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Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice Film Review: A Plot You Didn’t Like Doesn’t Equal No Plot

Posted on May 4, 2016 Written by Pinar Tarhan

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batman_v_superman_dawn_of_justice_poster
Image via http://www.joblo.com.

I watched Batman vs. Superman, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Now, I get where the unsatisfied portion of comic fans comes from. It’s natural to expect loyalty to the source material. If I loved a book and they fundamentally changed things, I am bound to refuse to watch the result.

I saw the first scene from Runaway Jury, and I ran away. It wasn’t a bad scene. The movie has a great cast. It was based on one my favorite books: John Grisham’s Runaway Jury, and that was the problem. They changed what the main trial was about, and I lost my appetite. After loving Batman v Superman despite the negative reviews (mostly about how it defies who Batman and Superman are), I will shut my mouth and watch a well-rated movie with a cast I love. I will forget about the book, and then I will come back and talk about it.

But as I haven’t read the comics, I don’t have anything to compare the movie to other than the Batman and Superman movies I have seen, and I’ve seen them all apart from the one starring George. I have enjoyed Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer and Christian Bale as Batman. And I totally loved Affleck too.

I grew up with Christopher Reeve’s Superman movies, but Henry Cavill did a good job in Man of Steel. Now, I would have enjoyed that film more if the battle scene and sounds were edited better and cut shorter. But overall, it was a fun experience. And movies cast like that help if you are a total movie geek and don’t mind mainstream stuff. Russell Crowe as Superman’s father, Michael Shannon as the main villain, Kevin Costner as the stepfather, Diane Lane as the stepmother? Oh, and Amy Adams is Louis Lane? That was a decent experience.

Some people hate director Zac Snyder as a principle, whether or not they liked 300. I don’t like 300, but Watchmen was a dark, decent and engaging film.

Then there are the massive directorial style differences between Snyder and Nolan. So everyone knew the movies were inevitably going to be different.

Now, there’s a line I heard over and over. Sometimes it was uttered to harshly criticize the movie. Sometimes to state the obvious in a neutral way: “This wasn’t like a Batman movie. Or a Superman movie.” Exactly!

It was a Batman vs. Superman movie. It had them both. It had a more depressed Batman (although Bales’ Wayne/Batman was no ray of sunshine either), and a Superman who was having a bit of crisis. What sane being, alien or human, would feel comfortable with being adored and feared by the masses? When his fathers are dead, and his girlfriend is constantly in danger to her personality and job? And now he has a vigilante out for him, whose psychology isn’t that far off when you consider his childhood, history with villains and most recently, the death and distraction he witnesses in the beginning of the movie? (Sure, letting us know Robin was dead would make it even more rational, but I do love Batman overreacting and being irrational. It suits the character.)

As far movie having no plot/ characterization, that’s ignoring a lot of elements. You may not like it. You might find some clichés although I can’t really think of superhero movies without them.) but tell me how this is not having a plot:

(There might be spoilers. And so many things happened, I might confuse the order of stuff and leave some things out.

About two years after Superman’s fight with, and victory against, General Zod, United States is polarized about Superman’s existence. People are bothered by his powers, and how he doesn’t answer to anyone. On the other hand, people he saved or people who witness his saves are more fans/worshippers.

One person who’s extremely mad is Bruce Wayne. He’s seen the destruction the battle has caused. He lost many employees. He saw the panic, fear and pain with his eyes. Of course, a saner person would blame it on Zod, but our Batman is prone to extreme reactions. (Didn’t he hide away for years in a previous movie?) So he obsesses over how to beat (and kill) Superman while increasing the violence in his vigilante ways.

Rich and psychotic businessman Lex Luthor wants to destroy Superman for his own twisted reasons and uses the government’s doubts and his resources to get his hands on a batch of kryptonite.

Distracting Wayne a little is a gorgeous woman who seems to be rich socialite of sorts and “steals” the info Wayne wanted to steal from Lex Luthor.

And there’s the fun irony that Clark Kent, Superman’s journalist persona, wants to go after Batman as he sees him as an uncontrolled vigilante who doesn’t care about collateral damage or ethics when going after criminals.

In their distracted states and crises, neither hero sees what Luthor is up to until it’s too late. Will they see they are on the same side before it’s too late?

*

I still left a lot of details out, but basically you have a decent plot with a solid antagonist who is working on unleashing a more dangerous creature just in case, a superhero trying to fit in and shaking off Bruce Wayne, a US senator (Holly Hunter) who undermines and underestimates a disturbed genius, and of course two protagonists who have to deal with a lot of demons, action and each other.

Yes, it’s not a Batman movie or a Superman movie. But it’s a great hybrid with a lot to offer if you don’t go into the movie expecting it be loyal to comic books.

It does however have more realistic superheroes in the sense that they have problems like the rest of us. Maybe it’s not money or health, but they grapple with who they are, what they should be doing and their levels of humanity.

And Jeremy Irons’ Alfred is like a combination of Michael Cain’s Alfred and Morgan Freeman’s Fox: butler, scientist and life coach with a snappy sense of humor. Frankly, I would watch a lot more Batman movies with that Alfred.

*

All in all, I think Batman v Superman Dawn of Justice is the Keanu Reeves of movies. People are polarized. As with Keanu Reeves, I like what we get.

What do you think?

PS Bang2write’s awesome Lucy V Hay has a great e-book on the movie. She basically evaluated the script. After reading it, I do agree with some of the scenes being redundant like the nightmares.

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Filed Under: Movies and Actors Tagged With: batman v superman, Batman v superman dawn of justice, batman v superman movie review, ben affleck, Henry Cavill, Jeremy Irons, Jeremy irons Alfred, lucy v hay, man of steel, zac snyder

Kingdom of Heaven starring Orlando Bloom and Eva Green

Posted on March 5, 2010 Written by ripitup

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Kingdom of Heaven- Orlando Bloom
Kingdom of Heaven- Orlando Bloom. Photo via lightscamerahistory.files.wordpress.com

1184. Blacksmith Balian (Orlando Bloom)  is not a happy man. He has recently lost his kid, and his wife has committed suicide, not being able to bear the death of their child. Moreover he has to listen to the town’s priest (Michael Sheen), who goes on and on about how his wife is in hell. But his life completely changes when he meets his father for the first time. The absent father is Lord of Ibelin (Liam Neeson), and he is there to take Balian with him. At first Balian is unwilling but circumstances force him to go. From then on, he learns a lot from his father. He will also need to prepare himself to take his father’s place. He now doesn’t even have the time to grieve- he has to be a knight, a worthy lord, deal with Prince Guy (Marton Csokas) who absolutely despises him, travel to Jerusalem…

Kingdom of Heaven
Kingdom of Heaven. As glorious as an epic should be. Written by William Monahan. Directed by Ridley Scott. Photo: images.allmoviephoto.com

Balian’s journey is exciting and never dull for a second. In Jerusalem, he easily makes friends with the Marshall Tiberias (Jeremy Irons) and earns the trust of King Baldwin (Edward Norton). He also intrigues and attracts, Sibylla  (Eva Green)-  The King’s sister- who also happens to be Guy’s wife. Not to mention, Guy is thirsty for blood and is dying to fight the Muslims- much against the will of the King.

Kingdom of Heaven- a battle scene
I love a good old battle scene. Well, what did you expect? My favorite movie ever is an epic war flick, Braveheart. Photo: film.com.tr

This movie is a really good example on how an epic should be. It has all the complications and the amazing battle scenes. It has the peace-loving villager-turned lord-who doesn’t let go of his virtues, even though it might cost him dearly. Orlando Bloom fits Balian perfectly and the rest of the cast is simply brilliant.

Fun Stuff:

Liam Neeson only appears in the first 25 minutes or so.

Orlando Bloom and Liam Neeson in Kingdom of Heaven
Orlando Bloom and Liam Neeson in Kingdom of Heaven. Father and son bonding moment. Cool for Bloom. Those sword-fighting lessons from Pirates of The Caribbean must have come in handy. Photo: hecinemasource.co

King Baldwin has leprosy. So you never see Edward Norton’s face. But it is fun to have him nevertheless.

Edward Norton in Kingdom of Heaven
Edward Norton in Kingdom of Heaven. Yep, this is how Edward Norton looks throughout all his scenes. For all we know, he could have recorded his voice. Just kidding. It is always nice to have him in a movie. Even when you don’t see him.Photo: cinecultist.com

The (only) leading female is Sibylla, played by the gorgeous Eva Green.

Eva Green in Kingdom of Heaven
Trust me, this picture doesn’t do her justice at all. She is simply radiantly beautiful in this cool epic from 2005. Photo: http://www.atoww.com

There is also Dr. Owen Hunt (Kevin McKidd) from Grey’s Anatomy, plays one of Liam Neeson’s soldiers.

Kevin McKidd from Grey's Anatomy
Yes, I admit I went back to watching Grey’s Anatomy after Kevin’s Owen livened up the show. I was pissed off that they had gotten rid of Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s character for the second time. But finally there is another passionate and fun gPuy. Photo: img5.allocine.fr

Brendan Gleeson plays exactly looks like his character in Braveheart– where he played Hamish, Wallace’s best mate. Although here, he is pretty much the bad guy.

Brendan Gleeson, Braveheart
This is Brendan in Braveheart. One of the good guys.
Brendan Gleeson in Kingdom of Heaven
Brendan Gleeson in Kingdom of Heaven. Apart from 10 year gap between the films, he is instantly recognizable and reminded me of Hamish. Here, he does a great job as a mean bastard. Photo: filmdope.com

Reasons to see Kingdom of Heaven:

–          You mean apart from Liam Neeson, Jeremy Irons, Edward Norton, Orlando Bloom and Eva Green?

–          Director is Ridley Scott- who also directed Gladiator, Body of Lies, American Gangster, White Squall and Thelma and Luis.

–          Good script, good acting, wonderful direction and pretty cool battle scenes.

–          If you are not convinced yet, I am giving up.

Cons:

–          I didn’t see any, but you might be bothered by the stuff that is not historically accurate.

–          Why have Edward Norton play a character with leprosy in the first place? But being the cool and interesting guy that he is, it was Edward who specifically requested that role. Let’s keep fingers crossed that he does star in an epic one day, with his face showing…

–          If you do hate Orlando Bloom and think he can’t act, obviously you will get annoyed watching him for 144 minutes. Or for 190 minutes in Director’s Cut.

Orlando Bloom in Kingdom of Heaven
Yep, a lot of Orlando Bloom. He is pretty good, though. He carries his role with grace and innonce. Photo: wallpaperbase.com

My biases: Love the whole cast and I am a big fan of Ridley Scott. White Squall (starring Jeff Bridges) is one of my favorite movies ever and I am yet to dislike anything Ridley worked on.

IMDB verdict: 7.1

My verdict: 7.8- 8.0

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Filed Under: Movies and Actors Tagged With: action, adventure, Brendan Gleeson, Edward Norton, Eva Green, history, Jeremy Irons, Kevin McKidd, Kingdom of Heaven, Liam Neeson, Marton Csokas, Michael Sheen, movies, Orlando Bloom, Ridley Scott

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