After decades in the making, the supreme DC trio of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman gets together in Dawn of Justice. Disappointingly, that is.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice Synopsis
A year and a half after Superman’s battle with General Zod, the Man of Steel has become a controversial figure. This is particularly so in the eyes of Batman, who regards the super-powered Kryptonian as a threat to all humanity. After learning of Lex Luthor’s secret experiments with Kryptonite, Batman decides to steal Luthor’s supply, so as to build weapons to combat Superman when necessary. Unbeknownst to both Superman and Batman, Luthor is well aware of the growing distrust between the two superheroes, with plans to manipulate them into a confrontation. As his plans come to fruition, Luthor also kidnaps Lois Lane and Martha Kent. He then demands that Superman kills Batman in exchange for the women’s lives.
Snappy Review
(Slight spoilers)
Dawn of Justice is the slugfest DC Comics fans have been waiting decades for.
It visually entertains, as in all expected modern-day explosions and CGI glories are there. The same, however, could not be said for the story.
By cramping so many plot lines into 2.5 hours, the movie becomes as messy and as frenetic as the final brawl the movie sells itself with. While watching, I kept getting the impression that DC is so desperate to catch up with Marvel on the big screen, it decided to disregard proper storytelling altogether.
Never mind the flow of the story, or characterisation, or even logic. Just dump as many ingredients as possible into the pot. Never mind too if these ingredients barely hold together at all.
The result? Vapid story and character development on all fronts. Also, pointless cliff-hangers peppered everywhere. Cliff-hangers that baffle rather than entice, by the way.
What the producers really should have considered is that the story arcs they tried to include took animated counterparts several seasons to explore. How could it possibly be done in hours? A much better approach would have been to just focus on the personality and philosophical conflicts between Superman and Bats.
Forget about Doomsday, Wonder Woman, or even Luthor. The beloved characters the duo are, the heritage they carry with on their shoulders would have been fascinating enough. A much tighter, affecting story would have been the result too.
Click here to view the trailer.
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