By Julia Conforti, staff writer
The hype for the reboot of the DC cinematic universe Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice had been building up for months and it finally released on March 25. DC took a lot of risks with this film and the question on everyone’s mind was, “will it all work?”. Many said “No.”
What ultimately put the film’s success into question was simply the way DC approached the film. Instead of making it easy to understand for those who are not familiar with the DC universe, they only targeted fans who have deep knowledge of the comics.
People who have never picked up a comic of DC’s did not find the film to be appealing because they simply did not catch onto details which made the film captivating to loyal fans.
Another glaring issue with Batman v. Superman is that it simply is not a Marvel film. Marvel’s success in the cinema has affected what people want out of a superhero film. Critics especially expect the same thing from DC as they do from Marvel. And when filmgoers go to a movie expecting Marvel and find out that is not what it is, the viewers get disappointed.
Overall, the film is just a stride above average. The look of the movie is majestic, the camerawork is spectacular and the soundtrack by Hans Zimmer accompanied the events onscreen wonderfully. Other visual effects in the film are pleasing to the eye, and the monster the heroes face Doomsday, is very well done.
The risks that DC took with Batman v. Superman paid off. While this Lex we saw in the film is different, he was a captivating character. DC was trying to make Lex a successful character, and they likely did not see the old Lex doing well with moviegoers. Though it seems that the awkward, unstable Lex we saw has the potential to grow into the man we have seen before, though it is difficult to guess where DC is going at this point.
There has been much debate about Ben Affleck’s Batman, a majority of the critics compare his portrayal to Christian Bale’s Batman from The Dark Knight trilogy. And the fact of the matter is Ben Affleck is not Christian Bale. He is not going to interpret Batman the same way he did. Other critics of his performance say that Batman was ‘too sad’, and these people demonstrate how little they understand the fundamentals of the character and DC as a whole.
In several interviews, Affleck has said that this Batman is more existential. He is old and is wondering if it was all really worth it. On top of this midlife crisis, he has nobody helping him in the Batcave other than Alfred. He is between teammates, and it is assumed he had recently lost Jason Todd (the second Robin), and has also seen Barbara Gordon (the first Batgirl) severely crippled because of the Joker. Who would not be a little depressed?
Henry Cavill continues to portray Superman in a new way. Superman is another character criticized for being a debby downer. People wonder what happened to their beloved Boy Scout, but when has Superman ever been a fan favorite from anybody other than children? Facts are Superman is not a relatable character, making it difficult to sympathize with him.
Gal Gadot does very well as Wonder Woman, even though she is not on screen much. Though she gets tons of screen time compared to the original intent of just having her be there as a cameo.
Some of the plot devices are corny, rather awkward, and display laziness in writing. However, Batman v. Superman does not deserve all of the negativity it has been receiving. I would give the film a 3 out of 5 stars.