Review: Batman v Superman : Dawn of Justice (2016)

Catered to Purely Comic Fan Boy

Score: 7/10

I being this huge fan of DC comics was waiting with bated breaths for the film to release for 3 years at least. A joy ride it was, giving all the thrills typically etched for a comic fan I'd say, if not everyone
BvS starts off giving the usual introduction of Bruce Wayne's parents' demise without adding much to it. And then it also goes about explaining how it ignited the spark in the Batman to fight Superman. Though it clearly sways away from the comics, it gets us warmed up of what we can expect. I wouldn't go into the plot so much, virtually everything should be kept away from the readers to avoid the spoilers.

Zack did not do such a bad job with Man of Steel, though not even coming close to the expectations everyone had for the film especially knowing Nolan is at the helm as an executive producer. Without Nolan present for any creative decisions (not at least as much as he was involved in Man of Steel), Zack has slipped into his indulgence for clean Comic like taste he likes to keep for his films (read 300, Watchmen, Sucker Punch). The cinematography particularly is spotless and erodes all ideas of the real world gritty feel Nolan generally gave with Wally Pfister. He goes for a dark bluish tinge whenever Batman is around and sometimes uses a bright yellow to its addition (Nolan kept Orange as the second color). Every frame seems to be sprayed with water paints, constantly reminding us of the graphics we have been reading. I loved the use of strong close ups and his trademark usual slow mo's in certain scenes. 

But having 2 superheroes and also touching Wonder Woman arch is a tricky business. Unlike Avengers, you don't always have these super heroes together, with completely different cities and tones they carry, it is rather tough to have a story develop in parallel to the development of the characters. And Zack doesn't completely manage that either, one can actually notice the choppy editing (a word I also used for Man of Steel review). The lack of fluidity to the scenes keep us floating without generating much interest for the film, at least in the first half. As the film advances the plot lines coincide which also proportionally keeps getting us more hooked. Subsequently they merge and the comic fan boy, in all scenes later, is thoroughly tickled.

Acting isn't exactly the best, which means Ben doesn't surprise! Henry and Gal have done well enough with the limited scenes both were squeezed into to accommodate Batman. Jeremy Irons (Alfred) would have done much better had he been offered more screen time while Jesse as Lex goes clearly over board, but again no complaints as such. Amy was highly credible and so was Holly as senator Finch, my picks among the caste. 

The film very smartly gives glimpses of DC characters for the expansion of its universe, never feeling too forced, though with 2 and a half hour length, those could have been edited, conveniently avoiding the distraction. The action choreography is a huge improvement from Nolan's much rebuked such scenes, but it also serves as a reminder in one of the Batman dream sequence where Ben clearly looks like waiting to get hit when watched closely, slow and pretentious. The music is more towards the entertaining part than what Zimmer uses for Nolan's films, the famous escalating music with arrests. Here, each character has its own signature, I specifically loved Wonder Woman's and Batman's theme, also the music used towards the end for Lex is cheekily sweet.

The plot is heavily stuffed, if worked on details could have easily been turned into a good two films. But it still delights never losing the grip once it takes off, which almost is in the second half. Zack also over comes his drawback of making "humorless" films, subtly entertaining with a few one liners here and there.

In all, this film is nowhere close to what I have been reading in the reviews (30% Rotten Tomatoes score, are you kidding me? Lower than Daredevil?). It's a fantastic entertainer, worthy of letting Zack direct the Justice League.