Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice movie review: Superheroes fail to enthrall

March 25, 2016

Mar 25: Warner Bros' 'Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice' is undoubtedly one of the most anticipated films of the year.

The narration begins with Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck), the masked vigilante of Gotham city, travelling to Metropolis to not only take down Gotham's villains, but also preparing himself to take on Superman.

batmanThis is a goal shared by Lex Luthor, the owner of Lex Corp, who detests Superman, for reasons unknown and uses Batman as his instrument to force them to fight one another to death.

The film aims to be an epic, but ends up being nothing more than a chaotically assembled revisit of the most cynically told story of a superhero, who is actually just learning to be a hero as he goes toe-to-toe with a seasoned crime fighter, Batman.

Touted to be a face-off between Batman and Superman, the plot rambles off onto an incongruous tale that pivots on a flimsy ground. The film lacks a central plot and thus, the narrative jumps randomly, leaving the audience confused, as to what is going on.

Designed similar to the tone of "The Dark Knight" trilogy, the first act builds to the carnage ahead, which it sometimes labours through. The final few minutes clearly pave the way for future films like; "Justice League" and the "Batman" series.

Batman and Superman of course fight and that is easily the best few minutes of the film. But the problem is in a two and half hour narration, this scene gets lost in the narration.

Of the cast, Henry Cavill, as the journalist Clarke Kent and Superman along with Ben Affleck as Bruce Wayne and Batman perform perfunctorily.

They are supported ably by; Jeremy Irons as Alfred, Amy Adams as Lois Lane and Laurence Fishburne as Perry White, who had a miniscule role in "Man of Steel". Here their roles are well-fleshed out and they shine. But, the real revelation here is the casting of Lex Luthor and Wonder Woman.

While Jesse Eisenberg portrays the sarcastic and self-absorbed Lex Luthor brilliantly, Gal Gadot as the Wonder Woman is wasted with limited screen time. The rest of the numerous characters get lost in the maze of confusion.

With brilliant production values, Larry Fong's camera work is dazzling and is accompanied by Hans Zimmera¿s overtly orchestrated, pounding background score, which is a killjoy at times.

The action sequences are well-synchronised and a treat to watch.

This film will appeal only to those who are totally submerged in the Diamond Comics Universe. However, even, the fans of the comic will find the film to be an immersive, computer-generated bore fest, packed with high octane action sequences.

Overall, this superhero film is a mediocre fare, which disappoints and will neither appeal to kids, nor adults.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
Agencies
June 6,2020

Hollywood star Angelina Jolie feels discrimination and impunity cannot be justified in any way, and says she hopes people in the US can come together to "address the deep structural wrongs in our society".

The Oscar-winning star, who turned 45 on Thursday, also donated $200,000 to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, reports people.com.

"Rights don't belong to any one group to give to another. Discrimination and impunity cannot be tolerated, explained away or justified. I hope we can come together as Americans to address the deep structural wrongs in our society," Jolie said.

"I stand with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund in their fight for racial equality, social justice, and their call for urgent legislative reform," she added.

Meanwhile, the actress celebrated her birthday amid lockdown with her six children -- Maddox, 18, Pax, 16, Zahara, 15, Shiloh, 14, and 11-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne.

The actress and activist has been active since the COVID-19 pandemic spread around the world and has donated to different organisations.

Jolie previously donated $1 million to No Kid Hungry, the organisation working to feed children during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I knew that there were problems in America, that there was poverty, but I could not believe when I realised how many school children in America were dependent on a meal to not go hungry. I was so disgusted that we have gotten to this point as a country and that we would let the most vulnerable be in such a state. I can't imagine what it feels like for those parents," she said while opening up about her reason to get associated with the organisation.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
Agencies
January 5,2020

Los Angeles: Kevin Feige may have confirmed that the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) will be getting its first transgender superhero but the Marvel Studios has said there is no definite timeline for that.

During a Q&A at the New York Film Academy, a fan had asked Feige about whether the studio plans to introduce LGBTQ characters into the MCU, "specifically the trans characters".

To this, the Marvel Studios president had replied, "Yes, absolutely, yes... And very soon. In a movie that we're shooting right now."

But sources in the company clarified to Variety that Feige only confirmed the first part of the comments that a trans character will appear in the MCU in future but he did not give a time period.

Though Feige did not reveal the name of the project that will introduce a LGBTQ character, fans speculate that he may have been referring to "The Eternals".

The film, which will feature an ensemble cast of Richard Madden, Angelina Jolie, Salma Hayek, Kit Harington and others, is set to unveil a gay superhero in the MCU.

Marvel Studios has been making efforts to incorporate more diversity in its films after the success of "Black Panther", which featured a virtually all-black cast, and its first woman-fronted superhero movie "Captain Marvel".

"Avengers: Endgame", which became the highest grossing movie of all-time, had featured the MCU's first gay character, a cameo by director Joe Russo.

In 2020, the studio has two releases -- Scarlett Johansson-starrer "Black Widow" and "The Eternals" -- which have been helmed by women directors.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
May 10,2020

New Delhi, May 10: While people across the country have been spending a lot of time at home owing to the lockdown, superstar Shah Rukh Khan on Saturday provided a unique platform for all the aspiring filmmakers to produce some 'fun, creative and... spooky' video.

The 54-year-old actor shared a statement on Instagram, detailing about the opportunity for the filmmakers to channel their inner "filmmaking ghost to make a scary indoor film with an element of horror in it."

Taking it to the captions, the 'Don' actor wrote: "Since we've all got a bit of time on our hands in quarantine, thought I can get us all to work a bit... in a fun, creative and... spooky way!"

In the post, titled with a hashtag 'SpookSRK,' the actor has listed down the rules to be followed while making the video and shared the email link to submit their work.

The 'Dilwale' actor also announced that the selected "three winners" will get a chance to video call the star himself.

Wrapping the post on a lighter note, he added: "I will be sending in my film as well...P.S - Ghosts are welcome to send their entries too."

This comes a day after the first trailer launch of Shah Rukh's new Netflix horror series 'Betaal'.

SRK's Red Chillies Entertainment is producing the horror-thriller. The new series also stars Vineet Kumar, Aahana Kumra, Suchitra Pillai, Jitendra Joshi, Manjiri Pupala, and Syna Anand.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.