Film Review: Batman vs. Superman

Film Review: Batman vs. Superman

It's not really fair to judge a film by comparison to others but sometimes it's inevitable. Such is the weight of expectation on Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice that it's almost impossible to view it on its own merits without some comparison to previous entries in the series, successful or otherwise. Also, as unfair as this might seem, it's really tough to view it without at least giving a passing thought to the competition: much like that of the titular characters, DC vs. Marvel isn't so much a rivalry, but different approaches to the same crimefighting agenda.

One thing that can be ignored for the purposes of reviewing is preconceptions. This film's success was predetermined in some quarters and judgements made (unfairly) in the wake of Ben Affleck's casting as Batman, and (probably fairly) Zack Snyder's appointment as director. Affleck is a much improved actor, and respected director, since his poor showing in Daredevil (Mark Steven Johnson, 2003), however Snyder has his own style and appears incapable or unwilling to change it. Of his films so far only Dawn Of The Dead and Sucker Punch aren't based on comic book source material, and almost all show moments of light comic relief. He has made a very very serious film in BvS. It is based on fantastical source material, but neither that source material nor his CV really warrants the gloom on the screen.

Affleck, however, should have millions of keyboard warriors eating their words. A brooding presence, he shows hints of Batman's ocean of grief, whose currents drive him into conflict with Superman's perceived global threat. With no full origin story (although we get a brief flashback for the benefit of anyone who didn't already know how Bruce Wayne became Batman by now), a lot is asked of him to convey motivation, and he manages this admirably. His interplay with Jeremy Irons' Alfred offers the film's only, and all too brief, moments of levity. Affleck is without doubt the highlight of the film and one can only hope that a solo film is greenlit to further showcase what he can do.

Henry Cavill's Superman does well well. Much like Captain America, Kal-El is a thankless task with much of the work done in the gym before a single frame is shot. Both are fish-out-of-water characters with a moral code but a certain distance from the world around them. However unlike Chris Evans' increasingly strong performances as Cap, coupled with scripts that bring the best out of a potentially dull character, Cavill plays a dour, dull Supes whose Clark Kent alter ego is simply the same character with a flannel shirt and huge glasses. He has a comfortable relationship with Lois Lane and is apparently immune to being fired by Laurence Fishburne's Perry White. There is almost no character dynamic here and the best he does is looking surprised when his kryptonite-weakened punch fails to damage Batman and some daddy issues being resolved with Kevin Costner's Obi Wan-like ghost. Remember David Carradine's speech in Kill Bill Vol. 2 about how Clark Kent is Superman's critique of humanity? Well there's none of that here, and it only helps to keep the tone deadly serious throughout.

The film also struggles under the weight of Snyder's Man Of Steel and the upcoming Justice League instalments. Almost in retaliation to the spectacular destruction of Manhattan in Marvel's Avengers, Man Of Steel saw it necessary to tear down swathes of skyscrapers while the Kryptonian characters responsible barely registered a scratch. Stakes were raised too high too soon and one wondered where Superman could go from there. Well BvS answers by simply throwing another borderline-invincible villain into the mix, resulting in a difficult-to-follow throwdown where every punch seems to result in a minor earthquake and the mortal Batman is largely sidelined, bringing a grenade launcher to a god fight. Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman is admittedly very cool in a fight but is thinly drawn otherwise, and given little else to do. Hopefully the solo film will do her justice (pun intended).

I'll get to Doomsday in a moment, but firstly there's the small matter of Lex Luthor. Jesse Eisenberg had big shoes to fill with Gene Hackman and to a lesser extent Kevin Spacey bringing malevolence and gravitas to one of the more fun roles. His histrionic sociopath is destined to be divisive. That he is thoroughly unworried by the heroes' actions is effective, his convoluted schemes less so. He is up to a lot throughout the film, but ultimately his goal is to engineer a scrap between Bats and Supes. The specifics of this, including controlling public perception of Superman, are frustratingly nebulous. Scott McNairy's character, for example, is both complicit and a victim; he is dispatched just as he's getting interesting. I don't know if it's fair to criticise an actor for the pitch of his voice but Eisenberg's is often like nails on a chalk board; he does well to be menacing without a formidable physical presence, but his voice does him no favours. A slew of clunky dialogue (an Icarus analogy. Really?) doesn't help matters, but this is something almost the entire cast has to deal with.

Doomsday is a difficult one. Being a reader of the comics, I knew how this would turn out but I tried not to let that affect my judgement. Where Zod was an (augmented) human character, and Christopher Nolan's Batman films admirably limited the amount of CGI effects in use, the animated late arrival Doomsday is something of a waste. Much like how Venom in Spiderman 3 was simultaneously the biggest threat and completely superfluous to the plot, this huge Abomination-lookalike feels like Snyder playing one-upmanship. What little drama there is comes in the conflict between a tooled-up, Kryptonite-powered Batman and an angry, compromised Superman. Throwing in another monster to finish them off is not necessary. Also, Luthor's skilled manipulation of literally alien technology is implausible and his ability to gene-splice Zod and himself is not effectively sold to us.

Poor quality CGI in a film of this magnitude is unforgivable. One could expect relatively minor effects-driven films like Wrath Of The Titans, Seventh Son or Pompeii to look like crap but with the stakes and expectation this high, photo-real is a minimum requirement. Example one: a sequence where Batman returns the Batmobile to its home under the lake by Wayne Manor looks very much like a cartoon. There are Pixar films that look more realistic; this really is close to the infamous Die Another Day sequence. Following the practical effects used in Nolan's Batman trilogy, particularly the car chases, it's a shame that the same property has resorted to sub-par effects. Example two: the climactic Doomsday battle. Snyder is in serious danger of becoming Michael Bay. It simply isn't enough to say “lets have one super-being fight the other super being and watch stuff blow up.” Silly though they are, when Marvel do this there are always higher stakes: an alien invasion; Hydra's takeover of the world; genocide by robot army. The problem here is that Doomsday's threat is so undercooked that we really aren't worried about the consequences of his victory. The fight in Richard Donner's Superman 2 already looks better than this and feels like there's more at stake.

That said, it's not all bad, just muddled: Affleck is very very good and has massive future potential. The supporting cast does admirably with paper thin roles, including Amy Adams' Lois Lane (no Margot Kidder but she's ok), Fishburne's Perry White, Holly Hunter's inquisitive senator, while Kevin Costner is fatherly grit personified. The Kryptonite angle is the right way to go and helps negate the godlike power established in the last film. Future Justice League members Auqaman, The Flash and Cyborg are deftly introduced without too much strain put on casual fans. What I really liked, however, is the adherence to details from the source material, including Frank Miller's peerless The Dark Knight Returns: from Batman's power suit, hints at a deceased Robin, and previous encounters with The Joker (“clowns in tights”), down to certain shot choices, as well as the Kryptonite-artefact-in-a-pool nod to Donner's 1978 Superman.

It's clear the film is made with reverence and care, and that there is a lot more potential in some aspects of it. It's just such a shame that Snyder has put too much stock in spectacle rather than scripting. The drama is undersold, the effects are overused and the whole endeavour has the seriousness one would normally expect from a Joe Wright literary adaptation, but Batman is as good as you want him to be and Luthor has the potential to be a huge menace. However when the points decision comes in at the end of the fight there is one clear unanimous winner, by technical knock out, and it's Captain America.