Why the Batman in Batman v Superman is just not right!!

Now that the reviews of Batman v Superman are out, and it has been pretty much broadly agreed that the movie does not live up to the gigantic hype generated by the title – hard core DC fans might disagree – let’s look at something slightly more complex, something about the way the two of our superheroes have been projected by Zack Snyder and team.

Why is Batman angry with Superman, why does he want Superman finished? Yes, we are shown right at the start why Bruce Wayne doesn’t view Superman very favourably. We can understand anyone feeling a bit antagonized when they or their dear ones are caught in the collateral damage of a big fight.  So he nurses that angst for nearly 2 years before he gets a sniff at a chance of going up against Superman without a certainty of death.

The first hour or so of the movie tries to reinforce again and again as to why the Batman is so angry

with the Superman. He says that ‘even if there is a 1% possibility that this guy can become our enemy, we have to take it as an absolute certainty’. That is a logic that is hard to accept because even that 1% possibility has not substantial evidence, and the Bat of Gotham works on evidence and data rather than gut instincts and hunches. Actually, this version of the Batman shows him as someone far more practical and more evidence-based vigilante than previous versions. Look for example the amount of data he tries to gather about Lex Luthor before launching any action at all. Phone call data, encrypted disks, a Kryptonite consignment –the Bat waits for the jigsaw to fall into place before he swings into action. Yet, when it comes to Superman, the Batman needs one act of collateral damage to decide that   he has to be counted as an enemy. That does not convey the image of an impassionate and objective superhero, this is a superhero who lets his heart get in the way.

We all know that the Batman, whichever version it is, has bad childhood memories that haunt him time and again. In fact, it is those childhood memories that haunt him and drive him towards becoming a vigilante. But, never once have we seen the Batman act on the behest of those childhood memories and insecurities. He always does what is right. But in Batman v Superman, the motive behind his angst towards Superman seems to be driven a lot by his insecurities. We have dream sequences where the Superman unmasks the Batman after having him captured, we have another dream where people asking him to save them from Superman. It is almost as if the deep-seated mental insecurities of Bruce Wayne dictate the targets of the Batman. That is not the sign of a true superhero, that is the sign of a fallible, feeble mind, which is not how we want to see the Batman. The overwhelming feeling I got while watching Batman v Superman is that the Batman was actually jealous of the Superman, jealous of the fact that a more powerful, more omnipresent superhero had taken over from him. It was like Batman shared the insecurities of many ordinary people around him, the insecurity that comes in the presence of someone overwhelmingly powerful. That makes Batman just another person like you and me, which is not how anyone wants to see him.

You might ask, isn’t it the same thing that the movie does with Superman? He too assumes Batman as

a nuisance vigilante just because some newspapers say so. Right, but Superman is much different from Batman. Superman is a reactive superhero, he has always been a reactive superhero. He is the guy who wears his cape when he sees something bad happening on TV and flies to the scene of action and blasts every bad guy with sheer power. We do not expect any great calculative moves from Superman, he just reacts! But, Batman is not so! He analyses, he makes plans and he chooses his adversaries. He doesn’t let situations dictate his actions, he is always one step ahead of the bad guys. Batman is a proactive superhero, and it is this aspect of Batman that was completely messed up in Zack Snyder’s film. He made perfect plans for Superman without analysing whether he was really an enemy, and he analysed Lex Luthor a lot without having any plans for him. That is just not like Batman and we hope DC sets it right in movies to come.

BATMAN Vs. SUPERMAN

 YOU ME & CINEMA - BATMAN VS. SUPERMAN REVIEW

 The greatest gladiator match on earth - Son of Krypton against Bat of Gotham, this is not one to be missed, this one has to be witnessed on the big screen. If Marvel redefined the scale of Superhero movies by bringing their biggest characters together, DC has now begun rolling out its own version of heavy duty multi-superhero flicks, and it is reason enough to get excited. But the hype ends the moment you enter theatres. From that point it is only the quality of the movie that can decide whether it wins over the viewer. Does this scripting coup win the viewer?

It starts when Superman is first introduced to humanity, from Man of Steel. We have Bruce Wayne

watching from the sideline as the new hero gets the adulation. What does he feel? The Bruce Wayne from Nolan's universe would have been relieved that he can finally retire, rest his cape and mope around in peace. But this is Zack Snyder's universe and we are not sure about what Bruce feels. Is he insecure, is he confused, or is he jealous? We are not sure at first. Turns out that is how the entire world feels about Superman. It is this insecurity that Lex Luthor wants to prey upon.

Batman vs. Superman starts slow and is in no hurry to pick up the pace. Both Batman and Superman view each other with suspicion, and someone's stoking the fire quite strategically. This though takes quite a long while. The proceedings are dull and we are left searching for moments of adrenaline. The story does keep moving ahead, you can see the isolated dots coming together slowly, but very few moments get the excitement going. That Batman is someone with deep seated psychological insecurities due to a childhood tragedy is well known. Zack Snyder probes that hard, giving us a couple of sequences that are obviously dreams, which seem to slow things down further. You begin to feel that things are taking too long, when finally the Bat and the Superman come face to face. That is really when the film clicks into gear after a fair amount of drifting.

The plot thickens and comes together soon after that. If  Bruce Wayne’s haunting childhood memories are inseparable from Batman movies, so is Krypton inseparable from a Superman movie. The Kryptonite angle is built up slowly and surely around Lex and then there is the final showdown. The usual graph of a superhero movie! What should appeal here is the Batman vs.  Superman angle, which one feels is explored more at a psychological level rather than a more entertaining popcorn level. That could have been very interesting in the hands of a skilled director, more Nolan territory. Subtlety is not Zack Snyder’s forte and so much of it looks more forced than fluid.

And once we are at the business end of the movie, that is when the protagonists have all come to the

right side and are now up against the anatagonist, Zack Snyder jumps onto his style of film making – large scale destruction. If you think he had peaked with Man of Steel, think again before you see this one. We don’t know how many cities he has blown up in the final showdown, frankly we lose count because it movies all the way from some port to Gotham city, burning almost everything in its path. For audiences who are accustomed to the usual Hollywood superhero movie, this is more yawn-inducing stuff as there is little or no originality in the way these confrontations are conceived. Die hard Batman and Superman fans can whistle for a while, but even they go quiet after a while. DC needs someone more inventive, not a technical behemoth like Zack, at the helm of things.

It is obvious that the plan is to dazzle us with a lot of action - big, bombastic action. But with so many superhero movies these days, it is a hard thing to impress audiences that way. What we do enjoy are the little moments, like the ones we saw in the trailer, the ones where the Batman smartly takes down a dozen or so guys, like the one where Batman and Superman fistfight each other, or the small game of wits between Bruce Wayne and the Wonder Woman. The Script, however, does not allow enough room for more such moments because the big action cannot wait. Also disappointing is the complete lack of cheer or brightness in the movie. The Nolan shadow of grim and dark superhero movies hangs on over DC – get rid of it already, please. That’s something only Nolan can do well. Here, we get a movie which looks and feels like it is always waiting for doomsday to happen, as if it is inevitable, as if there is a sword hanging over the world, when the audience can’t frankly see it. We are here to have a good time, but the movie just won’t have any of it, it is too busy being serious. Hardly anyone smiles on screen, except of course for the megalomaniac villain.

That brings us to Jesse Eisenberg who gets to play perhaps the first big ticket character of his career

after Zuckerberg, that is. He is required to play someone one dimensional, and even though he tries to do that with subtlety it doesn’t look that great, the shadow of the Joker lingers on, one guesses. The thoughts that he echoes are also quite similar to what the Joker said, like how someone all powerful cannot be all good and vice versa. Someone who does abominations for the sake of it, someone who couldn’t escape the abominations of his father! The set up of Wonder Woman too has fleeting similarities to that of Selena Kyle from the Dark Knight Rises. These observations just show how big a shadow Nolan cast with his trilogy and how hard they are to forget. This script does not challenge its lead players much. Henry Cavill has to look morose or angry, while Ben Afleck has to look pensive or angry, and there is nothing much in between. The epilogue, even though stretched a bit, gives us glimpses of how the Justice League is going to come together in the coming years and who their adversaries are going to be. The way it panned out gives us hope that this franchise will get better, that this was just the first act of a grand play, the one that sparked off bigger things. But DC will have to rethink its strategy of making superhero movies. If they are going to go all out on heavy duty VFX action with cities crumbling like packs of cards, they must remember that they are very close to saturation. Watch Batman vs. Superman because it is a dream union of superheroes, there are moments (even though only a few) where you can scream your lungs out, there are genuine goose bump moments, but it all does not add up into a great movie. Worth a watch nonetheless.

2.5/5

Dream duo, grim setting, heavy VFX, middling movie!

The Dark Knight Rises: Review

More Bruce and Bane than Batman!

‘If you want peace, prepare for war’, goes a saying. Gotham is at peace, but they are not preparing for war. Harry Dent is an immortalized hero. Bruce Wayne is a recluse in his mansion and Batman is an evil who has been forgotten as history by the people of Gotham. Eight years after he was last seen, the Dark Knight Rises again. One last time for Gotham, for his people, but more than everything because this is the only way he can reclaim his life.

The Dark Knight Rises; the way the legend ends (as they claim it does) is as grim and serious as a Batman movie has ever got. A constant feeling of numb brooding, of intense agony, of pain, and the search for one’s redemption or salvation. The Dark Knight is more about the Batman’s internal conflicts than it is about the dangers that face Gotham city; which are pretty immense by the way. That is what is good and bad about the movie at the same time. Almost everyone can connect to Bruce Wayne and the identity crisis that he faces, the pain he feels and his wish to be rid of the weight on his shoulders, to have a life for himself. But, we are in here to see an action movie aren’t we? Yes, we are Batman fans and want to see the Batman. In the end, you have seen more of Bruce than Batman.

The premise is pretty simple. Another dark force, this time appropriately called ‘Bane’, has set his sights on Gotham. But, he is no ordinary thug; he is out to fulfil what he calls the destiny of Rah’s Al Gul, Bruce Wayne’s mentor. So, we know that the Batman is up against a force that is perhaps as strong as him. Add to it the fact that ‘Bane’ is backed by some big power and an underground army; not to forget that Bruce Wayne has remained shut indoors for eight years. He is not as agile as he was, even though he is not willing to admit it.  But, underestimating Bane comes at a heavy price. Batman finds himself in the gallows and Gotham is at the mercy of Bane. Will the Dark Knight Rise again? Sure, we know he will! But, what does it take and what does it cost?

We know that the Batman franchise, especially under Nolan, has not been the usual superhero type movies. Its not all about one powerful villain after another coming and launching a series of attacks and the superhero always arriving on time to save the day. We know that Nolan thinks above that level. But, this time, maybe he stretched it a bit too much. Well, you can give the first hour for solidly establishing the premise. But then, you want to see Batman. He makes a couple of fleeting appearances before disappearing for another hour. Meanwhile, an anarchy is set up in Gotham, all order is overthrown. It is around here that the tedium begins to set in. While Gotham struggles to stand on its feet, so does Batman. Having an entire city on tenterhooks, establishing a parallel law and order system, carrying out executions and preparing for ultimate destruction; all this are shown in so much detail that makes you stifle a few yawns. And, in the middle of that you also have to see Bruce Wayne taking push ups, waiting for his chance in some prison. Legends about Rah’s Al Gul, a child, Bane are all thrown into the mix. All the while, you know how this is going to end, almost! The dank, almost depressing mood in these portions makes The Dark Knight Rises unlike any superhero movie we have seen.

Of course, there are things that are immensely enjoyable too. You get the ever-likeable Morgan Freeman bringing his demeanour and elegant humor into play as Lucius Fox, you have Michael Caine as the butler, the Batpod and assorted paraphernalia, including a car that is not just a car, that have always been Batman specialties. It is these familiar things about the Batman franchise that you enjoy most. Unfortunately, they are overshadowed by other elements, like Bane, the legend of the child who made the great leap and all details of an anarchist occupation. That we don’t see as much of the Batpod as we would like is in itself a big drawback for the movie. The action really doesn’t thrill you, nor does Bane (really no match for the Joker). It’s a plot that could have made for some racy, gripping action. But, Nolan chooses to plod through it, giving us glimpses into the character’s minds and hearts, compromising for pace, holding a few aces for the end, building up to a culmination that leaves no room for questions.

Of course, Nolan succeeds in emotionally connecting us to Bruce Wayne. As his butler puts it, even you want him to drop the cape and find a life of his own. But, the routes Nolan takes to establish the emotional connect spoils the fun of what could have been a superhero entertainer. You will, however, enjoy the wit that occurs in flashes in a few lines, the dramatic entry of The Dark Knight on his Batpod and the adrenaline that accompanies it. You will also remember some of the inspirational lines placed here and there, like, ‘allowing fear to find you once again’. And, most of all you will love the way the movie ends.

Nolan has chosen perhaps the most poetic of endings for the franchise. But, which Hollywood studio in its right mind would end a successful franchise without giving a hint that its not over yet. Where one legend ends, another begins. As the lady at the desk says to the cop who has just resigned, ‘I like your name. You should use it more often, Robin!’ The Dark Knight will rise again.

Verdict: The Dark Knight Rises – but doesn’t fly high!