Batman v. Superman (Part 2 of 3)

Wonder Woman

Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman is a breath of fresh air in this otherwise drab movie. I felt like she was the wrong choice to play the third main DC character in their universe. I was wrong about my misgivings about her casting. She is one of the few things to sit through and enjoy. Everything about her in this movie works and is a lot of fun. Gadot is impressive as the Amazon warrior. She does the character service. Somehow, WB didn't screw this character up and let Gadot encompass the character.

Even the director airs a bit of mystery behind her appearance and enjoys shooting her scenes. Plus, she has good chemistry with Ben Affleck.

Wonder Woman's outfit is spot on too. It is a cross between the New 52 and the Kingdom Come outfits. It is believable in this world.

In a movie that has heroes not wanting to be heroes, it is refreshing to see someone that wants to make a difference. She is a superhero in a Snyder movie. When Doomsday attacks her, she gets back up with a smile on her face. She is loving every minute of it, and it shows she is a true warrior.

Okay, DC, I am looking forward to seeing her solo movie now. You got me.

Batman

Ben Affleck as the Dark Knight is fine.

While I find it kind of odd that DC decided to make Bruce Wayne an older Batman. He's been doing this for 20 years whereas Superman is about three years into being a superhero. I am fully aware that they're taking this older Batman from the Dark Knight Returns, but why not match a new Superman with a younger Batman so that way you can take the Bats franchise further?

Ben is good as both Wayne and Batman, but there are limits to the character due to the really atrocious writing. I think Batman is written fairly well when he is either paired with Alford or Wonder Woman. The scenes between Diana (WW) and Bats are interesting because we never seen a live action pairing between WW and Bats.

The relationship between Bruce and Alfred is a different take and I really dig it. Jeremy Irons is great as the more edgy butler. He is more of an equal to Bruce than a servant. Their relationship feels like there is a 20 year price tag to it.

Why is Wayne Manor burned down? Was this a reference to the Nolan Batman movies. That was an interesting take.

One of my biggest issues with this Batman is he is a straight up killer. He kills more people than probably the Batman 89 version. Not even the Dark Knight Returns version kills. That version uses rubble bullets. In this movie, Batman even uses cars to crush other people in cars and doesn't bat an eye doing it. This troubles me, because the character has taken a regressive step backwards to the Tim Burton days of the Batman.

Superman

Superman/Clark is sort of lost in his own sequel movie. Henry Cavill does what he can, but I feel there is a lot of stuff cut out and Superman's motivations are some of those things. From the final cut, I just know that he really hates Batman. He views his tatics as being extreme, but Superman did kill Zod in the last movie. And, what about the crashing through all those building in the third act of the first movie? You and Batman are the same in that aspect. Yet, the writers can't band-aid that problem.

Unlike the version we see on Supergirl, this Superman is a dick...a super dick. I was hoping they weren't heading to the dickish version of the man of steel from the New 52 universe, but they kind of are with this guy feels more burdened with saving lives than feeling good about making a difference .

Are we supposed to cheer for him?

Now, I haven't touch upon the far more terrible things in this bloated movie. (Lex Luther and Doomsday) Oh, boy.