As an avid or rather mad reader of Indrajal comics in the pastfeaturing Phantom, Mandrake, Flash Gordon and Bahadur, along with Star comics introducing us to the world of James Bond and Superman in the 80s, I was quite excited to watch this latest superhero movie like a child. And luckily the seats given to us (me and my nephew) were also just behind the row allotted to a big group of young kids below the age of 15 sharing the mutual excitement.
So instead of a detailed review, I would like to share what we together felt in those three hours in the theater watching the most awaited movie of the year featuring our favourite superheroes.
The film began without making any loud musical announcement and the kids started clapping excitingly expecting some great fun. The first few moments talked about the origin of the Batman story like a music video and soon it introduced the two heroic characters, cheered by the kids like a spirited team. The first 20 minutes went smoothly watching all the predictable sequences, but soon some restlessness was strongly felt with everything happening in a typically dark mode on the scene unlike any fun-filled, lively superhero film to say the least. The scenario didn’t change to anything favourable till the interval and the kids could easily be seen visibly confused watching a highly uninteresting, dark & humour less film shattering their big expectations.
In fact, a few of them started counseling each other saying, “Abhi Dekhiyo Aage Kuchh Hoga…… Pacca!”. And that’s exactly what I promised to my nephew too with a faint smile. Meanwhile the kid’s parents/guardians brought a lot of eatables that were quickly passed on in the entire row and the munching began waiting for it to begin after the deliberate brake.
Post interval, they all waited for just 10-15 minutes more and the patience got over as the film was giving nothing what they had come for in the theater. A few starting chatting with their partner and two began fighting over the eatables making big shouts. Studying their response, I could easily make out that they had simply rejected the film even before it had ended. And the conclusion got confirmed when I found my nephew too feeling dizzy, getting quite bored from the film that was entirely different from what he had been dreaming of since weeks. Hearing the kid’s loud conversations, I also discovered that they were actually not expecting BATMAN and SUPERMAN to fight with each other following their own innocent logics. Instead they were eager to see them both fighting together with the villain (that did eventually happen towards the end making them partially satisfied).
In the next 20 minutes, slowly the kids became much noisier and there were repeated requests made to the parents for keeping them all in control. So a few were taken out, but they were soon back, beginning their own new games running & jumping over the stairs counting them in repeated turns.
Anyway, this all stopped for a while as soon as The Wonder Woman was there bringing in the much required moments of entertainment and then they were all back on their seats sighting the big roaring demon challenging the two superheroes. Here watching the huge, ugly demon, one of them loudly announced, “Arey Yeh To Bilkul Meri Video Game Jaisa Hai” probably referring to his PRINCE OF PERSIA, GOD OF WAR or any other PS3 game having a similar BOSS to be fought and defeated in the end.
The group kept seated throughout these last 30 minutes of a tiringly long film with some occasional claps, but then again became completely silent watching the shockingly unexpected twist in the end leading to the graveyard. The culmination yet again made them pretty confused and not even one of them could be seen happily walking out of the theatre asking many obvious questions to their parents predicting the next sequel.
Here amazingly, despite having a pretty boring time in the theatre, the kids were still so innocently talking about the sequel of the film on their way out, pointing towards the questionable (insane) mindset that has been clearly developed by these cunning corporate houses in the last two decades. In more clear words, here is a film that makes you feel largely bored and less entertained in its more than 150 minutes of long duration. Yet you are eagerly expecting its next sequel to be much better, easily forgiving the present mess, thinking exactly like some pre-set robotic creatures controlled by a superpower. Now if this is not a very shrewd conditioning of mind by some thoughtful, visionary businessmen, then I don’t know what else it is?
Sharing my personal view of the film, I watched it getting into the skin of a child again and felt exactly the same as expressed by the kids including my young nephew. BATMAN V SUPERMAN gave me nothing to enjoy or cherish apart from the few sequences of its finale that were also not as exhilarating as they ought to be. No doubt it’s CGI, Sound, DOP and acting department delivers what was asked from them by the director. But it’s shockingly unengaging execution and a badly written screenplay simply fails to conceive any kind of uplifting experience for the viewer that always remains the first thing expected from such hyped superhero films.
So to be honest, I missed the fun, I missed the thrill, I missed the smiling faces of the superheroes and I missed a mighty villain too that is a must in such sci-fi fantasy films projecting the victory over the evil. As a matter of fact, I was never expecting such a dull film from the makers that fails to justify both its iconic heroes on screen as well as the passion among the fans, so miserably.
Moreover, it was quite weird to find the narration so close to our typical Hindi film format wherein the mother gets kidnapped by the villain, blackmailing the heroes to fight and kill each other posing as two super fools. Besides its finale also straight away reminded me of those Ramsay Horror films, wherein two macho heroes always used to kill the evil demon with a ‘Mantra-Charged’, spiritual Trishul in a supposedly happening climax.
Frankly speaking, while watching BATMAN V SUPERMAN’s prolonged final sequences, I strongly felt as if it was Puneet Issar as the Batman and Hemant Birje as the Superman killing the inhuman ghostly figure in an English film. And the statement itself should give you a strong, clear indication of its below average, disappointing content deserving two thumbs down.
Ratings : 1.5 / 5 (with the additional 0.5 for the Wonder Woman)
