Iconic match-up fails to impress

Taken+from+the+movies+trailer+courtesy+of+Warner+Bros.+Pictures%2C+Superman+%28Henry+Cavill%29+faces+off+against+Batman+%28Ben+Affleck%29+in+a+supposed+fight+to+the+death.+Batman+vs+Superman%3A+Dawn+of+Justice+came+to+theaters+on+March+25.

Taken from the movie’s trailer courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures, Superman (Henry Cavill) faces off against Batman (Ben Affleck) in a supposed fight to the death. “Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice” came to theaters on March 25.

By Kyle Paup, Editor In Chief

A lot of hype was built up around “Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice” in the months before its release as each fan wished for it to be their perfect movie. Sadly, however, the movie was far from perfect.

The film starts off with an introduction to the life of Bruce Wayne, played by Ben Affleck, which concludes with him watching in horror over the events that transpired in 2013’s “Man of Steel.”

Enraged at Superman, played by Henry Cavill, for the destruction he had caused, Wayne finds a reason to wipe the dust off of his cape and the story begins.

The first 20 minutes of the film felt nearly flawless as the characters of Batman and Superman were brought into the same world on the big screen for the very first time.

The elaborate plot that brought these iconic characters together, along with the actors who brilliantly gave them to life, set the tone for an exciting two hours to come.

Unfortunately, these flawless 20 minutes acted only as a red herring for what was to come next: disappointment.

For a significant portion of the movie afterwards, nothing ever really picked up.

Whether one enjoys comic book movies or not, it is generally hard to be bored when superpowered heroes and flashy explosions are the centerpoint of the film. But, due to the poor pacing, boredom is the perfect word to describe what audiences are sure to feel for this dull portion of “Batman vs. Superman.”

It would appear that only those who already have a love of the characters going into it would be able to stay entertained throughout the entire movie. For the common moviegoer, there is not a whole lot to love.

Despite many conflicts with the film itself, it never felt like the actors were responsible for its major errors.

A question on everyone’s minds going into the movie, as it was since the casting was announced, was how Affleck would do as the new Batman.

Despite much controversy over him taking the role, his performance ended up being one of the greatest parts of the film. Affleck delivered a Batman that audiences have not yet seen in previous adaptations of the character. He portrays a hardened, darker version of the iconic hero that fans have been asking for.

Another controversial casting was Jesse Eisenberg as the most popular Superman villain, Lex Luthor. While the character itself was not ideal, Eisenberg is hardly the one to blame for this.

What the film ended up suffering from was the script itself.

Eisenberg played his character perfectly for what it was intended to be by the script, but unfortunately the script appeared to want his character to be an awkward man who delivers cringe worthy lines and acts on motives that are not clear.

While Affleck’s performance was stellar, the character of Batman also took a hit from the script as he was made into a killer.  

Batman’s first and only rule, which is commonly inferred to be known by all, is that he does not kill his enemies. This is found on the belief that not killing is the only thing that separates him from them.

Why the script called for him to throw this out the window by having him blatantly murder nameless henchmen, something that no other rendition of the character has ever dared to do, is a question that is never answered.

Once the movie finally gets to the anticipated title fight, even that is filled with disappointment as it is short in length and  offers little footage that was not shown in the trailers.

The main fight wasn’t the only thing ruined by the trailers, this was a frequent occurrence throughout the movie.

The appearance of Doomsday, a major villain of Superman from the source material, is ruined since much of the footage has been used for advertising the film. This goes without mentioning the fact that his CGI model looks terrible and that he is shoehorned in at the last moment.

Wonder Woman, a major hero from the DC Universe, is also rushed in and hardly says any lines, suffering a similar fate thanks to the trailers.

To say there was no excitement to be had would be a lie, but to say that “Batman vs Superman” fully lived up to expectations and was exciting in every way that it could have and should have been would also be far from the truth.