And we thought Man of Steel was a mediocre superhero film…
Directed by Zack Snyder, the film centrals on Superman’s (Henry Cavill) battle against General Zod (Michael Shannon). Batman (Ben Affleck) soon decides to take on the Man of Steel himself, killing lots of innocent people in the process. With Batman and Superman fighting each other, a new threat, Doomsday, is created by Lex Luthor.
Considering the hype was building for quite some time, you’d think that after several script re-writes and having been pushed back a year, that Batman V Superman would not disappoint. Instead, it’s filled tight with B-plots, side characters, and violence without explanation, proving to be too heavy-handed. The narrative serves as a huge downfall of the film; it’s complexity simply becomes too much, resulting in a dull storyline and confusion.And for those of you who liked the many building collisions in Man of Steel? Well, you’re in for a treat, as there’s plenty more of that here!! Not to mention its sloppy ending…Audiences also expect this film to be action-packed, and considering its genre, this aspect was also disappointing. As for the long awaited fight between the two; it is over and done with in less than 5 minutes. Considering the build-up, it was as exciting as watching paint dry.
Another fault is the editing – the jump cuts in particular were frustrating – one second we’re viewing an action scene, the next minute, we’re faced with a slow romantic scene. This resulted in the film feeling all the more unprofessional and just an overall mess. Though his performance wasn’t anything special, Ben Affleck should not be blamed for Batman v. Superman’s failure. This film suffers due to a poor script and direction. Perhaps with a better script, we could have seen more to his character. Henry Cavill is good as Superman/Clark Kent, but once again, his appearance prevails his acting. However, this film centrals more on Batman than Superman. As for Jesse Eisenberg’s portrayal of Lex Luthor – he did a decent job, bringing eccentricity to a dreary picture.
I didn’t like this movie but I didn’t hate it nearly as much as you did. Regardless I still consider watching BvS sober a small victory on my part.
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Thanks for this review. Couldn’t agree more. CGI avalanche, choppy scenes and more about Batman than Superman. For some reason, I felt that the story did not justify Batman’s hatred. He was just bored and looking for a new enemy. He, of all people should have been able to associate with Superman and the fact that a certain section of the population WILL hate a superhero. He’s been in the same boat himself. Also, I kept comparing BvS to The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises. The Joker and Bane we such well developed characters compared to Lex Luther. Couldn’t not get myself to comapre it to the Man of Steel because I felt both fell in the same ‘watch it forget it’ category. Not sure how the DC comic movie franchise will recover from this. I heard they have more than 2 movies planned already. Ouch!
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No worries at all. And Thank You! It most certainly didn’t justify Batman’s hatred – another narrative fall. I agree, The Dark Knight was very well done, exactly how a film should be executed. Tell me about it…Affleck has already been confirmed to direct and star in his own Batman movie. I dread to even think…
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It’s amazing! I mean your review not Movie! Your review is Honest as well as spoiler-free.
As I said in my review, I wanted to love it, but I cannot! I also agree with you about The Dark Knight, For me The Dark Knight is best and classic superhero movie!
I also recommend you to watch “Concussion(2015)”, I would like to see your review on it.
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I didn’t mind it. It delivered what you’d expect but not much more. I definitely agree that it’s confusing and has a poor script. It falls apart if you think about it too much, but it’s hardly the first comic book movie to suffer from that flaw!
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Yes, definitely. I guess I thought about it far too much…haha! I’m just a huge fan of the 1989 batman and The Dark Knight was great too, so this felt disappointing in comparison!
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You echoed my thoughts precisely. I love Batman as a character, but this was so much of a letdown that I almost regret seeing it. Great work, Georgina!
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Thanks, Brett! I completely agree.
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Personally I thought the film was fine, didn’t love it didn’t hate it. I think the biggest problem was trying to put far too much into the film, that left storylines half developed or, in the case of Wonder Woman (who I loved), completely unjustified as to why she was there. Completely agree about the editing, the first 2 thirds or so and so poorly put together. But I actually think that the future DC films without Snyder at the helm will be better, I’m hugely excited for Wonder Woman and James Wan’s Aquaman. But nothing has me more hyped than Ben Affleck, who I thought may well have been the best live action batman ever (all be it in a mediocre film) directing a stand alone batman film. His record as a director, and his and Jeremy Iron’s work in this film are great, so I’m looking forward to that.
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Sorry, have only just seen your comment! Thanks for sharing your thoughts – I agree, so much was crammed into such a short time. Wonder Woman was a good element to the film. I haven’t heard about Aquaman, so I will have a look!
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It’s alright, I do understand where the people who don’t like the film are coming from. My best mate hated it
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Though I liked and would defend Ben Affleck’s Batman, I can understand why I didn’t really gel with you. Great review 🙂
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Thank You!! Good to hear your views! 🙂
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I agree with almost all of your criticisms…yet saw past them and enjoyed the film! Probably wouldn’t on second viewing, though.
Also, accidentally unfollowed you, but I can’t seem to follow back…So will follow you as soon as I am able to! Sorry!
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No worries!! And haha, thank you!
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Yeah, a spot on review! I think we just differ on Jesse Eisenberg – thought he was completely wrong for the part.
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Thank You for reading! I understand your point though, I’m not a fan of his acting usually, only in “The Social Network”.
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Haha, not surprising, but good to see that you finally got to watch this one! I think you’ll like Justice League a lot more though.
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I too felt the length was a bit much and it just seemed they tried to pack too much into it. As in my review, I thought the Wonder Woman character was rushed and there didn’t appear to be sufficient enough reason for her existence in the film. Nice review.
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