Review of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) by Random V — 19 Jan 2018

The tonal shifts between light and dark from the iconic superheroes to the antithetical Metropolis and Gotham is a great strength of this feature. Entities and icons attempting to live with the juxtaposition of being potentially threatening godlike aliens in the frail human world they inhabit is an immersive and prolific theme within this feature. All the sets and costuming are excellent. The performances are sound, with the casting working better than anticipated. Lex Luthor as an evil, dissociated millennial seems driven by hatred and a warped sense of pro-active self-preservation. And the action. There's a lot of grandiose, over-the-top action that feels grounded, even when the characters are throwing nuclear-level attacks at one another.

I'll admit, this feature has some flaws. The introduction of the super powered beings is worked into the narrative as a subplot, but it still felt like info-dumping. Wonder Woman's search for her past and the Flash's small time-breach are accessible sub-plots that work. Bruce Wayne's time-displaced alternate reality dream sequence of a world under Superman was excellently timed with the Flash's breach.

This isn't a kid's movie, really. There's some mature high-mindedness to it. It's clearly carrying the success of the Dark Knight films into the new DC Universe. The theme of gods in the time of humans is lofty. If they follow this theme throughout the following movies to a resolution where the characters successfully integrate, love, or learn to cope with humanity, we'll have a great thematic story arc connecting the films.