Superman

Review – Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice

23rd June 2021

Review – Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice Directed by: Zack Snyder Produced by: Charles Roven & Deborah Snyder Written by: David S. Goyer & Chris Terrio Starring: Ben Affleck & Henry Cavill Release Date: March 25th 2016 A lot has happened since this movie first released half a decade ago. We have lived through the explosive fan backlash to the original cut, had an ultimate cut blu-ray release that fixed some of the theatrical cut’s problems, suffered through a watered down, colour-graded sequel from Joss “Brunch,” Whedon, finally surviving a worldwide pandemic and witnessing a monumental online campaign to get to see Zack Snyder’s untainted vision of an epic superhero team-up blockbuster that is mostly free from studio meddling. So really what is left to say? Well in the wake of the Snydercut being released, I revisited the theatrical cut of Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice for review and realised that I do still have a lot to say about the film. First off, let me give you some context regarding the complex relationship that I have with this movie. For the last eight years I have been reading and collecting comics to an obsessive level and it is actually predominately because of this movie. I have always been a superhero fan (especially Batman,) and I had read some comics in my youth, but when this movie was announced at San Diego Comic-Con in 2013, (8 years ago!!) I was so hyped that I decided that I had to read the comic that this film was taking inspiration from. So I went to my local A1 Comics and bought The Dark Knight Returns, which underwhelmed me but that’s another story. Since then I have become a huge comic book fan due to this movie. So clearly I have a personal attachment to the film. Which means I went in seriously wanting to love it and what was not to love here? It would have been so difficult to get this wrong. It is Batman fighting Superman on the big screen, how amazing is it that this actually happened? And yet somehow they still managed to royally screw it up… Do you read? You will. And then realise how superior the comic that this film is based on is to the actual movie itself, (and I’m not even a massive fan of the source material.) I revisited 10 Cloverfield Lane this week for review and while that movie isn’t perfect, what makes that film great is exactly what makes BvS subpar. 10CL had a small team of people working on a restrictive budget, so every aspect of the movie was scrutinised and perfected to make up the end product and that attention to detail really paid off. BvS had a huge budget and a massive team of people working on it and I think that is what gives the movie it’s unfocused and sloppy feel. The script is a mess, there are clearly scenes cut, the editing is jarring, not all of the performances were up to scratch and while the imagery and visuals are incredible, the best way to describe this movie is all style and no substance. I like Zack Snyder, I love his Watchmen movie, I like 300 and I enjoyed Man of Steel, but I can’t help but feel that this was his fault. His decision to make years of comic book stories into one two and a half hour movie honestly baffles me. The events of this movie should have taken place over at least three movies. This movie really is all over the place and the pace and tone are random at best. Let’s talk about the best part of the movie, which is quite easily Ben Affleck’s Batman and Jeremy Irons’ Alfred. Seeing the two characters and their chemistry are worth the ticket price of the film alone. This is probably the most faithful to the source material Batman that we have had on the big screen to date, except for one pretty major change. Batman in DoJ is pretty much Punisher in a cowl. During the Batmobile chase he questionably kills some goons. I mean, some of them could have survived… If they had Wolverine’s healing powers I guess? But then there is that badass warehouse scene that we all remember fondly during which, he near enough shoots some guys himself. If you can get over this and see this as an alternate version of Batman you should be able to appreciate Affleck’s performance though, which by the way is amazing, he knocks it out of the park. I would have liked some kind of reference to it, even a scene where he discusses breaking his code with Alfred, just a few lines would have made me get on board with this version of the character a lot quicker. Critics have been calling Henry Cavill’s Superman performance wooden for years now, but I have always felt that is too harsh. He was perfectly serviceable in this movie but he was never going to be praised for his memorable performance either. Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman is a standout, my only complaint is that she isn’t in the movie enough as Wonder Woman. Jesse Eisenberg is the stand out worst performance in the movie. It isn’t necessarily a bad performance, it just does not fit that character at all. He was truly miscast here, if they had cast him as Riddler in the Batman solo movie and he put in this performance I would be praising him like mad. Lex Luthor shouldn’t be crazy on a surface level, he should be a respectable businessman and an intellectual force to be reckoned with and he will go out of his way to ensure that this is what everyone sees him as. It should only ever be the people closest to him that that he allows to see him crack. He certainly shouldn’t be making strange noises and gestures like someone with Tourette’s

Review – Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice Read More »

Review – Injustice 2

17th May 2021

Review – Injustice 2 Developer: NetherRealm Studios Publisher: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment Genre: Fighting Game Director: Ed Boon Release Date: May 11th 2017 Quick disclaimer before I start my review for Injustice 2, I am not a huge online gamer. Whilst playing through the game, I dabbled in a few online fights and played a few co op games with my better half, but for the most part this will be a review of the single player story portion of the game. I was so pleasantly surprised when I played the first Injustice game. I am a big DC fan, but fighting games aren’t one of my preferred genres in gaming, yet this fighting game set in the DC universe blew me away. The story was intriguing, the characters were diverse and it was a unique taste on a beloved universe. Therefore, the sequel had a fair amount to live up to and while it is still a fun fighting game with a multitude of colourful characters, it doesn’t feel anywhere near as special as Gods Among Us did. The setup this time around revolves around Brainiac descending upon the earth in search of Kal-El and Kara, the last two remaining Kryptonians and eliminating them. Since the events of the last game, Batman has been keeping Superman in a special prison that suppresses his powers and the world has remained relatively free of crime, however Brainaic’s arrival changes all this. From here onwards we have our superhero story, which sees epic battles occur and mortal enemies being forced to work together against a common evil. Most importantly, the game is fun. Gameplay feels pretty tight, which is both a positive and a negative when compared to Gods Among Us. The controls feel more solid and purposeful, but also feel more restrictive and less forgiving since the last time. This makes button bashing a void method and forces you to learn intricate button sequences if you want to pull off a decent combo. Thankfully, the super-moves are really fun to watch and make you feel awesome when you manage to successfully pull them off. I was so looking forward to the story mode in this game, I loved the story mode in the first game and was relying on this one to deliver also, unfortunately I found it jarring and hard to swallow, even as a lifelong comic book fan. The story in Gods Among Us was controversial amongst DC fans, as it turned a number of iconic characters on their head, causing them to fight on the opposing side from what we are used to seeing. In that game though, I thought it worked, character motivations were clear and there was context given for the heroes and villains who switched sides. This time around, characters switch sides faster than a tennis ball at Wimbledon and half the time, there is no apparent reason for it. The most jarring moment came when Wonder Woman turned on Kara. In the mission that preceded it, Wonder Woman inhales Scarecrow’s toxin and through a hallucination and it is revealed that her worst fear is turning on her friends, yet in the mission immediately after this sequence, she turns on her friends in reality! With no apparent motive to do so other than she is unconditionally on Superman’s side, making no moral decisions for herself. It came across so awkwardly and felt lazy, it’s as if the writers totally forgot about the last scene that illustrated that the last thing that Wonder Woman wants to do is turn on her friends. I did appreciate the graphics in the game. Netherealm have really stepped up their game since the first Injustice and there are some truly stunning moments throughout Injustice 2 and I don’t just mean in the cut-scenes. The area transitions are gorgeous to look at, the super-moves are very visually impressive and the detailed locations where the fights take place are also effective. The multiple unique environmental hazards present in each environment add an extra layer of unpredictability and opportunity to the fights and they do a good job of helping a player on the back foot start a comeback against their opponent. Facial animations and voice acting across the stable of characters is also solid. Although the game is technically sound and the graphics are good looking, I wasn’t a fan of the character design overall this time around. The last game updated a few character designs, but for the most part followed the traditional style that the characters are portrayed in. This time, a lot of the character’s costumes look goofy and come off looking like toy armour rather than something a superhero would realistically wear. The redesign of the Joker makes no sense. Not only did it look like they were trying too hard to make him look edgy, but in this universe, Joker was killed at the beginning of the first Injustice game and he didn’t look like that when he died. In this game he appears to Harley through one of Scarecrow’s hallucinations and looks similar to the Jared Leto version of the character from Suicide Squad, but why? As far as we know, he has never looked like that in this universe during the time he was alive and if you are going to redesign him, don’t base it on Leto’s Joker, (AKA the worst version of the character.) The co-op is as much fun as you would expect and certain matchups are more interesting than others. As with the first Injustice, pulling off combos and super-moves on someone that is physically sitting next to you is a lot more satisfying than doing it to some AI or an online player thousands of miles away. There is nothing quite like the couch co-op experience when it comes to a fighting game. Injustice 2 is a lot of fun to play in a group as well, setting up a tournament and throwing in real life forfeits also makes

Review – Injustice 2 Read More »

Review - Doomsday Clock

Review – Doomsday Clock

3rd January 2026

SUMMARY Doomsday Clock is a 12 issue comic series from DC Comics (oh my god I just realised DC stands for Doomsday Clock in this context, don’t tell me I’m wrong.) featuring an all-star cast of your favourite DC characters such as Batman, Joker, Superman and Lex Luthor, but what’s that in the sky? Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s the Watchmen! Crashing into the unfamiliar yet familiar territory of Gotham City. Once initial pleasantries are made between both sides, the race is on to beat the clock and save this world from itself and in turn save everyone.   DOOMSDAY CLOCK ART It’s only when you see both worlds and characters of The Watchmen and Batman & Superman that you see the similarities in their dark and gritty yet colourful and classic design. The pencil art by Gary Frank and use of colour by Brad Anderson seamlessly synergises with the exciting yet tragic story of a group of superheroes in charge of saving a doomed world. The covers of the collection alone are stunning to look at, each with its own unique and poetic nuances. It’s hard to choose a favourite and that speaks volumes as several of the comics have alternate cover art, I don’t even think Frank and Brad could decide on the best fit for each issue so why not have both?  Covers aside, there are some truly incredible panels of art within these comics. Some are bombastic and badass whereas others are subtle and seductive but like seductive in a how a director lines up a shot perfectly to tell a story and then takes it to the bedroom…to hang up on his wall because it’s ART!    DOOMSDAY CLOCK WRITING Do you know what’s harder to keep track of than a multiverse in comics? A world! Let me explain, a multiverse knows it’s a huge thing so it only gives you the prime details you need to know about. A world however, is small enough that it decides to give you every detail It has about it in the hopes that it’ll be easy to follow because it’s not as big as a multiverse. this series has 3 worlds, time travelling and a multiverse!  Despite the subject matter and level of events going on, Doomsday Clock is surprisingly easy to read. Fully grasping and reciting the subject matter and events however – especially when trying to review it (little meta-humour for you dear reader), is gonna require some quiet reflecting and a déjà vu ridden reread of the series. Even if you do understand what’s happening, the series deserves the reread in order to engross yourself in the foreshadowing throughout. With the use of real-life figures, global news broadcasts and an extensive lore of the worlds provided in everyday formats like newspapers, letters and photographs, you often forget you are reading a work of fiction. With the year we’ve just had, even the outrageous and supernatural events don’t seem to break the illusion. Not to mention this serves as additional immersive context for the reader who perhaps isn’t as familiar with the universe and its characters. As mentioned, the collection features an all-star cast of DC favourites. Seeing those characters interact and pair with each other makes for some interesting developments and fun internal commentaries. Batman and Rorschach trying to out-brood each other is a comic book fans’ vigilante fantasy…vigilantasy if you will! As well as those favourites we also get meta glimpses into the more obscure characters of DCs history such as various incarnations of the Justice League and international superheroes yet to make their mark. The cherry on top is the promise of new fan favourites in the near future and the promise of an ever-expanding story that will kick down the forbidden comic book doors. We recently reviewed the Classic Watchmen book, check it out here OVERALL REVIEW Move over MCU with your Infinity Wars, Endgames and maybe even some of your Wandavision. THIS is the most gripping and mind-blowing collection of comics I have ever read. Doomsday Clock demands a film adaptation whether it be live action or probably for the best, an animated trilogy of films. This is what the DCEU films should be working towards; A truly visceral and ingenious experience with a web of suspense and tragedy that is a thank you series to the diehard fans of DC. Any comic book fan should add this series to their collection as it is a masterclass in effective storytelling and artwork.  Let us know in the comments your thoughts on our review of Doomsday Clock, your favourite DC Characters and what you’d like to see from an adaptation!

Review – Doomsday Clock Read More »

Scroll to Top