Batman V Superman: Dawn Of the DCEU

Batman V Superman Dawn of justice, directed by Zack Snyder is the second movie in the DCEU. This was one of the most hyped movies in history and the reason for the hype is the title itself, the two greatest superheroes of all time sharing a screen for the first time. Ever since the announcement was made in the 2013 comic con panel right after the release of man of steel people went crazy with their fan theories and speculations. There was a huge three year wait for the clash of the world's finest. The expectations for the movie were over the roof because the Nolan trilogy had set the standards too high. Ben Affleck played batman and Henry Cavill played the man of steel for the second time with Gal Gadot starring as wonder woman.

It was a visual treat for anyone who watched it and definitely a huge blockbuster making over 850 million USD in the box office despite the 27% critic rating at rotten tomatoes. The main reason for making the movie was to set up a universe and introduce new members for a future justice league film. Unfortunately the film didn't focus much on the title as much as it did about the second part, the Dawn of justice. There was a brief introduction to all the justice league members including cyborg aquaman and the flash. There were some good moments but the film overall failed to meet the expectations of the majority of people who watched it. It seemed like the film targeted only DC fans and they (myself included) welcomed it spectacularly. To this date, despite the controversies that arose, DC fans have stood by defending their heroes and their universe in spite of what the critics and normal audience say. That being said lets get back to the movie.

Ben Affleck was arguably the best batman on screen and certainly the most powerful and gadget heavy batman to this date. He gave a charismatic performance as Bruce Wayne and an intimidating and strong batman. His part turned out to be the best performance in the movie. Henry Cavill had the looks and the muscle and he was great as superman too. I'm growing more fond of his Clark Kent than his superman screen time. His superman was not a comic book inspired happy, cheerful, saving cats from trees type superman, instead it continued to be as realistic as it was in man of steel. No matter what we say that is exactly how a real life superman would be treated in this world. There was a cameo from Gal Gadot as wonder woman, definitely a fan favourite performance and appretiated by all viewers due to a fantastic introduction and a fight sequence. Jesse Eisseneberg starred as Lex Luthor which was definitely the worst performance in the entire movie. He had some amazing lines in the movie but it was overall very disappointing due to the lack of motivation for his actions and a poor dialogue delivery. He may look like young Lex from the comics but doesn't act like him.

The movie faced too many problems ever since the release but personally, as a DC fan I enjoyed it very much and expect more from the upcoming movies. It definitely doesn't deserve razzie nominations but then again the razzies aren't taken too seriously. I loved Ben's new take on batman and loved the breathtaking visuals. But the only way to make both fans and critics happy is by sticking to the source material, not just the storyline, but the costumes, make-up and character. It would definitely be foolish to try out anything new or take any more risks especially this early. DC could definitely be a tough contender for Marvel if they keep that in mind and not try to rush things.

Verdict:

Theatrical version                

Fan in me : 8/10                    
Critic in me : 7/10                

 Extended cut

Fan in me : 8.5/10 for the extra Clark Kent scenes
Critic in me: 7.5/10 story makes more sense

Posting this review on 25th March on account of the 1st year anniversary of the movie and before the official justice league trailer, fingers crossed expecting a great trailer and an even better movie, go DC!

Man of Steel- The birth of the DCEU

Man of steel, directed by Zack Snyder is the first movie of the DCEU. This is the story of one of the most famous superheroes of all time, Superman, the last son of Krypton. He's the hero that still stands in the hearts of every 80s and 90s kid myself included who grew up watching Christopher Reeve's iconic Superman series, superman the animated series and justice league.

 While it may not be as iconic as Marvel's Iron man which took the universe to a whole new level today, it still does justice to the man in the last son of Krypton. Superman is played by Henry Cavill, who is a great casting choice and looks perfect for the role.

 This movie doesn't show superman saving a cat from a tree or rescuing a crashing plane, instead director Zack Snyder wanted to go for a darker, more realistic take on Superman. Christopher Nolan assisted Zack with the story, even though it might not be what everyone wanted to see, its still very interesting. There are some beautiful sequences here, like the flight scene and the other fight scenes with Zod and his fellow soldiers scored beautifully by Hans Zimmer, almost as iconic as the 1978 John William's theme. A few of my favourite soundtracks worth listening to are flight, if you love these people so much, and Han's 28 minute sketchbook. Overall the soundtrack is just epic and no one other than Hans Zimmer could have achieved this level of epicness with at music department.

The level of detail shown on planet krypton is much more than what you'd expect. While the first half of the movie is all about how Superman/Clark struggles to find his place in this world, the second half has tons of action, changing the tone of the movie completely, taking us on a roller coaster ride. General Zod, played by Michael Shannon is the film's antagonist, he's from Kal El's home planet as well and his motivations are purely to bring back Krypton and ensure the existence of his people. Superman faces a situation where he needs to choose between Krypton or Earth and he finally makes up his mind saying that his place is between Zod and the people of earth. The fight sequences featuring the man of steel, Zod and his army are truly spectacular and a visual treat to watch. There are some crazy 'air battles' which we've never seen on the big screen so far and Zack more than lives up to his repuatation of making badass action scenes. 

The movie isn't a huge box office hit, but it was a decent start to the DCEU. Hardcore DC fans such as myself were able to spot some easter eggs throughout the movie. Man of steel did what we expected it to do, it gave us a great superman with his iconic abilities including flight, heat vision, freeze breath, x-ray vision and super strength and also managed to set up a universe where other superheroes could exist for a future justice league movie. It was nice to see DC stand up against Marvel in the big screen but only time will tell who's the boss when it comes to movies, although we can all agree that DC rules when it comes to comics or animations or games. Its a great time to be alive for us comic book fans and man of steel is a great comic book movie.

Verdict: DC fan in me: 8.7/10
Critic in me: 7.5/10

P.S: No one has ever shown us superman with much speed, strength and Henry Cavill man, it's hard for us to see someone taking up Christopher Reeve's place and I must say, Cavill's resemblance to Reeve is what made me a huge fan of his superman and I hope he's utilised properly in the upcoming slate of DCEU movies.

Logan- Jackman's best-one last time...

Logan, directed by James Mangold is the 10th film in the X-Men franchise by 20th century fox. This movie has Hugh Jackman reprising his role as Logan/Wolverine for the 9th time and he has indeed saved his best for the last. Jackman has been the backbone of the X-Men franchise and has been a huge reason for the franchise to be where it is today. It takes place in a later timeline where there isn't much for the mutant race to do. Logan takes care of an ailing professor Xavier and the two of them share some brilliant moments together. Patrick Stewart is once again back as Charles Xavier but he's not the Charles we used to know, he's very old, weak and immobile but still has the old professor X's charisma and determination. One thing his age hasn't changed is his belief that mutants and humans can still coexist, he cares equally for both the races, 17 years of crazy stuff happening and this man still has so much faith. This movie has some of the best action scenes ever put to the big screen, if you thought deadpool had too much bloodshed, they've got another thing coming your way. Dafne Keen stars as Laura, Logan's daughter and whenever she's on the screen she goes crazy on the baddies and they don't stand a chance against her. Her chemistry with Logan is so natural and she resembles him in more than a few ways. It's heartbreaking that this is the final movie for both Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart, to even imagine more X-Men movies coming our way without them is sort of weird. You can notice that they haven't used a lot of CGI unlike their previous films which didn't turn out to be so good *ahem X-Men origins Wolverine* so the effects feel more natural and more realistic. There are some beautiful sequences shot, somewhat resembling the famous quicksilver scenes from X-Men days of future past and apocalypse. But if you go into this movie expecting to see a fun 'popcorn' flick you'd be disappointed because Logan is done with all that, he's done and just wants to get things over with. Personal opinion, I'd rate it as the 2nd best film in the franchise, first being X-Men First class and 3rd being deadpool. Emotion, action, drama, love, they've bundled the best for the last. Don't miss it in the theatres bub...

8.2/10
Thank you Hugh Jackman for giving us 17 years of Wolverine. There's only one Wolverine for us and that would be you :( .