BATMAN V.

SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE

If, like me, you grew up on comic books, you would no doubt have at one time
growing up pondered the comic book fan boy existential question; who would win
a fight between Superman and Batman?

For me, the answer to that question has always been Superman. It's a no-brainer.
Superman will easily kick Batman’s ass from here to Krypton without breaking a
sweat. In the pantheon of Super heroes, Batman sticks out like a sore thumb.
Dude doesn't even have super powers!

In the Batman movies, he's always been outshone by the villains. From Jim
Carrey’s hyperactive Riddler to the late Heath Ledger's deliciously psychotic Joker
and not to forget Tom Hardy’s 'roided up and Zen-spewing maniac, Michael Bane.

Superman on the other hand has always been a favourite of mine. What little boy
growing up didn't want to be Superman? What super power could possibly be
cooler than ripping up your shirt to reveal the iconic Superman symbol on
spandex and flying off faster than the speed of light?

The late Christopher Reeves ' Superman trilogy movies brought to live fan boy
comic book fantasies and epitomized most people's impression of Superman. But
Tom Welling's portrayal of Kal-El/Clark Kent/Superman was for me the most
definitive portrayal of the caped crusader created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.
That was until 2013 when Henry Cavill introduced an upgraded version of the
caped crusader for the 21st century in Man of Steel.

Fan boy interests were understandably piqued when shortly after the release of
Man of Steel in 2013, director, Zach Snyder, mooted the idea of a show down
between Superman and Batman in the next installment of the DC extended
cinematic universe. When Ben Affleck was announced as billed to don the bat
suit, there was an outcry against it. While I wasn't convinced Affleck was a great
choice, I was looking forward to see how he would turn out.
Billed as the official flagship of the DC extended cinematic universe, Batman v.
Superman: Dawn of Justice started from the events of Man of Steel which saw a
duel between Superman and General Zod give a new meaning to the term
"collateral damage".

Dawn of Justice started slow with a storyline build up that you knew was
inevitably heading towards the much expected showdown between the titular
characters. For me, it almost had the feel of the build up to the showdown
between Hulk Hogan and the Ultimate Warrior in Wrestlemania 6; the immovable
object meets the indestructible force. Only, the showdown between Batman and
Superman, for me, ended up being long on anticipation and short on delivery.
Unlike the showdown between Dwayne Johnson's Hobbs and Vin Diesel’s Dominic
Toretto in the Fast Five, this was a bit of a letdown. It didn't deliver for me as
much as it packed.

Whilst critics have panned Dawn of Justice as disappointing, seeing it myself

confirms why it is not a good idea to not see a movie based on reviews by critics.
Dawn of justice is a good movie viewed and appreciated on its own merits.

It is inevitable that Dawn of Justice being the flagship of the DC extended

cinematic universe is going to attract comparisons to the Avengers being the
flagship of Marvel 's cinematic universe. But the thing with drawing comparisons
between the two is that it prevents you from appreciating the former on its own
merits as you are likely to view it from a Marvel cinematic perspective.

Fans of James Hadley Chase novels will recall how his novel "Eve" seemed
different and how it was daubed boring. But when read and appreciated on its
own merit instead of being compared with the more popular Hadley Chase
novels, it actually is a good novel.

Perhaps, the best part of Dawn of Justice for me was the fact that Ben Affleck's
Bruce Wayne turned out to be my best of the character's portrayal in all Batman
movies. Affleck's brooding billionaire socialite by day and masked crusader by
night resonated with me in a way others from Michael Keaton's, Val Kilmer's,
George Clooney's to Christian Bale's have failed to do leaving only the villains to
capture your admiration. Affleck affected the right amount of emotions and
passion to cut a believable picture of a jaded crusader still committed to fighting
crime and ridding his city of all who threaten its peace.

I wasn't sold on the casting of Jeremy Irons as Alfred. Bruce Wayne/Batman's

brooding and jaded masked crusader needed the warm, caring and positive
avuncular character epitomized by Michael Caine's Alfred to bring a calming
balance to his tortured life. Iron's Alfred came across as even more brooding and
jaded than Batman himself.

Jesse Eisenberg's Lex Luthor was a disappointing bordering on annoying miscast.

His overacting was as grating as his high pitched delivery of his overly exuberant
lines. Eisenberg's Luthor in Dawn of Justice seemed like a drugged-up version of
his arrogant and condescending Mark Zuckerberg in Social Network caught in an
alternate universe. The producers should have brought in Michael Rosenbaum to
reprise his Smallville Lex Luthor in Dawn of Justice.

Henry Cavill in Man of Steel was the closest I've ever come to having a man crush.
Dude looked like he was born to play Superman and filled out the upgraded
version of the caped suit in Man of Steel like a delicious dream. In Dawn of
Justice, the suit got an unneeded variation but Cavill did not disappoint as
Superman even if he seemed a bit darker in character disposition.

In Man of Steel, Amy Adams as Lois Lane was the very definition of freckled
sexiness. In Dawn of Justice , she had to play second fiddle in the eye -candy
department to Gal Gadot's uber sexy Amazonian warrior. Last seen in the Furious
six falling to certain death in the longest plane take off in movie history, Gadot
resurrected in Dawn of Justice as a fashionista Wonder Woman who pays as much
attention to kicking ass as she does to keeping a coutured ass that is guaranteed
to turn heads. On the strength of her turn in Dawn of Justice, the Wonder Woman
stand-alone movie is guaranteed box office success when eventually released.

Dawn of Justice turned out to be a really enjoyable movie. Much like Man of
Steel, it is a movie you will need to see time and again to appreciate. That's not to
say you won't appreciate it at first viewing.