Expecting to be dissapointed, I instead was surprised by a movie that turns superhero convention on its ear. Lately, the genre has been too quippy for me. I have grown tired of The Avengers cracking jokes in the middle of danger. Saving the world is serious business and B v S conveys the proper serious tone. A city being flattened is somber, not just a backdrop for stunts and flashy costumes.
Batman v Superman also touches some deep philosophical notes. You can have your wisecracking Deadpool, I would rather watch a movie that makes me think. Think about political theory and the role of the state. Think about the Law of Unintended Consequences. Think about power and responsibility, good and evil, perception and reality, god and man.
Admittedly, there is a lot going on in this movie, but Jesse Eisenberg, as a young, hip, unconventional Lex Luthor, really ties the whole story together. Okay, sorry, I've got to stop right there...if you still believe what I have been writing-HAPPY APRIL FOOL'S DAY!
To paraphrase Jeff Goldblum in Jurassic Park, the makers of this fetid pile of stink spent too much time thinking about what they could do and not enough on what they should do. This movie is a bloated, overstuffed bucket of diaper filler. All your worst fears from seeing the trailer come true. They tried to cram WAY too much stuff in to one movie. Eisenberg (who I generally like) is awful as hipster, crazy Luthor. The only thing cheesier than the action is the dialogue. Even the score is too loud and overbearing, as if I need one more cue that a particular moment was supposed to dramatic. Finding good parts of this movie to highlight is like trying to unearth the undigested kernels of corn from a turd. If pressed, I would say there were two: one scene when they actually let Batman be ass-kicking Batman and Wonder Woman. That's it. Beyond that you had a bunch of scenes that were stitched together in a silly, incoherent blanket of sadness.
Speaking of sadness, could the movie be any darker? Literally from the opening shot, the tone of the movie is somber and funereal. Two angst-riddled superheroes is two too many. I understand what Zack Snyder was trying to do. Lending gravity to situations and having the protagonists wrestle with the real implications of their actions could have been interesting had it not been laid on so thick. This movie, though, is too heavy with clenched jaws, furrowed brows, and far away stares. Between this mess and Daniel Craig's James Bond, I think Hollywood is ready for some Prozac.
Of course, like Man of Steel, it wasn't just the tone that was dark. The film's pallette is washed out and colorless. The whole thing is grainy, rainy, and bleak. Someone should tell Snyder to stop playing with the filters; I bet his Instagram is the most doctored thing you'll ever see. Some of us would like to see Superman's cape a bright red or watch Batman fight in a building with the lights on. I suppose that doesn't match our heroes' tortured souls.
I think there are great, deep stories that could be told using superheroes as the backdrop. They are probably being told in the comics by better storytellers than Zack Snyder. Maybe I should start reading those. Unfortunately, in this battle of Batman versus Superman, moviegoers are the real losers.
Never have I been so happy to be pranked on April Fool's Day. I was concerned for your sanity. Well played, sir. Well played.
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