JK Simmons was iconic as JJ Jameson. I don't see him as a Commissioner Gordon at all.
Anyway, feel bad for Affleck and even more so, Cavill. Both look great in their roles but Snyder's buggered it (no surprises there) with a movie that looks like it was written by a 15 year old.
I'm still going to go and see this, but not expecting much. Would have loved to see Nolan take on something like this, I imagine he'd have portrayed Superman in a really cool way.
Jesting aside, I do actually want to know what Angry Joe has to say about it, as he's a massive Superman/Batman/Wonder Woman fan and has been hyper critical of the first few trailers that showed too much. He originally praised MoS but has since become more realistic and critical of it, so will be interesting to see if he's more guarded or cynical this time round.
Skippy wrote:Those YouTubers certainly know a lot more than these so-called "critics". Can't wait to hear their nuanced critique
I find my own views and taste in both games and movies align more with Joe than most professional reviewers so I'm definitely interested in what he has to say above these so-called "critics". Although, he is also a "critic" since this is his full time job 'n all.
Got tickets to see this on Friday night. For some reason the 7:30pm showing was quieter than the 10:45pm showing for premium/assigned seating. Would've thought it would be the other way around.
The trailers/adverts have definitely shown too much though. Especially the Batman blocking Superman's punch part, that should've been a shock in the film, not trailer fodder.
Seems like 3 is indeed the magic number when reviewing this one. Man of Steel was a jumbled hotch-potch of a film too so the comments that BvS is unfocused makes sense.
Alright, let's do this. I'll spoiler tag anything spoilery in regard to plot but still keep things vague. This is also mostly a stream of conciousness, so apologies if parts don't make much sense, if I forget something or I need to offer more explanation.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is a bad film. Not a terrible film, but certainly not a great one. It comes across as very scatter shot, firing off ideas for plot points and scenes that sound cool on paper - and a handful end being quite cool to be fair - with little thought given to what's connecting everything or driving the story. The film is much more concerned with poorly-conveyed grand philosophical ideas than the characters the film is about.
What the film gets right is Batman, which I'm guessing has a lot to do with Ben Affleck behind the scenes and his "man on the inside" Chris Terrio, who he brought in to work on the script. Affleck does very well in front of the camera too, this is a Batman I want to see more of and who has a ton of potential. There's a good sense that this Bruce Wayne revels in and enjoys being Batman. That's good to see. The problem, and this is major, is that he kills a lot of people in this film - some implied and others blatant.
Superman is the focal point of the plot, but the character isn't central to the film. Everything is about him as a figure that exists in and influences the world, but we don't get any greater sense of character than we got in Man of Steel. What the film does to remedy the problems people had with MoS, only benefits Batman. It would have been so easy to show a Superman that showed remorse for not doing a better job and saving more lives, but there's nothing like that all. Absolutely nothing.
And everyone else? Jesse Eisenberg is terrible. Imagine an actor who thinks he's above all this turning in an "ironic" performance aping his own imagined idea of what a comic book villain is... then see this film and imagine no more. If Eissenberg did no research into the character I would not be surprised in the slightest. Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman is crowbarred in but that doesn't end up being an entirely bad thing. There's enough there to tease the character and her presence provides a couple of the films best moments toward the end (which were also in the trailer). Speaking of the ending. The Superman/Batman fight is great and comes to a satisfying resolution, even if it is a little short after 90 minutes of build-up. The problem is what comes next. If you've seen the trailer you know what happens. I'll keep it vague and spoiler-tagged, but all I'll be spoiling is the existence of a particular character seen in the trailers. Doomsday looks and is designed terrible and the fight is as mundane as they come. The other two big fight scenes before this are pretty great, then comes this over CG'd blur brown and red.
There's nothing particularly wrong about Warner Bros approach: the idea of its heroes being Gods of some kind and their being this air of philosophical thinking surrounding it all. It just needs more humanity a self-awareness and the optimism superheroes should ultimately embody.
Also, to reiterate: BATMAN KILLS AT LEAST HALF A DOZEN PEOPLE IN THIS MOVIE
I was thinking of seeing this on the opening weekend but given how bad the reviews have been I might as well wait till Tuesday or Wednesday so I can use Meerkat Movies 241. No pointless paying full price for a bad film.
