After the success that was "Man of Steel", Warner Bros continued on with Snyder's five-film plan with the second film being one of the most hyped-up releases of that year with the promise of Superman finally fighting Batman on screen as well as add pieces to set-up the Justice League film. While the film still managed to perform well in the box office despite the studio's disappointment, the critics and fans were even more negative than before, which will cause a massive shift in the DCEU's plan and the films that will come after. Were fans and critics still wrong about the film as they were with "Man of Steel" or were they completely justified? Well, I will say that the story is as unbalanced as the critical praise and slander. Two years after Superman saved the world from Zod, the general public is still unsure of Superman as a super-powered being who acts above the law. Two men are in this category: Lex Luthor, a young tech billionaire who is fearful of Superman's status and power, and Bruce Wayne/Batman, a seasoned vigilante who is beginning to lose his humanity and morals after many years of his duty. Luthor, knowing Batman's violent methods and hate towards the Kryptonian, plans to fuel the fire between the two with a failsafe plan while Lois Lane tries to take the maniacal villain down. Along the way, Bruce learns of other super-powered beings including the mysterious Wonder Woman. If you can't tell, there's a lot happening in this movie as it tries to continue the story of "Man of Steel" while setting up "Justice League" while adapting several popular storylines from the comics as a result. While it manages to keep me hooked by the sheer amount of events and plot turns and payoffs, it's beyond understandable why people can just not get invested easily when so many narrative threads are interweaving with each other, regardless if it works or not. The tone is once again carried over from the previous film and, yet again, people complained that there were no jokes and it was devoid of hope and levity. Again, that's the point as Snyder wanted Superman as a character to become more and more like the comic counterpart in every continuation. Considering that the world is afraid and critical of his actions, it makes sense that this isn't going to be a film that the whole family will enjoy as it, again, grounds the setting to be extremely realistic.
Henry Cavill as Clark Kent/Superman is still good as the last son of Krypton and he does have some depth when he begins to question his reputation and whether or not being Superman was even worth it. However, I do think that he had a much better performance in the first film as he had far more emotional range and scenes, considering the nature of that story. Ben Affleck is legendary as Bruce Wayne/Batman as he portrays the character who is losing his humanity and morals after decades of misery and the recent encounter with Superman that has caused extreme collateral damage. Fans complain that this Batman shouldn't kill or use guns, but that's the point of this interpretation as well as homaging some of Frank Miller's stories. This Batman is so disillusioned that he won't mind if he kills in proxy, so it will need someone like Superman to challenge him and one day inspire him to do better. Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor is the butt of the joke when it comes to this film. From his over-the-top performance to his complicated plan, people just question why he's nothing like the comics at all. Well, that's because Snyder was going for a more realistic approach to the character. Lex Luthor today will be a young, tech billionaire figure who wants to hold as much power and status as possible while using his eccentric quirks and personality to basically ridicule others. It's basically Eisenberg playing an evil Mark Zuckerberg. I will admit that perhaps a more comic-accurate Luthor would have been better and beloved, but I appreciate that Snyder wanted to do different things for his adaptations. From then on, there's an all-star of supporting characters, both returning and brand-new. From Amy Adam's Lois Lane, Diane Lane's Martha Kent, Laurence Fishbourne's Perry White, to Jeremy Irons's Alfred Pennyworth, Holly Hunter's June Finch, Scoot McNairy's Wallace Keefe, and Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman, the list goes on. Much like the first film, the vast number of characters do lead to some that aren't as developed or interesting. From the multiple side villains, the witness that lies about Superman's morality, Finch, and even Lois, these characters do tend to get the short end of the stick. But the characters that do have the longer end manage to make the most out of their characters such as Alfred, Wonder Woman, Martha, Perry, etc. However, the real star of the film is very much Affleck's performance as Batman as he not only has the most character development and exploration, but it made a lasting impact for being perhaps the best Batman onscreen.
Zack Snyder returns with a far more different approach for the sequel. Rather than having the film feel somewhat grounded and feel in perspective of the viewer as an ordinary person, Snyder goes much more on his slick, visual style while reducing that visual perspective to have a more comic-book epic feel to it. While it mostly works, Snyder tends to overuse a lot of nighttime scenes in this film that makes things a bit hard to see unless it's illuminated by lasers, lens flares or fire. I get that he's trying to focus the film more on Batman and make it feel like a Batman film for the most part, but it's a bit jarring going from the well-lit daylight settings from "Man of Steel" to this. The cinematography by Larry Fong still offers some of the handheld camera movements, but in a far more different way. Instead of the entire film having that camera movement, only the scenes involving Batman and Luthor offer this aesthetic to visualize their humanity and scattered mind, while action sequences and scenes with Superman are shot with far more flair, stableness and spectacle with pans, angles, etc. Hans Zimmer returns to score alongside Junkie XL as Zimmer's orchestrated themes clash with XL's energetic and intense beats to emphasize the expanding world of the DCEU as Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman get introduced. Personally, Zimmer's offerings by himself during "Man of Steel" is far better than the tracks played here despite some good dramatic tracks. The visual effects aren't as polished as Superman's solo outing, but considering the higher use of action in the film, it's forgivable. The only effect that I'm not a fan of is just the design of Doomsday, but that's explained by Snyder to a clone of the creature rather than the original. The action sequences however rival the previous film and even surpasses it in some regards. While the action in "Man of Steel" is fantastic, the issue is that it only really begins during the third act and they feel similar to one another, despite how awesome they can be. Here, the action sequences are a bit better paced and they all have a different flair to each of them. From Bruce's perspective of the destruction of Metropolis, to the Batmobile chase, the one-track Knightmare sequence, the titular fight itself, the warehouse brawl and the climatic battle with Doomsday, the action sequences are riveting to the senses with great use of camerawork, sound and motifs to have each one distinct themselves from one another. Overall, Snyder takes a different and welcome approach to the follow-up, despite a bit of a downgrade in areas.
"Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" is a very good continuation and stepping stone of the DCEU as a second film, despite having to deal with some drawbacks as a result. The story can get too hectic at times regarding the various narratives and characters, some side characters tend to feel pointless or unmemorable, and Snyder's overuse of the dark aesthetic and nighttime scenes can be overkill and hard to see at times. Aside from these criticisms though, there aren't any huge problems I can find, unless you want to include countless silly nitpicks from haters. The story, despite its bloated nature, still offers engaging and satisfying moments, the tone is appropriate and continues the gritty realism that was established in the previous film, Cavill is still good as Superman, Affleck is brilliant as a unique take on Batman, Eisenberg is having fun with his version of Luthor, the large side cast is filled with memorable characters and fantastic performances, Fong's cinematography feels more in character for the director's vision and being in nature to some of the onscreen characters, the score by Zimmer and XL is a unique collaboration that offers some decent tracks, the CGI is still solid even as things get hectic onscreen, the action sequences are extremely unique and visceral in regards to their identity and structure, and Snyder's directing is still very competent as he blends both the established realism of the first film with his famous cinematic style and scope. It's not a film for everyone, but I find it hard to believe that anyone would find this boring or unwatchable.
Verdict: 8/10. Great film, but has a few issues that allow many to overexpose. Still worth a watch as "Zack Snyder's Justice League" comes out this week!
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