Dawn of Justice Review Part 1
Before I talk about D.C.'s attempt to catch up to Marvel, I thought I'd sum up my thoughts on the polarizing beginning of the DCCU (Detective Comics Cinematic Universe), Man of Steel. I've heard everyone's opinions on the film, many loved it, a certain minority hated it, and I know one person who told me that he even found it boring. Me? I enjoyed it the first time I watched it back in 2014 with my older sister, and after watching it at least another hundred plus times, I've developed a more neutral opinion on the film. I agree with the criticisms, but I personally refuse to let them get in my way of enjoying the film. I don't care how many people I tick off when I say this, but I'll take Man of Steel any day of the week over any of the four Christopher Reeve films, let alone Superman Returns. There's a lot to the movie that I do genuinely enjoy. For one, well in my eyes, the film has a lot of secret brilliance. Let me rephrase that, the film is very subtle with a lot of it's details, many of which make a lot of sense if you put some thought into it. I really enjoy Henry Cavill's performance, I love the casting for the film, and since I don't hear enough praise for it, I find myself revisiting Hans Zimmer's score for the movie. What can I say, I'm a sucker for drums!The Battle of Smallville is personally one of my favorite scenes, and in my eyes, make the Battle of New York look like child's play. Let's put it this way; Battle of New York in The Avengers, we see a bunch of stuff blown up with people running for their lives, yet we don't see anybody get killed on-screen. WHOOPEE-FREAKING-DOO! And having already established heroes getting the job done, turning the city into their own personal playground while.In Man of Steel, during both the Battle of Smallville along with Metropolis later on, we're seeing half of the city get leveled, and call me morbid when I say this, but I actually love the fact that we're watching both civilians and military personnel getting killed off by the Kryptonian forces led by General Zod, who wants to turn Earth into another Krypton. It gives me more interest in wanting to see Superman prevail when there's such a threat going on. I don't get any of that whenever I rewatch the Avengers. Oh, yeah. I personally think antagonist General Drü Zod is better written than any Marvel villain we've seen thus far...............that isn't Loki mind you, although there's a part of me that wishes Zod got more screentime. And his goal of wanting to restore Krypton at least harbors some degree of originality compared to any of the villains we've seen in the MCU. And lastly, the final fight with him to me DUMPS on every fight we've seen in the Marvel
films so far in terms of intensity, the only exceptions being the final showdown in the Captain America: The Winter Soldier. And that's all I have to say for Man of Steel. I will agree on the criticisms, like the inconsistent pacing or lack of development for some of the characters, but I will still defend everything that it does right. And is it sad to admit that we've got an actual YouTube Channel that goes out of its way to defend every criticism that people have for the film?***Now that I've got my full thoughts on Man of Steel, time to talk about Dawn of Justice. When I first saw the teaser at the start of last year, depicting a statue of Superman, I was somewhat curious. Granted, I wasn't a fan of Batman wearing a heavily armored suit, and now rocking a synthesized voice, but to be fair, I am aware and have seen part of Batman: The Dark Knight Returns where Batman fought against Superman in a similar suit at the end of the story. So I can roll with it, and he's fighting a godlike individual, so I shouldn't be too surprised. Now to get back on track.Then came the first trailer for Dawn of Justice, around last June or July I think, can't remember at the moment. But the first time I saw it, I was personally psyched. I was hearing sometime after the release of the trailer about theories about Doomsday potentially having a role, and the editing in the first trailer did a brilliant job at hiding the possibility.(Sighs) Then came the second trailer..... I'll be honest on this, I liked some parts of the trailer, but I loathed the entirety of it. Granted, I'm sure it was to blatantly confirm that Doomsday has a role and I'm aware that Doomsday will probably reappear multiple time in future films with each appearance looking more horrific than the last, but it could've been presented better. Heck, they could've just ended the trailer right where you hear Doomsday roar, and it would've been brilliant. After seeing it, I became cautiously optimistic for the movie. People can complain all they want about Ben Affleck being Batman or Jessie Eisenberg as Lex Luthor, but to be fair, does no one remember when people complained about Michael Keaton being Batman? Oh, wait. That was back in the eighties.......never mind.On to the third trailer, I guess. I'll be honest on this, I'm still cautiously optimistic, but this trailer has me sold on Ben Affleck being Batman. And probably because I've played the Batman Arkham games along with watching Batman: The Animated Series, but this is how I've started to envision the Dark Knight in a battle, between the acrobatics and using the environment to his advantage. And the
final shot of Batman effortlessly blocking an attack from Superman while the latter wonders how this is possible has renewed my interest in the film. If you don't plan on watching the movie, that's okay. You're not stopping me from watching, and I look forward to reviewing the movie when it comes out.....