FILMRECENSION - Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice
Återigen blir det här på engelska. Vet inte varför, men jag har börjat skriva mer och mer debattinlägg på engelska. Jag antar att det är nånting som både ni och jag får stå ut med. ^^
*SPOILERALERT*
This movie is very confusing and has a fair amount of plot holes. Normally, plot holes can be debated and dismissed if minor, but some things in this movie just sticks with me.
For instance, how kryptonite in gaseous form appears to be as effective against Superman as a cigarette is to a non-smoker.. sure, you cough a few times but within a couple of minutes, you're fine again. Yes.. it wears off!
And as kryptonite is supposed to be more or less as poisonous to Superman as nuclear radiation is to ordinary humans, we can only deduce by that logic that the effects of harmful radiation exposure to the average homo sapiens usually wears off as well.
I'll be sure to notify radiation-sickness wards around the world.
What else? Well, Gotham and Metropolis should NOT be that close. I know full-well that some sources state them to be very close, usually in the same general region, but in my opinion they should not be twin-cities.
My biggest beef with this is the fact that there would be no need for Batman if Superman was on active duty in the same immediate area. Many want to argue that the bat is "on the night-shift" because Superman has to sleep, but I'm sorry, that's an argument I will never accept because the very idea of Superman and Batman dishing out their own brands of justice in the same city raises way too many questions.
On the map below you can clearly see that the cities are supposed to be located a fair distance from each other, separated by a huge body of water that even manages to contain an island. This is acceptable, mainly because the indicated distance deduced by the apparent size of the city-markers put them out of sight-range. And anything so remote would not be considered the "backyard" for either superhero; the water which separates the two cities would be akin to a significantly large lake or an oceanic strait.
However, the subsequent images of Luthor watching the Batsignal over Gotham from his Lexcorp headquarters in Metropolis and Lois pointing to Gotham from the roof of the Daily Planet show them to be so close that they could almost be mistaken for neighboring boroughs of a single metropolitan city just across a local bay; i.e Staten Island and Brooklyn.
Its inconsistencies like this that annoy me.
You want more? Okay.. what exactly is Batman's motivation for wanting to kill Superman? When Batman fights Superman he displays such anger and hate which I have difficulty finding a reason for.
I mean, what..? Does he believe that Superman was the culprit behind the bombings? No?
Is he somehow convinced that Superman is evil because a future version of the Flash warns him about Superman? A vision which turns out to BE. A. DREAM!
Does he in some way feel responsible for the innocent bystanders that are hurt and as such is triggered by the message that he "let his family die" because it somehow parallels current events? That's an incredible stretch.
And even so.. why hold Superman responsible? Yes, shit blows up around him, but he has superpowers! Of course his abilities are hazardous to surrounding areas. But his INTENTIONS are good.
And that's just it. The most damaging prospect of all is that Bruce Wayne; the "world's greatest detective", can't see three fingers in front of him. He never stops to think about who Superman is, what his intentions are and why he does the things he does; he just labels Superman a danger to society without delving deeper into the situation. I would imagine that a mind which operates on a genius-level like Bruce Wayne would at least consider all the facts and gather every bit of information on the man-god before trying to kill him.
And I have to say.. during that fight when Batman brings up their parents... it almost seems like he is acting out some sort of childish jealousy.
"Why did your parents give you a good childhood while mine left me?"
"Why are you looked up to while I'm feared?"
I kind of see what they were aiming for, that they wanted to show his more human emotions, but come on.... this is Batman! Twenty years of pummeling criminals into dust would've acted as therapy and at least softened any residual anxiety in connection with his parents deaths. If anything, the Robin-death would've been more current, but that hasn't even got anything to do with it.
I also didn't really like the fact that Superman has to be coerced into fighting Batman; it just felt so cheap.
When I think "Batman vs Superman", I imagine them going all-out, with both of them feeling completely justified in taking a stand against the other. In this fight you could clearly tell that Superman was pulling his punches.
And would someone please tell me what this is supposed to be? Why is Wonderwoman SMILING in the middle of a losing battle?
I mean, granted; it does make her look hot.. but was it their intention to make her over-the-top sexy in a completely inappropriate situation?
And another thing, doesn't Superman look an awful lot like Christopher Mcdonald in this close up-shot??
One thing I did like though, is how this movie makes use of the rarely-touched-upon fact that the mothers of both superheroes have the same first name. Its something that I have mentioned several times in online-discussions, and the fact that many fans have not realized it has always perplexed me. But in this movie it is touched upon quite cleverly and is ultimately what turns the situation.
In conclusion, this movie was a mixed bag. What it had going for it was the fact that it was fairly interesting at its core as I genuinely wanted to follow the story because it dealt with relevant topics, such as how Superman should deal with negative backlash.
However, unfortunately, I also found it to be quite boring at times. I found myself engrossed in youtube videos on several occassions (or sites trying to explain the plot holes in the movie); hitting that pause button over and over, needlessly prolonging and chopping up the experience.
The movie took sooo long before it gained any momentum, mostly presenting us with exposition and mundane scenes, before FINALLY getting to the good stuff. The complete edition is THREE FUCKIN' HOURS!!! Now, I know exposition and causality are necessary and indeed, I welcome it, but this movie just went overboard with it and coupled that fact with the slow pace and way too arduous runtime; which was a sure-fire way to grind down all interest.
Så.. vad ska den få för betyg? ....
Jag har märkt att dom filmer som jag recenserar tenderar att få ganska låga betyg, och det har inte riktigt gått upp för mig varför förrän nu. Jag börjar undra om det inte är så att jag har mycket lättare att skriva ner vad jag har att klaga på än när jag faktiskt tycker en film är upplyftande.
Case in point: X-Men Days of Future Past.
Den filmen såg jag relativt nyligen och den satte alla kriterier perfekt; jag tyckte den var en helt underbar upplevelse och det var nervkittlande att få se alla gamla skådespelare komma tillbaka för att göra sina gamla karaktärer igen och kombinera dom med dom nya från First Class. Och slutet var det perfekta slutet... det var bara några saker som jag noterade.. (återigen, saker som är negativa tenderar jag att notera medan positiva saker lätt absorberas av mig utan vidare begrundan), men inget som gjorde att filmen ens var "bra". Den var "toppen"!
Och ändå så har jag inte skrivit nånting om den...
Det här får bli en läxa för mig. Jag måste lära mig att faktiskt ge credit where credit's due.
Men låt oss inte spåra ur fullständigt nu. Åter till betyget för Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice.
BETYG:
Om jag sa att Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice var en bra film så skulle jag ljuga. Men den är ingen total flopp heller. Jag såg den utökade versionen; folk som såg den kortare biograf-versionen verkar dock ha fått en ÄNNU sämre upplevelse (stackare)... så jag står och väger lite här, vilka aspekter ska faktorera in i ekvationen?
I slutändan drar förvirringarna, plothålen och det sega tempot ner betyget avsevärt mer än det hade behövts. Men på samma gång så håller storyn bra nog och jag är inte besviken lika mycket som jag är fysiskt utmattad; ärligt, med alla pauser jag gjorde vart filmen säkert mer än fyra timmar lång (!!!!!!!!)
Filmen lyckas åtminstone pressa sig upp till tre hela dödsstjärnor av fem möjliga.
Bättre än TMNT Out of the Shadows, men det säger inte mycket. Dawn of Justice är godkänd som bäst. Jag väntar mig mera av uppföljaren...
