Black N’ Blue

On The Big Screen And Across The Web

(No Spoilers, So Read With No Worries)

With the dust settling on the recent Deadpool movie (which I still haven’t seen) and plenty of hype surrounding the upcoming Captain America:  Civil War, DC Comics and Warner Brothers decided to sneak in a little flick hoping to cash in on the seemingly endless flow of Marvel’s comic book movies.

Nah, there was a ton of hype for Batman Vs. Superman:  Dawn of Justice, and despite bad reviews from “professional” critics, BvS still managed to have the largest opening for a comic book film in the world and the biggest opener for Warner Brothers ever.

Was it perfect?  Absolutely not.  Was it still a good film?  You betcha!

BvS, for those who may not know, is a tale that takes place about eighteen months after the events in Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel (which, for the record, wasn’t that great in my opinion).  After witnessing the destruction of Metropolis firsthand and then watching other events unfold that seem to be a result of the reckless actions of Superman, Bruce Wayne sets out to put an end to the alien’s godlike reign.  Clark Kent, on the other hand, sees the actions of Gotham City’s resident vigilante to be out of control and intends to uncover who really is behind the mask.  Of course, a lot of things are happening behind the scenes and both of our heroes are being manipulated to an eventual endgame, but I don’t want to spoil that for any potential moviegoers.

The film takes a fair amount of time to develop, but that shouldn’t be a surprise to anybody that has ever viewed a Zack Snyder film.  However, I will say that this film has plenty of action laced throughout and I never found myself bored while watching it as I did with Man of Steel, Sucker Punch, or Watchmen.  If you managed to tolerate the development of the first Iron Man film, you’ll be able to make it through BvS.

The cast is fairly solid in my opinion.  Gal Gadot is excellent as Diana Prince/Wonder Woman.  Jeremy Irons drew laughs from the crowd as Alfred Pennyworth.  Henry Cavill does a decent job with what he’s given to work with as Clark Kent/Superman, but I still believe that the character is terribly underdeveloped.  Holly Hunter, Tao Okamoto, Laurence Fishburne, Harry Lennix, Christina Wren, and Kevin Costner provide solid support as new characters and a few old ones revisited from Man of Steel.

Two other members of the cast were written off almost as soon as they were announced.  Ben Affleck was ripped to pieces by plenty of angry fanboys and other idiots, but he pulled off both of his characters with brilliance.  “Both”?  Yep, I consider Bruce Wayne and Batman to be two different characters.  Up until this film’s release, I considered Michael Keaton to be the superior Batman on the screen and Christian Bale as the best Bruce Wayne.  Ben Affleck has replaced both of them as my favorite actor in both roles.  His portrayal of an aged and mature Bruce was perfect.  His grizzly and violent portrayal of Batman injected some much needed fear and brutality into the character on the big screen.

While most people share my opinion of Affleck’s performance, Jesse Eisenberg doesn’t get as much love.  In fact, he’s probably the most polarizing presence in the entire film.  People either love him or hate him.  I happened to really enjoy his performance in the film.  He’s young, aggressive, and a bit stuck on himself.  To me, that’s the perfect base for the future power-hungry and intelligent man he will become.  Let Eisenberg’s portrayal grow on you a bit, because I believe that big things are coming for the character later on.

Many have said that the plot is off balance, convoluted, and just plain trash.  Those people have every right to express their opinion, but I just don’t see where they are coming from.  Yes, there are a few bumps in the road, but in no way is this film trash.  The story develops just fine in my opinion, with action on par with both of the Avengers films and, in the case of Batman, brutality that gives the R-rated Punisher films a run for their money.

The big face-off between Supes and the Dark Knight was excellent.  Borrowing heavily from the same sequence within Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns, the fight is paced well, is believable within the confines of a comic book, and has a decent payoff.

Of course, you can’t expect two of the comic world’s greatest heroes (and best friends) to end their feud on a sour note, so a new threat makes its presence known in the third act as the result of the actions of the grand manipulator.  While I won’t name that villain here, the name and image of that character has been plastered in countless articles and even in trailers for the film.

When this baddie shows up, a third hero pops into action.  That hero, Wonder Woman, enters the battle and takes the action up a notch.  Many people were glad to see Diana Prince on the screen (I was one of them) and while she’s only in the film for a brief time, she makes full use of every second.

When the dust settles, we’re left with the foundation for the future of DC on the big screen.  In recent years, only the Christopher Nolan Dark Knight films have impressed me.  As mentioned earlier, Man of Steel isn’t a favorite and Green Lantern could have been a whole lot better….really, a whole lot, but I do believe that BvS gives DC some solid footing in the market.

Marvel is way ahead of the curve when it comes to comic-to-film adaptations.  They’ve got many years of developing their stories and characters under their belt, and I believe that because of this there is a lot of unfair comparisons between Marvel and DC on the silver screen.  Yes, DC is playing catch up, but where critics give Marvel a pass on plot holes and foreshadowing that may or may not make sense at first, they hammer DC in this film for doing the same thing.

NEWSFLASH:  DC FILMS ARE NOT MARVEL FILMS

Once critics get this through their heads and decide to hop off of the “Marvel makes nothing but awesome films” bandwagon (I’m looking at you, Age of Ultron, Iron Man 3, Thor:  The Dark World, and The Incredible Hulk), I believe that the playing field with critics will level out a bit.  Until then, ignore the critics and give this film a shot.  It’s the basis for what looks to be great things to come, and I can’t wait to see some of my favorite heroes on the screen together for the first time.