San Diego Comic Con Lifts Batman v Superman above the Horizon
In the summer of 2013 a little crossover movie was announced at San Diego Comic Con. Shoved to the end of the Warner Brothers panel inside the sacred walls of Hall H, Man of Steel director Zack Snyder took the stage and flashed a logo for his 
next movie and a release date of summer 2015 for Batman v Superman.
Fast forward to summer 2015 in that same location. Instead of talking about a full-length movie and what was next up for the cinematic representation of the Justice League, Con goers were treated to an almost four-minute sizzler reel from Batman v Superman (which was subsequently released as the film’s new trailer). Since the film’s initial announcement and its inevitable delay, Marvel has released four feature-length films (not including what Sony and Fox have been doing with the characters they have the rights to). As DC put all of its chips in the Batman and Superman basket, they fell further and further behind in the race for superhero cinematic superiority. Sadly, after watching the original teaser (“Tell me, do you bleed?”) and the most recent full-length trailer, I feel even stronger that Zack Snyder is the wrong person to usher DC into the next era of superhero flicks.
The trailer opens with Holly Hunter addressing a governmental committee talking about the destruction in Metropolis. The music is fleeting and angelic, but quickly turns ominous as we see a frantic Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck) running into the wreckage. Angry and scared of the potential consequences of having a world with Superman in it, we see Bruce training to get back in Batman shape. While it’s implied that he’s coming out of retirement after twenty years (look at the salt and pepper hair and Joker vandalized Robin costume – Jason Todd perhaps?), some of the trailer voice overs make it a bit unclear.
The tone of the sneak peek is essentially dark, much like Snyder’s first Superman flick. That’s one fundamental mistake that makes it hard to really get behind this movie. Don’t get me wrong, I’m firmly on Team Batman, but what makes the friendly competition and animosity between the two characters so compelling is that they’re complete opposites. Batman, the dark, brooding vigilante vs. Superman, the bright, innocent optimist. With Snyder’s treatment of the characters and his quest to be “edgy and realistic,” – he’s completely sucked out everything that makes Superman (Henry Cavill) who he is as a character, essentially making him uninteresting and two-dimensional. Even hearing Ma Kent (Diane Lane) tell Clark that he “doesn’t owe this world a thing” goes against everything Clark’s adoptive parents were supposed to have instilled in him. He’s always been the naive farm boy from Smallville who always looks for the best in people. He’s not just another edgy superhero. That portrayal appears to be absent in Batman v Superman. Speaking of origins and upbringing, why are we seeing Bruce Wayne’s parents being gunned down in crime alley again? Hasn’t his origin been done to death by now?
Some of the unknown portrayals were also hinted at as well. Up until the release of the trailer, we’ve only seen Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman and Jesse Eisenberg’s Lex Luthor in pictures. While Luthor gets more screen time, Wonder Woman’s one major scene shows she’s a force to be reckoned with. Luthor, on the other hand, is a whiny millennial. There’s definitely one other big bad that hasn’t been revealed yet. I can’t imagine having Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman fighting themselves, only to team up to take on Mark Zuckerberg.
Overall, this trailer just doesn’t do anything for me. I was apprehensive before and I’m just as apprehensive (and maybe more) after seeing this. There’s a lot riding on the success of this film. It serves as the cornerstone for the entire DC Cinematic Universe. But DC has already proven they’re impatient and hitting fast forward on developing their franchises, instead of building things methodically, this movie (and the recently revealed Suicide Squad) decides to throw everything against the wall and see what sticks. It’ll make a lot of money to be sure, but I just don’t think Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice will be a very good movie.
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