Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is having an amazing time at the box office, but it’s having a tougher time among those who have already been to the movie theaters. Among critics, and not a small number of fans, the movie is getting lambasted. One of the fans who recently saw the film, and had problems with it, is professional film geek Kevin Smith. According to Smith, the film was missing the heart that he felt it should have had.
Speaking on the most recent episode of the Hollywood Babble-On podcast, Kevin Smith talked about a couple of DC superhero related items. The first was his recent experience directing an episode of The Flash and the other was his feelings regarding Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. He utterly enjoyed his experience working on Flash but did not care for Dawn of Justice. The reason, was that the movie was missing a couple of the things that he feels make the TV show great.
Remember before when we were talking about Flash, and that it has heart, humor, and spectacle. The movie I felt like didn't really have a heart. It was certainly fucking humorless, there was nothing funny going on in that world whatsoever, but it had lots of spectacle. Like you can't take that away from Snyder. Boy, he knows how to like compose a frame and how to setup a shot. Beautiful visual stylist but you need more than just the pictures, you need like characterization and these characters seemed off character, particularly Superman.
All in all, Kevin Smith’s feelings about Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice probably echo those of many of the people who didn’t care for the film. It certainly had the spectacle that Smith references, there’s really no argument that Zack Snyder is good at that part. However, Smith felt that there just wasn’t a lot of joy in Batman v Superman. Most of the lack of heart and joy and laid at the feet of the film’s version of Superman, as he would likely be expected to be the character that would bring those aspects into the movie. Instead, he’s described as an "emo Superman," which isn’t an entirely unwarranted description.
Kevin Smith doesn’t completely hate on Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. He does give some positive support for Ben Affleck’s portrayal as Batman, though Smith does say Affleck did the best he could with what he had, calling the film’s characterization of Batman off as well. Smith also wishes the film had included more of Wonder Woman, as the footage we did get of her was good.
How do your own opinions of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice line up with Kevin Smith? Do you agree with his opinion, or do you think he’s off base? Sound off in the comments section below.
