Icon Vs. Icon’s husband and wife team, Delores and Hank Price, Jr., continue their winning streak this week with a brand new Pick of The Week. Check out their takes on Zack Snyder’s, ‘Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice,’ which stars Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Jesse Eisenberg, Gal Gadot, Amy Adams and more. Give this dynamic duo a follow and marvel at their online antics on Twitter at @deloresprice80 and @thehenrypricejr.
She Said: I Googled it so I would get this right. Hank and I recently bore witness to the Ultimate Edition of “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.” I hadn’t seen the original film and, of course, Hank saw it already along with scores of others geeked out for the war between the Dark Knight and the Man of Steel. So, he was steamed up to get an extra 30 minutes of … I’m not sure what … sweet, hot action?
I’ve been described as out of touch so I sometimes feel an urge to view popular blockbusters that have folks passionately arguing one way or the other. Sometimes. Usually I’m disappointed with these popular flicks but at least I attempt to reach through my personal space bubble into society and touch something relevant.
Reach out and touch … Henry Cavill. Yes, it didn’t hurt Hank’s chances of watching this film with a friend (me!) when he mentioned this beautiful creature would be adorning the screen and, later, my dreams and possibly nightmares. I’ll take what I can get.
So, the movie. The plot was for people with a stake in this Batman, Superman, superhero universe. I got the gist but it’s not worth a detailed rehash. Quickly, Superman ain’t so popular anymore because he battled bowl cut Zod and made the city look like a ruin. “Eat My Wake Metropolis.”
A lot of crap happened. Superman stinks. He floods apartments while trying to make sweet, sweet love to a Plain Jane Lois Lane and blows shit and people up. Homey don’t play that.
Jesse Eisenberg is the worst. Lucky for him the character he’s playing, Lex Luthor, is the worst. Way to play yourself.
It took me a bit to forget dopey Ben Affleck and believe in rich, dark, troubled Bruce Wayne but I did. Gal Gadot and her accent made a fetching Wonder Woman, definitely trumping Amy Adams. Blah blah blah I checked out at 1:11:42.
Too much was going on that I didn’t care about. If you are a fan of Batman or Superman I am sure you will enjoy this movie. The end.
He Said: My time is precious, so I implemented a rule when it comes to movies – I’ll only watch a movie more than once if I really loved it, and usually no more than twice. A third viewing is high praise from me, and an honor I’ve bestowed upon “Batman v. Superman – Dawn of Justice.” Of course, I’m counting the theatrical release and the recently released “Ultimate Edition” as the same movie.
If you’re reading this, you’ve probably seen the movie (it made damn near a billion dollars, after all), but to briefly rehash the story, Bruce Wayne/Batman is pissed at Superman for destroying Metropolis and killing scores of innocents during his fight with Zod and the other Kryptonians at the end of “Man of Steel,” and is also fearful of an alien he doesn’t understand. He’s not alone – plenty of other people are pissed off at Superman, including Congress, who want Superman to answer for what he’s done. Of course, many other people see Superman as a god (as his biological father predicted). This doesn’t sit well with crazy Lex Luthor, who’s pissed and stirring panic and experimenting on the Kryptonian technology recovered by the U.S. government. Meanwhile, Clark Kent/Superman is understandably pissed so many people hate him. And Diana Prince/Wonder Woman is pissed because Luthor has information on her proving she’s a metahuman. Basically, everyone’s pissed, which builds to Superman and Batman throwing down in an epic clash. Ultimately, Batman realizes he was wrong about Superman and the two team up with Wonder Woman to take on Doomsday, a Kryptonian Frankenstein’s monster made from Zod’s corpse and Luthor’s blood.
The Ultimate Edition adds about 30 minutes of extra footage. Most of the scenes give Clark and Lois more to do in their day jobs, which is fine. There’s a scene at the end of Steppenwolf, who’s rumored to be the main villain in next year’s “Justice League.” There’s nothing particularly earth-shattering, though it is the definitive way to watch the movie. It reminds me of the director’s cut of “Aliens” in that way.
I was initially skeptical of the decision to make BvS the sequel to “Man of Steel.” After Marvel spent five films building to “The Avengers,” it seemed like DC was rushing to get to “Justice League.” But the story makes sense given the events of its predecessor, and its conclusion sets up “Justice League” perfectly. Plus, characters like the Flash, Cyborg, Aquaman and Green Lantern aren’t as well-known to the general public as many of Marvel’s characters, so it makes sense to tether them to Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman before sending them out on their own. So far, the casting of the main characters has been perfect (I especially loved Affleck as Batman and Bruce Wayne, which is not an easy feat to pull off). If the new characters are cast just as well, they’ll generate more of a draw for their standalone movies. Ezra Miller is already getting strong buzz for his performance as the Flash and Jason Momoa looks like a legit Aquaman (sorry Vinnie Chase).
While I can’t say the movie is perfect, I was baffled by the criticism it received. I can’t think of another movie of this magnitude that was so unfairly criticized. I’m not one to spout conspiracy theories about critics and their agendas, but I can’t help but wonder what movie some of these people were watching. Oh well, there’ll be more popcorn and beer for me when I watch it again.
Jason Price founded the mighty Icon Vs. Icon more than a decade ago. Along the way, he’s assembled an amazing group of like-minded individuals to spread the word on some of the most unique people and projects on the pop culture landscape.
