There was a teaser for the Batman: Lego movie, which might have been the best part of the whole thing.
The teaser was different than the one above, but this one is still good.
Anyway, SPOILERS beneath the cut.
The film irked me right off the bat by starting with the same sequence we've seen a million times before: Bruce Wayne's parents being shot in front of him. Maybe the sequence was beautiful; I can only say that I spent the entire time thinking really? we have like twenty characters to introduce in this film, and you're wasting precious time showing me THIS? Did you think I would sit here wondering why, oh why bruce wayne became batman if you didn't show me this?
People might say that sequence was necessary to introduce the thing about Batfleck and Superman's mothers the same name, to which I say I don't care. They could have introduced that plot point in another way. How? It's their job to find out. They certainly have the budget for it.
But did the movie get better after those pretentious fumes of the opening scene?
Eh, eventually. Much like Man of Steel, this movie was so in love with its own premise that it forgot to make the entire first hour entertaining. At one point, I got up and went to the bathroom because I was not about to suffer a full bladder because Snyder wanted to splooge a dream sequence all over my face.
I liked Wonder Woman's introduction, and the role she played in defeating Doomsday. I enjoyed her costumes and I'm interested in her film. She didn't get much screentime, but since she's getting her own movie, that didn't bother me at all.
Lois Lane also got considerable screentime, and she played a significant role in advancing the plot. It was really cool how she connected the dots about Luthor via investigative journalism. Her relationship with Superman was also well done, though I thought Superman himself was the worst part of this movie.
As I said when I blabbed about the trailer, I approved of the decision to turn Lex Luthor into a limp-haired, twitchy millennial because I feel like that's the new face of society's anxieties, for better or for worse. I'm happy to report that Lex Luthor is one of the few things in the film that works. Yes, his lines are cheesy, and yes, the actor is over-the-top, but this film is a spectacle and this actor seems to be the only one who's embracing the sheer melodrama of the script.
Unlike Superman's tortured Jesus metaphor, Luthor's rants against religious figures are actually entertaining to watch. Open up any article about millennials and religion, and you'll read at least one paragraph about how sad it is that we don't go to church, or care about morality, or are always questioning everything, including God, and why can't we just shut up, get straight married, and buy a damned house and two cars already? So yes, Lex Luthor does embody a (simplified) view point that scares the pants off some parts of America.
Because Superman manages to be such a tool throughout the movie, Luthor's concerns about whether or not it's intelligent to be worshiping some alien that they know nothing about are sympathetic. He's cray, but he's right that it's disturbing that so many people seem ready to let this seemingly all-powerful being parade on Earth unchecked. Somehow, Luthor made me a supporter of nuclearizing Kryptonite just in case it's needed some day. That's impressive.
Speaking of Superman himself, he was the worst. Cavill's acting was terrible, though it's not like he had much to work him. His entire thing (for the first awful half of the movie) was about how wrong Batman is to be vigilanting all over Gotham, and I'm like. . . how is this any of your business, Clark? Didn't you fly your ass to "Northern Africa" to vigilant? Oh, I get it. It's different when you do it, and when it's your girlfriend, because I guess you're special.
I'm okay with a character being a hypocrite, because who isn't a hypocrite about some things? But the script has to acknowledge that the character is being a tool somehow, and Dawn of Boredom doesn't do it at any point. I'm expected to see Superman's point, right up until the movie decides to drop it because Doomsday and stuff.
Batfleck was enjoyable. He had a crap script to work with, but Ben Affleck did a really good job, and I was 100% on his side since the movie Superman was such a douche throughout.
I've not much else to say, other than this could have been so much better. Oh, and the senator lady was the first act's only saving grace.
Let's hope Civil War is better.
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