‘Batman v Superman’ clash for justice – Film yields unlikely female hero

This news has been read 5312 times!

LOS ANGELES, March 19, (Agencies): Superheroes have long existed in a world of their own, but as two iconic caped heroes battle in “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice,” both are brought crashing down to reality as the ramifications of their actions catch up with them.

“Batman v Superman”, out in US theaters on March 25, opens with the climax of 2013’s “Man of Steel”, in which Superman’s battle with alien General Zod causes mass-scale destruction in Metropolis.

In the city’s streets, Bruce Wayne, Batman’s alter ego, sees his company building crumble and blames Superman for the deaths of civilians, which sets up the clash of superheroes.

“I’m a big advocate of the consequences of these movies,” director Zack Snyder told Reuters. “Without the consequences, they’re slightly irresponsible in that it’s unconditional violence.”

An older, wearier Batman (Ben Affleck) sets out to destroy Superman (Henry Cavill), crossing paths with the psychotic technology entrepreneur Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg) and elusive Diana Prince, the alter ego of Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot).

Superman meanwhile battles a growing public discourse against his actions, and a senator is determined to hold him accountable.

Fight

“There’s always been that little tete-a-tete with Batman and Superman and there has always been that question by fans — who will win in a fight?” Cavill said.

Fear also permeates the superhero fight, Affleck said.

“The way that we get afraid, how we react, sometimes that turns us into the worst version of ourselves … there’s no place to go from there but to conflict,” he said.

Warring heroes will also feature in Walt Disney Co’s “Captain America: Civil War” in May, where Captain America and Iron Man face off. It offers a new angle to the superhero ensemble films such as Marvel’s “Avengers,” which have generated billions at the box office in recent years.

Warner Bros’ “Batman v Superman” sets the stage for 2017’s “Wonder Woman” and “The Justice League Part One”.

Superhero stories sometimes hold a mirror to society, with Superman’s 1938 comic book debut often perceived as answering America’s need for a hero during the Great Depression.

Eisenberg said “Batman v Superman” could be seen as a reflection of current American society, particularly with the Machiavellian Luthor, whom he described as “a classic xenophobe” who instills public fear against the alien Superman.

“I think if you look at some of the more nasty, political discourse in at least our country today, you’d see shades of that,” Eisenberg said.

“Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” sees two iconic superheroes do battle on the big screen but a female character — Wonder Woman — is the real role model for youngsters, star Gal Gadot said Friday.

The 30-year-old former Miss Israel said ahead of the March 25 US release of the hotly anticipated blockbuster that she had never planned to be an actress and felt grateful to be telling her character’s “amazing story.”

Save

“I have a four-year-old daughter and she adores princesses. At the same time she would tell me ‘the princess, she’s so weak.’ She falls asleep, the prince will come and save her and kiss her and he’s the hero,” Gadot told reporters in Los Angeles.

“So I am so happy I’m going to be the one who’s going to tell the Wonder Woman story. It’s such an important story … But I also think it’s so important for girls — and boys — to have a female, strong superhero to look up to.”

Starring Ben Affleck as Gotham’s Dark Knight and Henry Cavill as the Caped Crusader, the characters’ first big screen pairing sets up the coming “Justice League” and “Wonder Woman” movies.

Fearing the actions of a superhero left unchecked, Gotham’s formidable vigilante takes on Metropolis’s revered savior, while the world wrestles with what sort of hero it really needs.

And with Batman and Superman at war with each other, a new threat quickly arises, putting mankind in greater danger than it has ever known.

Warner Bros opened its Los Angeles studios to the world’s media Friday, showcasing its stellar cast, which also features Jesse Eisenberg as the eccentric villain Lex Luthor and Amy Adams as Superman’s love interest Lois Lane.

It is Cavill’s second go as Superman, three years after “Man of Steel” saw him pitted against the planet Krypton’s villainous military commander, General Zod.

“It’s a tough outing for him, because it’s against a psychological enemy as opposed to a physical enemy, like Zod was,” the 32-year-old said of the new film.

“We see him make mistakes, and we see him grow from those mistakes and learn from them”.

Affleck, 43, who has already directed critical and commercial hits “The Town” and “Argo”, revealed he had felt “emboldened” watching director Zack Snyder work and would consider making a big-budget superhero movie in the future.

“I’ve wondered about directing movies like this before and it was a really valuable learning experience for me to watch Zack do it and see how he did it,” he said.

“For me as a director it’s about the material and the characters, so if I found the right material I would definitely throw my hat in the ring to direct something on that scale.”

Affleck, a fan of graphic novels, recalled buying Frank Miller’s 1986 Batman miniseries “The Dark Knight Returns” in his home town of Boston.

“That was the first comic that really took my appreciation of this genre to another level. It was right when people were innovating in that way. ‘Watchmen’ came out around the same time,” he said.

“Newer, more adult, sophisticated, complicated ways of looking at this world started to be developed within the comic genre.

“It took the movie business 20 years to catch up, to be really willing to mine these stories and this genre for complicated, interesting and resonant stories — but it has now.”

The actors were asked how they deal with the kind of intense fans who tend to come with starring roles in comic book conversions, and their sometimes unrealistic expectation levels.

“It’s certainly strange and unnerving to be criticized for a part you haven’t yet been able to screw up,” joked Eisenberg.

Adams recalled the embarrassment of a scene in which Lois was required to hold a conversation with Superman, her naked in a bath tub and he fully clothed, although in reality she was allowed some artfully hidden clothing.

This news has been read 5312 times!