Curtis Silvey is a sophomore photojournalism major and writes "The Silvey Lining" for the Daily News. His views do not necessarily agree with those of the newspaper. Write to Curtis at clsilvey@bsu.edu.
*This review contains spoilers.
5/5 stars
Some might say it’s the match of the century… it’s “God versus man. Day versus night! Son of Krypton versus Bat of Gotham!” as Lex Luthor says. “Batman v Superman” released on Good Friday, but the reviews seem to be anything but good.
Let me start off by saying that if you’re not a fan of Zach Snyder, there’s a chance that you might not like this movie. Snyder has a specific directing style that doesn’t sit well with some viewers, and in roughly half of the movie, the story jumps around like an insane game of Frogger. It starts off with the familiar Batman origin story playing in the background of the opening credits, and unless you’ve been living under a rock, you probably know how it goes.
After that, the story then leaps to the final fight from the end of “Man of Steel,” the origin story of Superman that Snyder also directed, but from the viewpoint of Bruce Wayne. Wayne is shown driving through Metropolis while debris is falling all around him. He hears about casualties and sees the destruction of a Wayne Towers building, believing Superman is to blame.
Then the movie skips to 18 months later in India where some kids off a shoreline find a source of Kryptonite. It keeps jumping around after that until halfway through, when storylines finally start to intersect with one another.
That, along with the lack of a good story, was what grinded gears with most hard-hitting critics. However, in my opinion, Snyder did a great job of juggling two main character stories, along with many multiple side characters within the movie’s two hour and 31 minute running time. Though there is a lack of a “good story,” the movie is more focused on the fact that these two comic giants are finally going head-to-head with one another on the big screen. And though the main fight between Batman and Superman isn’t a long, drawn-out bloodbath, it’s still awesome to see the two trying to duke it out with one another.
Ben Affleck was a great choice for the role of The Caped Crusader, bringing a more salty Bruce Wayne to life. Henry Caville already showed us how great he is in the role of Kal-El, or Clark Kent, when he first appeared in “Man of Steel.” Two of my favorite actors from the movie, though, were Jesse Eisenberg, who portrayed the mad Lex Luthor, and Jeremy Irons, who accurately portrayed the sarcastic side of Bruce Wayne’s caretaker and longtime friend Alfred. Gal Gadot brought Wonder Woman to life flawlessly, making the final fight with Doomsday that much more exciting.
The best thing I can tell you is if you’re a casual moviegoer or a DC fanatic, don’t trust the critics… go see it yourself.