Batman v Superman is the latest comic book film to divide critics and audiences. Does a rotten tomatoes score effect box office performance and is DC's latest getting the pummeling it deserves? It's an interesting topic to look into what exactly makes Batman v Superman such a poor movie. From a casual fan stand point, it can be argued one of two ways. Either this movie had enough action to, at the very least, elevate itself from the Man of Steel or that the numerous easter eggs, and faulty plot points, only confused fans who aren't well versed in the comic world, for example all the nods towards Justice Leagues villain, Darkseid or the future Flash vision dream sequence. While Batman is always a box office drive as well as our first on screen look at Wonder Woman in decades, I have a feeling as to why this movie has just not been a hit with critics that DC had hoped and it all centers around the Man of Steel himself, Superman. Now, to be frank, I'm a Henry Cavill fan however, in a film that's not quite a direct sequel but features enough moments to echo it's importance, Cavill's Superman performance is nearly nonexistent. In a movie full of forthcoming superheroes and famous new addition, Superman is as boring as ever. In fact, with the (spoiler alert) unexpected death at the hands of Doomsday, the fact that we already know he's starring in the Justice League really takes the "umph," out of the moment. On the same note, the reason why Superman had to be the victim is because Lex Luthor, played fairly well (even if oddly written) by Jessie Eisenberg, has ultimately masterminded a plot to rid the world of Superman, thus unleashing a wave of crime the world has never seen thus giving us the reason why assembling the Justice League is important. The, "there's no threat now but there will be in the future," plot. What makes the title less appealing is after you've seen the film, you know that Superman could kill Batman. He, in fact, could have killed him a number of times, extremely easily. Only through the use of a large chunk of Kryptonite, taken from Lex, Ben Affleck stands absolutely zero chance. It's effect also seemed to have lasted minutes before Superman seemingly get's his abilities back and is able to turn the tides. The only moment Batman, who's seemingly hellbent on ridding the world of Superman after watching him kill (with his own eyes) a building full of his former employees is the coincidence that their mother's have the same name, thus leading to a change of heart. Through everything, I don't see anyone else's story lines, no matter how strange or erratic, as problematic and flat as Superman. An (theoretically) infallible and invincible character had no other route than to really be questioned for his actions, a move which I believe was the right call. The problem is, the movie doesn't push in any one direction quite enough. Batman wasn't angry enough, Wonder Woman didn't get enough screen time, Lex Luthor is basically the same level of unstable throughout and Superman is as damp as ever. Because of DC's rush to get to the Justice League and develop solo films following 2017, Batman v Superman is filled with unanswered questions and head scratching moments that even comic book fans are a little confused about. Cavill has no real wow moments, which is sad because the only real wow moment in the Man of Steel is the surprise at the very end. Batman v Superman didn't push for you to love the character but hoped you'd like the action enough to drool over them and, to Marvel's credit, we are all aware that movie goers are a bit smarter than that when it comes to comic films. Regardless, Batman v Superman was a predictable hit, whether or not critics loved it, the movie is not the biggest opening film ever in March. Which makes sense considering it's lofty marketing campaign. A smart move considering DC originally wanted to open against Marvel's Captain America: Civil War in May. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice has a long way to go to crossing the 800 million dollar line before it begins to make recoup it's loses but will more than likely get there. Let's just hope Superman is able to stay a float when Justice League comes and it's many recognizable heroes comes along. (Thankfully it's score didn't dive as low as another film that didn't perform nearly as well at the box office.)
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