Action/Adventure/Fantasy
Rated – M
Duration –2 hours 31 mins
Release – March 2016
Director –Zack Snyder
Cast –Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Jesse Eisenberg, Gal Gadot, Jeremy Irons
Mr Knight
After a long wait, Mrs Knight and I finally walked into the cinema to see for ourselves whether this new DC instalment was up to standard. When I say that, it’s fair to say the latest Superhero flicks have been getting better and better. The first Avengers, X-Men: Days of Futures Past, and Deadpool come to mind. When it comes to Batman v Superman however, trying to up the standard of Chris Nolan and Christian Bale’s Dark Knight Trilogy is a hard task!
Now there will be haters out there, but since The Town, Argo and Gone Girl, I’ve become a Ben Affleck fan. It was actually Henry Cavill’s Man of Steel that I found the weakest aspect of the movie. Ben Affleck took the character and I think set the foundations for more Batman movies to come. His Batman was massive, where Bale was lean, he didn’t sport a lisp, and he had just the right amount of anger and ruthlessness, stating to Jeremy Irons’ Alfred, that he had accepted that he was considered a criminal when Alfred questions his deadly methods.
The story cleverly puts Gotham just over the harbour from Metropolis to explain the separation from each characters individual movies and the film starts from Bruce Wayne’s perspective, watching Superman and General Zod turn Metropolis into their plaything, leaving twisted metal, bricks and dead bodies along with one of Wayne’s massive offices and close friends. What follows is a deep loathing from Batman which I think made a lot of sense. I remember watching Man of Steel with Mrs Knight and commenting on how Superman, to kill Zod, trashes a whole city leaving probably thousands dead, without batting an eye… Strange. So I’m glad common sense prevailed and Zack Snyder used that issue!
Throughout their grudge (as Clarke Kent doesn’t like Batman’s brutal methods) this franchise introduces Jesse Eisenberg’s Lex Luther, the movies true villain, who I’ve never liked, but I think it’s because Eisenberg plays that annoying, nasal, a-hole so well. Luther uses his money and influence to obtain alien items in which he shouldn’t which no doubt brews some trouble.
Women’s rights and comic book fans can now rejoice with beautiful Gal Gadot’s mysterious Diana Prince (Wonder Woman) stepping into the scene, but I have to criticise the way Zack Snyder played this card. She is actually in the film quite a bit, and she speaks with Bruce Wayne, much like the Dark Knight’s Cat Woman (Anne Hathaway), but she never introduces herself and you never hear her name with the exception of a stewardess on a plane calling it out. I found that very weird! If you didn’t know from the hype that she was Wonder Woman, how would a new fan find out?
If you compare this epic to the Nolan Trilogy I don’t think it quite matches it, but it’s very, very close. The minute you put an animated monster in a movie it loses its realism like the Dark Knight movies. It had great moments of cinematography, music, direction and acting, creating truly enjoyable scenes to watch, however there were others that felt a touch cheesy bringing it down a level from what this movie could have been. I ended up walking out as a remaining Batman fan and found my time for Superman is less and less. Have a look for yourself and you decide who you prefer. A good hero flick with promise of an exciting Justice League to come… PS don’t wait for the end of the credits like a Marvel fan. DC don’t seem to share that bit of fun!
Mrs Knight
There’s no denying there’s a lot of hype around this ‘Man of Steel’ sequel. Especially when Ben Affleck was revealed to play the iconic Batman. A lot of people were disappointed with this choice, but I was immediately excited. I think he’s a good actor and I had faith he could pull it off. Luckily, I wasn’t disappointed with his portrayal.
If you’re anything like me then you weren’t too impressed with the trailer, I found it a bit weak. Especially the banter when Wonder Woman arrives and Superman and Batman look at each other and do the whole “Is she with you?” “I thought she was with you”. I cringed every time. Rest assured the movie is better than the trailer and this scene is far less awkward and lame than the trailer will have you believe.
The movie opens quickly bringing you up to speed with how Batman is a part of the Man of Steal story and why they are fighting against each other. It also gives you background on the familiar tale of how Bruce Wayne becomes Batman. I really liked how the bat sequences were shot. The whole film, was visually very beautiful. There are some great shots later in fight scenes with Superman’s red cape draped over dark grimy rubble as he is dragged along.
The costumes of Superman, Batman and Wonder Women were all great. They all managed to make sense in today’s world which is a bit of a challenge for superhero movies. Batman/Bruce Wayne was the stronger character of the movie and I found Superman/Clarke Kent a little weak. He didn’t really have any personality or do anything cool or interesting, he was just there to fly around and use his strength. Gal Gadot played the character of Wonder Woman. I found her believable. She’s so incredibly beautiful she didn’t have to do much other than just be there in all her glory and kick ass when required.
As a set up film it did what it was required to do. It introduced us to the relationship between Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman. It also gave us a glimpse of what’s to come in the Justice League movies. Since it was more of an introductory film it was a little slow in parts, I got a bit restless half way as it felt clunky the way it kept flipping back and forth between the characters with nothing much happening. But it drew me back in at the end.
A few side notes worth mentioning, when Alfred came on the screen. Who is this babe? He is way too young and good looking to be Alfred. IMDB later told me he is actually 67 years old. Another side note while we’re on the topic of babes, well done Ben Affleck, well done.
I can’t believe I have gone through my whole review without mentioning my favourite part. Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luther! This excited me more than Affleck playing Batman as I thought it was a perfect role for him. He was everything I hoped he would be, to the point where he was a little predictable. I think they need to dial down the crazy a little, but now that his part has been introduced I think his character will evolve and be better in the next one.
Don’t go in with too high hopes as it’s just a bit of a nothing, background movie. The story line isn’t super engaging and as a whole it feels a little long. I didn’t walk out of it on a high or raving about how great it is, but I’m still looking forward to the next one. Just enjoy it for what it is, a different way of telling a familiar story.
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