This is a review of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice Ultimate Edition
At its core, Batman v Superman is a film about men who are haunted. Haunted by their pasts and their inability to change or atone for them, haunted by their present actions and the fallout that results or the lack of any real progress, haunted by their inability to grapple with the paradigm shifts present in this new, post-metahuman world. The film also serves as an examination of post-9/11 America and how our collective reaction to the terrorist attack on New York City has changed our view of authority, civil liberties, immigrants and their place in our society, and our consumption of information.
Batman v Superman is the second entry in Warner Bros’ DC Comics Extended Universe (DCEU) and a follow-up to 2013’s Man of Steel. The movie begins with the formative experience in young Bruce Wayne’s life and his first haunting, the event that leads him to eventually becoming the Batman, the murder of his parents as he watches. This traumatic experience leads to Bruce eventually creating a vigilante persona hell-bent on preventing anyone from experience the pain and loss that crime dealt to him. The Batman we see in this film is battle hardened and cynical after years of extrajudicial crime fighting in Gotham with little headway made after years of action. This broken down cynicism comes to head in the scene after the Waynes’ murder, a brilliant re-showing of Man of Steel’s climactic battle in Metropolis between Superman and General Zod, this time through the on-the-ground vantage point of Bruce Wayne. Like the rest of humanity, Bruce Wayne bears witness for the first time to the destructive power of the recently revealed alien eventually nicknamed Superman. Mr. Wayne suffers personal loss during the destruction of the fight as his Wayne Enterprises building in Metropolis collapses, with a beloved employee inside as well as a reminder of his own internal struggle as he saves and comforts a newly orphaned little girl. This scene and its imagery that not so subtly invokes 9/11 New York City, forms the second haunting of Bruce Wayne/Batman (a point conveyed by Director Zack Snyder through the recurring sound of Zod’s planet terraforming World Engine in Bruce Wayne’s nightmares); the realization that a life dedicated to protecting innocents from threats that he seemingly can never make a dent in is now almost utterly irrelevant in the face of a new otherworldly threat that his human skill can even compare to in the slightest. This feeling of inadequacy results in a Batman that embraces a newfound brutality and cruelty as noted by his longtime butler and technical developer Alfred (Jeremy Irons) and one that makes it his mission to neutralize the threat of the Superman.
Against the advisement of his trusted butler and confidant, Wayne slowly formulates a plan to obtain a mineral called Kryptonite to kill the alien because, in his words, if there is even a one percent chance that (Superman) is our enemy, we must take it as an absolute certainty. After what seems like a lifetime of futility in fighting crime in Gotham, of master criminals being locked away only to return, of crime fighters such as his mentee Robin being murdered, of formerly good men turning bad (Harvey Dent/Two-Face reference?), Bruce Wayne says that stopping this all-powerful, potential alien threat could be the one thing he does in his life that actually ends up mattering. This statement provides a further glimpse into the psyche of a broken man who has dedicated his life to fighting for good against evil, to trying to rectify and come to grips with his own painful past and his inability to stop his greatest life tragedy only to feel that he failed as evil continues to triumph (after the 2016 we’ve had, does this movie not sound oddly prescient?) and him seeing this act as a final shot at feeling like his efforts can have the effect he’s been seeking for all of these years.
The second haunted man this film takes a look at is Superman. We first see the superhero during a rescue attempt of his girlfriend Lois Lane. Superman is successful in his attempt but in what remains a constant for his heroism, his bid to save the innocent comes with seeming collateral damage and fallout after a group of rebels at the compound Ms. Lane was being held in die in flames (or does it? More on that later). Following his destructive fight in Metropolis resulting in massive human loss and extensive property damage, Superman has become the symbol of hope that his biological father Jor-El had predicted he’d become on Earth, but the rescue mission in Africa begins to unravel this. Senator June Finch (Holly Hunter) acts as the voice of those humanity that are skeptical of Superman in the film, leading a Senate committee that investigates the appropriateness of his tendency to act unilaterally to save people. In one of the best scenes in comicbook movie history, a montage of news segments asking “Must There Be a Superman?” featuring real life famed pundits such as Charlie Rose, Andrew Sullivan, and Neil deGrasse Tyson plays simultaneously with scenes of Superman’s heroics. The scene is a deeper look into the themes raised in Man of Steel; how would humans react to the realization that they are no longer the preeminent beings in the universe? To being essentially invaded by aliens? What would this portend for the world’s religions? What political fallout results from a being as powerful as Superman intervening in various events worldwide? Two choice quotes from the scene: “Human beings have a horrible track record of following people with great power down paths that have led to huge human atrocities.” And “The fact is, maybe he’s not some sort of a devil OR Jesus character, maybe he’s just a guy trying to do the right thing.” (Again, does this film not sound like a timely examination of our world right now?) as well as a look into the themes of this film; what place does heroism have in the world? Who determines what heroism entails and when it should be utilized? These philosophical, open-ended questions represent an appeal to adulthood and layered, substantive filmmaking that no other comic book franchise delves into or attempts (more on this later).
Following a trip to the Senate to testify before a committee convened to investigate Superman’s actions in Africa helmed by Senator Finch which ends in the Capitol being bombed, Superman, wrecked with guilt and questioning why death seems to follow whenever he tries to do the right thing, goes off in solitude to reflect if his heroism is even worth it. During this journey, he has a vision in which he speaks to his deceased Earthly father Jonathan Kent. During the conversation, Mr. Kent relays a story about his attempt at heroism to save his family farm that also resulted in collateral damage to neighbors down the road. Mr. Kent was also wracked with guilt until he met Superman’s Earthly mother, Martha Kent. By finding something/someone not to live for but to die for, around whom his world revolved, Mr. Kent gained a renewed faith in the goodness of the world. Bad things may occur, and they may test you, but as long as you have something to put your faith in, the good can outweigh the bad. This lesson Superman will carry with him as he too finds a renewed faith in the world through his partner Lois Lane, and follows his Earthly father’s lead from Man of Steel on what it means to sacrifice for your world at the end of the film.
Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg) is the third character to be haunted by his past and the second human to whom the paradigm shift created by the appearance of Superman in Man of Steel has fundamentally changed. The third orphan in the film, Luthor is a rich CEO type who approaches Senator Finch with a plan to help neutralize Superman, should the need ever arise, with the importation and weaponization of a large piece of kryptonite discovered through the efforts of his company Lexcorp. While Luthor presents this as a sort of “just in case” to the Senator, it is slowly revealed that bringing the kryptonite into the United States is just part of a larger plan to kill Superman or at least destroy his reputation before the world. The previously mentioned kidnapping of Lois Lane in Africa and bombing of Congress during Superman’s testimony are the result of two years of planning by Luthor first turn suspicion on Superman and manipulate him into fighting Batman in a lose-lose scenario for the alien. In Superman and his god-like abilities and treatment from the public at large, Luthor sees the manifestation of everything he hates in the man above. During one of the best acted scenes of the year (yes, I went there) Luthor reveals in a monologue to Superman during their first meeting and confrontation that he was abused by his father as a child. While enduring this abuse from his successful, corporate head father, Luthor developed a questioning mentality toward the powerful and God himself. “Do you know the oldest lie in America, Senator? That power can be innocent.” Luthor says to Senator Finch just before his manipulations result in the Congressional bombing. In his abusive father, Luthor was exposed early in life to how the publicly admired and powerful can be loathsome in private unbeknownst to most and shielded from consequence due to said power (Oh look, more timely social commentary from this movie). The abuse also caused Luthor to ponder the philosophical question of the Problem of Evil. To paraphrase, Luthor sums it up thusly; If God is all-powerful, yet allows evil to persist and even flourish at times, then he cannot be all-good. If God is all-good and thus would never allow evil to persist and flourish if he could do something about it, then he cannot be all-powerful. Which brings us to Superman.
Because he is distrustful of the powerful, particularly ones presented to the world as altruistic, Luthor sets out to prove to the world that Superman is not who they believe him to be. Thus setting up his manipulations and plan to have Superman and Batman confront each other with the goal of Superman showing that he is either all-powerful but not all-good by killing Batman or all-good but not all-powerful by losing the fight. Luthor forces Superman to play his game by kidnapping his Earthly mother Martha Kent and threatening to kill her if he does not confront a Batman who has also been manipulated by Luthor through anonymous notes taunting Bruce Wayne for the loss of his Wayne employees during the Battle of Metropolis, mentioned earlier. This film’s characterization of Lex Luthor while having precedent in comic books (see Superman: Birthright) is widely disliked by a general public used to an older, more measured Lex Luthor. While you may prefer his classic portrayal, Jesse Eisenberg’s execution of the Lex Luthor that he was cast to play was nearly flawless and was the best action film villain of 2016 and one of the best comic book movie villains of all-time. Eisenberg executes the vision of a 21st century, young tech tycoon and brings to Luthor a hidden, simmering rage hidden underneath a quirky, spastic millennial that people barely take seriously. His performance is one of my best of the year and is seriously underrated.
And now, an entire paragraph dedicated to the now infamous “Martha” scene. After defeating Superman during their confrontation, Batman prepares to kill him with a handmade kryptonite spear when Superman pleads with him that he’s letting Luthor kill Martha. Martha happens to be Bruce Wayne’s deceased mother’s name as well and Batman goes berserk asking Superman why he said that name. Interspersed with this is a flashback to the death of the Waynes we saw at the beginning of the film and the last word Bruce Wayne’s father ever said, “Martha.” Batman does not kill Superman after Lois Lane rushes in, covers Superman with her body, and informs Batman that Martha is his (Superman’s) mother’s name. People have ragged on this scene as stupid, nonsensical, and Batman and Superman becoming friends because their mothers have the same name. This is not what happened. As discussed previously, this film introduces us to a hardened, cynical, dejected Batman who feels as if his life is without purpose or progress and who is literally haunted by the death of his parents. It’s why we’re presented with their deaths in the opening credits, why we’re constantly visiting their graves, and why it comes up here. Their deaths are central to who Batman is. It’s the ghost he is chasing every night he goes out on the streets of Gotham to fight crime. He could not save his parents and so, he’s dedicated his life to righting the wrong that couldn’t that fateful night, by proxy. This futile obsession fueled by PTSD (those nightmares, the recurring World Engine sound), results in him eventually developing into this; the very person he set out to fight; the person standing over a man who in his dying moments only sought to comfort and save the woman he loved, “Martha.” Batman had become the man who killed his parents. This realization instantly snapped him out of his two-year, post Battle of Metropolis rage and helped to heal the brokenness that years of back and forth with villains had wrought. THAT is what happened. It was a great scene that seems to have only made sense to a handful so, I guess it could have been executed better even though I got it on first viewing (maybe have Superman say “My mother Martha” so people would fully get it?).
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the other major female characters in the film other than Holly Hunter’s June Finch. One of the world’s finest actors Amy Adams reprises her role as Lois Lane and continues the characterization of this iteration of Lois Lane as more than just a damsel in distress. Lane is capable, firm with the men surrounding her in this world, and helps to uncover the plot to frame Superman by Lex Luthor using her Pulitzer Prize winning journalistic skills. Many critics have criticized her Lane as being boring with not much to do, which can be attributed to the theatrical release of the film that removed her pivotal role in uncovering Luthor’s plot to propagandize the world against Superman. Then we have Gal Gadot, whose casting as Wonder Woman in this film was roundly criticized in 2013. While only appearing in the movie for about 10-15 minutes total, Gadot is can’t take your eyes off of her good as the feminist icon in the movie and ended up being one of the only universally liked parts of the film. Her appearance in the third act final battle along with her theme song are already iconic and catapulted her solo film near the top of 2017’s most anticipated movies, even for those that hated Batman v Superman. Perhaps attributable to her modeling background, Gadot is a gifted face actress who would have thrived in the silent film era, capable of conveying so much through mere facial expression.
There are a couple of flaws that I feel if changed would have made the movie better, the biggest being removing the Knightmare and Justice League reveal scenes into the mid or end credits. I know that Zack Snyder wanted to differentiate the film from the MCU, and that the Knightmare scene was a prime opportunity to sell Batman toys with a desert duster jacket but, moving the scenes would have cut down a lot on confusion with the average movie goer, and been a nice surprise at the end that could have improved the experience and helped with reception. I also still wonder if going with a classic characterization of Lex Luthor, played by say Bryan Cranston or Brad Pitt, would have also helped with critical reception, even though I’ve already told you that I loved Eisenberg’s Luthor.
People are always puzzled when I say that I have this movie so high on my list for 2016 (#3 on the year as of this writing) and don’t know why I love it so much. As I have been alluding to throughout this review, I feel that Batman v Superman is an examination of our increasing cynical, 21st century society, particularly in the wake of the United States’ 2016 President election. Coupled with Man of Steel, these movies view the world’s biggest comic book characters through an adult lens and imagines what would happen if these altruistic heroes were who they are in today’s world. Of course a traumatized wealthy orphan who sought out to prevent criminals from doling out the pain he experienced would become beaten down and dejected after a decade or two of attempting to do so in our world. Of course, a world that still can’t handle another being of the same species with different skin pigmentation or national origin couldn’t handle finally knowing the answer to the question are we alone in the universe is not only yes, but those that we share the universe with are more powerful than any human being could ever hope to be. Of course a wealthy orphan who was abused in private with no one to help him would grow up to be a sociopath with a cynical view of the world around him. The reason why I prefer the DCEU to Disney’s Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has been their willingness to delve into greater philosophical and sociological questions about world that can be debated and discussed rather than just CGI, action filled, quip fests that you sit down and eat popcorn while half watching and you forget you saw two months later. I’ve always compared the MCU to Chinese food in that way, you eat and enjoy it then two hours later (months in the films’ case) you’re hungry again. For better or worse, DCEU’s films are debated and discussed a while after their release. I don’t want to make it seem like I hate the MCU, they do appeal to the kid in me that grew up seeing and liking various comic book characters and wanting to just watch them blow stuff up and look cool. But, the DCEU treats viewers as the adults they should be now, no matter how that challenges them.
I also love Zack Snyder’s attention to detail as a director, particularly visually through the use of easter eggs and allegories and allusions, for example the presence of horses whenever death is near (biblical reference to the pale horse ridden by Death) or the camera focusing only on Lex Luthor and the “S” on Superman’s chest in the frame during Luthor’s monologue on why dislikes Superman, a visual cue that Luthor is describing what Superman means to him. There is something to be said for a comic book film that begins with a shot that not only serves as a summation of the narrative arc and motivation of its co-lead, but also as an homage to Citizen Kane (pictured below). These videos go into detail than I can through text. The connective tissue from Man of Steel and Batman v Superman along with the detailed visuals really work to reward the viewer and again, treat us like adults capable of paying attention.
Batman v Superman is also one of the few films of our current era to reflect on post-9/11 America and what our nation has become as a result of that moment. The world which the film inhabits is eerily similar to our own; dealing with the aftermath of a paradigm shifting disaster in the middle of an American metropolis (no pun intended) at the hands of a group of outsiders, in this case Kryptonians, whose survivors are then left to deal with the blame and resulting mistrust and scorn in the wake of the calamity, Superman in this case. As a result, this immigrant son of Kansas and Krypton is left to contemplate his standing as a citizen of Earth whose origins are elsewhere, and what that means for who he is. Simultaneously, the country’s law enforcement, Batman in this case, struggles to understand their place and purpose in this new world following the devastation they failed to stop, their post traumatic stress and pain turn into anger and prejudice toward the other, Superman. Bruce Wayne even evokes Dick Cheney’s infamous “one percent doctrine” when describing the threat that Superman represents to the world. The resulting excessive use of force turns what was seen as a force for justice into the very thing it had once vowed to fight. Manipulating all of this strife is a billionaire technocrat, fermenting hatred against the other through a manipulative public relations campaign, one Lex Luthor. This allegory for our own world post-9/11 and our treatment of Muslims, the critique of authority and its tactics during the war on terror, and inflammatory rhetoric funded and inflamed by the influential makes Batman v Superman one of the most topical and impactful pieces of cinema of its era.
It is no wonder, then, that audience reception of this film so closely resembled the reaction one has when forced to face a mirror and analyze their faults. Batman v Superman is an uncomfortable reflection of the direction America has chosen coming out of the smoldering ruins of One World Trade Center and what this country became. This was best displayed eight months following the film’s release when the country elected a real life billionaire that stirred up hatred against the other and used it for his own gain. In that regard, Batman v Superman was both an analysis of what was in America and what would eventually be.
It has been reported that Warner Bros. will course correct their DCEU franchise and make it more like the MCU with straightforward, simple plots and more jokes. This would be a shame as a move toward more adult content will help comic book movies to avoid the inevitable bursting of their bubble until much later. If everything becomes style over substance, jokey MCU fare, the comic book movie era will be done within five years, max. And I fully believe that when a retrospective on the era is done, critics will revisit Batman v Superman and Man of Steel and wonder why they were so down on these adult oriented films while lauding the MCU output when the former was clearly the path toward comic book movies evolving and lasting a little while longer. To make the point of how relevant this film is to our current society one final time, as we have seen since November 8th, what the general public desires and what’s good for the general public don’t always align.
Images: Warner Bros.
