In today’s world where there’s a terrorist attack everyday, what makes people go watch movies in which whole cities are torn apart? Why do we watch the Avengers destroy New York while attempting to fight aliens or watch excitedly as London is burnt to the ground in Thor: The Dark World ? In Man of Steel , Superman, saves the planet from General Zod, who wants to colonise Earth after the destruction of his home-planet, Krypton.
Why do you go to a theatre to watch this, when you can open a history book and find the same story?
Hollywood production houses make money because, at the end of the day, people want to see humans and super-humans win, despite everything.
People look to a hero to save the day — a person who can do extraordinary things and rescue you from the plight of everyday monotony.
Marvel realised this pretty quickly, after the Robert Downey Jr.–starrer Iron Man unexpectedly hit the jackpot and became one of the highest grossing films in 2008. This kick-started Marvel’s Cinematic Universe (MCU), which spans the silver screen and, now, television too. Eight years later, this universe is 13 feature films, five short films and five television series big.
It wasn’t until after the failure of Superman Returns , that DC even considered competing with the elaborate, inter-connected universe that Marvel had created. Looking to reboot Superman, Man of Steel, starring Henry Cavill, came to be the first film of the DC Extended Universe (DCEU).
Man of Steel was widely panned by critics, but by then the superhero genre was established, so the movie did well commercially. A sequel was soon in the pipeline. After much speculation and fan excitement, it was announced that Man of Steel 2 would be ‘inspired’ by the Batman comic The Dark Knight Returns . And thus, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (BvS) was born. This would be the first time Batman and Superman meet in the cinematic format and, additionally, it will also be Wonder Woman’s first silver screen appearance.
What is BvS ?
Which brings us to now, the actual movie. As a fan of the genre, yours truly was excited to watch the film as well. Without going into specifics, let's talk about the movie.
Batman v Superman (BvS): Dawn of Justice is not a good movie — not by a long shot. It tries to achieve too many things in too short a time. Not only is it righting the wrongs of Man of Steel , it is also setting up characters and plots for future DCEU movies; movies that are essentially being made to counter the MCU. Somewhere along the way, from pre- to post-production, BvS became less of a sequel to Man of Steel and more of a backdoor pilot of sorts for the Justice League movie, announced as a part of the DCEU.
This results in a complete lack of focus in the script — a hundred things are happening at the same time and it’s very easy to lose track of the story.
In BvS you don’t root for anyone because no effort is taken to flesh out the characters. You get glimpses of Thomas and Martha Wayne being killed (again) and you’re reminded of what a failure Man of Steel was, when Jonathan Kent, Clark’s foster father, appears to remind Clark what he’s fighting for. But nothing really makes you want these characters to win, as nothing they do affects you.
Ben Affleck’s Batman is a definite improvement from Nolan’s version of the caped crusader. Affleck’s take on the world-weary Bruce Wayne is quite enjoyable to watch, as against the playboy billionaire that Christian Bale played. As for Superman, there’s only so many times Henry Cavill can brood, stare into the distance and clench his jaw. Jesse Eisenberg is a letdown (a downright disappointment, actually) as Lex Luthor, hovering somewhere between the Joker’s madness and the manipulative and anti-social Mark Zuckerberg from The Social Network . But let’s be real here. After having seen Kevin Spacey play Lex Luthor, could we really have had a better Lex in Eisenberg?
To absolutely no one’s surprise, Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman is BvS ’ one saving grace. Her portrayal of Wonder Woman has generated unparalleled excitement for her solo movie.
In BvS , Bruce Wayne is warned, by a character from the future, of what is to come and the possibility of that is super exciting. Generous screen time is also given to The Flash, Cyborg and Aquaman, all of whom are set to wow us soon. But it is Gadot’s Wonder Woman, who is equal parts terrifying, strong and graceful, who steals the show. For whatever little time she is on the screen, she lights it up with her presence and nuanced portrayal of the character. If only the other two supers brought what she did to the movie, Snyder, WB and DC would have had a super-mega-blockbuster-hit on their hands. But nonetheless, the movie will do well at the box-office — after all, it does have Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman in it.
Despite packing a punch (literally and figuratively) BvS does not have a heart and that is what sets every Marvel property in the MCU apart from what DC is attempting to do.