Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice Teaser Trailer Review

At long last, a teaser for DC's upcoming superhero epic has dropped. Not much has been revealed regarding the continuation of their cinematic universe, just a few photos. People have grown skeptical about the project after a few questionable casting choices, like Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor and Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman. I must admit to having similar doubts about this whole thing. Through all my doubts, however, the fact that this is my most anticipated film of the foreseeable future never wavered.

I am a gargantuan fan of Batman. He's my favorite comic book character of all-time, and quite possibly my favorite fictional character of all-time from any medium. I grew up loving the character and my fondness of him has only increased with age. I also grew up on the DC characters mostly, so I'm fairly partial to that universe. Even though I count myself as a big fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, nothing they could ever announce could get my blood pumping as much as another Batman film. And here we finally get a look at the new one.

A lot of people, particularly hardcore Marvel fanboys, criticize DC's darker and grittier approach to their movies. I'm somewhat in the middle of that argument Man of Steel, there needs to be a lighter feel than something like The Dark Knight trilogy. That was my main issue with Man of Steel; while it was certainly entertaining, it felt too much like they wanted the audience to take Superman seriously again. But, going as dark as they did was not the correct way to go about it. The 1978 Superman film has a terrific blend of humor and gravitas. Man of Steel felt like it relied a little too much on the latter.


However, in a film with Batman - and a fight between Superman and Batman - I'm all for a dark tone. In fact, I feel that's necessary. Batman is a flawed, complex, (and dark) character, and Superman is going to need to plunge his hands into the filth a little bit. Based off of the teaser, they're going for a very dark tone, but I'm on board with that. I like the vibe I got from the trailer. It's the exact vibe I'm hoping for come the film's release next year.

It was a proper teaser that gave away basically no plot (although, we basically know the crux of the plot just from the title). It set the mood and the world that the movie takes place in. It's a world that is reeling from the arrival of Superman to Earth. Throughout the first half of the trailer, audio clips of debates regarding whether or not Superman is a good or bad thing play as we see the camera slowly zoom in on a statue of Superman with the words "FALSE GOD" spray-painted across his chest. He's a controversial figure. And I love that.

It's the logical next step after he ultimately aided in the destruction of Metropolis during his battle with General Zod at the end of Man of Steel. People will begin to question whether they really want someone as powerful - and dangerous - as Superman walking the Earth. That's the perfect setup for Lex Luthor to come into the spotlight as a man attempting to turn the people away from Superman and towards himself. That was the basic conflict in most of the comics, and I imagine that's where Zack Snyder and David S. Goyer are going with the film.

Batman is someone else that will challenge Superman's living and dwelling among humans - to him, Superman is just a reckless superhuman who poses a threat to everyone he's sworn to protect. And I'm glad they're not concerning themselves too much with Batman's origin. We've seen it a million times and it is ingrained in our
memories forever. I just want to see him as Batman right out of the gate. And based off of what they've said, he's an older, hardened crime fighter. That's just like in Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns, which has heavily influenced this film.

The aforementioned comic by Frank Miller is probably my favorite comic of all-time of any character. I absolutely love it, and I absolutely love that there is finally going to be a film adaption of it - or at least as close as we're going to get to a film adaption. If they execute it well, Batman v Superman will be so much better than Man of Steel was. I'm holding on to that hope.

Of course, it teases the inevitable fight between the two titular heroes. That is the most intriguing part of the trailer, but I was also compelled by the voice over that is done by Jeremy Irons as Bruce Wayne's butler Alfred (I believe it was him). My guess is that he is warning Bruce as to the possible consequences of his obsession with Superman. I love when Alfred is portrayed more as a mentor than a servant. I hope that's how they choose to do him in this universe.

As a DC fanboy and a lover of Batman, this movie is marked on my calendar. In fact, it's my most anticipated film that has been announced. More than anything Marvel is doing, more than anything Disney is doing with Star Wars. If they pull this off right, it will be one of the greatest comic book films ever made. If they mishandle it, I will be very cross and very disappointed. But, because it has so much potential, I can't help but get so excited for it. This trailer was exactly what I was hoping and expecting to see. I just hope the final product lives up to my expectations as well.