Movie Review - Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice

Starring: Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Jesse Eisenberg, Diane Lane, Laurence Fishburne, Jeremy Irons, Holly Hunter, Gal Gadot, Callan Mulvey, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Michael Shannon, and more.

Directed by: Zack Snyder Written by: Chris Terrio and David S. Goyer Based on characters created by: Bob Kane, Bill Finger, Jerry Siegel, Joe Shuster, and William Moulton Marston Cinematography by: Larry Fong Music by: Junkie XL and Hans Zummer

Premise: A year and a half after the events revealing Superman to the world, there are those still trying to decide what threat this all powerful alien is to Earth. As an incident in the Arab nations suddenly brings a dark cloud over Superman's reputation, Bruce Wayne starts to believe it might be time to do something about him sooner rather than later. (Rated PG-13)

Review:

1) Acting - Total Thumbs Up: Ben Affleck does a great job as an older, less trusting Batman. Henry Cavill reprises his role as the man of steel, making it look easy. Jeremy Irons brought some lovely acerbic spice to the role of Alfred. Gal Gadot was fun as Diana Prince, letting out a little of her inner Selina Kyle (Catwoman). :P Jesse Eisenberg was interesting as Lex, though the character was written a little bit too manic and psycho, giving him shades of the Joker.  Amy Adams did more lovely work as Lois Lane - showing what makes her such a great reporter and friend. Holly Hunter was a hoot as Senator Finch. And though uncredited, it was lovely to see Papa Winchester (Jeffrey Dean morgan) as Thomas Wayne.

2) Special Effects - Total Thumbs Up: Tons of special effects fill the film. (I know - DUH!) :P  We get cool lab tech, new Batman toys, and destruction galore.

The recreation of Superman's battle with Zod but done from the perspective of a frantic Bruce Wayne on the ground was some lovely work. 

The battle clash between Batman and Supes was very well done and gratifying. (Even though I did want to smack them both in the back of the head.) :P

The short video clip files for the origin of Cyborg (as they move the movie franchise towards the Justice League) are totally awesome!

3) Plot/Story - Thumbs Up: Before the film started, they showed a short video where the filmmakers ask the audience to please not spoil it for anyone else by revealing secrets, plot twists, etc. Not sure what they were thinking would be all that surprising to give away (I had a good idea where all this was going and why just from the previews!), but I will attempt to not do any spoilers.

Anyone who's ever read Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns miniseries will know where a lot of the material is coming from or have seen it explored before to some extent elsewhere. (Frank Miller was given credit for contributing in the film's credits - yay!) All people and beings can feel helpless, regardless of how much money or power they hold - something both DC Comic lines have played with for years. Interestingly, they included several offshoots from other miniseries/standalone graphic novels with regards to alternate timelines/realities for Batman and Superman. That was rather fun - but also a little confusing. 

One thing I must point out though - Batman does NOT kill. While they did a decent job working up why he'd change his usual MO to get rid of Superman, they did nothing to show why he's suddenly killing human criminals. Guess you can't have big explosions to light up the screen without killing, so killing happened. Boo!

I found it odd too how they imbued Diana Prince/Wonder Woman and Lex Luthor with traits from Catwoman and Joker. These two characters are plenty fascinating on their own without needing to be tweaked. And Lex might be insane, but he's more sociopathic than psycho. And making something without a way to control it? Lex? Doubtful! (We also get a complete Batman origin replay, but nothing for Supes, which seemed odd?)

The only true flaw I found, however, was in one of the most important driving pieces of the plot itself - the altercation in the desert! People there died from bullets, so how the heck does that translate into Superman killing people? If the mercenaries had come back later and altered the scene, it would have been nice for the congressional hearings to have mentioned what was found to make it look like Superman committed unnecessary slaughter - otherwise, it makes no sense at all! 

But, if you ignore that, the rest works for the most part. Those who know the comics and characters well, I doubt will be that surprised by the progression of events.  

4) Stunts - Total Thumbs Up: A ton of stunts fill the film from one end to the other. CGI was thrown into the mix as well but is very well integrated with the real sets and fights. You'll grunt and hurt for them. :P

The hand-to-hand fight in the warehouse was awesome! (Even though Bats does not do guns, ya'll! (Still looked awesome though.))

5) Cinematography - Total Thumbs Up: Lovely cinematography work by Larry Fong. Seeing Wayne manor in ruins was creepy. Tons of overhead shots or panned back shots to really bring home the scope of the battles. And nice closeups in the middle of the chaos too.

Conclusion: Batman v Superman (Shouldn't that be vs. ? Guy in the pre-film thing said 'v' instead of 'versus' too - what was up with that?) is a fun ride full of things to think about as well as tons of action. Pay close attention to the closing scene! No extra bits during or after the credits.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 (Hubby's Rating: Worth Full Price to See Again)

Movie Review - Man of Steel

Man of Steel

Starring: Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Michael Shannon, Diane Lane, Russell Crowe, Antje Traue, Kevin Costner, Harry Lennix, Richard Schiff, Christopher Meloni, Ayelet Zurer, Laurence Fishburne, Dylan Sprayberry, Cooper Timberline, and more.

Directed by: Zack Snyder Screenplay by: David S Goyer Story by: David S Goyer and Christopher Nolan Based on the Characters Created by: Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster Cinematography by: Amir Mokri Original Music by: Hans Zimmer

Premise: On the throes of a dying Krypton, General Zod attempts a takeover, but Jor-El beats him to the coveted Codex containing all the DNA information for the Kryptonian race. Already having broken several laws by conceiving of a child physically rather than through the Genesis chamber, Jor-El uses the Codex and sends his baby son, Kal, to Earth. Unable to stop Jor-El, Zod is then caught and sent to the Phantom Zone, but he vows revenge. (Rated  PG-13)

Review:

1) Acting - Total Thumbs Up: Henry Cavill was a great Kal-El/Clark Kent. Charming, yet reserved, and even a little rough around the edges. Dylan Sprayberry and Cooper Timberline were outstanding as the younger Clark Kents - they conveyed Clark's clashing emotions when dealing with his blossoming powers, not fitting in, and trying live as an outsider. Amy Adams conveyed a very competent and energetic Lois Lane. I also totally enjoyed Kevin Costner's take on Johnathan Kent - overprotective of his son and his need to not stand out and yet wanting him to aim for greatness at the same time - great emotional conflict.

2) Special Effects - Total Thumbs Up: The special effects were fantastic! A lot of trouble was taken to make Krypton a unique place, with its own science, culture, look and feel. The moldable bits of metal were used to awesome effect several times, especially when the computer tells Kal-El the story of his people.

Lots of explosions and great battle scenes both on Krypton and Earth. And the scenes of the machine pulsing and the way it affected cars and buildings were phenomenal. There was almost too much going on at times to keep track.

3) Plot/Story - Thumbs Up: The story of Superman is one that's been done many times in both comic books and films. So trying to create a new take on the old story can sometimes be something of a hit and miss. Overall though, I thought the take on "Man of Steel" worked well. They tried to make it unique while still keeping the core story mostly intact. It also introduced issues and concerns not necessarily covered before, making the story more 'real' than previous versions in several respects.

There is a substantial amount of flashbacks in the movie. I felt the use of the technique added more depth and imparted more information than they could have othwerwise, but others might find it a little confusing, or not as enjoyable as a straight timeline story.

4) Stunts - Total Thumbs Up: Aided by a lot of CGI, there was still a large amount of physical combat stunts, which were done quite well. Add in all the city mayhem scenes and it's obvious the stunt department was kept very busy. Great job!

5) Locations/Cinematography - Total Thumbs Up: Most of the film was done in Illinois, but there was enough variation and consistency in the chosen locations to suit the different places being depicted. There were plenty of sweeping camera shots in the real and CGI worlds to ground viewers and also help them appreciate the different locals. This also worked particularly well for Metropolis. (And don't miss the little caveat on the side of some tanker trucks in the city during the final battle.)

Conclusion: "Man of Steel" was visually awesome and the story pretty entertaining. DC is definitely proving it can dish it out as well as Marvel with regards to movies about our favorite heroes. A fun ride! Definitely worth seeing in IMAX 3D.

Rating: 4 out of 5 (Hubby's Rating: Worth Full Price of Admission.)

There was also an awesome caption moment around midway through the film - "He wishes he were a perky, red haired reporter right now." See if you can find it. :)