Overlong Dark Knight of the soul
Billed as the greatest gladiator bout in history, Batman v Superman is a film that carries no small amount of expectation. Though these comic book titans have been sharing panels since the ‘50s, the two have never appeared alongside one another on film, so the prospect of the Caped Crusader and the Man of Steel sharing top-billing in a multi-million dollar mega-movie is the kind of thing fanboys and girls’ dreams are made of. Sadly, what should have been a energetic, knockabout romp is a leaden, portentous slog, that (outside of a handful of promising scenes) is far from super and recasts two of pop-culture's greatest icons as a pair of unlikeable and apathetic sociopaths.
Zack Synder’s second attempt to bring the DC universe to the world of film starts out promisingly enough, opening with a sequence that bridges the gap between Batman v Superman and Man of Steel. It’s here that we are introduced to Bruce Wayne, billionaire playboy by day and brutal vigilante by night, as he scrabbles around attempting to save his employees from the disaster caused by Superman and General Zod’s superpowered smackdown in the skies above Metropolis. It’s not the first time Bruce has been unable to do nothing but look on, powerless, as those he cares about are brutally taken away from him. This time, however, Bruce can direct his rage at the one responsible: Superman. Thus begins a quest to conquer this extraterrestrial threat and stop him from potentially destroying the human race.
It’s an effective sequence, not only because it brilliantly evokes the same tragedy that led to Bruce becoming Batman, but because it so effortlessly sets up this conflict between these two legendary heroes. It’s a shame then that the film loses focus so quickly, shifting into a series of strained subplots that go nowhere and eat up over half the film’s running time. To begin with, we are introduced to Lex Luthor, a febrile fop who is more impish than intimidating, as he attempts to lay his hands on Kryptonite with the help of Holly Hunter’s US senator; Lois Lane is running around trying to unravel a plot to demonise Superman, while Supes himself is questioning whether or not we ungrateful humans deserve his help.
All the while Batman is chasing leads, and taking prophetic naps that seem to serve little purpose other than to plug DC’s upcoming movies and further strain the viewer’s patience. This is how the film unfolds for the first hour and a half, hopping clunkily from one uninteresting scene to the next. Whenever it it seems like the film is about to switch gears and finally get to the action, it suddenly stalls, taking an almost perverse pleasure in drawing out Batman and Superman’s eventual battle.
When the two come face-to-face for the first time (in costume, that is) - following a curiously weightless and unexciting chase sequence - the film stumbles, feeling less like a precursor to a battle for the ages and more like two sneering bullies trading insults on the playground. It’s odd to see these characters, especially Superman, acting so antagonistically; there’s no attempt, by either party, to discover each other's motives or reach an understanding, they just glare at one another, go their separate ways and leave the viewer staring down the barrel of yet another dream sequence (seriously, this film has a lot dreams sequences) or perfunctory subplot.
In fact, the film spends so much of its running time skirting around Batman and Superman’s title bout that by the time they finally do cross capes it’s difficult to remember why they were fighting to begin with. It doesn’t help that the filmmakers can never come up with a compelling reason for them to finally lock horns and duke it out to the death. For all its lofty ideas about men and gods and power and responsibility, these numerous threads are left hanging and it falls to Lex Luthor to get things started, which he does -rather unimaginatively- by kidnapping one of our hero’s loved ones. If getting Superman and Batman to tear each other's throats out was this simple, one has to wonder what all the portentous plotting and agonised introspection that comprise the film’s first half was really for.
In a way, I almost admire Snyder and Terrio’s ambition to craft a more somber and thoughtful superhero film. They touch upon some interesting ideas, attempting to address how a being like Superman would be received in a world a fearful and paranoid as ours. Sadly, like most things in this film, these ideas are never given room to breathe, they are simply there to add a patina of pretension to a film which is otherwise aggressively dumb. By the time the third act rolls around, they’re not even pretending any more, the film devolving into a numbing procession of apocalyptic set-pieces and CGI overkill.
To make matters worse, the film does a huge disservice to both Batman and Superman, getting their characters wrong on a completely fundamental level. Historically, Batman has relied more on his wits than his strength; his superpower being his uncanny ability to find a solution to any problem. Snyder’s Batman is almost the opposite, a jackbooted hooligan who acts without thinking. This is a Batman who kills without remorse, blows up bad guys with machine guns, and almost turns Superman into a Kryptonite shishkabob.
The idea of a gun-toting, murder-happy Batman may be antithetical to most people’s perception of the character, but, honestly, I’m not completely against it. There’s drama to be had in a Batman who realises that to save the world he must go against everything he believes in and break his one inviolable rule. The problem is the filmmakers never really address this, they never offer a compelling reason for why Batman has abandoned his code and given into the dark side. Sure, there’s an inference that this Batman has been pushed over the edge, his sense of honour decaying along with the world around him, but it never manifests in any tangible way; he just murders and mutilates without a flicker of remorse.
The real shame is that on a visceral level - the look, the physicality, the sheer menace - this is the closest a filmmaker has come to capturing the Batman of the comics onscreen. The sequence in which he savagely, and systematically, chews through a room full of armed mercs is a real highpoint. It’s just a shame the sequence ends with Batman blowing one of the baddies away with a light machine gun before dropping a one-liner. There is a sliver of hope at the end of the film when Batman - in probably the closest thing this film has to an actual character arc - realises he has lost sight of his mission, vowing to follow Supes’ example and become a better (bat)man.
Still, at least Batman makes an impression, something which can’t be said for Superman. For much of the movie the last son of Krypton flaps around with a moue of disappointment on his chiselled face, agonising over whether or not to carry on swooping around the globe saving people. At least, I think he’s agonising; this version of the character is so diffident and phlegmatic it’s difficult to be completely certain. The crux of the problem is that the movie can never quite decide what Supes’ role is: are we supposed to feel sorry for him, is he supposed to be the villain of the piece, or is he a reluctant saviour? It’s never made clear, and as a result the character feels more like a plot device than an actual person.
For all my complaining, the movie does contain fleeting moments of brilliance - the title fight (though not as inventive as it could have been) is a bone-jarring slugout that ends with a clever if contrived, twist; Ben Affleck’s steely, understated performance is great, and Snyder’s eye for imagery gives the film a sense of visual sophistication far beyond most superhero movies. Ultimately, however, the experience is too dour, too depressing and too prosaic to recommend. It may not be the worst superhero movie ever made, but you’d have to go a long way to find one more disappointing.
My only hope is that WB and Snyder use the reactions to this film to rethink how they plan to approach the DC cinematic universe as they move toward Justice League. Hopefully, going forward, this will mean we get stories tailored to the strengths and weaknesses of these characters, not reactionary, tonally jarring movies that misrepresent them completely. Part of the problem is this specious argument that the DC universe is grim and gritty, the complete inverse of Marvel and their snappy superhero epics. Anyone who’s followed the company for a few years can tell you that couldn’t be further from the truth - just like Marvel, it’s a rich and diverse place, with heart and humour amongst all that grit and grime. So, though being different may be all well and good, if it comes at the expense of what everyone loved about these characters in the first place you’ve got a problem. In the end, we can only hope that BvS is a blip, that awkward first step on the path to something greater.
