Batman is a comic figure that almost all of us can identify with. The psychological reasons are numerous - starting from the shallow, for example - who doesn't want to be a billionaire playboy who gets to play around with gadgets that can potentially kill and maim! The broader psychological reasons would be along the lines of anyone being receptive to the idea of facing their inner demons and facing them in a way that helps not only them but the society that bereaved them. And the caped crusader became something of an inner answer that resonates with the interpretation of most of the authors who have spun stories around this legend clad in gray and black.
Why go into all that, you ask? Well, because its been a puzzling month for the bat-fan in me. While I abstained from reading reviews before the latest installment featuring the Bat on the silver screen came out, I was aware of the heavy expectations riding on this particular outing. Warner has long wanted to launch their Justice League world and given the success of Man of Steel it was only logical that the sequel be used to hint at it. I say hint but Zack and Charles Roven might have had different ideas and used this as a pedestal. They literally built this universe up and used the latest outing of Batman and the continuation of the Man of Steel to launch an extended universe. Should they have been heavy handed even though they were invested in it? I don't know. But the spate of sour reviews that I read after I watched it, were, for want of any other word, overwhelming.
Given there has been a lot of objectification of reviews which are supposed to be subjective, here is a quick rundown of what critics' popular opinion is, here's what I think wasn't very good about the movie and should have been addressed for sure -
- Superman's mum has a name, Batman's mum has a name. Zack Snyder sissies up one of the darkest screen hero's of all time. It is not done, I accept this view, there are no two words about it. I officially hate the name 'Martha' and I totally agree with popular opinion here - this was a bit of a lame-i-fication of the dark knight.
- Superman's love interest literally has Superman on a leash, be it in the African continent or in Metropolis. Who wants to watch a sappy female lead who sort of takes the movie away from where it is going? To everyone else who disliked Amy Adams' role in the movie - Am with you, I'd say delete her role, maybe drop her off a cliff with Kryptonite at the bottom and be done with it.
And here's where I wont agree with what some of the critics seem to be harping on -
- Rehashing an origin story - Zack Snyder showed the reason why Batman is Batman - starting from a young boy uplifted by the realisation of his fear to a battle worn warrior who will do all it takes to protect his own. For some reason, almost all critics who dislike the movie seem to be seeking a new sort of handling of the only possible story of the Bat. Me - I see nothing wrong with Zack's take.
- Lex Luthor - Jesse Eisenberg according to most of my friends in India channels Shahrukh Khan. A fleshed out psycho, someone who does not consider meddling with things vastly beyond his control as dangerous, in exchange for knowledge. For that is his primary aim. The majority of critics seem to this this is a fault - given Shahrukh Khan, I'd say it was if I didn't believe Jesse managed to elevate the role to what was needed in this particular DC universe. There is something frightening about a man who is prepared to give up his humanity just to see what comes next or to put down a force he does not understand, Jesse show us that - scornful 'ding ding ding' included.
- Too Dark - this was another common verdict. I have no basis for comparison to a statement like that. There have never been consistent sunny skies, happy people or forced humor. I am unsure what the expectation of critics was but the tone set by the film was consistent with the happenings of the past few years in the Justice Leagues universe
- Too Unfunny - See above, can't say much except that well...its not supposed to be a funny movie!
- Too serious - There is an alien who has superpowers, there has been large scale disaster and a feeling of unrest and doubt all over the world. In the sister city of where the alien spends most of his time is a vigilante who fights crime primarily by instigating fear among criminals. When they come face to face, to kill or to be killed, I cannot see any justification to why this situation can be not serious.
- Too many visions - A story teller usually employs everything he can in terms of words, in a movie the director being the story teller needs to use visuals to get us through a story. Do these visuals need to be in sequence, especially when we are dealing with concepts of multiverses and visions that might not be current? Non-linearity is not seen as an issue elsewhere so in a serious movie I cannot accept it as a serious flaw. In my opinion - almost all the Knightmares worked well
Given the blockbuster nature of the movie, casting was always a question mark and when Ben Affleck was announced as the next Batman, almost the same frenzy as the reviewing ended up with a petition against his casting. But then I was not very surprised to see Ben Affleck owning the character in this Bat universe. Admitted, Henry Cavill can't emote beyond a raised eyebrow, but his story continues on as a conflicted metahuman and comes through a full arc. In case I wasn't clear earlier Jesse Eisenberg could not have played Alexander Luthor better - hungry and greedy to know, to be two steps ahead and to surpass physical manifestations of power and take control.Amy Adams should have been killed off with the supposed Jimmy Olsen character, don't get me wrong, am a big fan of hers but she just sapped Superman's mojo! But the rest of the supporting cast did quite good - Jeremy Irons is perfect (read Batman - Earth One if you want to catch my drift further). We get brief glimpses of the upcoming Justice League and without seeing too much action we can only say that Flash has been cast really well.
A major highlight - Wonder Woman was great, we loved her, the critics loved her because well they can't ignore entire movie theaters cheering when her theme twanged out. Gal Gadot has been called different things, too skinny, not busty enough, does not have a repertoire fit for Wonder Woman but when she smiles that derisive smile after being thrown around by Doomsday - well, that's enough to call bullshit on all her critics. The fact that out of all the rotten reviews if one thing stood out it was Gal Gadot, says something about the strength of her performance. Wonder Woman was always a tough character to have brought to screen, especially given the costume, the lasso of truth and the as yet un-introduced mode of transport she uses. But Gal and Zack ensure our disbelief is suspended and how.
A major highlight - Wonder Woman was great, we loved her, the critics loved her because well they can't ignore entire movie theaters cheering when her theme twanged out. Gal Gadot has been called different things, too skinny, not busty enough, does not have a repertoire fit for Wonder Woman but when she smiles that derisive smile after being thrown around by Doomsday - well, that's enough to call bullshit on all her critics. The fact that out of all the rotten reviews if one thing stood out it was Gal Gadot, says something about the strength of her performance. Wonder Woman was always a tough character to have brought to screen, especially given the costume, the lasso of truth and the as yet un-introduced mode of transport she uses. But Gal and Zack ensure our disbelief is suspended and how.
The movie is beautifully shot - am going to be called names for this, but its almost a mix of impressionist and classical painting styles. Shots of chiaroscuro post apocalyptic visions, sharper than normal icy landscapes, brightly lit caves and sombrely lit congressional committees add to a story line where the alien threat on humanity adds confusion to not only the normal population but the meta humans themselves. Visions or Knightmares as they have been termed haunt Batman's consciousness along with a visitation by Flash in full armour asking if he is too soon. Sometimes reading a chapter is not reading the novel. Zack Snyder pays full homage to the comic origin of Cyborg and the abilities of Aquaman and the Flash in the quick peek we get into other metahumans existing among Waynes World (if you'll pardon the pun).
Junkie XL and Hans Zimmer pound out a score worthy of the first time DC's most popular superheros clash on screen. The raw violins, cellos, bass guitars and the metal added to every instrument churning out a tune fits in with the sombre nature of the story where Zack pays homage to a lot of different takes of Superman and Batman meeting in combat. Did I mention Wonder Woman's them? The tribal barrelling of the cello literally makes ones hair stand on end, no wonder the human mind that resonates with certain frequencies, felt the need to cheer when wonderful casting, perfect action and superb music score combined on screen. Batmans' theme in case someone paid a little attention is another of those perfect scores - subtle but noticeable and effective. Overall, what was described as over-loud, in my opinion suited the mood of the movie superbly, especially when the Bat and the Alien face each other off.
I'll quote a friend who is also a great screen writer - 'Movies should not come with instruction manuals'. And that having been said, I do not understand the 'business' of movie critiquing anymore. While it is always welcome that everyone who can express their views should, not even watching a movie but feeling entitled to critique it is something I came across for the first time in the bloodbath that was the review storm for 'Batman v Superman : Dawn of Justice'.
Should the video with meta humans have been left to a post-credits scene is a question that I would answer to with a yes but apart from these points(around 6 minutes of editing like I mentioned earlier) this is a perfectly good addition as a world builder. A few swift cuts, and a bit of repositioning in the narrative would have made this the best comic book movie ever. The latest outing of Batman and Superman is worth three stars out of five and it definitely did not deserve the abuse it received, again in our humble opinion.
