For almost 80 years the infamous characters have consistently appeared in pretty much every incarnation conceivable. Originally appearing as comic book characters, there have been thousands of graphic novels published since the 1930’s. Some darker than others…
There’s been TV series. Some camper than others…
Films. Some more intelligent…
Than others….
Video games. Some more playable….
Than others…
There’s been acclaimed animated series…
TV origins stories…
Re-imagining’s in Lego…
And an entire galaxy of books, toys, games, collectibles, films, TV shows, cartoons, parodies, clothing, comics, fan-fiction and more or less every conceivable piece of merchandise you could possibly comprehend. It’s safe to say, both characters are as prominent as Mickey Mouse, Marilyn Monroe or The Beatles in terms of pop culture iconography. As well as their cultural significance, their image and logos are as recognisable as Coca Cola or McDonalds.
So, when dealing with characters that have been around forever and presented in every format under the sun, isn’t it strange that the latest Batman v Superman film has had mixed reactions? I’m bemused as to why Zack Snyder hasn’t been able to produce a definitive film for Batman and Superman fans, that pleases everyone in the world ever. For shame. Let’s talk about the films.
Batman
Similarly to Superman there’s dozens of films. Dating back to the 1940’s a myriad of actors and voice artists have donned the cape and or occupied the recording studio. Batman’s been camp and zany, gothic and conflicted, dark, light, solo, as part of a duo, as part or a trio, as part of a team, old, young, short, tall, grounded in reality, disorganised within the realms of science fiction, played (or voiced) by Americans, Brits, Canadians and Irish actors and gone through more outfits and colour scheme changes than Lady Gaga. The bottom line is, there is no definitive Batman.
Being a Christopher Nolan fanboy, The Dark Knight series is my favourite incarnation of the character. I loved the realism, the intelligence, the characters, the twists and near enough everything about them. Despite all critical acclaim and positive reaction from the fans, I’ve still had many discussions with friends and colleagues who simply don’t like the films. They don’t like the way Bane is portrayed, as it’s so dissimilar to the comics. They don’t like the Batmobile, the story and a number of other elements. The way I see it, there isn’t a seminal text, be it a graphic novel series, an animated series or a film series. Christopher Nolan shouldn’t have to strive to replicate certain elements of the story, and shouldn’t have to abide by ‘rules’ laid down in previous works. He took a handful of characters and created his own vision and own story with them. Similarly with Tim Burton, Zack Snyder, even Joel Schumacher and anyone else who’s directed a Batman film. They shouldn’t have to apologise or answer to anyone for their efforts. I actually quite enjoyed Joel Schumacher’s Batman. If he wants to put nipples on George Clooney’s Batsuit, or have Arnold Schwarzenegger sat around in fluffy slippers reeling off puns, or have Jim Carrey don a green leotard and ginger wig running around shrieking then fair play. Why not? I mean, it’s naff, but it’s an enjoyable kind of naff. His films weren’t made to be taken seriously, and were meant to be seen the way I first saw them, as a kid. They were coluorful and loud, and stupid and in one ear and out the other. Nothing to be ashamed of there.
Thusly if Tim Burton wants to squeeze Michelle Pfeiffer into a bondage suit, cast Billy Dee Williams as a character that has been (up to that point) historically Caucasian and make Jack Nicholson dance around an art gallery to a Prince song wearing a purple beret…. I’m not going to stop him.
Superman
Being from the U.K. I’ve always found Batman has had more of a presence. We’re perhaps too cynical for a hero who is (essentially) omnipotent, all good, usually gets the girl and has flawless chiseled features. If you know what I mean….
I’ve always loved him though. I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t a fan of Superman. From watching the 1996 animated series and flitting in and out of The New Adventures of Superman as a kid, I picked up all the Christopher Reeve films on the way. Then with the release of Superman Returns when I was in university, Man of Steel seven years later, and casually reading the comics and playing the video games I’ve never been without Superman. I love the films, even the latter two Reeve releases and Superman Returns. I remember Returns getting very mixed to negative reviews upon release, but I’ve always loved and championed it. Bryan Singer is a superb director, and it was wonderful to see a Superman film in the 21st Century. It managed to channel the charm and nostalgia of the Christopher Reeve films, without being too referential, and it’s one of my favourite superhero films of the decade. The same mixed reviews resurfaced with Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel, but again, I loved it. Granted the final battle sequence is slightly bloated and a bit too CGItastic, but the quieter moments, especially those with Kevin Costner are excellent.
Since the first (major) Superman film in 1978, there’s not been as much diversity in the character as there has with Batman. The six films that followed up to 2016’s Batman v Superman, have a pretty solid template for Clark Kent and Superman. He’s a big, good looking, sculpted man wearing the traditional suit and cape, and the thick rimmed glasses when incognito. He’s got extremely limited weaknesses, he strives for decency and justice, and he is in love with Lois Lane. Outside of that set framework, he’s not gone through as many image or personality shifts as the Dark Knight.
The main difference between the portrayal of the antagonists, is that Jesse Eisenberg needs to pick up the pace and secure at least two Academy Awards, to continue the tradition of the on-screen Lex Luthors.
So there it is. I like Batman, I like Superman…… And now…….
Batman v Superman
Let’s start with Zack Snyder. I’m kind of indifferent on him. I really liked Dawn of the Dead in 2004 and Man of Steel in 2013. Everything between that I can take or leave. 300 was okay. Watchmen was a bit overly long and lacking in any real depth. Sucker Punch… please. Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole…. completely passed me by. I’ve absolutely no interest whatsoever in seeking that out for a viewing. Presumably, alongside some CGI’d owls, it features really ripped, scantily clad men. A recurring motif that he has adopted….
Fair play to him. If I looked like Henry Cavill, I would pretty much insist that I be allowed to run around in the buff.
To sum up, I don’t really have any loyalties to team Snyder.
I was hugely in favour of Ben Affleck donning the Bat-suit, from the very first announcement. Similarly when Disney announced their takeover of the Star Wars franchise, a bunch of fans took the piss and got annoyed about it. I was right behind the Disney Wars project from the get go. And wouldn’t you know it, it turned out to be an extremely wise decision. Despite all the mockery and reservations that emerged since the conception of ‘Bat-Fleck’, once again I was correct. As it is now widely regarded that Ben Affleck is a brilliant Batman, and one of the best things about the film. People were so quick to remember:
And so quick to forget:
As well as Affleck’s collaborations with Kevin Smith, Richard Linklater, his Oscar winning work on Good Will Hunting, his Golden Globe nominated performance in Hollywoodland, his critically acclaimed role in The Company Men and the fact he was “the bomb in Phantoms yo”. I’ve always championed Ben Affleck, and was very excited for his Dark Knighthood. Sure, he’s done some shite in his time, but what Batman hasn’t?
Henry Cavill was solid (literally) in Man of Steel. Amy Adams is one of my favourite actresses. I’ve enjoyed Jesse Eisenberg’s work in the past, and Jeremy Irons is Jeremy Irons. So there was definitely nothing underwhelming in the cast list. I was unfamiliar with Gal Gadot having never seen her Fast and Furious films, so the added excitement of a mysterious actress taking on such a seminal role was all in place to make Batman V Superman an incredibly enjoyable 151 minutes.
It was. It really was. I know the film’s been bashed around plenty by the critics, the would-be critics, the fans of the comics, the fans of the previous films and a vast chunk of the movie going public, but I had a thoroughly good time watching it.
It’s been accused of being cluttered, incomprehensible, overly long and humorless amongst other things. All I can say is, I found the story engaging. At no point was I lost or unable to differentiate between dream sequences and reality. I thought Ben Affleck was superb and his interactions with Jeremy Irons were some of the films finest moments. Granted it’s not as witty as Nolan’s Dark Knight series, but it didn’t need to be. It doesn’t necessarily have to contain humour or wit to be classed as successful. It has something else, which was the ‘awe’ factor. Throughout the film there were many moments that just got me excited. Batman’s hand to hand combat scenes (particularly in the desert sequence) are some of the finest in his cinematic history. I loved the courtroom segments with Superman. The re-imagining of the Batmobile, suit and Batcave. The tension building character interactions at Lex Luthor’s party. The Flash / Aquaman teasers. The score from Hans Zimmer and even the final showdown featuring the three Justice Leaguers tripple teaming a giant baddy.
I found the end section of Man of Steel a tad lethargic as he was whizzing around, smashing the heck out of Metropolis. It seemed to drag on and on and wasn’t too narritively satisfying or gripping. When the big beasty got released in Batman v Superman I assumed it would be a similar affair, however Snyder seemed to rein it in a lot more, and despite the fact he was dealing with a larger CGI budget and thrice the amount of protagonists, he handled it very well. I didn’t feel it was too weighty and I actually cared what was happening.
From what I can gather, the incomprehensible criticism seems to be that the films flits between characters and segments too rapidly, and is generally a bit all over the place. I actually loved this about the film. It reminded me slightly of Game of Thrones in the sense that it had a number of story threads running parallel to each other, and jumped back and forth between them. In the sesne of:
- Here’s a Batman bit
- Here’s a Superman bit
- Here’s a Lois Lane bit
- Here’s a Bruce Wayne and Alfred bit
- Here’s a Clark and Martha Kent bit
- Here’s a dream
- Here’s Batman again
- Here’s Lex Luthor
- Here’s Bruce Wayne and Diana Prince
- etc
I thought this was a great way to film, and helped keep the pace up. Any film that’s north of two and a half hours requires some commitment, but at no point was I bored. At no point was I checking my watch, and at no point did I think, “this is going on a bit”. When dealing with as many integral characters as BvS does, it’s bound to get slightly jumbled. But on a whole I think Zack Snyder did very well at keeping up the tempo of the piece and giving all of the characters ample screen time.
The only element of the film that I genuinely dislike, which appears to be a universal qualm, is Jesse Eisenberg’s Lex Luthor. I’m not saying that Eisenberg’s a bad actor, I like him in The Social Network, Zombieland, Adventure Land and The Village. I’m not saying that’s how Lex shouldn’t be played, as with anything it’s open to interpretation. All I’m saying is that he was tremendously annoying. Giddily giggling and shrieking his way around the screen like a coked up version of his Mark Zuckerberg character from The Social Network. In a film that took a darker and grittier approach to the DC Universe, Eisenberg’s Luthor seemed out of place, and would have perhaps been more appropriate in a Batman film of the mid sixties.
Conclusively, I liked Batman V Superman very much. After snotty initial reviews, I did go in to the film ready to be disappointed and ready to dislike it, however this wasn’t the case. Granted it’s not the best Batman film that’s ever been made. It’s not the best Superman film that’s ever been made. I’d even go so far as to say that it’s not even the best Zack Snyder film that’s ever been made. But what it is, is a perfectly entertaining and solid jumping off point for the Justice League franchise. It’s not as intelligent as The Dark Knight or as colourful and humorous as The Avengers, but it is it’s own entity. It’s not trying to replicate either of these projects, which I like. Bring on the rest of the League.
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