There are 170 million reasons to see this movie. That number equals the gross receipts for the opening weekend of this super hero adventure. It “only” cost $250 million to make, so it looks like Warner Brothers will do quite well on this one, thank you. AMC Lake In The Hills theatre had thirteen showings on opening night, and I managed to reserve the last seat four days in advance.
This is a slam-bang adventure from beginning to end. The action is non-stop from the opening moments enhanced by special effects at their best, featuring the world’s two favorite comic book heroes (with apologies to Spider Man and Captain America). Ben Affleck stars as Batman, and captures his dark, brooding persona as well or better than Michael Keaton did in the original. Henry Cavill reprises his role as Superman (Man of Steel, 2013) giving us a better look at the “human” side of the man from Krypton. Jessie Eisenberg plays Lex Luthor, and while diabolical, falls well short of Gene Hackman’s portrayal from the original Superman series of the late 1970s.
On the feminine side, Amy Adams once again plays Lois Lane, getting herself involved way beyond journalism. Gal Godot appears as Diane Prince aka Wonder Woman, and Diane Lane re-appears as Martha Kent, Superman’s mother.
Batman v Superman
Entertainment Rating: ★★★ 1/2 (only for the comic book crowd)
Rating: PG-13, limited but serious profanity, enough violence for ten movies.
Possible Oscar Nominations: Special and Visual effects, Art Decoration, Cinematography, and a nod to the stunt men and women whose bodies must have taken a lot of punishment.
There were 1,101 (count em) people involved in Art Direction, Special and Visual effects, Sound, Animation and Stunts. The result was a spectacular display of events, much of it, as you might guess, combining animation, stunts, destruction and super heroes zipping around, much of the time in mortal combat of one kind or another, culminating in the titanic battle of the ages.
This story picks up where “Man of Steel” left off. If you missed that one, it featured a huge battle between Superman and General Zod, leaving Metropolis in shreds. The local populous blames our hero as its’ his fault the General ever appeared in the first place, which of course is true. Over in Gotham City Batman also blames Superman for the travesty, and the animus begins. Unbeknownst to him at the same time Lex Luthor is also planning Superman’s demise, pitting two diabolical minds at play against Lois Lane’s boyfriend.
I will not “touch” the plot beyond that. I can warn you don’t enter the theatre looking for sunshine as there is none, or smiles or any kind of happiness as there is none of that either (albeit one brief moment early on) and even that is tempered. This is a “must see” for those who like this genre. If you are as into the story as I was, you will leave the theatre not only exhausted but looking forward to the next one, which I am certain will come about, as “us” fans will be clamoring for more. If that doesn’t do it the box office success surely will.
