Batman V Superman (potential spoilers)
I was hesitant as I made the trip to the theater, bought my ticket, and waited for the show to start.
Batman v Superman was an epic battle long before a frame of this movie was shot.
Back when Frank Miller's 4-part graphic novel, "The Dark Knight Returns", first hit the shelves in 1986 a bar was set so high that it would take a Kryptonian effort to meet expectations theatrically.
Various productions were beset by so many fits and starts before the current Zack Snyder collaboration successfully hit the silver screen that fans wondered if it would be possible without the backing of a real-life Bruce Wayne. Thankfully for us, it did.
What also harshed my buzz was the number of internet critics who were blasting it; some even before the late-Thursday "sneak" viewing.
After seeing it myself, I can set everyone's minds at ease. It successfully incorporated so many different needs that the writers should take a victory lap. What does that last bit means to those who casually snack on Superhero movies through their peripheral vision?
1. It needed to hit the high points of the ground breaking work by Frank Miller within the constraints of the medium.
2. It needed to introduce a host of new D.C. superheros in anticipation of:
3. It needed to lay the groundwork for the D.C. Cinematic Universe INCLUDING the anticipated Justice League movie.
Bear in mind that D.C. is far behind Marvel Studios in establishing itself to movie goers. Playing catch up isn't easy when the time line is as compressed as D.C. is facing. While Marvel had 12 years to establish various story lines leading up to the first Avengers movie, D.C. has been churning out repeated efforts at Superman and Batman origin stories. By the time some CEO looked around and realized the playing field had changed, they had 2 movies with which to build their foundational stories before JL needed to come out.
Batman V Superman is the first. Wonder Woman will be next when they flesh out her character (introduced in BvS) as well as introduce 3 more "new" characters only hinted at in this installment: Cyborg, The Flash, and Aquaman (who seems to be based on the King of Atlantis badass instead the orange-suited Superfriends version).
But back to this DCCU kick off. The only thing I can figure out about all the negative comments is that some people don't like non-linear story telling. In novels it's normal fare. For many movie goers in the US it's not. As a result much of Hollywood movies flow from A to B to C and wrap up the story in a nice bow at the end. Thanks goodness for stories like, "Pulp Fiction", and BvS which have broken with that tradition.
Did the writers hybridize Doomsday's origin story as well as the associated "Death of Superman" (drawn out over dozens of comic titles to try and get D.C. more income)? Sure but (IMO) in a good way. It gave a reason for the DCCU to exist as well as presented Supes with a challenge.
Why is that?
Comic readers have known for decades that the creation of an ultimate superhero can lead to a dead end of story lines once everything is possible and nothing is risky. Is a hero really a hero when he knows there's no risk to him in the actions he takes? Persevering in the face of insurmountable odds is what makes a hero super. And in BvS both Bats and Supes accept that challenge in their own ways to protect those things they see threatened. At points throughout the movie they are variously good and bad; hero and anti-hero for all their good intentions (regardless of the outcome).
The real villain is playing the long game which, we as viewers, know ahead of time is Lex Luthor but who doesn't reveal himself fully to everyone in the movie for more than 2 years. Sociopathic, paranoiac, psychopathic, highly intelligent as well as rich and powerful enough to further his plans. Sounds like the Lex I grew up reading about (if maybe played a little twitchier than I imagined, it still worked for me).
If you have had second thoughts about seeing it based on naysayers, then give it a chance; especially if you grew up reading D.C. and were gobsmacked by Frank Miller's work.
