REVIEW: 'Batman V Superman' Is the Dumbest Film of the Decade so Far

Still kinda fun tho.

Images via Warner Bros.

Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice

         
0 2 out of 5 stars
Director:
Zack Snyder
Starring: Ben Affleck , Henry Cavill , Jesse Eisenberg , Gal Gadot , Amy Adams
Screenwriter(s):
Chris Terrio, David S Goyer
Duration: 153 minutes PT2H33M
Release Date:
March 25
MPAA Rating:
12A

Just how dumb is Batman V Superman? The action proper opens with a retelling of Man Of Steel’s finale, only from Bruce Wayne’s POV. In the midst of the destruction of Metropolis, he calls his employees at the Wayne Towers skyscraper and tells them to get the F- out of there. But the guy who answers doesn’t have a clue what’s going on, and then turns around in comedy fashion to look out the window and pulls a comedy “Wooooah!” face, somehow oblivious to destruction going on literally next door. He’s an idiot. It’s meant to be powerful and affecting, but really it’s just unintentionally hilarious.

That sets the tone for the whole movie: utter stupidity presented with unwavering seriousness. And no one, not the audience, nor the characters, or even the screenwriters, have time to notice how stupid it is. The biggest problem with Man Of Steel was that it was dull and ponderous. Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice does not have that problem. The film has far too many characters and tried to do far too much, but the advantage of that is that it is never boring. Frequently stupid and illogical and pointless, but never boring. Batman (Ben Affleck) thinks Superman (Henry Cavill) is a threat and wants to take him out. Clark Kent wants to stop this mysterious vigilante in Gotham he keeps hearing about. Lois Lane is involved with a government conspiracy that doesn’t really go anywhere. Congress are investigating what to do about Superman. Batman is also investigating Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg). Lex Luthor himself is chasing some alien technology. Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) keeps appearing, but not really doing much. All of these things lead to a lot of cool visuals and set-pieces, but none of it comes together in any cohesive way. 

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