My thoughts on Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice & Captain America: Civil War · 3:36am May 23rd, 2016
Sorry if this seems a little unpolished, I’m trying to get this out before Overwatch releases tomorrow. Speaking of which, if any of you are playing Overwatch on PC, feel free to friend me on Battlenet and play a round with me sometime. (Username: Changeling32)
Comparing these two films almost seems unfair. While DC is just trying to jumpstart an entire franchise, Marvel has had 8 years to get the formula down. That being said, maybe it’s DC’s fault for trying to make an “Avengers” style movie in their second outing. With the “Hero vs Hero” theme being strong in both of the films, comparisons were going to be inevitable and as a guy who has reviewed Spider-Man, Batman, and Superman fanfics, I suppose that some of you are interested in my opinion.
Warning: SPOILERS AHEAD
First, let’s start with good ol DC.
To say that I was excited for BvS is a bit of an understatement. I LOVE a good crossover, and this would be the first time these two heroes crossed paths on the big screen. As someone who thought Man of Steel was a decent film, I was eager to see Snyder's latest work.
My reaction?
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think this movie is as bad as some critics make it out to be. There is a lot of awesome stuff going on here. The first two scenes in the film were absolutely jaw-dropping. When I saw Metropolis getting destroyed from Wayne’s perspective, I thought to myself, “How the hell can critics talk s**t about this movie?” Snyder's visuals mixed with Junkie and Zimmer’s score is a match made in heaven.
That being said, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice left me feeling unsatisfied. Going into the movie, there were three things that REALLY wanted to see.
1. An Awesome Batman
2. An Awesome Superman
3. An Awesome Batman/Superman battle
In the end, I feel like I only got one of those things.
Ben Affleck as Batman is superb. He had the charisma needed for Bruce Wayne and the intensity needed for the Caped Crusader. His fight scenes were cool and I can’t wait to see him reprise the role.
I was a little shocked to see him kill people in this film though. Looking back, I think that Batman should of had a solo film before BvS. It would have been a great way to see Batman’s fall from grace, showing the audience how he got to where he is. Overall though, I didn’t have any real issues with his portrayal.
As for Superman...well I’m not feeling him in this movie. I got nothing against Henry Cavil. I know he’s got it in him. In fact, this scene from MoS just screams Superman to me. It's like the only time when he's like "Yeah, being Superman is AWESOME!"
However, BvS Superman is written in a way that makes him feel incredibly monotone and one-note. It seems like he has this stoic gaze on his face for the entire damn thing. Coupled with his lack of real dialogue and screen-time, I just found it hard to get invested in his character. In fact, I had a much more emotional reaction to Tony Stark learning the truth about his parent’s death than I did to Superman DYING.
He didn’t come across as a beacon of hope. Every time he actually saves someone in this film, it’s shot in a very impersonal, third person perspective. They're cool-looking shots, but they didn't help me like the character more.
I wish the film had taken the time to remind us that Superman is ultimately a human at heart. Focusing on his relationship with Lois Lane would have been great. Having more scenes where he personally investigates Batman’s history would of helped. But screw that, we need to have more scenes where Wonder Woman is wandering around at a party.
As for the battle itself...it was pretty cool. Dark, gritty, very little humor. Good stuff. Except for the fact that it is WAY too short.
Looking back at the film, I was disappointed by the shortage of actual Batman and Superman interaction. They meet at the party (awesome scene, but is all in the trailer), after Batman’s car chase (also in the trailer), and their final confrontation (most of which were in trailers). I mean, why is it that in a 2 ½ hour movie called BATMAN V SUPERMAN, that there is only 20 minutes of shared screen time between the two? I find the dynamic between them to be very interesting, but that didn't come across in this film.
To be honest, I was fine with the whole “Martha” thing, but I found it weird that Batman referred to him as “his friend” just shortly afterward. But then again, it would be awkward to say, "I'm an acquaintance of your son."
Honestly, my biggest gripe with the film was that it had WAY too much going on. As neat as the Wonder Woman and Justice League stuff was, I felt that it was more of a distraction than a contribution. One scene in particular that drove me crazy was when Diana checked her e-mail and saw little clips of future Justice League members. As an after-credits scene, this would have been fine, but why the hell did you put this RIGHT BEFORE THE BATMAN/SUPERMAN FIGHT?! Way to break the flow of the movie, guys. I don’t feel like these sub-plots fit into the Batman v Superman narrative very well. Seeing as this was probably more of a corporate move, I’m not going to blame Snyder for that.
Also, Lois Lane’s sub-plot about the bullet felt like a way to justify Amy Adam’s paycheck more than anything else.
Overall, there’s a lot of cool stuff going on in BvS. I enjoyed watching it, but I wish it had more Clark Kent and Batman/Superman interaction. If I had to give this movie a score, it would be a 6.5/10.
That being said, I plan on watching the movie again when the 3 hour extended cut comes out. From what I hear, there’s a lot more Superman stuff in it (plus I hear the film gets better each time you see it.)
Now onto Mahvel
Captain America: Civil War is great. It lived up to my expectations and I had a really fun time with it.
First of all, can we all just take a minute to appreciate the love and attention put into storylines of both Captain America and Iron Man, with both of their arcs being polar opposites of each other. On one side, we got Steve Rogers who started out as an aspiring soldier, proudly wearing the colors of good ol USA. He didn’t hesitate to carry out orders. However, during the events of Winter Soldier, he discovered the dangers of blindly following orders and realized that the best course of action was to follow his own instincts.
On the other hand, Tony Stark began as a man who only followed his own instincts, living the life of an irresponsible playboy. However, through the course of his films and Age of Ultron, Tony learned that following his own instinct often leads to disaster. Then we get to Civil War and we see the culmination of all that beautiful character development. It really is an achievement to behold.
To be honest, I have very few complaints when it comes to this movie. Despite the number of plotlines, the movie kept it’s focus well, leading up to a very satisfying conclusion. Every character got a moment to shine, including Ant-Man, Black Panther, and of course, Spider-Man.
Speaking of which, Tom Holland did a great job as Peter. In fact, he did so good that he restored my family’s faith in the character after the “just OK” reboot from a few years ago.
I also liked the tonal balance the movie had. It was funny when it could be and serious when it should be. For example, the airport scene was great fun, with a ton of memorable one-liners (“I thought that was a water truck”) and a lot of cool characters duking it out for a good 15 minutes. Right after that, we had the serious 2 v 1 showdown in the bunker, with some emotional performances from Evans and Downey (“You don’t deserve that shield.”) This was all cinematic gold.
While I can’t say that I loved the villain, I do appreciate how down-to-earth he was. He’s not some crazy “I’m going to take over the world” baddie they usually face, but just a guy looking for some revenge. Not to mention, he’s the only villain in the MCU to actually achieve his goal.
My gripes with the film are pretty small. It would have been nice for Crossbones to play a bigger role, maybe teaming up with Zemo in the second half. Also, I was also kind of hoping that someone would end up dead. I mean, we’ve had this universe going for 8 years and the only real casualty up to this point has been Quicksilver.
Regardless, this movie was a lot of fun and kept up the pace all the way through. If I had to give it a score, it would be a 9/10.
Alright, I’m feeling a little tired right now and I’ve got work tomorrow, so I’m going to stop right here. Thank you all for reading and let me know what YOU thought of these two movies.
See you next time!
Yeah, I asked everyone I knew who had seen both movies how they compared, and the answer I kept getting was a laugh :P
DC, this is what happens when you try to bum-rush a market without any planning. You don't go straight up against a competitor who's been laying a foundation for years and throw shit at a wall and hope it sticks. They're extremely lucky that their movie came out first, or else it would look even worse.
Dammit, everyone's getting Overwatch and I'm here still trying to save up for a PS4 and GTA5 for that PS4. ;n;
And what I thought of the two movies I have explained in previous blog posts, linked below.
Batman v Superman
Civil War
What bugged me a lot about Batman was is his gun-ho killing thing. That nearly caused me to walk out of the theater because Batman has one of the strictest no kill policies in the DC Comics. I stayed because I was informed that Wonder Woman was awesome, and she did not disappoint. Ben Afleck was and I hope his solo movie will correct the few miss steps that this movie did with Batman. An overall theme Batman v Superman as you stated it was trying to do in one move that Marvel has had 8 years to do, and it shows. Hopefully Suicide Squad will be better. Personally I am eagerly awaiting the Shazam/Captain Marvel movie with The Rock as Black Adam!
I completely agree with you on both accounts man. Well almost completely. I'd probably be a little more generous with the film and give it a 7/10 but hey that's just me (and the fact that I saw it like 5 times already and still enjoyed it overall) I'm sure I'll like it even more after the ultimate edition is released. I also loved Captain america Civil war but for different reasons. To be honest I mostly came for it to see spidey. And boy was he the best thing in it. But once he was out of the picture I was like "oh...well ok then." I was still excited but my excitement had already reached its peak once Spidey was there. The action scenes were awesome (though civil war had a little more of an emotional punch for me) but Batman V superman in my opinion had WAY better action in it (what can I say? Zack sure knows how to make action scenes awesome). So overall to me Civil war was more emotional but Batman v Superman was more entertaining. Both are great movies for what they are.
Awesome seeing your insight for the two movies.
For Batman vs. Superman, it had it's flaws but it was still a very enjoyable movie for me. You're right about Superman, he barely smiled and as Maximus also pointed out, he didn't have a lot of screen time. The scenes he was in were decent though, especially the parts where he's seen saving all those people. I just loved seeing the hope he gave to them, that no matter what, he'll always be there to help others, that is what Superman is meant to be. But this movie also shows the burdens he has to go through, such as those who still don't trust him, plus his desire to want to be a normal person.
The problem is that they spent most of the movie trying to establish Batman. He probably should have had a solo movie before this movie came out, I know this is his second reboot but you still need to establish Batman in this universe. Plus he seemed a little OOC to me, I know he's tough but he's not that violent. So this is a sequel to the Superman movie, and an origin movie for Batman, things will be complicated. Having Wonder Woman in there seemed a little unnecessary, though I will admit she was awesome to see in the movie. Those references to Flash and the other heroes also seemed unneeded.
This movie seems like their attempt to rush into the Justice League movie. Maximus himself even said Amazing Spider-Man 2 made a similar mistake, that it was just to set up a Sinister Six movie (I wonder why they would do a Sinister Six movie after only the second movie? Had the original Spider-Man movies been given the time it needed then we could have had a proper Sinister Six movie by now). The only good thing about how bad ASM2 did was that it sent Spider-Man back to Marvel (now if only the X-Men and The Fantastic Four can go back as well).
As for Captain America Civil War, (why is it a Captain America movie anyway? Iron Man had just as much screen time, should have just called it 'Marvel Civil War'), that movie was also amazing to watch. It did a good job of pacing itself with it's action and serious tones with more calmer moments and comedy. But like you said, comparing the movies isn't that fair because Marvel had more time to work with the characters so they're all already established, as opposed to a movie where Superman is the only one really established, and even that could use some work.
Marvel Civil War, like Batman vs. Superman, also established new characters to this Universe, but those were a little more ok. Cap and Stark were already well established so they could add Black Panther with little problem, giving a nice intro to his character before his movie comes out. I think they handled his introduction well and he seems like he'll be an interesting character, all that's left is to see what his movie will be like.
I did think Spider-Man being added seemed a little weird at first since, like Batman, probably should have had a solo movie prior to this, but also like Batman, he's been rebooted twice so we don't need to worry about him having an origin story. Anyway he was introduced pretty well, plus since he wasn't a title character like Batman, he can get away with little screen time. Black Panther had that similar benefit in a way.
I'm just happy Spider-Man was around as long as he was, he had so many clever puns and I think they captured his character pretty well. I can say the same thing about Ant Man, he was pretty fun to watch in the little screen time he got, He was also just as funny as Spider-Man, in a way once their screen time was done, I felt a little down because they really grabbed my attention, and I was disappointed when I knew they would no longer play a part in the movie.
I have to say, the ending of the movie made it less of a Marvel Civil War and more of personal issues for Iron Man, which kinda ruined the mood for me. They deviated too much from the comics and it just became about Cap, his friend and Stark, so it just became Captain America vs. Iron Man to me. It wasn't bad but part of me feels it was too forced, the movie should have just stayed about Pro Registration vs. Anti Registration, I kinda wish they didn't even have that sub-plot with Cap's friend. I guess having it based off the comic would be hard since Spider-Man wasn't established enough for him to play that big role in the comics and The Fantastic Four aren't in that Universe at the moment so they can't play their roles, plus the Avengers made their real names public so that part wouldn't come to play either.
But it was still a great scene like you said, showing how far this had come between Cap and Stark, and it did have good emotional moments, so I can't take that away. I'm curious as to what happens now, and how this Universe will continue to grow and change, especially with all the big movies coming about leading into the two part Avengers movie.
That's all I have to say...looks like I said a lot, hope it's alright.