It’s finally here! Batman Vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice premieres in theaters this Friday. The long gestating follow up to 2013’s Man of Steel, and the set up picture to next years Justice League film is only one day away from being unleashed. While I still anxiously await for the lights to dim in my viewing on Friday, here are my hopes for what this film sets up for the future of Warner Brothers DC Cinematic Universe!
Core Group Relationships
I going to go against the grain and declare that I have been on board with every single casting choice for this movie since day one. Each announcement brought me more curiosity, excitement and intrigue into what kind of picture this team was going to make. Once the cast was established, my questions turned to how they were going to work together. Not because I thought that these people couldn’t, but because I wasn’t sure what kind of portrayal of these characters they were going for at the time. Now that trailers have dropped and we have gotten a glimpse at what is to come, I’ve found myself thinking more and more about where this core group will end up at by the end of the film. Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman are the key members of the Justice League and in order for this film franchise to work, their interactions together need to feel right. That job is on the actors Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill and Gal Gadot. What I am not worried about are the individual performances. Cavill proved to be the perfect Superman in Man of Steel and Affleck has only gotten better with age having turned in great performances in The Town and Argo over the past couple of years. The unknown commodity is Gadot who we have really only seen in the Fast and Furious franchise, but if her performance from those films showed anything, it’s that Gadot can act in an ensemble, which is certainly what this film needs. Saying all of this, my main hope is that the chemistry between our three leads is solid. I want to be as excited to see these actors play off of each other as I am to see Robert Downey Jr. play off of Chris Evans or Mark Ruffalo. I know that kind of chemistry is developed through working together across multiple films, but I’m hoping at the very least that Batman vs. Superman can establish the tone that these versions of the DC Super trio are going to have with one another.
Large Looming Threat
What I am looking for here is more akin to that of a Marvel after credit sequence. While I am aware that no such scene exists for this film, it would be nice for this comics fan to hear some hints dropped that point to Warner Bros. overall plan for this Cinematic Universe. As of right now, we don’t know too much about the two part Justice League movie, as I’m sure Warner Bros. wants to know how successful this movie is going to be first, but if you were to guess, which villain do you think the WB would want to go with as the main threat? Could it be Darkseid? Could it be Braniac? I’m super crossing my fingers for Braniac, but I realize that is probably a long shot *sigh*.
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It’s probably safer to bet on Darkseid acting as that big bad type role. Now don’t get me wrong, Darkseid is still an excellent choice, but for me, who the villain is doesn’t ultimately matter. I’m going to be invested with whoever the writing team chooses. All I want are some easter egg acknowledgements in this movie. For all we know, Warner Bros. could be wanting to do something similar with what Marvel’s Avengers did by having a key villain of one hero return to try and beat everybody. In this universe, that person is Lex Luthor. Ultimately, my approval of the idea to bring back Lex Luthor for Justice League depends on how I feel about Jesse Eisenberg’s portrayal of the character after I see this movie. If it’s good, then I think it would be really cool to have someone physically scrawnier as Eisenberg to develop Luthor’s trademark green mech suit. Regardless of who it ends up being, I hope there are some hints Zack Snyder and the writing have put into the script in order to acknowledge the future of this franchise.
Focus on Character
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Regardless of how the plot comes across on screen, the one thing I hope is an emphasis throughout is a focus on character development. If Warner Bros. wants to “catch up” to Marvel, or at least have a chance to do so, then they need to adopt a similar model, which is making the story move through the character’s choices and actions rather than have the story dictated by events of the evolving narrative. Marvel’s lineup of films have had a few setbacks in that department with The Incredible Hulk and Iron Man 2, but they still were able to chart the progress and evolution of the central character. Now, I’m not going to lie, the plot of Batman Vs. Superman has me concerned, but if the film demonstrates a lot of character moments that influence the action, I will be able to overlook some of the flaws I am already starting to see. I want to be able to tangibly track the arcs of each central character. If the “greatest gladiator match in the history of the world” is going to live up to the hype then I feel like its going to happen by leading up to it through character evolution. In order for me to find the action enjoyable, I want it to come about as an emotional response from the characters. I want people to interact with people. Great film drama for me stems from character relationships. I want this film to challenge as many dynamics to that end as possible. If future installments in this universe are going to work as well, then the creative team needs to figure out how these dynamics are going to work now instead of trying to put them in mid-way through production. This is more crucial for Justice League of all movies because of how many friendly cast members there are. Everyone needs their moment to shine, but if each character can be tapped in a way that compliments the others, then we’re heading in the right direction. With the action set-pieces only getting bigger with each new comic book movie release, placing a spotlight back on how characters evolve through a story will go a long way in providing a memorable experience at the cinema.
Two days removed from seeing this film I can only hope these elements are present. Regardless of my fears that they aren’t, I still can’t wait to see it all. You know where I’ll be on Friday. Bring it on!
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