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It is feeling like I am going to be the only person who talks about movies on the internet to like this film. I am quite surprised that this is the case because when I think about the film and what I usually respond to, on paper it seems like it would not be for me. It is a plot heavy, dour film. Character development is not of the utmost importance here. Snyder seems to have an expectation that we already know and understand these characters. It actually seems like an approach that comic book fans have been wanting with their complaints about origin stories but it doesn't seem like it worked for those fans here. We do get the Batman story again, but it is told in what amounts to a cold open. I think it worked wonderfully.
One of the complaints about the film I have read in two or three places is that the motivations of our heroes is thin at best. I feel Snyder handled this very well, and deftly at that. He took by far the biggest complaint about Man Of Steel, the collateral damage, and added it to the beginning of this film so seamlessly that if I wasn't aware of the complaints I would believe that this was the plan all along. We see Bruce Wayne rushing to get to one of his buildings that is part of the damage happening during Man Of Steel's finale. I love the imagery here, of Wayne looking up and seeing the destruction being caused by the fight between Superman and Zod. Which leads me to what I probably like the most about this film and that is the imagery that Snyder uses throughout. In fact I am so impressed by the visuals here that if it wasn't for my couple of gripes this could have well been among the few comic book films that I truly love. Not only does Snyder use the iconic imagery well but the action is all first rate as well. Batman has his normal array of gadgets but, like the origin story aspect, we don't get what feels like reveals of any of his equipment or vehicles. He simply uses them as if they were always there. Although I like the Superman action as well, I feel Batman gets the more memorable scenes. They may be telegraphed, but nothing about comic action gets me more amped than watching Batman come through a wall to surprise an unsuspecting attacker.
As far as the plot goes I was also a big fan of the political aspect of the film. It is simple enough, how would the country react, and what would be the ramifications, if a man who seemingly has the power of a God was suddenly among us? What limitations should we ask him to be beholden to? Would people worship him or think of him as a threat? BVS sets out to answer these questions, and I think does a great job of laying the ground work for them. I think the narrative fits the characters perfectly and it feels like we are headed to a satisfying conclusion because of how well Snyder handles the setup. Unfortunately my biggest problem with the film comes when a turning point completely abandons this plot thread. The moment is not what I am opposed to, in fact I think it is rather good. What I didn't like is that it propels us into a rather ordinary third act instead of the answers I was hoping for. I am holding out hope that Snyder is saving this for future films, time will tell. It certainly brought my rating and enjoyment down a notch here however.
I have also seen several comments around the web that we really don't get enough of Superman vs Batman. The actual fight is short and we basically only get one. Once again, I really enjoyed what we do get. Going into the film I was very interested to see how they would let Batman meet Superman on his level at all. Snyder does a great job here. Superman's weakness is shown early on and the way Batman is able to get access is completely plausible in the reality of the film. This makes the fight itself very memorable and Snyder's direction makes it engaging. I will say the most memorable part of their showdowns for me comes before the actual fight and it involves the Batmobile and Superman's thigh. Pretty good stuff.
In addition to the visuals this film is really good in other technical aspects. I have heard the score mentioned other places and it is indeed great. I took notice of it several times throughout the film and I would definitely say it is my favorite among comic book films. The acting is also very good across the board. I include Eisenberg in this. Most don't seem to be enjoying his Lex Luthor, I thought he was really good. Over the top, yes, but not anymore than other comic villains, and certainly not to an annoying degree for me. I think this character gets just the right amount of screen time and is the proper vehicle to getting our two heroes together at the end. Wonder Woman has also been a point of contention among critics. I certainly wasn't blown away by this character on any level but her presence didn't bother me either. She basically becomes apart of the background of the film until the final act. With the length of the film and the amount of threads being juggled, I feel like this was the perfect place for her at this point. She also gets a pretty cool moment with her lasso. Snyder did just enough here that I will now be willing to check out a stand alone film, something I wouldn't have said previously. I also enjoyed the secondary characters. Alfred and Perry, played by Irons and Fishburne, are very good in the screen time they get. They provide much of the very little comic relief. I don't think the script here is going to be wining any awards, but considering how plot heavy the film is, it is more than sufficent. If it wasn't I don't think the performances would be as solid as they are.
So my major gripe with the film is simply the third act. Third act problems are not new to my viewing experience of any genre however. I think there are many very well conceived films that simply fall apart because the vision lacked a natural ending point. My hope is that Snyder has a strong sense of where he is going moving forward. I think he has laid a very nice foundation despite what almost everyone but me is feeling right now. After Man Of Steel I have a sense he was in a nearly impossible situation. Even in this culture I don't think I have ever seen such backlash for a film before it was even released. I think the fact that DC is setting itself up to compete with Marvel has people wanting it to fail before it has hardly begun. I hope that the competition continues to push both parties to continue to be as creative as possible with characters who are already engrained in our culture.
By no means am I the biggest comic book fan around. I have no nostalgic attachment to the characters. I am not a big blockbuster lover, they are rarely among my favorite ten films of the year. I do however enjoy the experience of an event movie in the theater. I think our technology now has made the tent pole popcorn film more enjoyable than it has ever been. Despite critics feeling otherwise, I don't feel any type of film is creating those experiences better than comic book flicks. That has become especially true now that my children are beginning to get into theses films. DC has a ways to go to catch Marvel who has a huge head start on them and much more backing from the crowds that go see these types of films. I think BVS is a very good start in trying to catch them. My hope is that the crowds that go see this will be more in step with my line of thinking that the internet critics and bloggers that mostly be seeming to really want to take this movie down.
It is feeling like I am going to be the only person who talks about movies on the internet to like this film. I am quite surprised that this is the case because when I think about the film and what I usually respond to, on paper it seems like it would not be for me. It is a plot heavy, dour film. Character development is not of the utmost importance here. Snyder seems to have an expectation that we already know and understand these characters. It actually seems like an approach that comic book fans have been wanting with their complaints about origin stories but it doesn't seem like it worked for those fans here. We do get the Batman story again, but it is told in what amounts to a cold open. I think it worked wonderfully.
One of the complaints about the film I have read in two or three places is that the motivations of our heroes is thin at best. I feel Snyder handled this very well, and deftly at that. He took by far the biggest complaint about Man Of Steel, the collateral damage, and added it to the beginning of this film so seamlessly that if I wasn't aware of the complaints I would believe that this was the plan all along. We see Bruce Wayne rushing to get to one of his buildings that is part of the damage happening during Man Of Steel's finale. I love the imagery here, of Wayne looking up and seeing the destruction being caused by the fight between Superman and Zod. Which leads me to what I probably like the most about this film and that is the imagery that Snyder uses throughout. In fact I am so impressed by the visuals here that if it wasn't for my couple of gripes this could have well been among the few comic book films that I truly love. Not only does Snyder use the iconic imagery well but the action is all first rate as well. Batman has his normal array of gadgets but, like the origin story aspect, we don't get what feels like reveals of any of his equipment or vehicles. He simply uses them as if they were always there. Although I like the Superman action as well, I feel Batman gets the more memorable scenes. They may be telegraphed, but nothing about comic action gets me more amped than watching Batman come through a wall to surprise an unsuspecting attacker.
As far as the plot goes I was also a big fan of the political aspect of the film. It is simple enough, how would the country react, and what would be the ramifications, if a man who seemingly has the power of a God was suddenly among us? What limitations should we ask him to be beholden to? Would people worship him or think of him as a threat? BVS sets out to answer these questions, and I think does a great job of laying the ground work for them. I think the narrative fits the characters perfectly and it feels like we are headed to a satisfying conclusion because of how well Snyder handles the setup. Unfortunately my biggest problem with the film comes when a turning point completely abandons this plot thread. The moment is not what I am opposed to, in fact I think it is rather good. What I didn't like is that it propels us into a rather ordinary third act instead of the answers I was hoping for. I am holding out hope that Snyder is saving this for future films, time will tell. It certainly brought my rating and enjoyment down a notch here however.
I have also seen several comments around the web that we really don't get enough of Superman vs Batman. The actual fight is short and we basically only get one. Once again, I really enjoyed what we do get. Going into the film I was very interested to see how they would let Batman meet Superman on his level at all. Snyder does a great job here. Superman's weakness is shown early on and the way Batman is able to get access is completely plausible in the reality of the film. This makes the fight itself very memorable and Snyder's direction makes it engaging. I will say the most memorable part of their showdowns for me comes before the actual fight and it involves the Batmobile and Superman's thigh. Pretty good stuff.
In addition to the visuals this film is really good in other technical aspects. I have heard the score mentioned other places and it is indeed great. I took notice of it several times throughout the film and I would definitely say it is my favorite among comic book films. The acting is also very good across the board. I include Eisenberg in this. Most don't seem to be enjoying his Lex Luthor, I thought he was really good. Over the top, yes, but not anymore than other comic villains, and certainly not to an annoying degree for me. I think this character gets just the right amount of screen time and is the proper vehicle to getting our two heroes together at the end. Wonder Woman has also been a point of contention among critics. I certainly wasn't blown away by this character on any level but her presence didn't bother me either. She basically becomes apart of the background of the film until the final act. With the length of the film and the amount of threads being juggled, I feel like this was the perfect place for her at this point. She also gets a pretty cool moment with her lasso. Snyder did just enough here that I will now be willing to check out a stand alone film, something I wouldn't have said previously. I also enjoyed the secondary characters. Alfred and Perry, played by Irons and Fishburne, are very good in the screen time they get. They provide much of the very little comic relief. I don't think the script here is going to be wining any awards, but considering how plot heavy the film is, it is more than sufficent. If it wasn't I don't think the performances would be as solid as they are.
So my major gripe with the film is simply the third act. Third act problems are not new to my viewing experience of any genre however. I think there are many very well conceived films that simply fall apart because the vision lacked a natural ending point. My hope is that Snyder has a strong sense of where he is going moving forward. I think he has laid a very nice foundation despite what almost everyone but me is feeling right now. After Man Of Steel I have a sense he was in a nearly impossible situation. Even in this culture I don't think I have ever seen such backlash for a film before it was even released. I think the fact that DC is setting itself up to compete with Marvel has people wanting it to fail before it has hardly begun. I hope that the competition continues to push both parties to continue to be as creative as possible with characters who are already engrained in our culture.
By no means am I the biggest comic book fan around. I have no nostalgic attachment to the characters. I am not a big blockbuster lover, they are rarely among my favorite ten films of the year. I do however enjoy the experience of an event movie in the theater. I think our technology now has made the tent pole popcorn film more enjoyable than it has ever been. Despite critics feeling otherwise, I don't feel any type of film is creating those experiences better than comic book flicks. That has become especially true now that my children are beginning to get into theses films. DC has a ways to go to catch Marvel who has a huge head start on them and much more backing from the crowds that go see these types of films. I think BVS is a very good start in trying to catch them. My hope is that the crowds that go see this will be more in step with my line of thinking that the internet critics and bloggers that mostly be seeming to really want to take this movie down.