Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

The long awaited duel of great super heroes has received very mixed reactions from the audiences, and even with me, there is no pure satisfaction, but the positives outweigh the negatives. I liked Hans Zimmer's soundtrack, the totally wacky and crazy Jesse Eisenberg, whom I could imagine as the Joker, the serious Ben Affleck, who performs surprisingly well and has a perfectly dark voice, Wonder Woman's seductive entrance on the scene, decent pacing and the action is solid, unless you count the CGI madness in the finale, that was too much even for me. The story doesn't dazzle too much, there is only one albeit very good twist, but that's something I kind of expect in a blockbuster, rather there are unnecessary mistakes in terms of character behaviour. Batman and Superman hate each other for two hours and within seconds they are best friends – I was waiting to see who would invite who first for a beer. Unfortunately there are more of these issues, so it's more up to the viewer how relevant this fact is to you and whether you can get past it. There's absolutely no comparison with The Dark Knight, but I don't regret the money, the film goes by quickly, I had fun and when you rise above the logical kinks, it's a dark enjoyable popcorn movie. 75% (26/03/2016)

What could Batman vs Superman possibly have offered? Most of all, a stupid story full of nonsense and nothing the viewer could grasp onto. Be ready for the fact that there is and there always will be just one Batman – Christian Bale. Also, Henry Cavill will never be a successful Superman no matter how hard he tries. I feel as if DC had already combined two very different worlds back then in the comic simply because they didn’t know what to do anymore. Personally, I think it doesn’t make sense at all and I pity all the people involved in the movie, because it’s a completely pointless comic-based piece that came out during a time when the whole world is already full of those and a mediocre one simply won’t do anymore. (27/08/2016)

Fans would see this as the best sex of their lives, but for casual viewers it might be a hard pill to swallow. Christopher Nolan’s Batman anchored in reality was replaced by Zack Snyder's expansive comic universe. Because of the number of characters and even more motivations, this would require a slower pace and an even longer runtime. Yet it remains an immersive experience, with familiar music from Man of Steel (there is no trace of the motifs from Nolan’s Batman trilogy). In the last third, the demands on the viewer’s attention decrease and we’re in for a nerdy climax. I enjoyed the linking to Man of Steel at the beginning. Ben Affleck’s performance is okay. (24/03/2016)

Reading all the nerd theories and analyses of how far Snyder's vision actually reaches is fine. It clarifies a lot and provides the opportunity to look forward to the DC version, but on the other hand, it indicates the fact that it doesn't give a damn about the average viewer because if you don't get on the geek bandwagon, those characters without proper motivations will eventually beat you to death in 2.5 hours. The digital finale is fine. But the futile relationship with the (foster) mothers? Not so much. PS: This is the most boring music from Zimmer in 15 years. PPS: In the Ultimate version, I especially appreciate Jena Malone's 20 seconds, which paradoxically adds a more meaningful dimension to Lois Lane. The rest of it is rather subtle directional cues for viewers to clarify motivations, but there is no epic sweep. It’s just a more sweeping comic book movie that wants to set a more mature tone with its Nolan-esque bleakness but gets too overwhelmed with unnecessary visual gluttony and is stripped of perspective. (31/03/2016)

Except for the fact that for the first hour they talk with the attention and style as if someone ate the Bible and drank it down with horse sedatives, except that for almost two hours one tries to understand why those two hate each other so much that in a few seconds they began to love each other, except that almost all dynamic shifts are done by gossip and dream sequences, except that the motivation and actions of the characters follow the logic of the perverted screenwriting god of lobotomy, except that it (again) does not have full-fledged characters, but only square voices, except that Jesse Eisenberg plays a very low-cost version of Heath Ledger, except... what did I want? I don't know anymore. Actually, I do. Nice pictures for comic fanboys and excellent directing of contact events. I think. I have a dull feeling that Man of Steel pissed me off more than this Dawn of Randomness. If DC has chosen to make their films as a genetic conglomeration of highly comic stylization and very rhetorical references to serious topics, they are going to have to find a director who will be able to keep it all together. But it's not Snyder, especially when he is working with a screenplay that is more like a set of unrelated ideas for further elaboration. (24/03/2016)