Reviews liked by CaptainMustard
Definitely better than the previous reboot. Largely because the villain is a true foe unlike Lex, whose only weapon is the good old green element unless he is creating Nuclear Man or something. It also creates more tension and eye-catching action. In terms of Superman himself, there is still the problem of him being so strong that even being near defeat doesn't seem to be close in this. The older Superman films did this better. In terms of the characters, no one can top Reeve, but Cavill does a good job as the protagonist. To my surprise, the main adversary General Zod isn't as fearsome as the 'Superman II' version who is a brilliant villain. Apart from the odd quip, Amy Adams doesn't quite feel like the Lois Lane we all know based on how she has been portrayed in numerous mediums in the past either but fits the role fairly well. I was glad they didn't go too heavy on Clark's origins, where it is instead weaved into the story through memories as an adult Superman. Overall, it doesn't add much to what we have seen before, especially when you consider the movie with the same villain from 30 odd years ago is a more engrossing film. For 150 minutes though it didn't feel long and moves along at a good pace. When you think that Superman has been around for about 80 years and has fought countless enemies, it does surprise me that from the six feature films we have seen from Superman, we have had Zod twice, and Lex 4 times + Nuclear Man. Give us something new! Films don't have an expiration date! 3.5-3.
1
Entertaining but the ending was weird and they killed off too many characters.
1
Wayne shares some thoughts around major incidents in his career, but as a United fan, there isn't much new information I got out of this. As it's only an hour long, it moves along a little too quickly as well.
1
Totally rewatchable! Good story, acting, pacing, and visuals. It's nice to see a movie that isn't fully animated.
1
[SPOILERS] I walked out of the theatre unsure of what to make of this. I enjoyed it but I wasn't blown away like I was after some former Batman films. It does feel different than any Batman movie we've had before which is overall a good thing in this world of recycled superhero movies. I had read some criticisms of Nolan's trilogy that Batman did not partake in enough detective work, but that aspect of the character is back, largely thanks to The Riddler being the main antagonist, who may I add, until he tries to make Bruce explode and then floods the city, does almost nothing evil in this. His only targets are the corrupt. Colin Farrell as The Penguin steals some scenes but it looks like he will have a bigger role than he got in this in the sequel/HBO TV series. When he yelled something like "no one steals my money" it made my hairs rise - Very convincing. The ending seems to also hint to The Joker being in the follow up. This is an issue I have with the Superman films. There are countless villains in the comics, yet we get the same couple portrayed movie after movie. While he was fine as Batman, I didn't love Robert Pattinson in either role. He doesn't have the look and some of the acting wasn't spot on in my opinion as Bruce. Where in the past Bruce has been a playboy or more confident and a different personality altogether, there was little difference between Bruce/Batman. The Bruce/Alfred relationship was weird. He didn't seem respected by Bruce. The "You're not my father" line is something a child would say. It didn't fit. And Alfred got what he deserved for opening mail addressed to someone else. Just joking. The ending felt a bit anticlimactic just because The Riddler was already in prison. You don't want cookie-cutter movies, but generally the main villain being fought or captured is the climax where here it wasn't. The action scenes were fairly good. The car chase with the b-tec batmobile was one of the highlights. The villains must have never learnt to take head shots though. Batman gets shot a load of times but his armoured suit protects his torso. If they aimed higher it would be a short film. I was pleased that we didn't have 30 minutes of origin story. That was a fear of mine going in but there is little to no time wasted explaining this with us seeing Batman in his second year of 'The Gotham Project'. One odd part for me was after Batman is nearly blown up and escapes from the GPC, the next time he is with a bunch of cops it's like nothing happened. Was a scene cut? Did I miss something explaining this? If not, this is a huge plothole. The "no killing rule" version of Batman is back, yet he pounds criminals' heads in multiple times. If by some miracle they weren't dead, they would definitely be a vegetable for the rest of their life. This is the issue I have with people who have had a problem with his portrayal in films like Dawn of Justice. Maybe he doesn't shoot them with bullets, but he always kills people in the films with the way he fights. Lastly, it has been mentioned and I think the 'woke' aspect/lack of equality is a minor issue and one that wasn't needed. They're some of my quick thoughts. An enjoyable movie and one I've looked forward to seeing for years, but it just lacked something for me. 3.5-4/5.
3