Note: This is a spoiler-allowed post, so if you haven’t seen the movie, probably best not to read the comments.
And so it’s finally here. Nearly three years after Zack Snyder took the Comic-Con stage to announce the Man of Steel sequel would indeed be a Batman/Superman movie, and hundreds of images/trailers/teasers/hissy fits later, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is finally in theaters for all to see. Every inch of this movie was covered before its release, and for good reason—Warner Bros. has a lot riding on the success of this superhero epic, not only because it was insanely expensive, but because it tees-up the DC Cinematic Universe in earnest and prepares fans for Justice League, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and The Flash.
The film itself has not been garnering the greatest of reactions from critics, and Chris Terrio and David S. Goyer’s script is admittedly convoluted and messy, with muddled storytelling via Zack Sndyer’s direction, but the film still has merit. The prologue is spectacular, and Ben Affleck’s controversial iteration of Batman is like nothing we’ve seen onscreen before. His performance of Bruce Wayne imbues the character with a sly playfulness that feels organic while maintaining the broken sensibility underneath, and his rapport with Jeremy Irons’ Alfred is delightful. Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman is a highlight as well, proving beyond a doubt that she could be the breakout character of the DC Cinematic Universe, and the brief glimpses we get at the Clark/Lois Lane relationship are swell.
One of the film’s biggest problems is that it’s ultimately joyless. For a multimillion dollar superhero epic, it is unrelentingly dark, and while the story is engaging (for the most part), it doesn’t necessarily instill a desire to experience it again. Dark films can still be entertaining (see: The Dark Knight, Gone Girl, etc.), and while Batman v Superman is certainly full of bombast, moments of triumph are few and far between. Which, again, is kind of a problem in the context of a blockbuster superhero epic.
But enough of my rambling. Matt’s review is on the site, as is the Collider Movie Talk crew’s spoiler-free review, so now we want to hear from you, dear readers. After years of anticipation, how do you feel about Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice the movie? Is Affleck’s Batman a gross misunderstanding of the character or a refreshingly radical interpretation? How did Snyder handle the introduction of the Justice League? Did the titular battle live up to the hype? And what about that ending?
Sound off with your thoughts below after taking a trip down nostalgia lane by revisiting the film's very first teaser trailer. And again, spoilers are permitted, so if you haven’t seen the film yet, probably best to hold off on digging through the replies until you have.
