Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/668620
30 UCW APRIL 20-26, 2016 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM Shut your piehole, Internet whiners. I liked Superman v. Batman: Dawn of Justice (151 minutes) just fine. That is not to say it has no flaws. Too long, too dark, too heavy-handed, too ambitious — all these things are true, and have been said by more reputable critics than me. However, and I really can't believe I'm say- ing this, that doesn't mean the movie was bad. It wasn't a Marvel Cinematic Universe movie. Big Whoop. Maybe, if we just accepted the film on its own merits and enjoyed it for what it was, we'd be happier. As far as casting, I wasn't sure that Ben Affleck, the star of Gigli, could pull off Batman, until I saw him in Gone Girl. He did a really good job of playing a selfish rich jerk in that movie. Then, my friend Jon Chestnut pointed out that whoever is cast in the role doesn't need to be a good Batman, he just needs to be a good Bruce Wayne. I sort of get his point. Batman is angry about crime and growls a lot. Pull that off, and you've got it. Bruce Wayne needs nuance! The actor who plays Wayne must project carelessness, mystery, intelligence, sor- row, ambivalence, righteousness, empathy and rage — sometimes all in the same scene. And Ben Affleck pulled it off. Henry Cavill, on the other hand, is a total drag. Cavill has the correct look for Superman, but he always plays the Son of Krypton so … angry. Possibly, no one could live up to the Christopher Reeve Superman/Clark Kent, or maybe it's that Reeves was so much prettier than Cavill because he smiled once in a while. Not to mention, when watching those mov- ies I could suspend enough disbelief to accept that Lois Lane couldn't tell Superman and Clark Kent are the same person. Reeves had completely different mannerisms depending on which character he was playing. Cavill, on the other hand, doesn't pull it off. Basically, sometimes he shows off his abs in a button down shirt and sometimes he shows off his abs in a skintight Superman suit. The movie begins by showing the end of Man of Steel from the perspective of Bat-fleck. Like most of the viewing audience, he sees very clearly that Superman caused the death of a few thousand people by callously holding his climactic battle in the middle of Gothtropolis. Buildings get knocked down on top of orphans six days before their retirement, and, like an Italian pretending to be an indig- enous American standing in the middle of a garbage-filled stream, a single Bat-tear rolls down his upturned face. Eighteen months later, Superman and Batman decide to hate each other. Probably because Superman is a real neat freak, while Batman does his dishes at the end of the day instead of right after they are used. In between Superman and Batman questioning each other's life choices, Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg) bites off huge chunks of the background scenery, chomps them and spits them out. Dawn of Justice doesn't always work, but it does get a few things right, and I had fun watching it. Summing up: Once upon a time Superman had the powers of a god but Batman was a millionaire and way more devious. Also, Look! Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot)! All things considered, it could have been a lot worse. Now playing at Patriot 14 + IMAX. Long Live Bat-Fleck Superman v. Batman (Rated PG-13) by HEATHER GRIFFITHS HEATHER GRIFFITHS, Contributing Writer. COMMENTS? Editor@ upandcomingweekly.com. 910.484.6200. A shout-out to our hardworking Department of Transportation Employees... www.ncsecu.org all members of State Employees' Credit Union. Photos courtesy of the North Carolina Department of Transportation