It’s the battle between two of the world’s best known superheroes. Ben Affleck and Henry Cavill lead the cast of “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.” Our J.P. has his take.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
(Warner Bros. Pictures)
Rated PG-13 by the MPAA for intense sequences of violence and action throughout, and some sensuality.
Directed by Zack Snyder
Produced by Charles Roven, Deborah Snyder
Written by Chris Terrio, David S. Goyer
Based on Characters published by DC Comics
Starring Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Jesse Eisenberg, Diane Lane, Laurence Fishburne, Jeremy Irons, Holly Hunter, Gal Gadot
Studio Synopsis:
From director Zack Snyder (“Man of Steel”) comes “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice,” starring Oscar winner Ben Affleck (“Argo”) as Batman/Bruce Wayne and Henry Cavill (“Man of Steel,” “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.”) as Superman/Clark Kent in the characters’ first big-screen pairing.
Fearing the actions of a god-like Super Hero left unchecked, Gotham City’s own formidable, forceful vigilante takes on Metropolis’s most revered, modern-day savior, while the world wrestles with what sort of hero it really needs. And with Batman and Superman at war with one another, a new threat quickly arises, putting mankind in greater danger than it’s ever known before.
Directed by Zack Snyder, the film also stars Oscar nominees Amy Adams (“American Hustle,” “Man of Steel”) as Lois Lane, Jesse Eisenberg (“The Social Network”) as Lex Luthor, Diane Lane (“Unfaithful,” “Man of Steel”) as Martha Kent, and Laurence Fishburne (“What’s Love Got to Do with It,” “Man of Steel”) as Perry White; Oscar winners Jeremy Irons (“Reversal of Fortune”) as Alfred, and Holly Hunter (“The Piano”) as Senator Finch; and Gal Gadot (the “Fast and Furious” films) as Wonder Woman/Diana Prince.
Snyder directed from a screenplay written by Chris Terrio and David S. Goyer, based on characters from DC Comics, including Batman, created by Bob Kane with Bill Finger, and Superman, created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The film is produced by Charles Roven and Deborah Snyder, with Wesley Coller, Geoff Johns and David S. Goyer serving as executive producers. Snyder’s behind-the-scenes creative team includes director of photography Larry Fong (“300,” “Watchmen”) and production designer Patrick Tatopoulos (“300: Rise of an Empire”), and from his “Man of Steel” team, editor David Brenner, costume designer Michael Wilkinson and visual effects supervisor John “DJ” DesJardin. The music is by Oscar-winning composer Hans Zimmer (“The Lion King,” “Man of Steel”) and Junkie XL (“Mad Max: Fury Road”). Warner Bros. Pictures presents, an Atlas Entertainment/Cruel and Unusual production, a Zack Snyder film, “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.” The film will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.
J.P.’s Take:
It’s man vs. god in this grand battle of super powers. To my dubiety, I had a bit of trouble wrapping my head around the concept of “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.”
Yet somehow, writers David S. Goyer and Christ Terrio have given this iteration motivation for the heroes’ animosities. At first, I couldn’t really see Ben Affleck as a graying Bruce Wayne. This time around, Wayne feels embittered and quite removed from the Dark Knight universe Chris Nolan and company had built. Not that I disliked Affleck’s performance, I felt he was more of a stand in for the part. Henry Cavill manages to inject callous into his reprisal as the man of steel. To be honest, the two actually played off each other nicely.
What is interesting is how the two end up on the battlefield and at odds with one another. Bruce Wayne witnesses the destructive conflict between Superman and General Zod (Michael Shannon), which leaves Metropolis in ruins and many lives lost. Among the victims are loved ones of Wayne’s circle. This gives him the impression that Super is a bloodthirsty false God. On the opposite side of the coin, Kal El (a.k.a. Clark Kent) views the Dark Knight as nothing more than a loose canon and vigilante. Each wants to bring the other to justice. Rather, Bat wants to see Super dead. As both are painted in false faces, neither suspect the real reason behind their adversarial images.
This is where Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg) comes into play here. Eisenberg does villainy justice and pours on the psychotic Mark Zuckerberg role quite well. Once Luthor releases his horrid creation Doomsday upon the heroes, all hell breaks loose.
Honestly, I had my doubts about Gal Gadot embodying Wonder Woman (a.k.a. Diana Prince). However, I was grateful to see that she fleshed out the role in a mysterious way. Of course, I am awaiting a stand alone “Wonder Woman” film, as it is long over due.
Amy Adams and Laurence Fishburne were placed in this universe, reprising their roles as Lois Lane and Perry White, respectively. Jeremy Irons is shoehorned into the role of Alfred Pennyworth this time around. Adams felt a little luke warm in her part, Irons as the butler carried some dissonance with Affleck’s Bruce Wayne, and Fishburne remained in spirit of his role. Fans already know the history of the characters, so I didn’t see much reason for them to tell an origins story — which they didn’t. In fact, the filmmakers skewed their back stories just enough to fit in the same world.
As the super mash-up came to a head, I felt the overall tone was grimm and chaotic. The last 20 minutes of the battle to end all battles, became murky, overblown and bizarrely displayed. For its running time of 2 ½ hours, they could have cut down the fight sequences to spare us the eye soar. I didn’t really care about who wins or who loses. I will admit I was intrigued as to what sparked this whole conflict in the first place.
Viewers will catch a glimpse of Aquaman, The Flash and Cyborg. This would mean DC is in the planning stages for the next chapters.
“Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” is, of course, just the first chapter of DC’s new super-verse. Although I wasn’t totally impressed with this particular iteration, I’d be willing to sit through another clash. But only to see how they’ll fare in the years to come.