Remember when product placement in film was reserved for coke, pepsi, and lucky strike cigarettes? BatmanVsSuperman takes the concept of product placement to new heights. It is more of a walking billboard promoting the expansion of DC's universe than it is a complete film. If Coke were granted the same overt advertising the film uses on its itself, there would be a scene where Ben Affleck grabs a Coke, drinks it, turns to the camera and says, "God, I f***ing love Coke." In truth, I wanted to like this film and, with top critics most likely panning it, there is an opportunity to set myself apart. It's looking like that isn't going to happen.To be fair, there were two factors that hindered my movie going experience:
1. Fanboys: I'm all good with the guys who gets excited by an obscure comic reference, but the three seated behind me were annoyingly disruptive -- thereby taking me out of the moment.
2. Standard Screen: If I had to do over again, I would watch this in IMAX and just deal with the 3D. There are scenes that look spectacular but didn't leave me as awe struck as they would have in IMAX. See it in IMAX.
From a traditional cinematic viewpoint, this film is a disaster. Its pacing is awkward, narrative structure incomprehensible and dialogue so generic that I wished they would stop talking and just fight the entire time. There is such a endless supply of scenes that I found myself unable to recall which preceded which. It is as if the director went to the editor and said "you can cut down the individual clips length, but I'll be damned if you're going to cut out a single scene." The result is an extended director's cut version of the film, usually reserved for DVD box sets. We see what Bruce is up to, then Clark, then Lois, then Lex--back and forth and back and forth for what felt like an eternity. When the stories attempt to intersect, BVS turns into a disjointed mess.
Surprisingly, BVS's initial premise is clever and deals with Batman's increasing fear of Superman's capabilities. Sure, Superman is good now but what happens if he changes his mind? Even during Superman's acts of heroism, he leaves behind a trail of destruction. Batman's point is a compelling one and makes for the strongest story in BVS. Unfortunately, the film takes an excruciatingly long time for this plot point to build and its resolution made me scratch my head.
Henry Cavil is lucky he is so damn handsome because his acting is not very good. He plays a reserved superman who is either always deep in thought or thinking about absolutely nothing; most likely the latter. Ben Affleck on the other hand plays a rather effective Batman and is too good for this film. Moving on to Jesse Eisenberg. Perhaps this is hyperbole, but I think we have reached a watershed moment for Jesse. He was great in the Social Network, but his range doesn't span far enough to encompass the eccentric genius of Lex Luthor. This film is on such a grand scale and Eisneberg doesn't have the screen presence to pull off this menacing villain.
Having said all this, there is no doubt that comic book purists will find this movie engrossing and walk away pleased. It has stunning visuals and its format flows much like a comic book-- jumping back and forth between multiple characters while also giving insight into the DC universe. But this isn't a comic book; it's a movie. At the end of the day, it needs to be a film first because that's the medium in which we are viewing the story.
In a nut shell: BVS is just too long. The first half drags and has an ending that would make only the likes of Peter Jackson proud. Having the name Batman in the title will get most people off the couch and into the theater. Regrettably, they will be met with a film that is so worked up in its own universe, it forgets to deliver a compelling and coherent story. BVS takes itself far too seriously and, with the obscure DC universe references, feels like insider baseball. Regardless, this movie will be a cash cow and is just good enough to open the flood gates for spin-offs galore. In truth, it doesn't really matter what critics say for this one; you're going to see it. (1.5 out of 4)
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