Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice Review

Warner Bros. and DC Comics just took their first step into creating the DC Cinematic Universe with their two iconic superheroes battling it out. With Zack Snyder returning to direct, will this superhero fight be enough to live up to the hype of this legendary encounter?

18 months after the events of Man of Steel (2013), Superman, played by Henry Cavill, becomes a controversial figure. Some believe him to be a hero while others see him as a threat, and among those that believe the latter is Bruce Wayne, played by Ben Affleck. In return when Clark learns about Batman’s actions he sees the dark knight as a threat too.

Meanwhile Lex Luthor, played by Jesse Eisenberg, tries to convince Senator Finch to grant him permission to weaponize the recently discovered kryptonite to use against Superman. Only to have his request denied.

While decrypting a date file Bruce received from Diana Prince, played by Gal Gadot, he receives a vision of a post-apocalyptic future with a warning that Lois Lane plays a crucial role in the distant future in regards to Superman’s actions. Batman becomes even more convinced that Superman is a threat. During their conflict they are unaware that they are both being manipulated the whole time by Lex Luthor for a much grander scheme. As the race is on for not only to stop the two powerhouses from fighting but to also stop the mad plan that Luthor has in store.

With that has been built up to since 2013, does Dawn of Justice live up to the hype? Without giving too much away…no. No it does not. The sad thing too is that I REALLY wanted to like this movie as I enjoyed Man of Steel with all its flaws, and that was one of the most polarizing movies of 2013. But Dawn of Justice feels like they're trying to fix their mistakes from the last film, they only made more problems in return. I can describe the two major problems with this film right here; convoluted story that goes all over the place and being senselessly dark that feels too forced.

If you read how I described the summary of the film’s plot, you should get an idea that the story goes all over the place. The reason is because DC Comics is desperate to try and catch up to Marvel with their success of the Marvel cinematic universe. The difference is that while Marvel built up major events by giving the heroes their own film that help develop their characters. DC tried to cram a lot into one film. It is like they took one step forward then dashed all the way through just to get to their major crossover event without careful planning. DC’s attempt is to have all their heroes introduced at once and then give them their own movies. The idea isn’t bad as they have done it before with their critically acclaimed animated series Justice League (2001-2004), but the problem is that with lack of care and respect for their material this film comes off as desperate. This is not what I want to see for their first attempt with the DC Cinematic universe.

Having a jumbled story is one thing, what bothered me the most is how senselessly dark this film is. Ever since the success of the Nolan Batman films, DC Comics has been on this trend to make their stories as dark, gritty and realistic as possible. Something that has been a major criticism that not just applies to their films but also their comics since the New 52 reboot. That is not to say DC heroes can’t be dark. It has been done before and quite well when the team knows what they are doing. That has been shown in their animated shows as well as their straight to video films like Superman vs. The Elite (2012) and Wonder Woman (2009). But instead of hiring people who know how to write these iconic heroes, they hire people that try to make the film as dark as possible that can be described as a child trying to be adult with no knowledge how to be one. It just reeks of immaturity, and in a time where comic book movies have been getting better in quality and presentation, Warner Bros. and DC seems resistant when it comes to their live action movies.

Another element to add to this problem is the story that initially was inspired to make Batman v Superman, Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns (1986). This else-world story was famous for two reasons; bringing Batman back to his darker days and was the first to ever have Batman and Superman fight each other. But the reason why the two heroes fought each other was very different compared to the movie. After Batman came out of retirement, he reclaimed his city from the rising number of criminals that actually made Gotham the safest in America. But the humiliated Ronald Reagan didn’t like being outshined by Batman so he sent Superman, who became a tool of the U.S. government, to take down Batman as a result. In the midst of the conflict the two friends did not want to fight each other as they have their own ways of dealing with criminals. But as long as Superman is under the control of the government, he had to fight Batman.

Despite their reason for the fight, the book showed that they still respected each other as heroes. Whereas Dawn of Justice forces the two to fight each other that results in making Batman a paranoid idiot and presents only to provide fan service to those who read the inspired story. Even then using those elements doesn’t help this movie but hinders it. What’s ironic is that there is an animated adaptation of The Dark Knight Returns that is much better than Batman v Superman. The animated movie kept its dark tone but respected its heroes and audience unlike the Zack Snyder film that was advertised everywhere but didn’t respect their intelligence. 

With all that said, Batman v Superman utterly fails to live up to everyone’s expectations as a massive comic book movie. If DC wanted to catch up to Marvel they should do what made Marvel successful to begin with. By treating their IP’s with respect. Providing well-paced action, easy to follow storylines, likeable characters and most important of all, present why we love these heroes to begin with. Even if they continue on the dark path, as long as those elements are there with a crew that knows the material inside and out, DC will produce live action movies on par with their animated hits. But as long as DC Comics keep up with their futile attempt to be “edgy”, our patience with them will only grow thinner.