A few things you should know before I begin:
- Batman is my favorite comic book character.
- I'm more of a DC fan than a Marvel fan.
- I'm not one of those purists that need the story to be "exactly like the source material."
While the movie did a lot of things right, it did so much more wrong. Let's break movie down to the positives and negatives. I will provide my thoughts on the following categories: characters, visuals, and story.
Characters
+ Ben Affleck's grizzled take on Bruce Wayne/Batman was one of the highlights. It really felt like this was a Batman that has been through some battles.
- As mentioned above, Batman is my favorite character and I'm not a comic book purist that needs the character to be exactly like the source material. However, there are some fundamental qualities that Batman must possess, the most important of which is that he doesn't kill. Batman should never cross that line. All of the pain and the torment he's suffered from since the murder of his parents is what drives him. His vow is to protect his city and its people but to never become the thing that made him who he is.
Unfortunately, this quality is nowhere in this film. Batman has no qualms about blowing up cars with people in them or using the thugs own guns against them. Bruce Wayne's childhood ended with the death of his parents, by two gunshots from a petty thief. Yet here is Batman, killing the bad guys with the same weapon that took his whole world. It seems as if the writers wanted to make him more Punisher-esque, which I'm not a fan of.
+ Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman was excellent! She was the best character in the movie! Strong, powerful and kickass!
- I'm still not necessarily a fan of dark Superman. The S on his chest is supposed to be the Kryptonian symbol of hope.
- Lex Luthor's characterization was all over the place. Is he supposed to be a quirky genius? He kind of reminded me like one of the villains from the 60's Batman television show.
Visuals
+ Overall the visuals and effects were incredible! The Batcave looked awesome, as did the Batmobile. There were lots of explosions and car chases. The fight choreography was well done.
- The only real drawback was Doomsday and the CGI red lightning. It was not on par with the other effects.
+ My favorite shot of the whole movie happened within the first few minutes. We were again treated to Batman's origin story. Although it was a retread, there was a really cool shot of Martha Wayne's pearls caught between the hammer of the gun and the barrel. When the gun was fired, the hammer caused the necklace to break causing the iconic imagery of the pearls bouncing off the pavement.
Story
Perhaps my biggest issue with the movie was that there were the massive holes in the plot. Large, gaping holes. There's only so far I can suspend my disbelief.
- The Wayne's are murdered almost right in front of the movie theater. You can literally see the marquee in the shot as the thief approaches them. What kind of criminal would rob someone in such an open area?
- "Awesome, that photographer with Lois is Jimmy Olsen!" *Gunshot* "Well it was Jimmy Olsen!"
- Luthor told his assistant Mercy (another cool comic character) to save him a seat while Superman was going to talk to the Kansas senator, effectively sacrificing her in that explosion that served no purpose.
- Clark Kent remarks that Gotham's bat vigilante should be stopped. During the movie, it appears that only a large body of water separates Metropolis and Gotham. If Batman was really an issue, Superman could just fly over to Gotham while Batman was running around on rooftops and apprehend him. Hell, I drive 3 towns over to get Taco Bell.
- So Luthor uses Zod's fingerprints to get into the crashed Kryptonian ship. So he uses Zod's verification and the ship speaks English instead of Kryptonian. Then, recognizing Zod is dead, it just decides that Lex has full clearance to issue commands. Ugh.
- What was Luthor trying to do by creating Doomsday? What was the purpose?
- How did Luthor figure out both Superman and Batman's identity? Are we to assume he's a genius and just figured it out? Did the ship tell him? No explanation!
- How did Superman figure out Batman was Bruce Wayne? I assume it's because he heard Alfred in Bruce's earpiece, but they never confirmed it.
- But Batman, the world's greatest detective can't deduce Superman's identity. "Who is Martha?" That line made me cringe.
- Lois is a useless character in this movie. The scene that makes this apparent is when she is in what I believe to be Wayne Manor (I may be wrong). Some of the building is underwater. She finds the kryptonite spear and throws it into the water, letting it sink down to the floor of the room. Then magically, she realizes the heroes need it to defeat Doomsday (how?). But as she is trying to find it, the ceiling collapses,trapping her underwater. Basically, it's a thinly veiled plot device to make Lois a damsel in distress yet again.
- Too many fake out "dream sequences."
- Really not a fan of the movie version of Barry Allen. The jury is out on Aquaman and Cyborg.
- Batman kills people. That is not sitting right with me!
These are just some of the knee-jerk reactions I had after watching the film.
I'd give the movie a 4/10. Just below average.
What are your thoughts? Please feel free to agree or disagree or ask questions.
- JFree
