If you’re a fan of superhero movies with predictable storylines, no humor, cliche themes, and drawn-out action sequences, then “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” is the perfect movie for you.
If you prefer a fun superhero flick, then don’t waste your time on Zack Snyder’s latest action film, which is too long, too predictable, and takes itself too seriously.
It’s your average superhero storyline. Americans are afraid of the unchecked power that Superman, played by Henry Cavill, possesses, so Bruce Wayne, played by Ben Affleck, takes it upon himself as Batman to stop Superman using Superman’s one weakness: kryptonite. Superman’s archnemesis Lex Luthor, who is played by Jesse Eisenberg, enters the mix, and Luthor pits Batman and Superman against each other before they finally unite to fight a stereotypical monster that Luthor creates.
But rather than make a predictable plot easier to enjoy with punchy one-liners and clever dialogue, Snyder makes a 2 ½-hour movie feel even longer by foregoing any attempt to make the film fun for a failed attempt at a serious message: Should Superman be allowed to act with unchecked power and authority?
“The world has been so caught up with what Superman can do that we’ve forgotten to ask what he should do,” Senator Finch says in one of the many hearings throughout the film. Both Batman and Luthor think that Superman should not be able to act above the law, and both try to use kryptonite to stop him.
But Batman tries to stop Superman because he believes people are ultimately good and don’t need a savior like Superman to intervene.
“Man is still good. We break things, tear them down, but we can rebuild. We can be better, we have to be,” Bruce Wayne says near the end of the movie.
Nevertheless, Bruce Wayne is weary of Superman’s power.
“He has the power to wipe out the entire human race and if we believe there is even a one percent chance that he is our enemy, we have to take it as an absolute certainty,” Bruce Wayne says.
Snyder goes even more over-the-top with Luthor, who seeks to destroy Superman because he doesn’t believe an all-powerful being can be all-good.
“I figured out way back if God is all-powerful, he cannot be all good. And if he is all good, then he cannot be all-powerful. And neither can you be,” Luthor says to Superman near the climax of the film. And earlier in the movie, when Luthor meets with Senator Finch, he shows her a painting of judgment day with demons rising from the hell below. He tells Finch that the painting should be flipped because our demons come from above (referring to Superman’s advent from Krypton). At the end of the movie, after Luthor is defeated, the painting is shown flipped over so that hell is above.
There is nothing inherently wrong with these themes. After all, these are real questions that real people wrestle with today. Should unchecked power be invested in one person? Can someone keep that power without using it for evil? Nevertheless, these themes are too cliche for a superhero movie. Every superhero deals with how far they can go with their power, and plenty of superheroes in various comics and movies actually turn into villains.
Snyder does not execute these themes well enough to make “Batman v Superman” enjoyable. When viewers are not bogged down in this repetitive dialogue, they are left to slug through too-long action scenes.
All that said, “Batman v Superman” is not a terrible movie. The costumes are well-done, the settings are pleasing to the eye, the acting is up to par, the special effects are good. Nevertheless, the movie lacks anything to set it apart from the myriad of other forgettable superhero films flooding theaters because it doesn’t bring anything new to the table.
