Batman v. Superman begins with quite a thriller of an introduction. The film opens with us once again seeing Thomas (Jeffery Dean Morgan) and Martha Wayne (Maggie Grace) being shot while young Bruce must stand by and witness this pivotal massacre. While the murder of Bruce's parents has been done over and over again, it is essential to be shown here because it serves to the brutal Batman (Ben Affleck) introduced in this movie. Affleck was the best aspect of this movie and shuts out all the hate he received upon the announcement of him being cast. If you're a fan of Frank Miller's Batman adaptations then Affleck will be right up your alley. This is by far the most brutal Batman that we've ever seen on the big screen. However he can also turn on the Bruce Wayne charm when necessary. The scenes between him and Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) are executed very well Gadot was the real pleasant surprise of this movie. Although she didn't have a lot of dialogue, she handled herself very well and captured the character. This component of the movie gives me hope that she'll be able to hold her own in her future solo movie slated for 2017.
The director, Zack Snyder, is well known for his films being visually breathtaking and Batman v. Superman certainly has its moments. The end fight sequence is beautifully choreographed and I have to give Snyder credit where it's due. It's apparent that Snyder thinks shot by shot on what he wants. He also takes quite a bold move in how a certain factor of the film unfolds and it's difficult not to admire this risk presented before the audience. Unfortunately he lacks in other aspects.
Snyder's biggest problem is his lack of storytelling. Often times in this movie, Snyder leaves many events unexplained. I don't want to tread into spoiler territory but it's quite recognizable upon seeing the film. Often times he does not hit the mark on where the tone of this film should go. This is not Synder's only problem though. This movie is very weirdly edited. There are many moving parts to this story and this is ultimately Snyder's downfall. There were moments when they would cut back to a particular character and I would have to remind myself what that character was doing because it had been so long since we had visited them.
There is also the character of Lex Luthor (Jessie Eisenberg). While I see what Snyder was going for, the character of Lex often felt over the top and cartoonish. There were glimmers of evil but it would quickly be defused by another gimmicky act.
Another of Snyder's dilemma that hinders the potential of this movie is the fact they are trying to set up for the Justice League movie. DC is taking quite the opposite approach compared to Marvel. Instead of a bunch of solo films focusing on a single hero, they are taking the route of giving us the Justice League movie quite early in their slate. Unfortunately this puts a lot more pressure on Snyder and his introduction to the other heroes just seemed like a shoe in.
While this movie has some really fantastically choreographed action scenes, it lacks very much in story and character development. Overall for me the bad barely outweighs the good. However I would recommend going to see this in theaters because we've waited years to see Batman and Superman on the big screen together. The potential is there if DC would reach out and take a hold of it. However DC has to take great strides if it wishes to catch up with the critical success of Marvel.
Rating: 5.9 out of 10
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