In recent years, 'Superhero Movies' have saturated the market, think about it- two Spider-Man reboots, which equals to five films. Five X-Men movies, which could be categorized with another movie -'The Good, The Bad and The Ugly', then of course we have 'The Wolverine' movies, I still loathe 'Origins' so much. Then of course we have two 'Avengers' ensemble movies, three 'Iron-Man' movies, two 'Captain America' Movies, two 'Thor' movies, three 'Fantastic Four' movies-which no one seems to get right. I can't even remember if Edward Norton did two 'Hulk' movies. (The husband reminded me that Norton did one and Eric Bana did the other one) Of course we also have the surprise hit 'Guardians of the Galaxy', 'Ant-Man' and the record breaking 'Deadpool'. All of these Marvel properties have created a new genre of movies something kids can follow and enjoy and something the adults don't have to wrap their head around too much.
Then of course we have the DC Properties which have been releasing 'Batman' and 'Superman' movies way back in the 70's and 80's. Kids may not remember an Adonis like Christopher Reeve as Superman in 1978 or that Gene Hackman played Lex Luthor once. Of course who can forget that even before Micheal Keaton's Oscar-winning performance as "Birdman" he once out on the cape and cowl in a memorable 1992 'Batman Returns' with the equally talented Danny Devito as The Penguin and Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman. Keaton also took on "Batman" in the 1989 movie, with Jack Nicholson as "The Joker". Of course, we have Nolan's 'The Dark Knight' trilogy, offering impressive performances from Christian Bale as Batman and of course, Heath Ledger as The Joker.
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| The Trinity: Superman and Batman are joined by Wonder Woman in her cinematic debut. |
So you see, there is a whole lot of history here, which makes Batman V Superman more than just what critics have been strongly suggesting. When you look at the grand scheme of things, the film has been a long time coming, with two of the most iconic superheroes finally coming face to face, not to mention the debut of Wonder Woman, after more than 70 years.
The movie wasn't perfect, there were story telling flaws, plot holes and a pacing problem (I gave it an 8/10 in my review) but considering the rich source material, Snyder and the team, did the best that they could. You can say that DC is playing catch up to Marvel and maybe it is, given that Justice League is coming up, as well as the other origin films but to say that the movie is bad as it was, would be unfair. A lot of people who saw the movie, failed to grasp the greater scheme of things. Nothing is to put it 'simple' in superhero films, it is not a simple 'plot' anymore. Especially considering the cross overs and that they even tackle time travel and multiverse. Perhaps with the birth of the superhero film genre, we have also created a new genre, new rules when it comes to plot and story telling.
Not saying that all superhero movies will have these to hide behind from, there are still really bad movies out there (Wolverine: Origins, Fantastic Four) but Batman V Superman is not among them.
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| The late Christopher Reeve as 'Superman' (1978). |
I came across an article that explains that Knightmare sequence, you may read it, just so you can get an idea of the bigger and grander scheme of things. Click here. Warning, it is littered with spoilers, don't read if you haven't seen the movie yet.
Critics didn't like the film when they saw it; which is something that I don't agree with. You might say its because I'm a 'geek' or because I'm a 'fan' because I am - both, so you might say that I am biased and maybe in someways, I am but what people don't stop to consider is the big picture. Sometimes they get caught up in the details and because of that, fail to enjoy the movie.
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| Michael Keaton as Batman (1989 and 1992). |
Kids might not get it maybe because they're not supposed to and that's okay, maybe in a few years they will. After they do their research, watch the old movies or start reading the comics. You see, all these superhero movies are just a spec in a larger mythology and something that a movie, even one that is two hours long cannot simply cram. They will do what they can, they will do their best but it won't be enough, it never will be.
The film was not made for everybody but it was definitely made for the fans, fans who have long waited to witness these two complex and iconic heroes, stand toe-to-toe and face-to-face with each other. While chatting up with my cousin about the film, we talked about how the audiences probably have no idea that their fathers, uncles and grandfathers would have loved to have seen the film and that big 'gladiator match'. There's a lot of history here, these characters have been around for almost 80 years and sometimes we forget that. In the bigger picture, Batman V Superman will just be a notch in their rich discography.
