An Honest Opinion on BvS: Dawn of Justice

Rating: 6/10 (26 March 2016)

To start, I might alienate some viewers by saying that I actually really enjoyed Man of Steel. Growing up as a kid, I always disliked Superman because I related to him the least compared to other superheroes. Even my elementary school self could realize that a "man" (well, alien) who was the symbol of good and justice was an ideal too good to be true. As Lex Luthor says in BvS, "If God is all-powerful, he cannot be all-good. If he is all-good, then he cannot be all-powerful." Therefore, it was refreshing to see that both Man of Steel and BvS portray Superman in a more human light. Is this portrayal truthful? I don't know; I haven't read the comic books or explored enough of Superman's backstory to judge its validity. But for an outsider who enjoys superhero movies, I liked Superman in Man of Steel and Batman vs. Superman.
While we're talking about superheroes, I'm a bit more conflicted about Batman. Ever since Nolan's masterpiece of a trilogy, it seems like both Marvel and DC are trying to one-up each other on who can make a darker superhero and story. Batman here is the same thing; Ben Affleck brings a Batman even darker than the one Christian Bale brought to life. And this is both good and bad; while Ben Affleck does a wonderful job portraying the brooding rage behind the handsome face of Bruce Wayne and the down-to-earth bone-breaking fighting Batman is so loved for (if you see the warehouse fight scene, you know what I mean), that is all Affleck does. Yet AGAIN, we see the famous origin scene where Bruce's parents are shot and killed, and we see Bruce's fear of bats in the scene right after, but then the story skips ahead. Out of nowhere, Batman appears. No motive, no reason, no sense. One more complaint I have about this Batman is that he is too one- dimensional. Yes, Batman is angry; yes, Bruce Wayne is angry. The problem is, that is the one emotion they have. What makes Batman interesting is not only the fact that he is badass, but also that he must go through a spectrum of emotion as a vigilante. Pain. Fear. Anger. The few moments of lightheartedness. These variations made the Batman in the Dark Knight Trilogy so interesting. Ben Affleck does a wonderful job of being angry, but that's it. No other emotion whatsoever. That made me alienate Batman in BvS.
Stepping back to look at the movie as a whole, the only thing I have to say is that I'm upset. So much wasted potential in this movie. The plot COULD have been engaging and relevant; after all, Superman's fight with Zod has consequences that must be answered to. Instead, the movie drops the whole issue after the court case bombing. After that, the movie becomes a CGI punch-fest, between Batman and Superman and the Justice League Trio against Doomsday, who was an awful villain. Speaking of villains, Jesse Eisenberg was simply the wrong choice for Lex Luthor. A lot of people think he acted poorly in this movie; I disagree. Eisenberg did a wonderful job portraying his character, which was an AWFUL interpretation of Lex Luthor. Eisenberg plays not the cold, calculating nemesis of Superman but instead an unwatchable, cringeworthy imitation of the Joker. And Doomsday was a nightmare (not in a good way). Jesus, the CGI explosions from Doomsday are enough to give Michael Bay a run for his money. Zach Snyder legitimately hurt my teenage eyes during the movie. Wonder Women was cool and fairly well-done, but just like Batman, there is no back story on her character. She just...appears. The new Wonder Women movie better explain a lot of things.
If you're still reading this, I'll leave with one final message. If you love Batman, Superman, CGI, and an unhealthy amount of set-up for the Justice League, you will like this movie. While the explosions may tell you otherwise, Zach Snyder is no Michael Bay, and his movie has all the pieces for a solid movie. BvS is watchable. It's by no means bad. But if you are a moderate superhero fan (like me) or an outsider, you will struggle to like this movie. At the end of the day, BvS had the impossible task of setting up a whole Cinematic Universe over the course of 2 hours and 30 minutes, and it both succeeds and fails at this goal. If you watch it with that in mind, you won't be as upset when you walk out of the theater.