Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
"I bet your parents taught you that you mean something, that you're here for a reason. My parents taught me a different lesson, dying in the gutter for no reason at all... They taught me the world only makes sense if you force it to." - Batman
release year: 2016
genre: superhero action
viewing setting: home Bluray 6/18/17 and 7/20/16 and theater 4/20/16
synopsis: As some people are still bothered by the recent big fight between super-beings, one villain gives that situation the little push it needs to turn into hysteria and fighting.
impressions: In this movie, the first meeting between Superman and Batman is re-worked to be like something out of the Dark Knight comics of the 1980s: Batman is older, pissed-off, and uses a super-suit along with kryponite to actually challenge Superman. As a side-effect, the groundwork is laid for a larger team of super-heroes. There were some good performances and a ton of entertaining action. My issues with the film are very similar to my issues with the second Batman movie: villain kills thousands and tries but fails to kill many more...therefore villain should be executed at the end (if not before, in which case many more lives would have been saved.) For crying out loud, he's a MASS MURDERER. In what world does someone like that get to go on living after being captured? The other issue was less obvious: in general, people are naive and easily manipulated to think whatever you want them to think, especially when something they fear is involved.
acting: Ben Affleck did a good job as an angry, ruthless Batman. Henry Cavill was okay as an upset, conflicted Superman. Jesse Eisenberg was an over-the-top (to the point of irritation) villain. Amy Adams was Lois Lane; I'm not sure if the script was to blame, but she didn't really seem to have much chemistry with Clark Kent aka Superman. Gal Gadot is a mysterious but wondrous woman.
final word: Super-beings as weapons of mass destruction, with all the pain and hurt that follows...a grim start to a franchise.
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