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Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice, USA, 2016. Directed by Z. Snyder, written by C. Terrio, D. S. Goyer (from the characters by B. Kane, B. Finger, J. Siegel, J. Shuster). With Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Jesse Eisenberg, Jeremy Irons, Gal Gadot. Original music by H. Zimmer, Junkie XL. Length: 151′. Rated: PG-13.

Superman has revealed himself to the world, but in his battle against Zod has destroyed half of Metropolis; as a result, whilst the majority of the Americans get excited every time he’s around, someone feels like he could be an enemy; meanwhile, the same treatment puts pressure on Batman in Gotham City, but when Lex Luthor, cornered by the black-masked hero, gets Superman to fight against him, things get quite dangerous fast enough…

DC’s new beginning has finally arrived. After decades of universal confusion (with Nolan as the only light in the darkness of late), Zack Snyder undertakes this enormous franchise trying to oppose the MARVEL one, which has relied on the enthusiasm of the audience for superheroes and cine-comics.

How did he manage that, after the controversial “Man of Steel”? Well, surely a giant blockbuster, with spectacular fightings and the usual, great action style Snyder has got us used to. Anyway, I honestly think that there are quite a few avoidable problems.
Let’s start with the action and the visual effects: as much as I like this particular genre, I preferred the first MARVEL movies, where destruction and catastrophes where gigantic but likely. In the last few years, the struggle to determine which work-team creates the most spectacular effects, well, it’s degenerating. On the other hand, even if the fight between the two leaders of DC’s cinematic universe is a great piece to work on, the almost religious-like symbolism of the battle between man and god is exploited at its highest level, until the story gets to the ‘dawn of Justice…’ part; the positive part is that the exploitation is coherent in directing, photography and writing, so it’s not that dull.

Anyway, the movie is a bit overloaded with pathos in some scenes and extremely predictable and flat in others, so that the final result, although with its ups and downs, maintains a good equilibrium in an almost perfect length.

As for the cast: Henry Cavill is just the confirmation of a perfect Superman, in both appearance and acting: the part of an alien superhero is no great acting challenge after all. His counterpart, Ben Affleck: as a 20-year-older Batman, I truly appreciated him; he really succeeds in getting the character off the Bale course, so that the history can continue without resentment.  Unfortunately the same is not true for Jeremy Irons, aka Alfred. I tried, I really did, not to think about Michael Caine: it’s a hopeless fight. Yes, Irons manages to keep the character in line as for attitude and behavior, but even he couldn’t do more than that. Amy Adams has some luck in her pocket, since she’s the only human girl of the movie and the only love interest, so that she defies any comparison: Lucy Lane isn’t a profound character, she couldn’t do much about that.
The one I still don’t understand is Jesse Eisenberg: are we sure that he was playing Lex Luthor and not a new version of Ledger’s Joker? I understand the desire to emerge between the two superheroes, but the screenplay had already paved the way to a mad and psychopathic villain. Why, Jesse?
Gal Gadot has a small role to play, but her character will be increasing its importance and this entrance is already convincing.

I have reached now a point at which talking about Hans Zimmer has become redundant. Perfect, majestic, almost sumptuous. And together with Junkie XL, the music matches the movie with the right epic touch.

To sum up: a real blockbuster, even if it seems presumptuous at times, that gives credit to the characters and new sap to the DC’s movie universe. Until the ‘dawn of Justice’ comes…

 

DOWNLOAD THE REVIEW IN PDF: Batman vs. Superman, 2016

LEGGI LA RECENSIONE IN ITALIANO: Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice – Recensione