Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

So I just watched Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice a couple of hours ago, may as well offer my views.
But before I get to that, I just want to address the bad reviews the film is getting right now.

After the premiere earlier this week, the film was receiving huge praise…if you believe the press that Warner Bros ‘selectively’ put out. I mean, am I the only person that found it strange that Warner Bros put a review embargo on the film so no reviews allowed until they say so…but they also then let all the positive comments (and ONLY positive comments) about the film out hours after its first showing, so much so it even became a trending topic on social media?
Make of that what you will.

After the dust settled and a little digging around, one could easily find what a lot of people really thought of the film without the selective comments allowed by Warner Bros. With only as 30% positivity rating on Rotten Tomatoes (as of writing) and notable reviewers saying such things as:

Michael Phillips Chicago Tribune: “A near-total drag, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice plays like a loose, unofficial quarter-billion-dollar remake of The Odd Couple.”

Stephanie Zacharek TIME Magazine: “As superhero spectacles go, Zack Snyder’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is a grand one, with a mondo-operatic climax and a final shot infused with quivering, exhilarating molecules of grace. It’s also not much fun.”

Adam Graham Detroit News: “The heavyweight title bout between Batman and Superman is a smash to the senses, the same way being tossed around in a rollover car accident would jolt one’s system.”

Helen OHara GQ Magazine: “It just wears you down and wears you out, making you wonder if there was ever such a thing as a hero anyway. Let them pummel each other if they must; just leave us out of it.”

Robbie Collin Daily Telegraph: “No major blockbuster in years has been this incoherently structured, this seemingly uninterested in telling a story with clarity and purpose.”

Now there has been a lot of DC fans claiming the bad reviews found on Rotten Tomatoes are from overtly bias Marvel fans in an attempt to ridicule the film. I just want to point something out, Rotten Tomatoes is owned by Warner Bros…the same company behind this film.
Yeah I’m sure there is some mass worldwide conspiracy to try and belittle a film by Marvel fans and not just a simple fact that the bad reviews are because the film isn’t very good.

In fact, to be honest. Its kind of hard to find any of this high praise the film was getting that Warner Bros was claiming a few days ago. Not there there are no positive reviews out there, there are. It just seems they are rather thin on the ground and by people that enjoy style over substance.
I am finding many more 2/5 and 4/10 review scores than any 4/5 and 8/10 scores for example.

Still, I am not here to talk about what others think about the film. I am here to get my opinion of the film across. So lets get started. There will be major spoilers…you have been warned.

I was not the biggest fan of Man of Steel, in fact I found it to be rather asinine overall and full of horrible writing with horrendous and boring action sequences. But saying that, I held a lot of hope for this sequel that they would learn from previous mistakes.

I recall the negative feedback that was around when it was announced that Ben Affleck is playing Bruce Wayne/Batman. So I’ll start there.

I personally found Affleck to be a great piece of casting. He nails the Bruce Wayne persona just as well as Batman and my favourite since Michael Keaton.
Bruce/Batman in this film is aged and not in really in his prime as he used to be. This element is taken from Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns comic book mini series. In fact, quite a lot of this film is heavily inspired by Miller’s story.
Batman in this is FAR more brutal than we have ever seen him previously. He breaks bones, smashes faces into the floor, stabs people with knives and even outright kills.
For me, the best thing about this film was Affleck and this new take on a much loved and established character.
This Batman is harder edged and raw…and I loved it.

Sadly, Affleck is the only thing about this film that is memorable.
Seriously, I watched the film a couple of hours ago and hardly rememberer any of it because its so drawn out and dull. The film is around 2 hours 30 minutes and it feels so, so much longer. I honestly think there is only about 40 minutes worth of story here and they dragged it out needlessly.
So many inane, pointless and forgettable scenes.

There is so much you can cut from this film and it would have made zero difference to the plot.
Lois Lane is completely irrelevant here. She is in the film so Superman can save her…and that’s about it. Wonder Woman is also largely pointless and really only shows up 10 minutes from the end because the script says so. Yeah sure, Diana Prince appears a few times throughout the film…for no real reason at all. She is thrown in because the need to set the framework for the Justice League and not because its a good idea or makes plot sense.

Even the big fight, you know the main title of the film is pretty much a let down. Batman and Superman scrap for a bit…then make up and become friends because their mothers both have the same first name….seriously, I’m not joking here. They stop fighting each other because their mothers shared the same first name.
There are a few good action scenes though, but the main title fight is not one of them.

Oh something I just remembered that needs addressing.
Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor. He is fucking awful, the role is played as if Lex is a 14 year old child that has had too much sugar. I think he was supposed to be a bit of comic relief but the trouble is that he is not funny. Badly written and badly acted.

I really don’t have much to say here as the film didn’t provide anything to really talk about.
Its a film that exists.
Its a strange film really as it has so much going on, even too much going on at times. But at the same time its an almost empty plot. There are too many characters trying to be introduced as they want to rush into a Justice League film and this results in bland, uninteresting characterization.

I think if they had kept this concentrated as it just being Batman and Superman, it could have been decent. But its just a mess of a film with no real direction or clear goal.
Its trying to be a sequel to Man of Steel and also trying to be a set up to a Justice League film, and also trying to be Batman v Superman and it does none of these three ideas well at all. Its a mess.

I will say that I think some of the critics and other reviewers (including those up there ^^^) have been overtly harsh with their views, but I still can’t find myself disagreeing with them either.
Its not a good film at all, but its not terrible either. Its “better” than Man of Steel…but not by very much and only because of this new, harder Batman.

If this is the best they can do, I really don’t hold out much hope for the Justice League film(s) at all.
I can’t recommend going to to the cinema see this flick at all, just wait for home release instead.

Just bring on the Affleck starring Batman film.

Just remembered, Superman dies…except he doesn’t…spoiler?