lotus_chief

The very idea of this movie had me skeptical. I'll admit that I'm a bit tired of superhero movies, but when done right they still can be an absolute joy (i.e. Captain America: Winter Soldier). Once the 3-minute trailer was released, my skepticism was all but confirmed. The trailer revealed way too much and the panic was so glaring it was almost blinding.

After finally viewing the film (3-hour Ultimate Edition), I came away perplexed and disappointed that all my suspicions & concerns came to fruition and then some. Jesse Eisenberg was absolutely horrible as Lex Luthor. My friend watching with me said "he should've played the Riddler". Nail on the head! Whose idea was it to have Lex Luthor a snotty, schizophrenic, annoying brat? Ugh. It really was painful to watch. Lois Lane had WAY too much screen time; she may have had more than Batman. I don't get the love affair with the character; with Man of Steel and now BvS she seems to be forced into crucial parts of the storyline for no apparent reason. There's just no good reason why I'm seeing her as much as Batman in a Batman vs. Superman movie! I hated the idea of Ben Affleck as Batman when it was announced, but he was tolerable; actually he's one of the few bright spots in the movie. A few things were just flat-out corny, and the pacing was terrible for a Batman vs. Superman movie, as it took so long to get going. When things finally do get going, it's at max volume with epileptic seizure-inducing special effects that affect you in no way. The battle between Batman & Superman – when it finally happens – just left me underwhelmed; especially how it ended (again, corny). I reacted more to a Batman solo action sequence in a warehouse than the "showdown". To see a real showdown between Batman and Superman, go see the DC animated film 'The Dark Knight Returns', which was released a couple years ago.

Now for the story, or what they tried to present as a story. Man oh man. Talk about trying to do too much! There's just too much going on and its all disjointed. They put so much into this one film and failed miserably as trying to connect all the pieces together; there's no cohesiveness whatsoever. Batman's "The Dark Knight Returns" storyline, the "Death of Superman" storyline, Wonder Woman, Lois Lane "being the key to everything", the reveal of other Justice League characters – in the middle of the film no less - to no real effect, Doomsday, Lex Luthor, out of place dream sequences with no connection to the story, the weight of it all is too much and it just crushes the film.

Which leads me to this thought, which I had from the moment this movie was announced: DC is in full panic mode. With the success of the Marvel comic films, DC is playing catch-up and rushing their product to compete. The effort, care and methodical nature in which Marvel has treated their material has definitely paid off; however DC is REALLY late to the party and is making the huge mistake of trying to follow in Marvel's footsteps instead of treating their own material with the same care and planning. It shows in everything DC does, and it is truly hurting them. It really is a shame, because DC's catalog always had a more grounded, adult tone to it, which provided for some very rich material that was so juicy when you sunk your teeth into it. In the end, BvS can be perfectly summed up as wasted potential. How the idea of Batman vs. Superman can be messed up the way it was here is truly indicative of the lack of insight, care & talent in Hollywood (moreso behind the scenes than in them). It truly is a shame at how mismanaged this has all been handled.

In the end, BvS has a couple of cool scenes, but its an overly long mishmash of way too many story lines with no rhyme or reason to them, numerous cheesy moments, the Zack Snyder- standard of mindless CGI action mayhem and a grossly, horribly miscast villain; the movie simply fails.

** out of 10 stars.

Just like the first Raid film, you leave Raid 2 speechless. The brutality presented on film is nothing short of breathtaking. That the makers were able to do what they did with the limited budget they had is just astonishing. I don't have enough praise to give to this film.

I was actually skeptical about the sequel, wondering if the pace and energy could be maintained in a more open environment. The sequel could be seen as the grown up version of the first film. The filmmakers more than held their own with the bigger scope. Set pieces, camera angles were quite creative and exciting. The car chase scene in particular was very well done.

The martial arts in this film is arguably one of the most brutal ever on film. Mr. Evans has a great knack for brutal, in your face action sequences; but also handled the bigger scope of the film very well with good pacing between pure action and entertaining dialogue. I felt that the writers allowed the plot to get away from them at times, but the action scenes with their rich characters more than make up for that minor gripe. After all, I paid a ticket to see some great ass-kicking, not August: Osage County! With an obvious sequel in the wings, I'm more than looking forward to what's next. Gareth Evans and his team are on fire and are showing Hollywood (with its lame, talentless directors/producers) how action movies are done.

The Raid: Redemption & The Raid 2: Berandal are two of the greatest action films EVER made. 2 for 2 for Evans, Uwais & Co. I'm quite thankful for their efforts, it's a shame that more people can't appreciate what they're doing. As long as there's people like them around who just come together to make quality films for fans to enjoy - no matter the genre - the movie industry will be just fine….whether you have a $200 million budget or a $5 million budget. But to all action fans, if you're not hip to the Raid films, your action fix could never truly be satisfied if you haven't treated yourself to some of the most pure action films in a loooong time.

The Raid 2 = 9/10 stars. Cant wait for Raid 3!