Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice (2016) Review

After watching Man Of Steel I knew I was coming to this film, I remember when this film was announced and I must say this had to be one of the most anticipated films of all time as it finally saw Batman and Superman on screen together, so here is my review for Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice. The premise of the film sees after the destruction Of Metropolis in Man Of Steel, Bruce Wayne comes out of retirement as Batman and decides he must take down Superman, while Lex Luthor comes up with his plan to manipulate both of the heroes. 

Main Character

Ben Affleck was cast as Bruce Wayne/Batman for this film and I thought he did a brilliant job, he totally owns the role of Batman in this film and for me maybe even became my favourite Batman in this film. Even though his motivations are harsh I totally understood where he came from and why he felt the need to do the things he does. He is also fantastic in the action scenes and is easily the best Batman in terms of action that we have ever seen. Henry Cavill reprises his role as Superman and I was really disappointed with his character in this film, Cavill tries but you can tell Zack Synder cared more about Batman and basically saw Superman as a side attraction. His character doesn't have as much to do and you don't get a fair amount of a story compared to Batman and I wish he had been better treated after Man Of Steel.

Supporting Characters

Jeremy Irons plays Alfred in this film and I thought he nailed it in the film, he is a more hardcore and militarised version of the character and his relationship with Affleck is really well handled and I thought they had great chemistry. Diane Lane and Laurence Fishburne has smaller roles in the film and they add some real humans in the film which was nice to see, but the rest of the characters didn't really work. I liked Amy Adams in Man Of Steel but I thought she was poorly used in this film, her whole side plot is incredibly mundaine and it feels like she was more of a damsel in distress whch didn't suit her character. Gal Gadot makes her first appearance as Wonder Woman and she is fine in the film, the issue I had was that her character didn't need to be in the film and felt a bit out of place. Then we get to the performance that really annoyed me and that is Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor, he is just an over the top joke of a character. The character of Lex Luthor is a commanding intelligent presence but this version is an awkward, socially inept character that feels out of place in this pretty serious film. 

Story

The story involving everything to do with Batman is interesting, he gets the time to shine and the interesting motivations in the film, making everything he does the best part of the film. But everything to do with Superman wasn't very interesting at all and dragged the movie down, plus the Luthor's plot is insane and literally makes no sense at all. But the worst part is that this film tries to do so much with its story that it tries to set up future films to the detriment of the story, it reminds me of Iron Man 2 in that it has greater moments but is just really unfocused and all over the place, plus the ending of the film felt like a cheap move that didn't quite work for me. 

Script

Again like the other parts of the film the drama involving Batman works in the film, mainly because he is known for being a darker character, I know I said I liked the tone of Man Of Steel but I thought the Superman in this film would be a bit more hopeful but he is probably more depressing in this film then he was in the first film. Also this film tried humour with Lex Luthor and it really doesn't work, as I said earlier he feels like he is in a different film and it doesn't work. 

Style

The one thing I will say about this film is that the film's style looks incredible, the action scenes are brilliant. The fight between Batman and Superman is handled in a really great way and it involves easily the greatest Batman action scene in any movie ever, plus this film has my favourite Batman suit in it. Yes this film has over the top action scenes compared to other Batman films but it works for this film and feels appropriate for what we are watching. 

Overall

Overall, this is a very disappointing film, it has its moments of utter quality in it but the best way I can describe it is an enjoyable mess. For me if you are a fan of Batman then this film is worth a watch but other then that it may not be exactly a film to rush to watch.

Rating - 6/10