” Bruce Wayne Meets Clarke Kent ” says the effervescent Lex Luther to deliver one of the best moments in comic book history. And aren’t I glad that I live in an age where these superhero crossovers happen. Now many of you who have been following my works and articles over the past few months, might’ve seen the crazy comic book fan in me. Which I totally am. And therefore, Batman V Superman : Dawn Of Justice was one movie that my heart and soul waited with a hopeful longing. And the movie in every minute of it’s run time, managed to impress or rather amaze me. And here’s everything I loved about the film…
A. Dark And Gritty Tones All Around :
This movie is NOT meant for the light hearted or children per se. It’s a fairly adult take on the DC comic book franchise. Which actually I liked. Coming close on the heels of DeadPool ( though this isn’t R Rated, WB couldn’t afford that obviously! ) DoJ delivers unabashed action and role frictions with uninhibited poise. Take for example – Ben Affleck’s Dark Knight, who is so morally shaken that he not only gets hold of his foes, but tortures and brands them with his iconic Bat symbols. His insomniac nights lead to his angst driven days. And he is not shy to kill. And then comes Superman ( Clark Kent ) being at his sassiest best, who wouldn’t back down. And the movie works on many levels as they fight out each without remorse. Guns, Blades, Shields, Vehicles, Weaponised chemicals everything is just so out of, an above 18 Arkham Knight Xbox title. Loved it.
B. Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman And Character Dynamics :
Simple, Gal Gadot just nailed it. With a simmering courage, her physical strength and stature, and the whole character arch of her being an unassuming yet strong willed woman to an unmatched warrior works wonderfully well. Alas though she doesn’t have much screen time to boast of ( owing to her own movie in development ). The whole character dynamics of this movie, well, this venture is all about that. I must confess that, this movie is say 40 percent action and 60 percent mind games involvement. Special regards to Jessie Eisenberg’s Lex Luther who brings so subtle and psychotic menace to the screen, that you can’t help but clap at the perfect casting that happened. Scheming and dubious, his mind works in the weirdest of ways, quite literally. Example – ( Spoiler Alert ) Psychological torture of Man Of Steel. And he has so much fun doing it. Oh I almost forgot. Jeremy Irons’s Alfred is such a different take from the previous bat trilogy that it makes you want to shun everyone else and just stand looking at him. Suave, Witty and the Perfect foil to a gloomy Batman.
C. Story Arch And Action Set Pieces :
The movie starts of with The Destruction Of Metropolis montages, where the concluding fight of ‘Man Of Steel’ between Zod and Superman results in the destruction of the city. The whole sequence is brilliantly shot to form the weaving link for the friction arising eventually, as Wayne enterprises is blasted down to ruins. Then the screenplay shifts to establishing Batman ( Bruce Wayne ) as the vigilante with a scarred past. All this leads on to the extended pre-climax and climax fight sequences ( running for around 25 minutes each ) also featuring Wonder Woman and Zod 2.0 ‘Doomsday’ . These sequences are sure to leave you giddied for the better part of an hour or two after the movie ends.
D. Establishing The Justice League :
Now this is something of a spoiler laded article, but then you’d know this eventually. We are introduced all the team mates who will eventually make it the Justice League. Who are we looking at? Well Ezra Miller’s Flash and Jason Mamoa’s Aquaman, apart from experimentally mutated Cyborg. Now as the movie comes to it’s final montage shots ( and there at-least four multiple endings of this superhero fare ) one conversation between Batman and Wonder Woman, establishes what to expect from the future instalments.
That was that. Now for the Instances which got the loudest cheers..
A. Batman’s intro and his branding of convicts.
B. Gal Gadot’s final showdown with DoomsDay and you guessed it, her sword and lasso swinging sequence.
C. Introduction of a very dear character, well, that of a superhero.
D. And the shot where the punch of the God ( Superman ) is mellee blocked by the armour of Man ( Batman )
E. Hans Zimmer and Junkie XL’s iconic tracks for Lex Luther and Wonder Woman, and whole new track composition for Ben Affleck’s Batman.
What could’ve worked, But didn’t exactly :
A. The whole build up to the world’s greatest Gladiator match. Too much of a tease and very less of an action.
B. Screen-time for Gal Gadot’s WonderWoman. Just when you fall in love with her, she kind of disappears into the whole chaos.
C. DoomsDay isn’t exactly the fear inducing monster we hoped for. He could’ve easily been removed, if not for a “tragic loss” of a beloved character.
D. More dynamics with Jeremy Iron’s Alfred could have done all us good.
E. Screenplay incoherency, and Zack Snyder’s fascination to rely on dream sequences to further the story didn’t somehow get the desired effect.
The final verdict : Simple-Go for it. It’s worth all your time this weekend and delivers a great bang for money. Ben Affleck deserving a major chunk of it.
