Some people
might say I was crazy to be excited about the release of Batman v Superman on digital download, but I’ve never pretended to
be sane!
So yes, I
bought the film yesterday, the day of its release, and watched it last night.
I’m pleased, and a little surprised, to say that I enjoyed the film more the
second time around. I watched the Ultimate Edition, which has an added 30
minutes or so of extra content and takes the running time up to almost 3 hours
(!), although to be honest my memory of the film wasn’t good enough to be able
to pinpoint most of these additions. The only bits that I knew for sure were
added were the scenes of Jena Malone playing Carrie Kelly.
The same
problems are still there, that’s for sure. The film is baggy and poorly
constructed, more like a patchwork of scenes than a properly coherent film.
It’s far too dour: everybody is thoroughly miserable, and the film is shot in
such a grainy, grey palette that HD offers little, if any, benefit. And of
course, Batman is still a gun-crazed killer, which is a different, valid take
on the character, albeit one that’s completely inconsistent with the Batman of
the comic books, who never kills and despises guns. There are moments that
don’t make any sense. The film can’t seem to make up its mind whether Batman is
a well-established vigilante (there is a reference to him having fought crime
for twenty years, and there are nods to past run-ins with the Joker) or not
(Clark Kent doesn’t know who Bruce Wayne is, nor does he seem to have any prior
knowledge of Batman). The action scenes aren’t amazing either, particularly the
desert battle in the post-apocalyptic future, where Batman successfully takes
on one attacker at a time even though it looks like he can barely move in his
bulky suit. And that training montage with Bruce Wayne hitting a big tyre with
a sledge-hammer? Come on!
However, the
disappointment I felt wasn’t at the same level as when I left the cinema all
the way back in April, probably because I’d already gone through the motions of
fan-boy disillusionment after my first viewing. I simply enjoyed what was
there, rather than being annoyed at what was missing. Jeremy Irons’ Alfred is
brilliant. Jesse Eisenberg’s Lex Luthor is over-the-top, but a thoroughly
modern villain. The internal conflict felt by Superman felt real. Furthermore, I’m
much more likely to watch Batman v
Superman than Man of Steel (neither
film is as good as the Batman flicks made by Christopher Nolan, but nor as they
anywhere near as bad as some would have you believe.)
If, like me,
you are a Bat-fan, then I would certainly recommend giving Batman v Superman another go. You might not ever love it, but you
probably won’t dislike it as much.
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