"Tell me... do you bleed? You will."
11 months prior to its 25th March 2016 release date, Zack Synder and Warner Brothers have given us our first look at Batman v Superman via a teaser which confirmed a lot of my own personal speculation while still raising some important questions. Similar to the Age of Ultron situation, the trailer was initially meant to come out in a few days, but was delayed no further after it was leaked over the Internet and a full HD version was quickly released by WB.
The trailer begins with the camera zooming in on a Superman statue with a multitude of voice overs narrating the situation. It seems to me that this film is the next logical step for the DC Universe in terms of continuity as it seems they're going to address the events of Man of Steel i.e. the destruction of Metropolis during Zod's invasion.
On one camp we have the people who see Superman as a threat, a menace to our society. One such person is Jesse Eisenberg's Lex Luthor, who states something along the lines of "devils don't come from hell beneath us, they come from the sky". The way I see it is that if a super God-like figure all of a sudden revealed himself to the world, a lot of people (politicians, senators, businessmen etc.) would logically react in such a way; people fear what they don't understand.
On the other hand, we see that some people see Superman as a saviour, what mankind has been looking for. One such shot that shows us this is where a task force with Superman symbols on their shoulders bow down to him as he enters a room. I can't imagine Cavill's Superman liking this treatment too much, after all he's just an ordinary guy who grew up on a farm in Kansas.
At least that's how he sees himself, whereas others simply see him as a "False God". The first half of the trailer brilliantly sets up the conflict that the world is embroiled in after the first known presence of super powered alien beings, whilst the second looks solely at Ben Affleck's Batman. He looks amazing in the suit, and he is pissed of with Superman that much is clear.
The second half of the trailer, via narration by Jeremy Iron's Alfred, sets up why Batman is pissed of with Superman. He is afraid, for it is the feeling of fear and powerlessness that turns good men... cruel. The trailer does a great job at justifying why the world is reacting to Superman's presence in different ways and why Batman is going to confront him. The trailer shifts the focus solely on the 2 title characters, which is something I was immensely happy with.
The biggest complaint I've heard from comments on the trailer goes along the lines of "This movie is stupid, Superman would squish Batman with one punch". Obviously such ignorant complaints take no consideration for the characters and what they embody. Batman knows that at his heart, Superman is just a regular guy with a good heart and a good conscience. He is going to play on the idea and question's Superman's morality, he knows that he won't kill him. The one thing that we know which separates the 2 characters who fight for similar things (justice), is Superman has already killed (Zod) whereas Batman has not. Batman knows he can't beat Superman solely on physical strength, rather he knows he can win if he breaks him psychologically. Obviously, a metal armoured suit lifted straight from Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns and possibly a lump of Kryptonite wouldn't hinder his chances of success, but you get the overall picture.
I like the logical direction the story is going, I like how the conflict is being presented. If the film stays on track and doesn't get lost with all of these rumoured side plots and Justice League cameos, I'll be very happy. I'm pleased with the trailer's tone and I'm excited to see how all of the elements which have been rumoured and teased to this date are structured together when the film comes out. The next trailer will probably give us more of the same, whilst hopefully a look at Alfred, Lex Luthor, Victor Stone, Aquaman and Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman, and hopefully an indication as to how they all fit in with the story.
Bring on 2016, the anticipation is killing me!
Thanks for reading,
Matt
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