A Response to Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

Morbid curiosity got the better of me.

I’ve made a habit of skipping most of the last phase of MCU films. I’ve become too fatigued to keep up with the X-Men. There was no way in hell you’d catch me in a theater for the Andrew Garfield Spidermen. Alas, the combination of overwhelmingly negative critic reviews and the generally positive audience reaction, had caused me to consider that, possibly, Superman v Batman: Dawn of Justice would somehow be an anomaly. Although, I honestly was more curious to know what made a superhero movie “bad” in the eyes of people who genuinely devoted to the genre.

But as I sat in the theater, and the big, lumbering story limped its way toward the “epic” third-act showdown, I couldn’t help but realize that, although none of the character’s actions really made sense, I was somehow invested in what would happen. Despite the fact that none of these individuals were developed whatsoever, I was invested insofar that it was apparent that Zack Snyder was genuinely interested in his man v god parable, and I was curious to see how he would resolve it and what conclusions that would bring.

Unfortunately for me, the third act is horrendous and ugly and absolutely boring. Worst of all, the resolution of the tangible violence, in no way offers a parallel or insight into the film’s themes. I am no closer to knowing what the significance of the death of Super-Jesus is to Zack Snyder, other than that he thinks its sad.

All in all, this is a bad film. Although subjective, I believe the collective response by the masses has at least acknowledged some of the various flaws in logic. However, my main take-away from this film, has little to do with Snyder’s content, but rather with his audience. I truthfully feel that I am losing grasp on the mainstream audience sensibility. As I watched Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, I recognized that I appreciated some elements, and disliked others, but the end product is something that I view as no better or worse than many of the other superhero films that I’ve seen in the last 8 years. When compared to The Avengers, Thor, Iron Man 2, Deadpool; each film contains different approaches to the superhero story, yet each are fundamentally boring and for various reasons, discredit themselves as films. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is bad in different ways, but overall, it is no worse than these films that are considered widely loved by fans and critics all over the country.

When I see Deadpool, and I see it fail at being a compelling story, at being a funny comedy, as being anything edgy, and at being an exciting action pic; as a viewer, I must attempt reconcile that, although this film obviously isn’t for me, it has appealed to a wide audience and it has garnered rave reviews. Then, of course, there must be something about it that connects with people and is therefore valuable in someway.

But it feels absolutely beyond my comprehension that those same reviewers and audiences would watch Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and see something far worse. Of course, every individual will have their own subjective opinion about these films, so it does not surprise me that many might prefer one over the other, but the large discrepancy in value assignment has left me confused. I feel that I must go to the street with a fake microphone and ask people, what is your criteria for a good superhero movie?

This is not to say that I am writing off an entire genre, as there are shining examples within the realm of superhero films. In the past, I’ve connected with Spiderman 1 and 2, Iron Man, the Nolan trilogy, and Guardians of the Galaxy, but I see this growing emphasis on creating cinematic universes as absolutely incompatible with a commitment to producing works of high quality, and therefor my expectations for the future are low. With a greater amount of significance placed on a series’ ability to resemble television, it does not surprise me that quality would take a nose-dive. And yet, I remain dumbfounded as to why this is welcomed, by some, with open arms.

To conclude, I feel ill-equipped to review this film, as I honestly don’t know how it fits into the time and place of a media-consuming public. I don’t know why some consider it bad in relation to similar films, or why some consider it good in relation to the same films. For me, it is just a film about a guy dressed as a bat who wants to fight a god, but the two decide to settle their differences because their moms have the same name.

And as for the future of the DCEU, I can only hope that for the sake of those who are fans of these characters, that the quality of their representation increases. Maybe with a whole movie devoted to her, Wonder Woman can escape being eye candy in the first half of her film, and a CGI afterthought in the second.