Batman v Superman: A snoozefest full of pretty faces [Review]
The beginning of Zack Snyder’s much anticipated Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice offers little in the way of surprise. We see Bruce Wayne’s parents being murdered, and Bruce falling slow-mo into the bat cave. The rest of the film is equally predictable, with dream sequences that only seem to serve as a stage for elaborate (yet poorly paced) fight scenes.
There’s a tender moment when the grown-up Bruce (Ben Affleck) is walking helplessly among the ruins of the Wayne Industries’ Metropolis office, after Superman (Henry Cavill) destroyed the city while finishing off General Zod. The experience convinced Bruce that Superman was an arrogant, careless immortal that would one day turn against all humans. So he decides to do everything he can to stop him.
Meanwhile, Senator Finch takes Superman to court over the collateral damage caused during his rescue missions, and tech mogul Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg) devises his own evil means to defeat the Caped Crusader.
The film has several well-written jokes and dazzling moments of action, but the supposed climax – Batman and Superman’s battle – comes off as lame. While all the actors deliver superb performances, the script gives them little room to portray their characters with depth. Cavill serves little more than a chiselled face, Batman’s motives aren’t convincing, and Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman is less interesting than a Bond girl.
Batman v Superman is still kind of fun to watch, but it seems an hour too long for its dull storytelling, but too rushed for its overcrowded plot.