'Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice' Movie Review

Hello, fellow moviegoers!
   It’s finally here! After two-and-a-half years of waiting, Batman v. Superman is officially playing in theaters! This film has had quite a long road to reach this point. After Man of Steel left audiences divided, DC Comics really needed a film to knock it out of the park to get people on board with their new cinematic universe. Cue Batman.
Here’s the official plot synopsis from Warner Bros., “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.”
   Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice stars Henry Cavill, Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Amy Adams, Jesse Eisenberg, Jeremy Irons, Lawrence Fishburn, and Holly Hunter. This film is potentially the most anticipated film of this year, so does it live up to the hype?

   Going into the film, I believe Warner Bros. had two goals in mind. Address the controversial ending of Man of Steel in an organic way, and pave the road for the future Justice League characters to come. While I won’t spoil anything, I can tell you that they achieved both of these goals. The teases to the expanded DC Universe worked extremely well. Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice is, in many ways, an awesome film. That being said, no film is without its flaws, and Batman v. Superman has plenty of them.
   Let’s start with the good. Ben Affleck’s take on Batman is perhaps the best we’ve ever gotten on the big screen. Affleck was able to balance both the suave detective and brutal vigilante sides of the character incredibly well. You understood the motivations behind his character. Bruce Wayne was a damaged character who sees Superman as a potential global threat. Everything Batman does in this film has a reasoning behind it.
    Visually, this film was stunning. Zack Snyder has always been great at crafting beautiful looking films. The film got off to a really good start with an excellent opening credits sequence. The fight scenes in this film were fantastic! The brutality of Batman came across extremely well, and you would wince in pain for whoever got in the Caped Crusader’s way.
   Where this film fails is with the basic writing. There are moments of dialogue in this film that seems a little clunky and probably could have been cut a little better. Also, I was not a big fan of Jesse Eisenberg’s Lex Luthor. His character seemed a little too cartoonish at times, and his motivations weren’t clearly stated. The film simply expected you to believe that this man hated Superman without giving any real reasons as to why he felt that way. Lex Luthor in this film was just such an odd character, and he really wasn’t that interesting. This is a cause for major issue in the film as he is an essential part of it. They really need to fix this if they want to use him again later on.
   Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman was something that I was extremely apprehensive about going in. I can tell you that the character as a whole is extremely intriguing, and you’re legitimately interested in her. Gal Gadot did a fine job portraying her. While she wasn’t bad, she could have been a little better. Seeing Wonder Woman fight, however, was amazing! She really was a standout in this film, and I cannot wait to see where they go with her in her standalone film next year!
   The film was too long. There were several scenes and sequences that could have been cut out of the film completely, and the film would have been better off for it. There could have been at least half-an-hour cut out of this film, easily. While I don’t mind long films, they have to keep the energy up the whole time. Batman v. Superman failed at that. I was never necessarily bored, but there simply wasn’t enough happening in the first hour-and-a-half to keep the momentum up. The first two-thirds doesn’t nearly have enough action in it, and then the last third has an overload of it. It became very uneven, and while the action scenes were great, they would have worked much better had they been more spread out.
   The music in the film very good. While I personally don’t think it’s quite on the level of Man of Steel, it does a great job building the atmosphere. The new Batman theme is much different than anything else we’ve had before, which was appropriate for this new Batman. Wonder Woman’s theme, on the other hand, was fantastic! When she shows up, you’re already excited simply by the fact that it’s Wonder Woman, but then her theme kicks in. That’s when your blood really gets pumping!
   While I won’t say don’t take your kids to see this, I will say that you should be prepared for bored and/or scared children. As I mentioned above, there isn’t nearly enough action in the first two-thirds that will keep their attention. This is a very dark film, with a lot of political messages in it. Adults will understand what’s going on, but kids might just be confused. Also, the intensity of Affleck’s Batman may be a little too much for them at times. This is a very adult Batman for older audiences. So it really depends on how much you think your kid can handle.
   While I won’t spoil anything, I do want to give props to Warner Bros. and DC for the ending of this film. They took a chance. They went for something a lot of people did not expect. Some people will love it, some not so much, only time will tell.
   At the end of the day, I would say that Batman v. Superman is pretty good. While it isn’t nearly as good as it had the potential to be, I would still recommend it. Jesse Eisenberg’s Lex Luthor was a little ridiculous, and some of the writing is a bit sloppy. That being said, Ben Affleck kills it as Batman, Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman is extremely interesting, and the film does a great job setting up the rest of the DC Universe. If you’re a fan of comics, you’ll enjoy this movie (especially if you love DC). If you don’t read comics, prepare yourself because this film might not be what you expected.
7.5/10

    So what did you think of Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice? Are you excited to see where the DC Extended Universe will go from here? Let me know by commenting on this post! Also, if you enjoyed this review, share it on Facebook and Twitter. It really helps! Don’t forget, I post every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, so check back then for more movie reviews and miscellaneous movie thoughts!
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