SNEAK PEEK : "Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice" - 'The Good, The Bad and The Ugly'

From the movie review site 'TheGoodTheBadandTheUgly.Ca', take a look @ "...the good, the bad and the ugly..." in director Zack Snyder's "Man Of Steel" follow-up, "Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice":

MICHAEL STEVENS FOR THE GOOD:

"Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice" is a worthy addition to the 'Batman' movie canon, combining stunning visuals and a powerful soundtrack collaboration between Hans Zimmer and Junkie XL to create a spectacular, heart-wrenching action movie.

"Mythologizing DC Comics' iconic superheroes, Snyder pays homage to Stanley Kubrick's "Eyes Wide Shut", "A Clockwork Orange" and "Full Metal Jacket", while exploring the life of the alien 'Kal-El' of 'Krypton'..

"Ben Affleck, looking like Frank Miller's bulky 'Dark Knight', is effective enough as 'Bruce Wayne/Batman', introduced early on as a shadowy, pulp mag villain, spread flat across a wall, ready to strike, before his reveal as the crime-fighting vigilante 'Batman'...

"Wayne is outraged over the death of his friends during the catastrophic 'Metropolis' battle between Superman and 'Zod'...

"Prepping for a slam-bang slug-fest, Batman's new chunky armor serves him well...

"...as he is able to pick himself up, time and again, no matter how many roofs, walls and plate-glass windows he crashes through.

"Henry Cavill reprising his role, seems to shape-shift from 'SuperMan'...
,

"...into 'SuperAlien'...

"...and you don't know which way to go.

"Gal Gadot nimbly fills out the heavy metal costume of 'Wonder Woman', blossoming as a free-spirited, 'meta-human', leaping 'Xena'-like warrior...

"...confidently moving to the sounds of her own beat (and theme music).

"And Jesse Eisenberg is intense as a jabbering, brain-damaged 'Lex Luthor', who manages to go insane on camera.

"I was delighted by the high-velocity sound of 'Superman' leaping into the air like a rocket...

"...marveled at the latest combat stunt sequences, street-level 'Batmobile' car chases, harrowing explosions...

"...and fleeting cameos of 'Aquaman', 'The Flash' and 'Cyborg'.

"I also believed in Bruce Wayne's pulse-pounding fever-dreams...

"...full of break-neck fighting against the winged 'Parademons of Apokolips'...

"...reliving his parents' murder, or ascending like an angel into the sky...

"...affirming the lofty ideals and super-vision that went into the making of this entertaining and ambitious film..."

GRAF ORLOK FOR THE BAD

"I agree Michael that slinky Gal Gadot is the icing on the cake as the cherry-lipped, sensuous 'Diana Prince'...

"Then pumped up nicely as 'Wonder Woman' with a great mane of hair cascading across her lovely shoulders. (heh)

"There is also a tender, naked (?!) kissing bathtub sex scene with Lois Lane (Amy Adams) and an excited, but strangely distant and effeminate 'Clark Kent'...

"...who is way more screwed up here than he ever was in 'Man Of Steel'.

"And although Ben Affleck as a fat-faced, dimple-chinned Batman kills without mercy, including inventive shootings and brutal stabbings, there is something about Bruce Wayne's ingenuity and courage that is an inspiration to everyman.

"As a tattoo guy waiting until I can get my 'bat wing' brand in burnt sienna, the other chilling effect that scarred my memory, is the horrifying, other-worldly sound of 'Kryptonian' weaponry, destroying lives in the city of 'Metropolis'.

"The Kryptonian hybrid 'Doomsday' also made a monstrous and electrifying debut...

"...and of course, most of us were moved by a death in the family..."

JANE DOBERMAN FOR THE UGLY

"Aside from CNN and their trusted anchors showing they are really good at faking the news, there is not much else 'ugly' associated with this feature, other than the rotting corpse of 'General Zod'...

"...and the gaggle of jaded film 'critics' trying to frame this picture as a 'trainwreck'.

"There is no overt exploitation of violence in this film, or 'Deadpool' smart-ass wise-cracks, with slow-mo sprays of guts 'n gristle...

"Affleck's pensive, bagged-out 'Batman', is an altogether different breed from Christian Bale's rodent-faced 'Bruce Wayne'. Decidedly more 'cruel'.

"But there IS an ugly sequence with 'Martha Kent' kidnapped and supposedly beaten, with Polaroid pictures revealing her bruised mouth tightly gagged and 'Bitch' written across her forehead.