Batman V. Superman - The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (in reverse)

Admittedly, I didn't hate BvS as much as, well, most of the world. I actually enjoyed it. Is it flawed? You bet your ass it is. Is it convoluted? Damn right! Should we trust Snyder with more DC properties? Nope!

​So why did I enjoy it? Let's break it down. We'll run this in reverse so we can end on a positive note and yes, you may find some elements fall into more than one category because I enjoy contradicting myself. 

​**WARNING: Contains Spoilers!**

Cue the theme music (insert whatever music you feel is appropriate) . . . 

The Ugly

Lex Luthor's Plan - The backbone of this movie relies on the nefarious planning of evil genius Lex Luthor, but we're not shown the full story. As shown in the deleted scene posted after the movie's release, there's more at play in the background with Lex and the villain in Justice League than the movie shows. This was obviously cute because of length. Maybe it'll make more sense in the R-Rated Director's Cut? Also, was Lex making it up as he went along because a lot of the timelines don't really match up? Why even bother going to the trouble of asking permission when you're an evil genius? Just sneak the damn kryptonite in. Why sweet talk Holly Hunter at all? At what point did he decide to kidnap Ma Kent? Speaking of which . . .

Snyder - Give it up, Zack. You don't understand the characters enough to carry them through multiple phases, ala Marvel. Time to pass the torch.

Ma Kent - Can we really blame Superman for turning out to be a brooding, confused, murderer? Look at the parental guidance he's had thus far! His father Jor-El wanted him to be a god. Pa Kent wanted him to let the busload of kids drown. And now, the voice of love and reason, Ma Kent ends up telling him to 'not give a crap' because he owes the world nothing. Really? I'm pretty sure without earth he'd have no powers and would be floating around in a capsule in space like Ripley at the beginning of Aliens (**Watch Aliens, THAT's a good movie).

Doomsday looks like the love child of a LOTR cave troll and one of Michael Bay's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Expect God to lawyer up - Enough with the saviour/crucifix imagery. We get it. They're gods among men, they make sacrifices. No need to hammer it home with people worshipping Superman and throwing crosses in the background all the time.​

Doomsday - This thing looks like the love child of a LOTR cave troll and one of Michael Bay's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. It got more Doomsdayish as the fight went on but overall it's just a big CGI monster and it was hard ​to see it as anything other than that.

​Lois Lane - Is Margot Kidder still available? I'm certain she'd still make a better Lois Lane than Amy Adams. She serves no purpose in the movie, she's the reason Superman puts some guy through a wall, she throws the kryptonite spear in the water, she has no chemistry with Cavill . . . and come on, pant suits all the time? Again, Margot Kidder anyone?

The Bad

Pink eye. It sucks.

Superman - Possibly the worst interpretation of the character to ever grace the screens. Not that he's badly acted (I generally like Cavill), but he's completely unlikeable. This movie promised repercussions from the events in Man of Steel but all we got was a Superman who saves people but also kills people. Not exactly the bright shining example we want to see from our hero who stands for truth, justice, and the american way (although there's an argument to be made that violently putting a warlord through several brick walls is fairly american). 

Wonder Woman - Just bring on the Wonder Woman movie. Gadot is a decent choice and I'm curious to see her in the solo outing. She was shoe horned into this movie and wasn't really required to move any of the plot forward. 

​Alfred - Go home Jeremy Irons, you're too young. 

Justice League - So was Batman seeing a vision of the future, or Flash appeared to him in a dream, or Flash was in Batman's dream which was within a dream . . . ? They would have needed Leonardo DiCaprio to solve that inception. It was possible to set up the Justice League movie without showing the future dream; as it was it did nothing for the plot. Batman still could have uncovered the footage of the other meta humans but why convolute it with the dreams and the Flash visit? Darkseid isn't mentioned in this movie. Again, maybe it works better in the director's cut. Which isn't an excuse. If it doesn't add to the story then cut it!

More dreams. This time with 80% more bats and 100% more floating children.

Batman Origin Story - I didn't mind the tweak they made in his origin with his dad fighting back, didn't bother me. I was more bummed that they showed his origin story again. We've seen it. A few times. Show some gravestones, move on. 

Batcave/Well Discovery - More dreams. This time with 80% more bats and 100% more floating children.

Glowing Eyes - Why do so many characters require glowing eyes? Honestly not something I noticed in the movie but totally noticed it when I was looking for pictures for this blog post.

Dialogue for the sake of the trailer - "I thought she was with you?" Obviously you didn't, Batman. I think you'll find that your bat-pants are on fire. The line makes no sense. He's been emailing with her for the last half of the movie. Which means it was something cool for the trailer but makes no sense in the movie and makes Batman look like an idiot.

The Good

Batman - I hated the idea of Affleck playing Batman but I was completely wrong. Now I'd absolutely watch a solo Batfleck movie (this has now been confirmed by DC with Affleck at the helm which is a great move). He looks the part as Bruce Wayne and he brings that grim and dark determination that Batman needs to the formidable character. Yes the armour looked clunky, yes he may have killed a few henchmen, and yes we can argue about whether Batman could really beat Superman, and sure his detective skills were not up to their usual level but when it comes down to it, this was still a great incarnation of the character. He looked the part. It was the warehouse scene that sold me. When he busts in to rescue Ma Kent, it's exactly the style of action I want to see from Batman. He's methodical, he's strategic, and he's brutal. What a weird world we live in where Batman is more likeable than Superman. 
​
Superman the Alien - I thought the concept of an all-powerful alien coming to earth and attempting to be a superhero but not being accepted by everyone was a well grounded idea in today's society. Everything is so transparent today. Opinions are shared as they're formed and thrust out into the world. And this version of Superman is someone who came to earth in secret, only appeared when more of his people showed up to destroy the earth, and then proceeded to fight them and killed thousands of humans. People would see him as a threat. Others would see him as a god. Others as a hero. That conflict is a very grounding notion but I don't think it was fully executed properly. I expect Captain America: Civil War will execute this notion perfectly.

For all the twitches and weird nuances, I liked Jesse Eisenberg's version of the silicon valley-styled tech genius. He was weird and quirky and slightly unstable.

Alfred - He's not old enough for the character but I didn't mind this take on Bruce Wayne's butler. He's no Michael Caine, nor is he meant to be. He has more practical skills and can still throw in the occasional quip but he matches Bruce's battle-worn attitude.

Lex Luthor - For all the twitches and weird nuances, I liked Jesse Eisenberg's version of the silicon valley styled tech genius. He was weird and quirky and slightly unstable. I think once we see more of what was influencing him in the director's cut, he'll make a lot more sense. And for once a movie version of Lex Luthor wasn't trying to pull some sort of stupid real estate scam.

​Wonder Woman - Gadot looks great as Wonder Woman and there's one moment during the Doomsday fight where she takes a beating, gets up and smiles, and goes in for the attack, like she's truly enjoying herself. That tiny little gesture sold the character for me. 

Visuals & Action - One thing that Zack Snyder does well is create epic visual shots. He probably gets a little too tied into the CGI these days but he's great when it comes to creating action sequences. My favourite thing about Watchmen was the fight sequences. They're done well and they're equally good here, particularly Batman.

​​Overall - It was a fun popcorn movie! People get very serious and over-analytical about superhero movies (see this post for example) but that shouldn't detract from the enjoyment of seeing our comic book heroes on the big screen, no matter what incarnation they take. I advise everyone to sit back, eat your popcorn, and enjoy every stupid minute of it. ​