Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

Batman v Superman opens to the climactic events of 2013’s Man of Steel. Superman (Henry Cavill) in the midst of destroying Metropolis while Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck) observes from afar with hatred. This set-up is a lukewarm attempt to change Batman’s historic cinematic crime-fighting motives fueled by revenge, rather than for armistice. The film struggles to bring genuine interest to the viewers eyes from this point. The tone confuses ‘darkness’ with ‘murkiness’ whilst replacing 90s quality visual effects with story-telling. Batman’s practice of branding villains, and serving as judge, jury and executioner made it feel as if I was watching a twisted Passion of the Christ rather than a superhero film.  

Here, Superman is exhaustingly impotent. A portent-heavy script fills the screens, endlessly forecasting the dangers of Superman without thinking of the repercussions of the tiresome dialogue with which the audience must listen to. TWhile the costume design is stunning, my awe quickly fell flat by the character’s lack of intimacy with the world around him. Such a shallow range of emotion even extended to the wooden on-screen chemistry with Lois Lane (Amy Adams).

The film was so busy racing across storylines that it forgot to present quality to any on-screen moment – not even 30 seconds between characters at times. The result is a failure in emotional connection. Ironically, for a film two and a half hours in length, Batman v Superman still felt rushed. I emerged from Batman v Superman in a confused state of mind, weak in the legs and disappointed in heart.

2/10: Surprisingly, still shit