The first movie I watched in 2016 was Deadpool. Due to work commitments, it had been a while since I last watched a movie, so I was hoping it would be a great one.
In the end, I left the theatre feeling the same way I did after watching Green Lantern–completely underwhelmed (Note to self: no more Ryan Reynolds movies). Yes, I admit I knew nothing about Deadpool before stepping into the cinemas, but from its 83% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, I was expecting a good plot with a few twists and turns and a fair amount of action interspersed with the occassional witty dialogue. Instead, all I got was a whiny man-child who, for some reason, seemed to find the name ‘Francis’ exceptionally funny and overused that joke a hundred times. Still, the movie is currently the highest grossing film in 2016.
In contrast, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice currently has a paltry 23% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. With this in mind, I went into the theatre expecting a crappy movie but it wasn’t half as bad as I expected. Sure, the plot had some holes and a good film wouldn’t need to use title sequences to explain the backstory, but overall I thought the show was great, especially towards the second half. At the very least, there was more action, less whiny talk, even if the slo-mo sequences were somewhat overdone.
I guess the reason why critics ended up panning this show was in part due to Batman fatigue over the years. After all, it’s the umpteenth time we’ve seen Bruce Wayne’s parents die in the movies. But there’s only so many ways to tell the same story. In this instance, I thought the scene’s inclusion was vital for the movie for it provided a sense of symmetry with the show’s ending. And, unlike most other superhero movies, someone good and important actually dies (though who I am kidding, he’ll be back in the next instalment).
Whatever the case is, it’s telling that BvS has a far more positive 71% user rating. Perhaps movie critics, like politicians, are becoming increasingly out of touch with their audience.
Should you watch it? I guess no matter how bad the rating is, you’ll still want to watch it because it contains Batman and Superman. Two superheroes (or three, if you spotted Alfred’s uncanny resemblance to Iron-Man) for the price of one.
(Header image source: DC Comics)