Dawn of Justice (I refuse to officially call it Batman v Superman) has been one of my most anticipated movie releases for over a year now and with each new trailer we were provided, that anticipation grew all the more. And I mean who wouldn't be excited when faced with an epic battle between the two most notable DC characters that have been adapted for the big screen many times before but never together.
Also, this is DC Comics' first attempt to create a round cinematic universe on the steps Marvel Comics left behind, especially after The Avengers.
And it was a decent try. But not enough.
You don't understand what I am talking about? Let's take a little closer look to what I saw today when I went to the cinema to watch Dawn of Justice.
First and foremost, to get it out of the way, my final verdict is that I liked the movie enough.
My problem was that I did not like it all throughout.
It's not that I hated it, it's that I felt indifferent for at least the first half of the movie and I'll tell you exactly why (I'll most definitely try to consciously avoid any spoilers, I promise).
I think the movie might have been rushed. But in the way, that there had to be probably an entire movie that centers on backstory, because a good portion of this one was dedicated to that. We had Man of Steel for Superman, but this new version of Batman was just thrust into us and there had to be a backstory so that we could understand him.
And the movie tried to do that, but it took too long.
There is a reason why Avengers were a success, and that was because there was a solid background supporting the characters and getting us first accustomed to them and their traits so that in the assembling we focus more on what is happening at the moment.
Dawn of Justice lacked that.
Superman was left to the background, in my humble opinion, even if we see him at certain points and Batman takes a more central role. I did not mind that, because I liked Batman well enough, but it would have been better if everything was more balanced.
Which brings us to the next point in my list of problems. I was not the biggest fan of the film's editing. Let me be more clear in that.
The changing of the scenes were, in many occasions, abrupt and there wasn't a clear flow to the plot. Hallucinations, dreams, some bits of reality, I was exhausted watching that first half (I've also been on foot for 18 hours straight today, so my tolerance was even lower). So, my problem was Zack Snyder's directing.
Because I will not fault the actors, seeing as I liked them almost all, or at least all the main ones.
Ben Affleck after all the feedback he got when he was announced as the new Bruce Wayne lived up to his reputation and gave life to a very good version of Batman that was more based on the Arkham videogames. And let me tell you those video games kick ass.
Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor was fantastic and he was probably my most favourite character in the movie.
Henry Cavill was very good at his reprise of Superman and continued to be this subdued version of the Kryptonian superhero, even if he was at the background quite a few times.
Wonder Woman was a nice surprise, because I didn't know how or even if I was going to like her character. Alfred Pennyworth, aka Jeremy Irons was the best secondary character and I loved him very much.
Also little glimpses of other superheroes raised my excitement again for the upcoming Justice League movies.
The casting was good. But the movie still lacked.
Up until at least 60%, it was talking, some fight scenes here and there, talking with a smidge of cringy dialogue, talking and talking.
At this point I was ready to start complaining.
Thankfully though, the last, around, 45 minutes of the movie were absolutely brilliant. And that saved the movie for me. I don't wish to spoil you on the plot and everything, so I am only going to leave it there, but if any of you have already watched it, tell me if you agree with me. It felt like it kickstarted and hold me, I was about to go down with my feelings. That good.
The ending was...not a cliffy. For me. Just to give you a heads-up.
So, to summarise everything that I tried to tell you above, my final thoughts are these:
You tried, DC, you really really tried.
But not enough.
I am still hoping for an amazing duo of Justice League movies and let us not forget that we also have Suicide Squad this year and- OH MY GOD. I have a feeling that one is going to be epic.
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