{"id":85796,"date":"2016-03-22T22:00:44","date_gmt":"2016-03-22T22:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/?p=85796"},"modified":"2016-04-04T22:51:16","modified_gmt":"2016-04-04T21:51:16","slug":"batman-v-superman-dawn-of-justice-review-its-fight-night","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/reviews\/batman-v-superman-dawn-of-justice-review-its-fight-night\/","title":{"rendered":"Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice review: it’s fight night"},"content":{"rendered":"

You\u2019ll already have<\/span> opinions about Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice<\/em><\/strong>, but after years of anticipation and discussion, what it boils down to is the two and a half hours spent in the dark and whether or not you feel like you enjoyed them. After all, it\u2019s only a movie.<\/span><\/p>\n

Or in the case of Batman V Superman<\/em><\/strong>, it\u2019s three movies, or one movie grappling with the various roles it needs to play. It\u2019s the follow-up to Man Of Steel<\/em><\/strong>, and it\u2019s a new take on Batman courtesy of Ben Affleck\u2019s embittered Bruce Wayne, and it tees up the genesis of the Justice League, mostly by introducing Gal Gadot\u2019s enigmatic Diana Prince. It\u2019s a lot to get done and a lot to get right, so the delays and talk of an extended director\u2019s cut are hardly surprising. Writers Chris Terrio and David S Goyer had a hell of a task.<\/span><\/p>\n

But did they pull it off? Yes and no. There\u2019s a lot that works well, but there\u2019s plenty that doesn\u2019t, and the bulk of its failures are in the plotting and tone. It\u2019s obvious that Snyder, Terrio and Goyer are well aware of the pitfalls, and do their best to avoid them, but in doing so they create entirely new problems. Worried about an Age Of Ultron<\/em><\/strong>-style overstuffed clip show? So are they, but what we get instead is a film that works so hard to stay grounded and coherent that it forgets to be fun.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018Not much fun\u2019 is an obvious stick to beat the film with after Man Of Steel<\/em><\/strong>; it\u2019s quite clear that fun isn\u2019t really what it\u2019s going for. Snyder is aiming squarely for Eighties dark, violent, unapologetic Batman, with his Superman somewhat unsuccessfully folded into that tone.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Dark Knight Returns<\/em><\/strong> has been a key text for each filmmaker who takes on the World\u2019s Greatest Detective, so it\u2019s not surprising to see it heavily referenced here, but we get a grab-bag of Batman and Superman greatest hits: Miller, Moore, Millar and even Morrison. It\u2019s a pick \u2018n\u2019 mix that doesn\u2019t work for both. Furious Batman works, and Affleck has a ball with it, but an already slightly sidelined Superman who\u2019s feeling very judged is less successful, despite Cavill\u2019s best efforts.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s hard to shake the feeling that Snyder is more excited about Bats than Supes, particularly as the film opens with the Thomas and Martha Wayne shooting and the discovery of the future Bat-Cave, before launching into Bruce witnessing the destruction of Metropolis. It\u2019s a strong opening, and a great reminder of how potent those moments of Bruce\u2019s history are on screen, and the sequence of him racing into the heart of the carnage to do what he can is undeniably powerful. Not only does it drive home the human cost of Superman\u2019s battle with Zod, it shows just how perfect a choice Affleck was for this.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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What it also does is set up the debate about the big Boy Scout, which occupies the bulk of the rest of the film. Bruce is convinced that Superman\u2019s a threat, while the American government wants to put restrictions on him. Meanwhile, brilliant billionaire Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg) wants to create a \u2018silver bullet\u2019 deterrent that could take him down if necessary. Naturally, Lex being Lex, he\u2019s got his eye on that Kryptonian tech as well.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The plot strand that sounds the least compelling is the one that is most over-served. The film is so determined to keep us grounded in the nearly real reality of Man Of Steel<\/em><\/strong> that it feels afraid of the capital CB Comic Book stuff it\u2019s going to have to put in. So we\u2019re given senate hearings, burning Superman effigies and Batman branding his victims. The gloominess isn\u2019t a surprise, but it is surprisingly grim, with some moments feeling like they should have been left in the R-rated director\u2019s cut. While this may work in the film\u2019s first half, it actually does the opposite of what it was intended to do when the shit really hits the fan and the film\u2019s monstrous big bad emerges. It\u2019s jarring, while the very brief obligatory nods to the Justice League feel like a pen-slip, or at best a reluctant box-tick.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But for all that, there are definitely places where Batman V Superman<\/em><\/strong> succeeds. As mentioned, Affleck is great casting, showing how Bruce could have found himself in this dark place while selling the action completely. We love a good villain, and Eisenberg\u2019s Lex Luthor is a swaggering, twitchy joy. His casting had its critics, but he\u2019s a great choice, his hipster tees and cheerful manner masking a callous disregard for everyone around him and a totally ruthless nature. It\u2019s a performance that is comic book enough to be entertaining, but dangerous enough to fit the tone.<\/span><\/p>\n

Crucially, the Batman fight sequences are excellent, and those coming out for the titular smack-down won\u2019t leave disappointed. This desire to root everything in reality means that we have to wait while they\u2019re both pushed to the point of Not Backing Down, but it\u2019s brutal and bruising stuff. Snyder knows how to make mythic combat look cool, and only the most cynical moviegoer could claim to not feel a rush of excitement as they go toe to toe.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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That\u2019s also true of Wonder Woman\u2019s appearance when it finally arrives. Gadot only appears periodically throughout the film, establishing Diana Prince as someone who knows a lot more about the grander scheme of things than Bruce Wayne (there\u2019s a nice scene where she stops him mansplaining an ancient sword in a museum), but she really shines in the film\u2019s final action sequence and it\u2019s a powerful reminder of how freaking overdue this is.<\/span><\/p>\n

The film\u2019s other women don\u2019t fare as well, sadly, with Amy Adams\u2019 Lois Lane repeatedly requiring rescue in service of the plot, and another character that would be spoiler-y to mention getting some rough treatment. They don\u2019t exactly get the best dialogue either. Hmm.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re getting the impression that the film is a mixed bag, you\u2019re exactly right. How much you get out of it will depend on what you\u2019re hoping to get. The action\u2019s good, the cast is great, and the first half manages to keep all its balls in the air. But it\u2019s oddly sluggish in places, too self-serious and overstuffed to be nimble, and there\u2019s a lot that could have been cut. We didn\u2019t even talk about the terrible dream sequences. It is intermittently rewarding, but ultimately a bit disappointing.<\/span><\/p>\n

Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice is released in UK cinemas on 25 March – check out our video review here<\/a>. Read all about the film in the new issue of SciFiNow<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n