Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice – Why All The Hate?

This year is overflowing with many upcoming comic movies, and DC is pulling out the big guns with Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. One of the most beloved and hotly debated comic stories to grace our collections is finally going to be on the big screen, and you’d think we would be lining the streets already. But the announcement of the movie has brought both cheers and anger from the community, and it’s difficult to see why. I want to talk about why some are against the movie before we could even see what the fuss is about. I’ll go over some common criticisms that have graced the online forums and conversations between fellow comic fans as the release date looms closer. And just to cover the bases here, we may unknowingly venture into spoiler territory over some predictions to the plot.

6. Batfleck (sigh…)

This is the most common and frequent talking point so I’ll get it out the way early. Ben Affleck has had a “troubled” acting career to say the least, starring in both cult classics and near abominations of movies. Personally, I always see him as the guy that set back superhero movies several years with Daredevil. The less said on that trainwreck the better. That, and he has big cowls to fill after the huge success of the Dark Knight trilogy and Christian Bale‘s performance. But in recent years he has shown strong acting and directing skills, so I’m willing to give him the benefit of a doubt until I hear his first “I’M BATMAN!”.

 

5. The Curse of the Superman Cape

I really don’t see how, but Hollywood seems to struggle with giving Superman, the most powerful of heroes (let the debates begin), a movie that all fans can enjoy and live up to their expectations. I mean Man of Steel was… alright, but it seems to quickly follow the same reaction as all his other adventures; some people love it, some people hate it, and some people (myself included) thought it was “meh”. Perhaps he comes across as a bit one-dimensional in his portrayals ,or maybe he has too many powers for the writers to effectively utilise; it’s hard to narrow down, but one bad decision can ruin the character. But in this modern age and with a strong actor in Henry Cavill, could we finally break the curse that has plagued Superman in his live adaptations?

 

4. Wonder Woman

When it was announced that Wonder Woman was going to appear alongside the titular superheroes, many of us are concerned over how she is going to be woven into the story. The focus of the movie will be on Batman and Superman (as it should be), so how will she be implemented into the story? Her inclusion means the the big three DC supers are on the screen at the same time for the first time, so expectations are high. She is a popular and respected character of the DC universe so I really hope she isn’t just a sidelined character used only towards the grand finale. This is a great opportunity to establish her in the DC movie universe and introduce cinemagoers to her comics, so a brief intro or backstory should be interwoven into the plot, but they should save the best bits for her upcoming standalone movie. Don’t make her appearance feel like a cameo, or worse, a cash grab.

3. Hipster Luthor

Writing this out, it does seem that the main discussion points come from the acting choices and how they will treat the characters, huh? Lex Luthor is an important character; he is Superman’s arch-nemesis, the brain against his brawn, the Joker to his Batman – an ironic comparison, I know. What I’m trying to say is, get them wrong and the movie could go wrong. Villains always seem to suffer in terms of personality and motive in superhero movies, and not even an arch-nemesis is safe. Jesse Eisenberg is a strong actor, don’t get me wrong (Zombieland is a personal favourite of mine), but his movies often cast him as a timid teenager, socially awkward and generally, non-intimidating. Now, he is playing an arrogant and manipulative billionaire. This could be the role to help break his type casting, but could he pull this off? Because in the trailers so far, in my opinion he comes off as an arrogant and spoiled brat. He is a good actor so he could surprise us, but only time will tell…

 

2. Is That Who We Think That Is?

You have one of the most well known comic storylines finally on the big screen. Yet for some reason, you decide to include what many see and know to be Doomsday. You know, the monster famous for actually killing Superman? Why? It feels like such a throwaway villain choice, because let’s face it, he is gonna be there just for the heroes to make up and combine forces to fight him. His reputation and incredible savage nature could easily let him be the main villain in a future Superman (or even Justice League) film. But no, he appears to be the reanimated science project of Luthor’s. It feels like wasted potential to me (unless it gets set up for a return in a future installment).

1. The Hype Train

We all know that the reasoning behind trailers and promotional materials is to generate the build-up and interest in whatever they’re selling, but you need to strike a balance that still leaves questions and plot lines secret. This is where I feel Batman v Superman fails in that regard. While the newest trailer perfectly presents what to look forward to by focusing on the characters, its previous trailers seem to give huge and integral scenes away with no context. You have character reveals in Doomsday, city-wide destruction, fight scenes between the two protagonists, and mild confrontations between characters. You’ve pretty much seen the film already and not realised it. But despite this, the film has even more importance as this is essentially the foundation for all future films for DC to even compete with the Marvel cinematic powerhouse planned over the next few years. The success of this film can heavily impact the fanbase for its future installments, and it also has to set the stage for the Justice League. So much is riding on this movie, and I believe this expectation to succeed may be its downfall.

Of course these are just the thoughts and opinions towards a film that no one has seen yet, and it could be the masterpiece that some expect it to be, or the disaster that many see it as already. But until this film hits the cinema screens and the reviews and discussions begin again, these thoughts can place certain people in a bad mindset for this movie. But in time, we will see if these predictions are true or not…