“Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” sets overwhelmingly heavy tone

Make+sure+to+grab+an+extra+large+popcorn%2C+because+the+drawn+out+battle+scenes+and+forced+contention+between+Batman+and+Superman+make+for+an+extremely+long+film.+

Photo Courtesy of DC Entertainment

Make sure to grab an extra large popcorn, because the drawn out battle scenes and forced contention between Batman and Superman make for an extremely long film.

DC Comics’ new and highly anticipated movie falls short of the greatness it sought to achieve. In “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” two of America’s greatest heroes are pitted against each other in what was supposed to be one of this year’s biggest superhero movies, but instead turned into the perfect example of everything wrong with DC’s movies.

The film starts off in a world still dealing with the consequences from the 2013 movie “Man of Steel.” Seeing “Man of Steel” before watching “Batman v Superman,” would be beneficial because “Batman v Superman” uses the last fight scene between Superman and General Zod from “Man of Steel” as their way of connecting Batman and Superman.

Batman’s Wayne Enterprise building and some of the city was destroyed during that last fight and the viewers watch Bruce Wayne as he stumbles through the rubble and sees the devastation the fight caused. This is one of the main motivations for why Batman hates Superman; he views Superman as the cause of the city’s destruction. This first scene looked really good on the big screen, but ultimately left a huge problem.

Anyone going to see this movie should lower his or her expectations, because that is the only chance that they might be pleasantly surprised.

— Ingrid Lundberg

The motivation for the hatred between the two isn’t convincing. The audience is supposed to believe that Batman hates Superman because he destroyed a city, but the audience also knows that Superman destroyed a city to save the world. As a result, Batman’s hatred toward Superman doesn’t make sense. The first hour and a half is supposed to build the anger between the two, but instead it just turns into something annoying: Superman doesn’t like Batman’s version of justice, and Batman thinks that Superman can’t be trusted. It’s not an interesting or complicated difference of opinion; instead it seems the only thing that is preventing the heroes from getting along is their super strengthened egos.

This brings me to the second problem: the villain Lex Luther (played by Jesse Eisenberg). I don’t know if it was the choice of casting or the script, but something was not right. His character was extremely over acted, and didn’t fit into the flow of the movie. He was the master puppeteer bringing Batman and Superman into a fight that he called “God versus man,” but honestly, he was an annoying, weird, and geeky tech- type person that just kept popping up causing useless trouble.

There’s one scene towards the end of the film that was supposed to be serious, but his acting was so over the top, the audience just couldn’t take him seriously. Like at all. It seemed like the movie was trying to go for a Joker-esque vibe, but completely failed, because Lex Luther isn’t the Joker.  They shouldn’t have been trying to push that style in the character.

The third and final problem with the movie was the tone. After I walked out of the theater, I wholeheartedly expected it to be dark and raining outside, because that’s how the movie made me feel. I think that is the biggest difference between DC’s and Marvel’s movies: DC’s are dark, brooding, and lack emotion. I can’t think of one joke that was cracked throughout the whole movie, whereas Marvel can find a balance between the humor and angst.

Don’t go rush out to see this movie. The movie isn’t terrible; it’s just doesn’t meet up to the expectations and hype it was getting before it was released. Anyone going to see this movie should lower his or her expectations, because that is the only chance that they might be pleasantly surprised.