Don’t worry, I won’t be reviewing Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, not even a little bit because I didn’t see it. At the moment, I have no intention of ever seeing it, and not just because I’m one of those old fanboys who strongly disapprove of seeing their childhood heroes being so unheroic (though I've got to admit, I really kind of am). What really set me against seeing it, though, was the first review for it I saw posted online; "I've Never Hated Anything the Way I Hate Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice." This was followed by half-dozen equally negative reviews, all of which hated the movie for pretty much the same reasons; it was dumb, loud and long. And I find that the older I get, the less interested I am in seeing movies that are dumb, loud and long regardless of the franchise they belong to, whether it's fast cars, transforming robots or superheroes.
But, not surprisingly, I was not in the majority. Its first weekend it made $425 million worldwide, proving right ComScore's Paul Dergarabedian, who wrote "two iconic characters in a celebrity death match of sorts was a truly irresistible and compelling concept."
Not having seen it would ordinarily exempt me from commenting on it, but these are hardly ordinary times, and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is no ordinary Hollywood superhero blockbuster. The movie is like a litmus test or a Rorschach blot; what you take from it seems to depend on what bring to it. According to "Batman v. Superman isn't a flop: A superhero movie that questions absolute power is tailor-made for 2016" by Matthew Rozsa that appeared in Salon, the movie is a political thriller about the corrosive nature of absolute power.
Over on Vibe, there’s a piece by Kaleem Aftab that says "'Batman v Superman' Is Actually a Good Depiction of the American Muslim Experience." He writes "Snyder has created the most original, visually-striking, and well thought-out superhero movie in years. Rather than being incoherent, he uses the superheroes and their backstories to convey a bats**t America amid bitter infighting and divisions." Aftab also writes:
"While watching Wayne leading an incensed crowd, shouting 'Go home! Go home!' at Kal-El, I couldn't help but think of all the Muslims being attacked and blamed for the actions of a mindless, nihilistic minority who don't represent us at all."
But my favorite piece on the movie, so far, is by Rob Salkowitz and appeared on the Forbes website, "Batman v Superman Is A Blockbuster For The Trump Era." He suggests "fans' angry rejection of the critical response, that echoes some of the other trends going on in American politics and society at this moment. In other words, forget quality: It may be that a defiantly awful Batman movie is just the ticket to make a billion in the age of Trump. We’re a loud, angry country right now and loud, angry things catch our fancy."
According to a piece on the Bleeding Cool website, "Julie Schwartz Told Dan Didio That Every 10 Years, DC Comics Needs an Enema." By which he seems to have meant periodic revamps like DC's upcoming "Rebirth." It's just a matter of whether The Joker was quoting Julie, or if Julie was quoting The Joker.
As previously established, my third favorite bandes dessinees (a.k.a. Franco-Belgian comics) series, right after Spirou and Blake & Mortimer, is Valerian, and I remain mildly amazed that director Luc Besson’s big screen adaptation of Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets is actually going to happen, even after seeing the evidence (see "First Pics From 'Valerian'"). I haven’t any problems with Dan DeHaan as Valerian and Cara Delevingne as his partner Laureline, but it is worth noting that while the series usually takes a mildly amused stance on the space opera, as seen here both characters are looking pretty grim and gritty. Plus, please also to note, that Laureline here is a blonde, not a redhead as she is in the comics. Still, at least, their spaceware doesn't have the kind of unnecessary application of detailing and textures that have plagued cinema suits, super or otherwise, for nearly a decade.
The opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff of ICv2.com.
