I briefly got into this same point when discussing The Death Of Superman Lives, but it bears repeating here: I seriously do not care about
Superman. Whether it’s not being brought up in the right place or era where his
brand of heroics would’ve left a proper impression, or just a general disdain
for overpowered main characters in action films, Superman has never struck me
as a character I should care to see on screen. This probably isn’t helped by
how the only Superman film I’ve seen in full is 2013’s Man Of Steel, which
might well be one of the most unheroic depictions of any superhero that doesn’t involve straight-up torture (Looking at
you, unaired pilot of Wonder Woman). Anyway, to paraphrase fellow reviewer and
frenemy of the blog Todd In The Shadows: “Being bulletproof is boring. I’d
rather be the guy who gets shot and still
keeps fighting.” Yeah, I’m backing Batman in this fight, in case it hasn’t
already been made clear. There’s quite a bit riding on this film, considering
it’s not only the latest reboot of the Caped Crusader but it’s also supposed to
serve as the entry point for a DC cinematic universe… but since this is
guaranteed to make money, I’m not going to pretend that that plan isn’t already going ahead. But should it, based on this initial
outing?
This is an… oddly casted film, in that all of the actors are
good, just that some are good in ways that they shouldn’t be. Bit confusing, I
know, but bear with me here. Cavill is still a solid pick to play a Superman, though it still sucks that
he has been saddled with the Snyderverse “How does help people?!” version of
the character. Amy Adams also maintains a decent level of competency, Laurence
Fishburne gets to actually play Perry White this time around and isn’t given a
long string of pretentious twaddle to spew out, and unfortunately Diane Lane
ends up becoming a half-formed Woman In Refrigerator to serve the plot. Argh.
Now for the new members of the cast and, here’s a shocker, Affleck isn’t bad in
this one. He’s put through the quick press to get his character good and ready
for the eponymous fight but, in portraying the Caped Crusader as a darker
reflection of the same ideal of justice as Superman, he does well here.
Especially good alongside him is Jeremy Irons as Alfred, nailing dry wit and
cold brick logic when they’re both needed. Eisenberg… is where the casting gets
weird. Yeah, he most assuredly is way too young for this kind of Machiavellian
genius but, for the most part, he still pulls off the grandiose statements and
conniving schemes really well. He may go too far south into Crazytown with his
mannerisms, but overall he checks out. Gal Gadot still has a fair way to go to
convince that she is truly Wonder Woman but, given the utter crap that inflicted
on us in her name not that long ago, her fighting alongside Batman and Superman
was still glorious to see on the big screen.
One of my big issues with Man Of Steel, something that I’m
sure is shared by its other detractors, was that for all of its espousing about
how much of a Space Jesus Superman was, he continuously put other people in
danger especially during that final fight with General Zod. Hard to say that he
“saved Metropolis” when it looked more akin to a nuclear test site than any
kind of habitable city, in spite of Superman’s “heroics”. I bring this up
because it seems that Snyder, or at the very least writer Chris Terrio, has
heard those same arguments. As such, there are a number of scenes that seem to
play directly off of just how green Superman is in this reality. From the
opening scene of Bruce trying to save people on the ground during the fight
with Zod to the numerous mentions of how the areas where bouts are taking place
are conspicuously free of civilians, it seems like someone has learnt their
lesson. Not only that, that fear of what he may or may not do when the next alien
threat comes around ends up adding a lot
to Bruce’s arc concerning his own feelings towards Superman. Discrepancies with
his characterisation aside (I will forego the long-winded rant about why Batman
shouldn’t be killing people, or even using guns for that matter), his worry
about what such a titan could do to humanity fits in with his rather paranoid
attitude to things, something that’s been a constant with him since the days of
Frank Miller. Hell, along with Batman, this film actually manages to nail
Superman’s entire existence within the DC canon, that as a symbol of hope for
the common and even uncommon man, in
a move that completely justifies this film’s intent of being a springboard for
a Justice League film.
That said, though, this film crams a lot of information and
subplots and setups for future films into a semi-confined space (two and a half
hours), and yet not that much ends up being accomplished plot wise. Something
tells me that the dream sequences have a fair bit to do with it. Dammit Snyder,
I gave you credit for learning for past mistakes, and then you go right ahead
and rehash Sucker Punch’s equally pointless dream sequences for Batman. Sure,
they all end up helping to build up his paranoia, but there are better ways to
do that than to show what are essentially loading screens for the rest of the
plot. This is especially true when one of them (involving a call back to The
Flash) is so mindfraggingly out of nowhere that you think that the filmmakers
just got bored and decided to fuck around with their audience. There’s also the
matter of how, even though Batman gets his fair share of development, Superman
is at the exact same spot as before: Not sure if he has the answers for the
tough dilemmas that he will face, one of the only solid threads that ran
through Man Of Steel. Instead of setting up what is honestly a pretty major bit
of development for him, he just reaches X point in the story and realises that this
is what he needs to do in order to save the day. No preamble or anything, it
just happens. Much like the appearances of the rest of the soon-to-be Justice
League, actually. Wonder Woman’s past is tantalisingly hinted at, but we don’t
even get surface information on her to help integrate her into the film’s
world, and the others get a few seconds of screen time at best. Hell, there’s
even a flat-out chance to utilise Aquaman that isn’t used, for reasons that
elude me at this moment.
Well, that’s all window dressing quite frankly; how are the
action beats? Honestly, a lot better than I was expecting after the
broken-zoom-function nausea of MoS. The fight scenes are solid, with some
really decent brawls featuring Batman, the effects work is serviceable enough…
for the most part, and the subtext makes the ensuing carnage a lot easier to
stomach. As much as the aforementioned mentions of abandoned buildings and
districts may be a bit of a cop-out, it still makes the ‘victorious’ moments
actually feel like such without thinking that Superman may have killed almost
everyone through his own negligence. There’s the iconography that, also unlike
Man Of Steel’s handling of it, manages to hit home in terms of showing
superheroics in a superhero movie. This is probably helped by how the
introduction of Doomsday, AKA Superman’s adversary from a comic book storyline
that made national news way back when which, while tweaked in places, is still
worthy of the name of Doomsday. And hey, even if the morality behind the two of
them gets muddled in places, the titular fight between Supes and Bats is pulled
off really damn well. Sure, my recollection of MoS may have had me on Batman’s
side for… pretty much the entire film, but said depiction didn’t do either hero
a disservice. Hey, in a team-up like this, that’s not an easy thing to do.
All in all, this certainly a lot better than I was expecting
after the trainwreck of Man Of Steel. That said though, it’s a serious
crapshoot if any of you will get
anything out of it, considering how its supporters and detractors are pretty
across the board at this point. The action scenes are up to Snyder’s pedigree,
the acting is solid (if a bit off-centre in places) and the writing, while
pretty muddled when it comes to properly setting up the moral conflicts at the
heart of the film, is still competent enough to bring surface level development
for the characters. Maybe these films should just stick to being fun action
romps, rather than these dark and serious morality tales, because it’s becoming
painfully clear that without the aid of Solid Snake, Zack Snyder isn’t capable
of something that complex.
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