Gamble of the Century: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire (Featuring Mostly Batman)
A Review of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice in Two Parts
Part I: The Studio Gamble, The Film, & Batman
In the preceding two years leading up to the release of this film, there were a slew of questions that we were all dying to get answered. Like how in the hell can DC and Warners dive into the complicated game of crafting and nurturing a cinematic universe of their own? How does Ben Affleck fare in his first outing in the cape and cowl? And lastly, did the production team execute a competent stepping-stone movie to lead into said potential cinematic universe? Fasten your seat belts folks!
After the MASSIVE success of Marvel’s ongoing cinematic universe, its hard to argue that THEY are the originators of this new kind of tent-pole filmmaking. So how in the hell can Warners compete with this? Well, judging from the films that have been released thus far, they’re approach went from very timidly in Man of Steel (2013) to full on “rah rah lets start a cinematic universe in “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” (2016) and the forthcoming “Suicide Squad” (2016). Only there’s just ONE little problem. The studio made the conscious decision to skip a whole bunch of steps. Meaning that even though Warners is pretty much betting the farm on the DCCU, they’re also rushing their projects at break-neck speed to the finish line so they can compete with Marvel on a year-to-year basis. In looking at the upcoming lineup for this and subsequent years to come, my biggest worry is that Warners’ execution of these projects will vary from alright to subpar.
And that segues into Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice — a film that serves as a true stepping stone — a gateway drug, if you will — to the potentially gargantuan world of the DC Cinematic universe. In cutting to the chase, I really liked this movie but not for the reasons that one might think. As a big fan of these longstanding properties, this was comic book lover’s wet dream. In a world that’s that has Marvel winning the arms race of cinematic universes, what person wouldn’t welcome the chance in seeing Supe Baby duke it out with the Caped Crusader on the big screen? But as an adult who has developed critical thinking skills to analyze films in a purely subjective manner, I can’t help but to point out that this film can be compared to dating a very attractive individual, only to discover later on said date that they lacked the humor and personality to establish and move forward in a relationship. Because just like in every other industry, filmmaking is predicated on relationships — to which the ultimate endgame to establish and nurture a relationship with an audience. After all, the film does in fact to belong to the audience once that project is released out into the wild.
Speaking of which, I do believe that the majority of venom that’s just being spat out those involved in this behemoth picture is sadly a product of group think gone entirely wrong. Whether if this was by design or by osmosis is irrelevant at this point.
In spite of my crude attractive person analogy, I do find there are nuggets of greatness in this film. But I do find greater than or equal amount of flaws that anchor this film to its detriment. One of my biggest fears that I addressed earlier was confirmed when it came to how Warners was going to set the tone for the DCCU. To which this film feels as if there’s barely any connective tissue that make each scene flow into the next. Just from looking this film alone, Warner’s sudden “rah rah” approach to dive into a cinematic universe came from a place of desperation that was mistaken for good intent. This ham-fisted method of universe building was so bad that the movie literally stopped — before the titular fight — for couple of minutes for Wonder Woman to look through an email that included information from an encrypted thumb drive that had teaser trailers from Aquaman, Cyborg, and The Flash. I’m actually serious about and it came across as lazy.
Though I did admire some of Bruce Wayne’s dream sequences, which are manifested by his worst fears, I do feel that this will disorient a regular Joe who hasn’t been exposed to the comics. Starting things off with a GIANT BAT ripping though Thomas Wayne’s grave stone, to dreaming that he was in a post apocalyptic reality where Superman has broke bad and has dominion of the Earth with a little help of his loyal flying super drooges. Again, the average viewer, will cry foul as to what the hell is going on in this weird dream? At this point in the story, and since Wayne doesn’t know Supes the way we do and vice versa, is that his fear of this alien has consumed him so much that he fears the worst case scenario if Superman’s power was left unchecked. To put it another way, this dream give audiences a peak at what will the big bad in the upcoming “Justice League Part I,” which will be Darkseid. But my main problem with said dream sequences and despite its various attempts to keep the story moving was that Snyder & William Hoy misused this narrative device in a rather ham-handed way. Despite their best intentions to use said sequences as ‘artistic’ short hand for Bruce Wayne’s deepest fears, the efforts come across as — again, lazy — pretentious even.
Regardless on how we all felt about this movie, I think we can all come to an agreement that Affleck makes for a damn good Bruce Wayne. In fact, it’s this element that’s a representation of the few bright spots that this movie can offer. What I loved about Batfleck’s interpretation is that he comes across as one of the most relatable Bruce Wanye’s in recent memory. Because unlike Bale’s variation, Batfleck seems to have suffered through a helluva a lot more. From losing Jason Todd’s Robin at the hands of the Joker to seeing his employees of Wayne tower in Metropolis suffer and die at the behest of General Zod and Superman’s destructive battle. Hence his drive is more worldly and driven by past trauma. On the other hand, Bale’s motivations are predicated on cleaning up the streets of Gotham by defending the city from various threats post “Batman Begins.” I hate to say it, and others will agree that Affleck was the saving grace of this movie.
So did this film stick it’s landing? Based on concerns previously addressed, I really don’t think they did, at least not entirely. In fact, I don’t be the gymnastics analogy doesn’t quite describe the messy execution of this film. The practice of establishing and nurturing an expanded cinematic universe can be akin to participating in a decathlon and as if one couldn’t tell already, Marvel very much has this down to a science whereas Warner can’t even learn how to crawl before they run. Just from the feeling of the film’s pace alone, one can tell that Warners is desperate to catch up to Marvel by doing the opposite of what they’re doing: so far, they haven’t properly introduced flagship characters of the DCCU with their own movies, not being subtle with their own in-universe easter eggs, and not embracing the post-credit’s stinger.
All one could say about this film is that Warners tried their best in establishing an extended cinematic universe. But when the film jars the audience by rushing from point A to point Z, you’ll more than likely loose an audience after the second week of release. I can that fully enjoyed this movie and accepted it for what it was. I do believe that Ben Affleck gives us the best on screen rendition of Bruce Wayne/Batman in cinematic history, which would be true if he wasn’t bogged down with half-assed written dialogue — some of which were lifted directly from Miller’s Dark Knight Returns. What I’m trying to say is that this movie would’ve been great had the studio played their own game (whilst following some guidelines) as opposed to keeping up with the cinematic joneses. The idea of creating a DC cinematic universe sounds sweet on paper, but when looking at this ONE movie with regards to their upcoming releases in the next several years, the odds of this HUGE gamble paying off are not entirely in their favor.
Rating:
2.5 out of 5
