Man of Steel, released in 2013, was a reboot of the famous Superhero films series. Director Zak Snyder took a darker approach to the character, more in line with the Christopher Nolan Batman trilogy, than the bright and colourful Richard Donner films. It launched to mixed critical reception, with most critics pointing to its lack of fun being in its detriment. It didn’t harm the box office receipts though, as it was a storming success. This was great news for Warner Bros., as the film was designed as the first building block in a “cinematic Universe” for all the DC comic characters. The sequel was inevitable.
Zak Snyder followed this up just 3 years later with the ominously titled Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice. The film promised a tete e tete or mano e supermano of, arguably, the two most famous superheroes of all time. Henry Cavill returned as the son of Krypton, along with his Man of Steel co-stars Amy Adams, Diane Lane and Laurence Fishburne. Cast in the role of Kal-El’s main opponent was Ben Affleck. This version of Bruce Wayne/Batman was a grizzled veteran, crime fighter, with his long suffering butler, Alfred, portrayed by Jeremy Irons. Jesse Eisenberg was drafted in to breathe new life into Lex Luthor, now a millennial Zuckerberg type. Rounding out the Justice side of things was model turned actress Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman.
The film was savaged by the critics, who had special ire for Jesse Eisenberg’s twitchy performance. Certain parts of the internet claimed that Disney/Marvel had paid off critics to give poor reviews. It opened really big, making more than its budget back in the opening weekend. At the time of writing however, being 5 days after release, it was suffering a significant drop off in attendance. Were the critics right? Was the internet right?
Ben and Foz put Y-Fronts on the outside of their trousers to see who wins this titanic fight to the death. Death? But aren’t they all back for the sequel?
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