Review of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) by Vondrewski94 — 25 Mar 2016

Dark, Gritty, and Spectacular.

If you are going into this movie to see some brightly dressed action heroes fight together and crack some comedic lines to ease the tension, you'll be disappointed. THIS IS A COMIC BOOK MOVIE FOR ADULTS. The stakes in this story are overwhelming massive compared to any other superhero films that have come before it. Serious plot devices are incorporated and the violence of combat is NOT glorified or glossed over. Actions have consequences.

The fight scenes, alone, are worth going to see this film on the big screen. The choreography is fluid, hypnotizing, and brutal. The way each action scene is filmed and cut together also propels them into being draw dropping experiences. However, each of the fights have massive amounts of motivation behind them, so you'll never feel like characters are fighting just for the sake of it. The intensity of the world is established along with the costs of violence are established early on.

The story is brilliant and takes unexpected twists and turns. I will not spoil anything here, but it implements certain plot points from glorified comic books as well as new and exciting plot points to make the movie unique and unpredictable in its own right.

Cinematography and music are exceptional. If director Zack Snyder is known for one thing, it is his amazing talent of organizing and framing shots in order to tell a truly visual and breath-taking story. He succeeds in this once again with flying colors. Music by Hans Zimmer and Junkie XL also offer very memorable tunes that will allow you to feel the energy or emotional of any scene.

Finally, Ben Affleck is the most intense, brutal, and emotionally tormented batman ever put to screen. Gal Gadot offers an interesting look into Wonder Woman, although, thankfully, she is only used when she is needed to the story. Henry Cavill offers a similar performance for Superman as we saw of him in Man of Steel, however this particular film offers a far greater deal of emotional struggles for him to really sink his teeth into and impress. The other supporting characters give solid performances, however one might be shocked or disappointed if they are expecting "copied and pasted" versions of the characters from the comic books to be in the film. For example Lex Luthor has been completely reinvented as the villain, but is used very effectively in the story. You'll love to hate him, which is good.

My final thoughts for anyone who is thinking about seeing the film...GO SEE IT AND FORM YOUR OWN OPINION. Most critic's criticisms spawn from the dark and "boring" nature of the story told. It is not boring. It is a dark story, but critics should know that a dark story doesn't mean the film can't be enjoyed. It's unique and still a spectacle of cinema that doesn't come around very often. You've never seen a comic book movie like this, trust me.