Batman Vs Superman - contains spoilers
I quite enjoyed Batman Versus Superman and I don't think it deserved to be slated as much as it was. I certainly had some issues with it, some big and some trivial, but overall I enjoyed the movied and I am looking forward to the next installment. But, now for the nitty gritty...
The lighting in the movie really bothered me, this is something I always hate about Batman movies. I could really do without the bat cave paralell as I don't think it adds anything to the movie. I hate squinting at the screen and feeling like I am missing half of everything, just turn on the fricking lights people!! I don't read comic books so I am not sure if this is how the artwork for Batman was done, maybe the comic book fans love this and it's just a reference that I am missing or enjoying wrong.
Ben Afflick isn't Christian Bale. Michael Keaton is my favourite Bruce Wayne; Christian Bale is my favourite Batman but Ben Afflick didn't even come close on either count. I also disliked Batman's suit, it was too big and bulky and awkward for my liking, as was the Bat Mobile, it was all pretty poor really. So far, I'm all for Superman in this particular fight. Oh, and Alfred sucked balls too!
The writers tried to cover far too much back story, the set-up should have been shortened a lot. I don't see why they had to include anything about Batman's origins (I'm really anti-bat in this!). They also laboured the reasons for Batman and Superman being at odds, and I don't feel that it was actually believable, and then it was over very quickly and suddenly they're on the same side again.
That's quite a lot of negativity so far, but I did actually enjoy the movie! I enjoyed the scene where Lois is in the desert and Superman comes to rescue her; I thought that was done well and I was emotionally invested. I enjoyed Bruce Wayne sneaking around the party and Superman overhearing his earphone, that was really funny. It's a pity there wasn't more of this, and more of them trying to find each other and more suspense leading to their inevitable fight. And of course I loved the whiff of Wonder Woman at the party, I just knew it had to be her and I was super excited!
I *loved* Lex Luther's son! He was super brilliant, the performance was great and the character was whacky and dangerous and I think there's plenty of scope there for future movies. I liked Lois Lane well enough, but I didn't love her. She hadn't got the vulnerabilities of Lois Lane. I have to admit that most of my frame of reference is formed from Lois & Clarke, The New Adventures of Superman (which is super awesome!). Of course there wasn't enough space to really develop the Lois & Clarke relationship as much as you would in a Superman movie, but they managed to show the depth of their love and I bought it hook, line and sinker, I *loved* it and wanted a whole movie focusing on them and allowing Lois to be developed more.
Really, the best part of the movie for me was Superman. I loved him! I have no idea who the actor is and in the trailers he was sidelined a lot, so it was a very pleasant surprise that he was so good. I enjoyed him as Clarke Kent, although it was a side of Kent we never really saw before; he never gets annoyed, he's always so happy-go-lucky, but because he's so angry at Batman we see a different side of him and that was interesting. I also loved that they cut to the chase and we jumped in with Clarke and Lois being together (the relief was palpable because I just can't go through the agony of that story line again, not after years of The New Adventures of Superman and waiting, waiting, waiting for it to happen!! (really I loved the torture every week, it was an awesome will-they-won't-they :) And, Superman in the bath...yummie! He really should get his cape off more often.
So, then there were fight scenes and I found myself enjoying them a lot. I think this was partly because the build up had been so slow and it was great to finally have some action! But they were good. And then Superman and Bat-ass were pally again and I was left wondering if their fight actually happened, it was over so fast and without consequence or much reflection. And then....
I still cannot believe that they killed Superman. I just think it is so wrong and should not have happened. I was really angry when this happened. One of the criteria by which I judge movies is their ability to elicit an emotional resonse and I certainly had one here so thumbs up for that, but major boo that it had to be a negative emotion. I saw the movie when it first came out, so a couple of weeks ago now, and I am *still* peeved that they killed him.
This review has been a bit disjointed - flicking between characters, ups and downs, little isolated pockets of good amongst a lot of bat-complaints. So while it may appear to be poorly constructed, it is in fact a good reflection of the movie itself becuase that's exactly how I felt it was: disjointed but with cool glimpses of Superman, an awesome Lex and a strong Lois & Clake love story that left me wanting more.
The lighting in the movie really bothered me, this is something I always hate about Batman movies. I could really do without the bat cave paralell as I don't think it adds anything to the movie. I hate squinting at the screen and feeling like I am missing half of everything, just turn on the fricking lights people!! I don't read comic books so I am not sure if this is how the artwork for Batman was done, maybe the comic book fans love this and it's just a reference that I am missing or enjoying wrong.
Ben Afflick isn't Christian Bale. Michael Keaton is my favourite Bruce Wayne; Christian Bale is my favourite Batman but Ben Afflick didn't even come close on either count. I also disliked Batman's suit, it was too big and bulky and awkward for my liking, as was the Bat Mobile, it was all pretty poor really. So far, I'm all for Superman in this particular fight. Oh, and Alfred sucked balls too!
The writers tried to cover far too much back story, the set-up should have been shortened a lot. I don't see why they had to include anything about Batman's origins (I'm really anti-bat in this!). They also laboured the reasons for Batman and Superman being at odds, and I don't feel that it was actually believable, and then it was over very quickly and suddenly they're on the same side again.
That's quite a lot of negativity so far, but I did actually enjoy the movie! I enjoyed the scene where Lois is in the desert and Superman comes to rescue her; I thought that was done well and I was emotionally invested. I enjoyed Bruce Wayne sneaking around the party and Superman overhearing his earphone, that was really funny. It's a pity there wasn't more of this, and more of them trying to find each other and more suspense leading to their inevitable fight. And of course I loved the whiff of Wonder Woman at the party, I just knew it had to be her and I was super excited!
I *loved* Lex Luther's son! He was super brilliant, the performance was great and the character was whacky and dangerous and I think there's plenty of scope there for future movies. I liked Lois Lane well enough, but I didn't love her. She hadn't got the vulnerabilities of Lois Lane. I have to admit that most of my frame of reference is formed from Lois & Clarke, The New Adventures of Superman (which is super awesome!). Of course there wasn't enough space to really develop the Lois & Clarke relationship as much as you would in a Superman movie, but they managed to show the depth of their love and I bought it hook, line and sinker, I *loved* it and wanted a whole movie focusing on them and allowing Lois to be developed more.
Really, the best part of the movie for me was Superman. I loved him! I have no idea who the actor is and in the trailers he was sidelined a lot, so it was a very pleasant surprise that he was so good. I enjoyed him as Clarke Kent, although it was a side of Kent we never really saw before; he never gets annoyed, he's always so happy-go-lucky, but because he's so angry at Batman we see a different side of him and that was interesting. I also loved that they cut to the chase and we jumped in with Clarke and Lois being together (the relief was palpable because I just can't go through the agony of that story line again, not after years of The New Adventures of Superman and waiting, waiting, waiting for it to happen!! (really I loved the torture every week, it was an awesome will-they-won't-they :) And, Superman in the bath...yummie! He really should get his cape off more often.
So, then there were fight scenes and I found myself enjoying them a lot. I think this was partly because the build up had been so slow and it was great to finally have some action! But they were good. And then Superman and Bat-ass were pally again and I was left wondering if their fight actually happened, it was over so fast and without consequence or much reflection. And then....
I still cannot believe that they killed Superman. I just think it is so wrong and should not have happened. I was really angry when this happened. One of the criteria by which I judge movies is their ability to elicit an emotional resonse and I certainly had one here so thumbs up for that, but major boo that it had to be a negative emotion. I saw the movie when it first came out, so a couple of weeks ago now, and I am *still* peeved that they killed him.
This review has been a bit disjointed - flicking between characters, ups and downs, little isolated pockets of good amongst a lot of bat-complaints. So while it may appear to be poorly constructed, it is in fact a good reflection of the movie itself becuase that's exactly how I felt it was: disjointed but with cool glimpses of Superman, an awesome Lex and a strong Lois & Clake love story that left me wanting more.