I found myself asking that a lot while watching Batman vs. Superman (which I'm going to call BvS from here on). Batman and Superman are the two most iconic superheroes in the world. If you go up to a person on the street and ask that person, he or she could tell you things like Batman's parents were killed or Superman is an alien. Even the casual movie-goer who would see one of these movies would know Lex Luthor and Alfred or recognize Wonder Woman from just the outfit. Zack Snyder knows that, but it is a good thing?
BvS picks up a little while after Man of Steel and continues with the same questions and themes as that movie. Should the world fear Superman? Does Superman owe anything to the world? From the opening moments though, it asks these questions from a different perspective. There's this Bruce Wayne guy who also believes in doing the right thing. Only, he has some different and more brutal tactics, not to mention, he's only a man. Mr. Wayne sees the closing battle in Man of Steel the way many audiences did: As a needless, deadly disaster. Thousands of people died because more powerful beings got in a fight. I don't know if it was always the intent, but Snyder and Co. take the carnage in Man of Steel and only talk about it as a tragedy in BvS. It's funny that BvS lost the game of chicken with Civil War, because by moving to an earlier date, it gets to be the first to ask a lot of the same questions as Civil War about superhero accountability.
Bruce Wayne, played by Ben Affleck in this iteration, ends up with the same idea as energetic and eccentric billionaire Lex Luther (Jesse Eisenberg): figure out a way to stop Superman in case it's ever needed. They have different ways of doing this - fist-fights vs. domestic terrorism - but the end result is the same: No more Superman. Oh yeah, Superman is still being played by Henry Cavill, that super handsome guy who I keep forgetting what he looks like as soon as he's not on the screen.
So that's the movie. Lex Luthor and Batman - Bruce Wayne's alter-ego, but to my earlier point, you already knew that - try to beat Superman while Superman tries to figure out who he should be to the world. And, off on the side, Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman stars in a 15 minute short film that is way more interesting than the rest of the movie, and Amy Adams finds something to do, because you don't cast Amy Adams and not use her.
Quite frankly, I liked the movie. I didn't love it. It didn't change my mind about anything DC is doing. In fact, it confirmed my fears that DC tried to do too much with this movie. It shorted every character of the spotlight he or she needed to be real characters. It leaned far too heavily on the audience already knowing the beats: what motivates Bruce Wayne, what motivates Lex Luthor, what are Batman's ethics, etc (These are never explained. The film assumes you already know). The end result is a movie that rushes through everything. I'd rather not pick at the story, because I'm not sure how much of it actually makes sense. There's effort made to excuse the mayhem caused by the fighting this time, but it's still over the top. The geography of how characters got from place to place baffled me. There's a lot about BvS that you could go after if you want.
But, again, I liked it. Ben Affleck is a good Batman. He's got the handsome thing down yet I can also see him getting dirty. This is a more brutal Batman than we've seen before, which works very well for this world. I'm amazed at how anonymous Henry Cavill still feels, making him an ideal Superman. Jesse Eisenberg lays the groundwork for Lex Luthor nicely, although there isn't enough time to see what makes him tick. Gal Gadot is strategically underused, which works nicely for the big reveal [that the trailer already ruined]. I can't wait to see more of her in the role. Amy Adams is probably too good for this Lois Lane role. That doesn't stop me from being happy any time she's on screen.
The cast is nice, but my deciding factor is the action. Zack Snyder really deserves to be paired with Michael Bay more often for their shared love of big things: fights, explosions, etc. I don't think he knows what it means to hold back and he embraces it here fully. You know, sometimes I just want to see Batman kick a room full of henchmen's asses or Superman and Wonder Woman double team an anonymous super-monster. And I want that scored to music that gets my heart racing with visual effects that takes an army to create. That's all I needed out of this movie, and that's all I got.
Verdict (?): Weakly Don't Recommend
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