I’ve spoken before about my love of comic books and superheroes, and I am a HUGE Wonder Woman fan. Needless to say, I’ve been counting down the days to the Batman v Superman premiere for months. The cryptic previews kept me in a constant state of nerd-fueled anxiety, and I’ve been in turmoil about how Ben Affleck would be like as Batman. I still remember the day my husband, Derek, and I learned he’d been cast in the role. We just looked at each other and said, “Oh god, no.”
When the movie premiered this week amidst an onslaught of horrendous reviews, my nerdy little heart died a little. The one thing that kept my hopes up was the warm welcome audiences gave to Gal Gadot as the new Wonder Woman. I read one review after another, all of them criticizing the movie heavily for having a “disjointed” storyline, a “hot mess” of a final battle and for being a “two-hour infomercial” for the upcoming Justice League and other DC movies. So yesterday afternoon I donned my Wonder Woman gear (t-shirt, bracelet, socks, boots and the leather jacket pictured above because I think Wonder Woman would wear a sweet leather jacket out on the town) and went to see the movie.
And it was AWESOME. Goosebumps giving, heart pounding, squeezing Derek’s arm in excitement, barely containing my fangirl squeals AWESOME.
Several times during the moving I leaned over to Derek and said, “Why didn’t anyone think this was good? I don’t get it?” And when the movie was done, the only thing I wanted to do was watch it again. As we left the theater, Derek and I launched into our usual post-movie analysis and it dawned on me why my perspective may be a bit different than most.
I’m not a movie purist; the way movie critics are and, while I’ve read enough comic books to understand how they flow, I’m not a comic book purist either. I wasn’t looking for BvS to be the next cinematic revelation nor was I looking for it to be faithful to the comics in every way. I’m also a writer, so I can appreciate how Zach Snyder took elements from various Batman and Superman storylines and created his own. Following a lengthy nerd analysis with Derek, I decided to undertake the mission of changing people’s minds about this movie.
I started by Tweeting Ben Affleck to let him know that he didn’t need to be upset about the reviews (No, he hasn’t Tweeted back. I’m still hoping, though. Maybe we can be friends.) He is FANTASTIC as Bats. Well played, sir. Well played.
I followed this closely with posting to Facebook so all my friends and family would know that critics don’t know everything and the movie was pretty darn fantastic. I then warned them that I would be talking about it for weeks. Then I decided that I’d just write a blog post to avoid being that obnoxious Facebook friend that posts what they’re selling every day until you decide to stop following them.
Be warned, though, there will be spoilers. And several bullet points.
- Criticism: Batman’s Origin Story.The first scene was the death of Batman’s parents. I have to admit, my first thought was, “Seriously? We’re seeing this again?” But the imagery is incredible and making that emotional tie for Batman is hugely significant later on in the film. Also, I came to find out that the scene with the gun and pearls, is identical to the image in the comic of The Dark Knight Returns* in 1986. Additionally, I think Synder was only staying true to the tone they’re taking with the DC movies. Everyone knows Superman came from Krypton, and we saw that at the beginning of Man of Steel again.
- I can’t take credit for this find. This reference and several others in this post come from this article at the Den of Geek website.
- Criticism: Batman Broods Too Much. Yeah, well, that’s what Bats does. Even in the Justice League animated series’ (both are on Netflix and both rock), Bats is moody. That’s what happens after twenty years of fighting criminals in a notoriously criminal-ridden city while losing your family and your friends along the way. I’d be standing in my burned out mansion brooding too.
- Criticism: No One Knows Whats Happening. Sorry friends, but I think what happened here is that Synder didn’t lay things on a nice shiny platter for us. In fact, he did just what comic books do and gave us snippets of information and let us build the picture ourselves. I read one review where the author was going on about how no one understands what happens in the desert. I know it wasn’t explained right away, but if you watch carefully, it’s all revealed as the movie goes on. Lois Lane explains it all in the end. You just have to be patient.
- Criticism: The Storyline Is Disjointed. I won’t argue with this, but I will tell you why it felt that way – that’s how comic books are written. In fact, I felt like I was “reading” a comic book. And I loved that. Comic books will have you in the midst of a huge battle and then BAM! you’re in dream or a flashback or another part of the story. Snyder did a great job making BvS feel like a comic.
- Criticism: This Is Lex Luthor? I’ll admit, I’m not entirely sold on this version of Lex. Superman’s arch enemy has almost always been portrayed as cool, calculating and well-respected by society. Jesse Eisenberg is full cray-cray. However, Lex is young in this version and it stands to reason that time in prison may change how he carries himself. At the end of the movie, Lex is mumbling crazily about something coming to devour the world. I did a bit of research (this can be found in the Den of Geek article linked above) and discovered that there are several indicators in the movie that Darkseid will be the big villain in the Justice League movie. Lex Luthor apparently knows he’s coming and, honestly, if I knew Darkseid were coming to devour my world, I’d go a little crazy too. Especially if I were a bit loony to begin with. Darkseid is one of the baddest, scariest comic book villains ever – in either Marvel and DC universes. So, maybe this is why Lex is crazier than usual. Or maybe it isn’t and Snyder simply wanted a new taken on a villain that’s been done the same way for years, and that’s totally fine too. The world won’t come to an end. Promise.
- Criticism: Too Many Cameos/Not Enough Content/More Wonder Woman. Listen, I’m always going to want more Wonder Woman. Having said that…did we all watch the same movie? I thought there was an excellent balance between Bruce and Clark, the internal struggles that make them who they are and the outside pressures on them. The cameos of The Flash, Cyborg and Aquaman, were brief and tastefully done. I am over the moon about Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman and loved every second she was in the film. I desperately want more, but last I checked, the title of the movie was Batman v Superman, not Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman. It wasn’t her movie so stop complaining she wasn’t more integral.
- Criticism: There Were Too Many Unanswered Questions. If this were meant to be a stand-alone film, I’d be right there with you. The fact is, BvS is supposed to kick off the upcoming DC movies, and there is nothing wrong with that. Raising questions and leaving them unanswered is a classic storytelling technique to keep readers/watchers engaged and coming back. Why was Wonder Woman watching Lex Luthor? What was he doing with her photo? Why did she stay out of the fight for so long? How does Lex know the real identities of Bats and Superman? What does it mean with the Flash says Lois is the key? Does Superman really die? There are so many more questions to be answered. And guess what? People are going to go the next DC movie to see the answers to these questions. This is how you create a series.
- Finally, the last Criticism: It Wasn’t Like Marvel. Right. Because it’s DC.
A. A. Bumgardner 