(Ultimate Edition Review) Five Word Review: Overlong, Sprawling Spectacle; Good Moments

Rating: 6/10 (25 July 2016)

This is a review just of the 'Ultimate Edition', as I did not deign to watch it in the cinema. Apparently I dodged a bullet, as the theatrical edition was a lot less coherent without the removed scenes. In this form, BvS: DoJ is certainly overlong and overstuffed, with far too many subplots to keep track of. Acting as a sequel to Man of Steel, an introduction to the new Batman, an introduction to Wonder Woman, a setup to Justice League by teasing a bigger interplanetary threat, introducing Aquaman, Cyborg, and The Flash, and having previously opposed figures Batman and Superman bury the hatchet, being a setup for The Joker in Suicide Squad...there's a lot to cram in, causing even this three hour special edition film to feel like a breakneck pace. In parts, that is - at other times the pace is drastically different, causing the film to sometimes feel like a Frankenstein-ed version of several different films all stitched together.
Nevertheless, there are many good things in this film. First and foremost, Ben Affleck - reviled by many on the internet after the announcement of his casting - makes an excellent Batman, as does Jeremy Irons as erstwhile butler Alfred. In fact, one of the best and most underdeveloped facets of the film is the moral uncertainty and dilemmas. Batman and Superman each have valid and well-developed reasons for mistrusting each other and wanting to depose the other. However, this element is somewhat abandoned in favour of more flashy reasons for the two to fight later in the film. In Superman's parts of the film, some elements of the story feel a little stretched out - Amy Adams is a great actor but her story is markedly less interesting and ultimately serves little purpose as Jesse Eisenberg's Lex Luthor, a megalomaniacal business type with more than a streak of the eccentric, formulates his master plan anyway. Eisenberg is fantastic as ever, and imbues his role with the same energetic, insane mania that classic comic book villains like The Riddler boast (even if some of his character's lines are truly uninspired and just plain bad writing). Gal Gadot serves her purpose as Wonder Woman, yet ultimately is needlessly shoehorned in (though this doesn't stop her from outshining both Superman and Batman in the final showdown).
This afore-mentioned showdown, however, is the film's lowest moment. Unnecessarily spoiled in the trailer, little is added in the final film. The fight is as seizure-inducing and destructive as something out of a Transformers film, and is more eye-rolling than exciting. Which is a shame, because there are some great sequences of action elsewhere, mostly from Batman. Notably, one sequence in a multi-storey building is a real highlight, feeling like something out of an Arkham game, and it will be exciting to see Affleck direct his own take on Batman in a few years time. Hopefully he will be given the freedom to display some of the moral complexity he oversaw in Gone Baby Gone.
Ultimately, BvS: DoJ is nowhere near as bad as some would have you believe. It's flawed, sure. But as the announcements and trailers came out and everyone realised how much material was going to be crammed into one film, it became apparent that there would be problems. This film had to be made to advance various plots so that the DC film franchise could move on to better projects, such as the new Batman and The Justice League. It's often enjoyable - who didn't want to see two of the most famous popular culture icons ever go head to head? - and there are hints of a truly great film lying underneath layers of murky subplots and rushed setup. Overall, Batman v Superman is worth watching if at least to witness the spectacle and get prepared for upcoming projects. The much-touted one word resolution of the titular battle, however, is catastrophically inexcusable. 59/100.