Film Review: “Batman v. Superman,” disappoints critics, delights movie-goers

By NICCO BARATTO

Many of the critics believe that “Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice” didn’t live up to expectations. However, as a movie viewer with not much knowledge pertaining to the DC Comics, I enjoyed watching this film. The reason that I decided to watch it was mainly due to its popularity. It seemed like a movie that everyone should see, like “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.”

Financially, it is clearly on top of the box office making over two times its $250 million budget, just three weeks since its release.

The film, directed by Zack Snyder, is a follow up film to “Man of Steel.” It stars Ben Affleck as Batman, Henry Cavill as Superman and Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman.

The antagonist in the film, Lex Luthor, played by Jesse Eisenberg, is determined to defeat Superman by manipulating Batman. As Superman and Batman start to view each other as a threat, Lex Luthor sets the stage for a deadly battle featuring Man vs. God, as Lex Luthor put it.

Batman, being suspicious of Superman as a threat to mankind, wants to acquire a material called kryptonite, which happens to be Superman’s one and only weakness. He breaks into Lex Luthor’s Corporation (LexCorp) and steals it. Superman is faced with a test to save Martha, his mother, who Lex Luther threatens to kill if Superman doesn’t kill Batman.

The turning point in the film is when Batman realizes that Lex Luthor set up this battle when Superman tells him in what could’ve been his last words, “save Martha.” Batman has a flashback of when his parents were murdered by a mugger. Martha also happens to be the name of Batman’s mother. Batman departs to rescue Martha, while Superman confronts Luthor. At this point, Luthor goes crazy and unleashes Doomsday, a monster made from his DNA, forcing Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman to join forces.

I won’t spoil the ending, but let’s just say that there will be plenty more movies in the future. There have been talks of a Justice League movie, which is planned to be released in November 2017. For those interested, there is a complete DC and Marvel comic book movie lineup posted online. They have at least five planned for each year from now until 2020. Wonder Woman, Flash and Aquaman are all slated to have their own solo films and come together for a Justice League movie.

There have been many mixed reviews about this film. While the fans are applauding it, critics have found issues with the acting and the plot. However, if you want a decent film to launch the summer of superhero movies, this might be perfect for you.

The only issue I had was that it seemed a little slow in the first half, but the second half definitely made up for it. Given its action-packed plot, it is a film that you won’t want to miss. Even if you aren’t much of a superhero fan, I would still recommend it for your next movie.