RECENT WATCH: BATMAN V SUPERMAN - DAWN OF JUSTICE

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During the aftermath of Superman’s destruction of metropolis the world debates what kind of hero they need. Batman takes on the Man of Steel amidst fears that he cannot be trusted.

The DC cinematic universe continues with another dark and serious superhero film that deals with vengeance, power and even politics.  Zack Snyder does not stray from the gritty tone that he set out in the much contested Man of Steel. Picking up where the plot left off, we see the fallout. This key plot point within the superhero feud was presented in early trailers and works well in establishing a point of view and source of anger for Batman.

Powering through all the negativity surrounding his casting, Ben Affleck pulls off a pretty impressive Batman. A character so established in cinema, specifically in the last decade, it’s refreshing to see a new take. Henry Cavill also gets a chance to really flex his muscles as Superman in this new instalment (literally and metaphorically). While she is a secondary character in this Justice League set up, Wonder Woman appears very promising, brilliantly shedding any 70’s cheesiness or female superhero prejudices. We get a sneak peak in to her powers and back story which made me excited for the story of Diana Prince to hit screens next year.

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I enjoyed Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor. While sometimes slipping in to some kind of Mark Zuckerberg meets Heath Ledger’s ‘Joker’, he made an interesting villain. He brought a balanced mix of unhinged and intelligent that worked with some of the best and most quotable lines from the film. Dawn of Justice is beautifully shot with stunning visuals, complimented with a sprinkling of Zack Snyder’s signature colouring and slow-mo. Anyone familiar with the opening credits of Snyder’s Watchmen (2009) will know that Zack Snyder demonstrates some of his best film making in the opening credits. I absolutely loved the opening credits of Dawn of Justice. The credits explore the Batman origin story in a way that embraces that the audience are generally familiar with this story.

As a whole, the film was enjoyable; it had all of the important parts that I hoped for in a film that pits Batman against Superman. Fight scenes are well choreographed and have scale that is bold without becoming overly cartoonish and boring. Characters are developed and well portrayed and in the end several plot lines merge together. However this film is far from flawless and as much as I anticipated this film I have to admit to myself that it wasn’t as great as I wanted it to be.

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People love to hate on Man of Steel because of its dark (you could say joyless) tone. While I didn’t rush to watch Man of Steel a second time I refused to jump on the bandwagon of complaint. I won’t sit here and moan about how these films should be light and fun. I think Zack Snyder should be applauded for going through with his vision of the DC universe and making films that stand out within a flooded genre. However, I can’t help thinking that within the two and half hour run time the film would have benefited from a moment of hope, almost to allow the audience a chance to catch their breath amongst so much darkness. The film spends a lot of time exploring whether power can be innocent and whether someone from another world really is a hero. Getting so wrapped up in theological debate sometimes got in the way of the real plot and to me was the main thing that sucked the fun out of the first half of the film. The film didn’t learn from the mistake of Man of Steel; there is so much destruction. Considering the first half of the film revolves around the aftermath of Superman v Zod and the anger the public feels over the ruined city it seems odd that this plot would be as destructive.

The film is also incredibly overcrowded. After all the film attempts to set up at least four principle characters and a whole franchise, overcrowding was to be expected. But with so much going on the actual plot felt lacking. Again, visionary director, Zack Snyder gets a little lost in style over substance.

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is definitely worth seeing. Don’t be put off by the dark tone but take cues from the extended title and expect an ambitious film that is ultimately setting up a Justice League franchise. Ben Affleck works brilliantly as a reinvention of the Dark Knight and a look in to upcoming releases is exciting.