Movie Review

By: Nick Gambino 

With Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice tallying up massive numbers at the box office, having made $166 million domestic and $422.5 million worldwide just in its opening weekend, it’s hard to digest just why critics seem to hate it so much.

Currently it holds a 29% rating on Rotten Tomatoes with 71% Audience Score and a B CinemaScore. There seems to be a bit of a divide between the critics and film-goers. Sure 71% and a B aren’t fantastic but they’re not horrible scores either. They indicate the movie isn’t as bad as your Facebook feed would have you believe.

While the superhero team-up leaves something to be desired there are some redeeming qualities.

Impressive visuals with well-crafted action scenes abound. This is something that director, Zack Snyder, specializes in. He proved that with 300 and Watchmen.

Ben Affleck brings easily one of the best if not the best portrayal of Batman on film. Equal parts classic Batman, The Dark Knight Returns Batman and…Ben Affleck Batman.

This is not the Affleck you saw in Daredevil. This is older, wiser, more grizzled Affleck. This is The Town and Argo Affleck. And hey if anyone disagrees that he offers us a solid Batman, they can at least agree that he wears the suit well and gives great voice. You won’t get any hyperventilating, bronchitic Batman voice like in the Dark Knight Trilogy.

Henry Cavill brings us more of what he brought in the Man of Steel. He looks great as the son of Krypton but delivers a one-note performance as both Clark Kent/Superman.

He seems to have a basic misunderstanding of who Superman is. He’s not just an all-powerful being with fantastic posture and bulging biceps. We need depth to that character, charisma, dual identities. I mean, give me something to grab onto.

Jesse Eisenberg delivers a unique performance as an off-his-meds Lex Luthor with daddy issues. While there were scenes where I felt his portrayal of Superman’s nemesis felt a bit forced, he definitely was not part of the problem with this film.

If anything he was used too sparingly and wasn’t developed into the story well enough. And that brings us to the main problem with the film – the lack of cohesive scenes.

There’s been a lack of cohesion in DC movies since The Dark Knight Rises. That movie felt like an amalgamation of scenes that didn’t really flow one to another – a problem which all of its successors have struggled with. Namely Man of Steel and Batman v Superman. They feel very pasted together rather than brilliantly thought-out coherent stories.

For a brilliant example of how it’s supposed to be done, witness The Dark Knight. That movie was nothing short of perfect. From the opening seconds of the film, setting up one of the best heist scenes ever committed to celluloid we were roped in. We were with that movie every step of the way as a built to an amazing climax. Nothing seemed out of place.

Batman v Superman struggles to tell too many stories with a lopsided overall arc. With a wooden performance delivered by one of its headliners and an overriding grayed out tone to the film, I understand how it’s turned some people off.

I can see these flaws but for some strange reason I still enjoyed the film, more than Man of Steel. I owe that to Ben Affleck as the caped crusader. I wasn’t sure anything else could be brought to that character as it’s been done so many times and by so many actors but every scene he was in was magnetizing and that made the whole movie worth it.

I want to see more of him. Luckily there’s news of a solo Batman film written and directed by Ben Affleck. A Batman film directed by the same guy who directed Gone Baby Gone, The Town and Argo? Yes please!

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Nick Gambino is a regular script writer and tech beat reporter for NewsWatch.  He lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and daughter.