: enough to perfectly tease her without overexposing her. I’m super amped for her solo movie now!!
• Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg): I was always 10000000% down for Eisenberg getting this role, and I genuinely think he’s the best superhero villain since Heath Ledger’s The Joker (granted, every MCU villain has been TRULY TERRIBLE, so the competition wasn’t very heated). I think the head games he played on both Batman and Superman to make them hate each other were well written and well planned out. I think it makes sense that he is the one that originally discovered the other superheroes, or “metahumans”. I love that Eisenberg was essentially playing himself. He brought so much delectable cheese to this thing!! It was so great!!!
• Lois Lane (Amy Adams): I’m glad she had more stuff to do, but unfortunately “more stuff to do” in a Zack Snyder movie means being a damsel in distress. They try to involve her within the actual action, but her character just ends up being a distraction. Amy deserves better.
• Senator June Finch (Holly Hunter): Hunter always fucking delivers and she gives the best acting performance likely to ever happen in a Zack Snyder movie during that Congressional scene. No joke. 

Everyone else either had a super small role or did exactly what they needed to do, so now I just want to talk about THE REST OF THE JUSTICE LEAGUE BECAUSE THIS FILM TEASED THEM SO WELL!!!! A lot of people thought the scene felt completely out of place, but everyone knew they were gonna tease Justice League in this movie (it's LITERALLY subtitled "Dawn of Justice"), so I don't get the complaint...

• The Flash, aka Barry Allen (Ezra Miller): Can we just take a moment to recognize that Ezra Miller is A FUCKING SUPERHERO?!?!?!?!? That’s honestly enough for me.
• Aquaman, aka Arthur Curry (Jason Momoa): Yes please, I need that solo movie ASAP! He’s basically Superman BUT IN WATER  and I feel like a lot of people will laugh at that, but I’m in! Just imagine the visuals!!
• Cyborg, aka Victor Stone (Ray Fisher): This is the character I’m least excited by simply because I’m the least familiar with both the actor and the character. I think stylistically, the character shows a lot of promise. That's all I can really say so far. 

So, those are my thoughts. Zack Snyder, love him or hate him, at least has a vision. One that’s muddled and somewhat forbidding, but at least it feels like something. I’ve almost become prone to feeling literally nothing when watching superhero movies, which is bad! Batman v Superman at least made me feel something again. That “something” was sometimes annoyance, anger, and exasperation, but also exhilaration and (yes, for someone who grew up loving the Justice League animated show…) joy.

I think it’s okay to like Batman v Superman. I’m still interested in what’s to come. Deal with it.