Holy Christ-imagery, Batman! At this year’s Comic-Con we got our first substantial look at the upcoming Batman Vs Superman movie in the form of a three-and-a-half minute trailer. We got our first look at Ben Affleck as Batman, Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor and saw the return of the cast of director Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel.
There’s an unfortunate tendency in modern movie trailers to reveal way more than is necessary and I’ve never quite understood the logic. People are going to go and see this movie regardless. The characters are well-loved, there’s the weight of Warner Bros behind and it will be released smack-bang in the middle of blockbuster season. I don’t have to know the first two acts before I even get in the door to want to see it, and besides, I like a bit of mystery. I should say that this trailer doesn’t give away too much, but there’ll be another one or two at least before release date so we can assume more will be revealed.
As is custom, there was plenty of dramatic music, symphonies of collapsing buildings and Henry Cavill’s permanently furrowed brow. On first watch, it seems pretty clear that this will not be a “fun” movie. Awe-inspiring? Maybe. Character driven? Hmmm. Lord knows, Snyder is doubling down on the Christ Imagery around Henry Cavill’s Superman this time around. We get shots of the Caped Crusader in front of stain glass windows and being surrounded by throngs of believers kind of like, you know, Jesus. Of course, instead of sorting out fish suppers for the masses we see Superman lifting lots of heavy stuff, shooting lasers from his eyes and flying about like a wasp who does Crossfit. The temptation is there, it seems, to allow Superman to take responsibility for our sorry species and deliver us from the evils that befall us.
Bruce Wayne is sceptical though. It appears that Ben Affleck’s Batman will become the self-appointed check on Superman’s hegemony after Wayne Tower (I presume) gets levelled by Superman’s escapades. Doesn’t anyone have any respect for anything any more, Goddmanit? I’m still not sure about that Batsuit. It looks like there are few different versions, not least for the desert (!) where a big Kevlar onesie might get a bit uncomfortable, But the metallic Bat-robot thing isn’t really doing much for me. Neither are the LED eyeballs. It looks strangely artificial to me. I like Ben Affleck as an actor, but I’m not sure this role is for him. I enjoyed the hint of madness simmering under the surface that both Christian Bale and Michael Keaton brought to Batman, and I’m not convinced I’ll get that from Affleck. But I like him, so I’m excited to be proved completely wrong. One thing I’m definitely looking forward to, thought, is Jesse Eisenberg and his ridiculous hair as Lex Luthor. What is that hairstyle all about? Isn’t Luthor supposed to be bald? It’s so unfeasibly long and luxurious that I’ve almost convinced myself it’ll be revealed as a wig half way through. Questionable costume choices aside, I can’t wait to see what Eisenberg does with Luthor. He’s terrific at playing hyper-intelligent, awkward (and arrogant) eccentrics. Just watch The Social Network.
I’ll set my excitement levels to “tentative” for this one. There’s some interesting casting choices and you know the special effects will be good after the amount of money Warner Brothers will have thrown at it. The question is whether Snyder can do anything interesting with the characters, especially Batman, who was mined so extensively (and recently) in the Chris Nolan trilogy. Is it all just an excuse to watch Batman and Superman have a ‘roid-fuelled bun fight? We’ll have to wait until 2016 to find out…
The Relativist 