“Dawn of Justice”: Is it Really that Super?
April 18, 2016
The wait is finally over, “Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice” is here. But is it all that super? In DC Comics’ response to the juggernaut that is the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Batman is forced with dealing with the superman dilemma after the events of “Man of Steel.”
I, along with almost everyone else, had built up insane amounts of hype for this movie, and why wouldn’t we? It’s Batman fighting Superman! This movie was doomed from the start with it’s expectations already out of reach before filming even started.
Superman’s motives and identity as either a god or devil in “Dawn of Justice.”
This movie takes place a little over a year after the events of “Man of Steel,” and the human race no longer sees Superman as their savior, but as a potential threat to human kind as they don’t know his true motives. As Batman quotes, “if there is even a 1% chance that he is our enemy we have to take it as an absolute certainty.” This leaves the idea in audience’s heads that in this universe, super hero comics and fan culture do not exist. To actually have someone like Superman and all of his power would be incredibly threatening to say the least, causing Bruce Wayne to take the world’s safety into his own hands.
Now, this movie isn’t all bad, it had great visuals and an unbelievable leap of faith performance by Ben Affleck as Bruce Wayne (a.k.a Batman.) After the cinematic masterpieces that were the “Dark Knight” series, critics and audiences alike were skeptical if the rom-com actor could fill the shoes of the caped crusader. With a lot of nods to the DC Comic roots, “Dawn of Justice” made me really excited for what is to come with the teases of Cyborg, Aqua Man, and The Flash.
“Dawn of Justice” had some downfalls, including its running time of almost three hours, a lot of that time spent trying to fill and build backstory that was unneeded or already known to most audiences. This caused the movie to really seem to drag on, and left me bored at some moments which really shouldn’t happen in a movie about Batman fighting Superman! The movie left me with a feeling of emptiness that I should have anticipated with my expectations as high as they were. In short “Batman v. Superman” was good, not great.
Batman, played by Ben Affleck, is de-masked as he is held captive.
In the end I would give “Batman v. Superman” a 2.5/5 stars for its excellent visuals and stellar casting. I would recommend this to any fans of the DC Comics, as it is worth giving a watch and builds hype for what is to come. Just be sure to keep your expectations in check first.