Review of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) by Lloydharrison — 29 Mar 2016

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is a mess. There's no other word to describe it. Ever since San Diego Comic Con erupted in 2013 at the unveiling of the Batman/Superman logo, my anticipation and expectation for this film has been torn down the middle. The inner fanboy in me has been incredibly excited to see the biggest superhero showdown in film history. But the sceptic in me is always wary of Zack Snyder's track record and filmmaking capabilities. Or lack of in many respects. And I'm disapointed but completely unsurprised to say that this film has countless problems that dramatically tarnish the overall experience. The most significant problem with this film is the story. People are complaining that the two and a half hour run time is too long. But I think this film needed to be at least four hours long to make any sense of all the content that is crammed together. This film was never allowed to just be Batman v Superman. Like the initial title suggested. And instead this film has become a small and insignificant piece in a larger picture. And the Dawn of Justice sub title is definitely the greater focus and it breaths down the neck of what should have been an incredible standalone film. If Zack Snyder and co had just concentrated on making the best Batman v Superman film that they could, then the Justice League elements could have come further down the line. We've never seen a film with both Batman & Superman in together. Why didn't Zack Snyder make the absolute most of the opportunity and give these two timeless comic book heroes the feature film that they deserved and that the world wanted. What is also detrimental to the story, is the editing. Whenever there's a scene of emotional weight or gravitas, you're just beginning to care about the characters and then it cuts to something completely irrelevant. And you're left wondering what followed in the previous scene as apposed to focussing on what's currently happening. The story is never allowed to breath and thoroughly explain itself. And I just cannot fathom why so many scenes where placed in such irrelevant and disruptive places. It happens on so many occasion and it's frustrating because you feel robbed of a scene that could have made the experience much more satisfying. Following the issues surrounding story, there's then the issues surrounding themes and motivations. Once again the story doesn't allow certain characters to explain their standpoint. Or it's glossed over and you either don't understand or care. The only character I bought into was Batman. And Batman is by far the best thing about this film. Which is satisfying because I'm a huge Batman fan in particular and I would certainly welcome a solo outing. Otherwise I just wasn't invested in any of the other characters or what they contributed to the story. I think Superman has drawn the short straw here and ultimately this is not Man of Steel 2. Here Superman is half heartedly given his own screen time and some questions are asked of his character and what he should or shouldn't do. But I didn't particularly care or feel engaged by his involvement.

There's many problems, but the inner fanboy in me is forgiving and there are moments that I absolutely loved. The Batman segments of this film are by far the highlights. And Ben Affleck is a worthy Batman/Bruce Wayne and I welcome a solo outing. But once again Zack Snyder proves that he cannot tell a story. From the sloppy editing to far too much unnecessary shoehorned in content, BvS isn't allowed to be the big event that it should have been.