Batman Vs Superman Review

Back in 2013, Zack Snyder's Superman reboot Man Of Steel stirred up plenty of controversy with its gritty, dour take on one of the worlds most beloved superheros. The film's version of the man from Krypton, as played by Henry Cavill, is noble and powerful, but removed from the people he's protecting. He struggles with the memory of his adoptive father Jonathan Kent (Kevin Costner), who advises him to hide his abilities, then chooses to die rather than let Superman publicly save him. Snyder's Superman is haunted by his own powers, while simultaneously blind to the harm those powers cause. That comes to a head when he fights fellow Kryptonian General Zod (Michael Shannon) in the middle of downtown Metropolis, destroying half the city and undoubtedly killing untold numbers of civilians. And ultimately, to some fans' horror, he kills Zod to prevent him from doing further harm...

The Sequel Batman Vs Superman opens with a graphic and horrifying sequence showing the Superman/Zod fight from a ground's-eye view, confirming all the collateral terror it caused. But i cant help but feel Snyder has simply taken his criticism from Man of Steel and has instead doubled down on the grimness, the ugliness, and the indifference to human life. 

The script channels its Man Of Steel reactions through bratty rich kid Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg) and sullen rich man Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck), a.k.a. Batman, both of whom resent Superman's failures, envy his power, and fear his potential for destruction. It's unsettling how closely the supposed hero and the villain resemble each other in their thinking and their actions: Both decide that the only solution is to humble Superman, break his will, and then kill him. Meanwhile, the American government also reacts to the events of Man Of Steel, with memorials, hearings, and back-door deals with Lex. And as Superman continues to save lives, and to be blamed when lives are lost around him, both the public controversy and the private vendettas get more heated.

There are plenty of strong, specific themes running through Batman v Superman, about the responsibilities of power, who can be trusted with it, and whether it corrupts absolutely. Both titular heroes must resist a system that would tie their hands and end their usefulness, in the name of making everyone equal. 

One of the looser ends is Lex Luthor, Eisenberg plays as a manic, lighter version of Heath Ledger's Joker from The Dark Knight, all nervy autistic tendencies, alarming tittering, and nihilistic challenges to the world. This Lex lacks the Joker's sense of menace, or even focus; his sneakers, shaggy hair, and squeaky voice are overtly non-threatening, even when he's in the middle of a threat. 
At the same time, he's meant to be a brilliant manipulator, Lex likes forcing other people into conflict to make his philosophical points. But the writers can't seem to settle on a motive or a method for him. Every scene feels like a roulette-wheel spin to decide which Lex we'll get: malicious or noble, power-hungry or anarchic, selfish or altruistic, xenophobically fearing Superman or desperately envying him. A far cry from the Lex that most people associate with. A mis-cast in my opinion. 

The film's Batman goes in the opposite direction. As Batman, he's a sadistic savage who tortures criminals by branding his bat symbol into their skins, and has no compunctions about mowing down adversaries en masse with high-powered artillery fire. The world's concerns over Superman are largely irrational responses to something they don't understand and can't control. Superman's concern over Batman, on the other hand, is a reasonable response to a psychopath with an endless supply of weaponry and rage.This is actually a great set-up with most people genuinely split down the middle on which side they support. I for one, am a big fan of the fresh approach Affleck has brought to the role, this has always been a dark saga from the outset. Why not make batman, the darkest, the most bad-ass version to date. I mean at some point in the future, this Batman is gonna have to go toe to toe with some of DC's most powerful villains. 

The frustrating thing about Gun-Wielding Torture Batman is that he's a match for Superman in combat, but no where else. Batman's strength has traditionally been his intellect, but here, he leaves the detective work to Lois, blunders into a broad and obvious trap, and lets himself be manipulated in clumsy ways. 

There are certainly some brilliant plot touches in the film, like the outcome of a Senate hearing on the Superman violence, which both brings morality and what it means to be a hero on that kind of scale. Or when Superman faces an enemy more powerful than Zod, and starts by taking him straight up into space, proving he actually did learn something from his final Man Of Steel battle. The film is largely humourless and airless, without any of the banter that has made so many of the recent Marvel-derived movies compelling. Once in a while, Batman v Superman makes a direct, clear, straightforward choice, and the results can be satisfying.

But the most satisfying part of the film is the one that expresses all the things it isn't, and should have been. When Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot), finally turns up, abruptly and without back story, she becomes the film's highlight simply by being less miserable and morally compromised than anyone else onscreen. She, at least, maintains some mystery and dignity. And she's allowed to be the film's one pure hero, fighting solely on humanity's behalf, without questioning whether humanity is worthy, or how the fight might change her, or how it serves her own pathological needs. In a movie where too much of the conflict comes from anger and ignorance instead of necessity, she apparently has the wisdom and discernment everyone else is lacking: she only shows up for the battle that actually needs to be fought. Batman v Superman could have used much more of that heroism, and less of its grasping, sloppy, confused attempts to question what being a hero really means. 

Marvel 1: DC 0 

Overall Rating 7.5/10

Deadpool Review

Deadpool is not just reinventing the superhero film genre, it is making it better!

Having a new Ryan Reynolds film, and that film being Deadpool gives me a feeling like an inverse papercut. It's like snuggling up to a lavender scented puppy tasting of angel delight surrounded by a pillow fort at John Legends house. This film truly is a delight for the senses, capturing the hearts of its viewers by the millions, smashing previous box office records for the month of February. Having said that, the film it beat to number 2, Fifty Shades of Grey is currently in contention for a number of Golden Rasberry Awards. This film is Fox's strong and unequivocal answer to those who question them for not selling the rights to some of Marvels more illustrious characters back to them.

It really has been a while since Reynolds has done anything notable for a number of years, maybe that's why it feels so good? It sure has been a while since his "glory" days of Van Wilder: Party Liason.
It has taken me quite a while to figure out what made this film such a delight to watch. When I saw the test footage for Deadpool drop last year, I genuinely got excited, a proper spine-tingler. I don't care who dropped it. Ryan Reynolds, I'm looking at you. Then I realised it is the long road to making this movie that has given it the appropriate amount of character necessary to pull the dust cover off the superhero genre then graffiti all over it. Parallels can be drawn with other films such as Avatar, Apocolypse now and The Shining to name but a few that have also shared in production issues, only to tear up the box office years later.

This film essentially is an inside joke aimed at the comic book industry and the global fanaticism surrounding modern superhero films. Oh and Hugh Jackman, lots of Hugh jokes. Poor Wolverine. *Sad Face* It aims to satisfy the devout comic-crazed nuts, the people who have followed the sardonic, self-aware merc with a mouth since his conception in 1991. But you really don't have to be an expert on the source material to keep pace with the story because there really is no pretense with Deadpool, no deeper meaning other than having hyperfluorescent, attention deficient, unadulterated fun.

In both the comics and the new movie, Deadpool arrives on our screens with one purpose to exist. To point out how lame superheroes can be whilst they turn the baddies into human sushi, and he has a point, to all of Marvels credit for the phenomenon that is the Marvel cinematic universe, Captain America still has the personality of my pencil sharpener. They even used the phrase "political thriller" in the marketing in the build up to Captain America: Winter Soldier.  Conversely, director Tim Miller doesn't have any pressure on him to visualise how "deep" Deadpool is. In fact, the marketing for Deadpool involved a romantic rom-com style trailer for boyfriends to show their other halves in desperation not to be dragged into the latest pile of dog shit with Zach Efron in this Valentines Day.

Miller instead has embraced the kind of hero the audience can get behind, an anti-hero if you will. They unabashedly embrace everything that modern superhero films seem to be doing their best to tone down, or balance out - ridiculous violence, wry one-liners and a hero that isn't bound by the disappearing line of morality that is creeping into bigger budgeted superhero films. Fans of Deadpool know the character as a rude, lewd figure who has completely and utterly shattered the 4th wall of cinema and routinely exploits his status, this movie has completely captured that essence about him.

But even though it acts as a self-parody, that doesn't mean it does not function as a superhero film on its own because it does, so very well. Objectively looking at its plot, for example, provides the evidence that it could well act as a reconstruction of a classic superhero film rather than the deconstruction I have rabbited on about.

Deadpool, a.k.a Wade Wilson (Reynolds), is a highly skilled assassin who has no direction in his life; he doesn't care about anything else apart from his next hit. Everything changes when he finds true love in the form of Vanessa played by Morena Baccarin - but then life hits hard with his diagnosis of late stage cancer. When his newfound powers acquired from rigorous torture kick in and disfigure him into "an avocado fucked by another avocado" he seeks vengeance on Ajax (Ed Skrein), the man who he believes can reverse the change.

If I have one issue with the film it is to do with the supporting cast. Deadpool's fellow superpowered heroes in Colossus (Stefan Kapicic) and Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Brianna Hildebrand) mostly stay out of his way and intervene when necessary for the story to advance. Providing some magnitude to the final fight, and to obviously set up the subsequent X-Force movie this Deadpool movie has reportedly set in motion. T.J.Miller is effective in providing comic relief in a heavily comedy based film, which if I'm honest is very hard to do. But saying that he is pretty much playing the same character he does in HBO's Silicon Valley. Ajax, the movie's villain is fairly sinister and fills the hole that the villain must do, but his super power is not feeling pain.
Which compared to some of Marvel's more illustrious villains: Dr. Doom, Ultron, Magneto etc... makes him look just a bit undercooked.

It would also have been nice for a film that vocally wants to challenge the currently accepted view of superhero films to present Morena Baccarin's Vanessa as more than your standard superhero girlfriend/ damsel in distress. In the opening sequences, we see her she is winning us over as a real character, its a shame from there on out she is either comforting or having sex with Wade.

The films budget is also exposed quite heavily, with limited set locations throughout the film, smaller fight scenes and less dazzling super-powers. but what can you expect from a film that had about a third of the budget of Marvels least expensive blockbuster Ant-Man.

But overall, Deadpool's irreverence and don't give a fuck attitude towards a well-established genre is admirable and plucky considering its upbringing. Deadpool isn't the Avengers, but then again he isn't supposed to be, he's a one-man show, and this man deserves one more show, or at the least one more cock joke.

Rating: 8.5/10