'Batman v Superman': Why the trailer's themes could make dubious fans pay attention

An official trailer for the film starring Henry Cavill and Ben Affleck was recently released. The movie will hit theaters in 2016.

|
Clay Enos/Warner Bros. Pictures/AP
The 'Superman' films star Henry Cavill.

The new trailer for the upcoming comic book movie “Batman v Superman” recently came to theaters, giving fans an official, Warner Bros.-sanctioned look at the 2016 superhero film.

A trailer for the movie starring Henry Cavill as Superman and “Gone Girl” actor Ben Affleck as the caped crusader became available online prior to its official release by the movie studio behind the film. The clip was posted on YouTube by Warner Bros. on April 17 and was available for viewing in theaters on April 20. As we previously discussed, recent takes on the Superman character have not been well-received critically, though Warner Bros. is bringing back “Man of Steel” actor Cavill to reprise his role as Superman, and bringing Batman back to the screen results in some pretty high expectations – Christopher Nolan’s movies about Batman are some of the most highly-acclaimed superhero movies ever and the last was released just three years ago.

But the "Batman v Superman" trailer includes voiceovers from various characters musing on the nature of superheroes in general. “Absolute power corrupts absolutely,” says one, and the trailer shows a statue with words spray-painted on it reading “false god.”

These themes will probably ring some bells for comic book fans. They're similar to those in Alan Moore's “Watchmen,” the comic book series later published as a graphic novel that’s one of the most acclaimed works of the genre. “Watchmen” made the list of Time Magazine’s 100 Best Novels and Entertainment Weekly placed the work at number 13 on its list of “the new classics” (works released between 1983 and 2008). "Watchmen" takes place in a 1980s where superheroes working for themselves (that is, not with the government) are illegal.    

And who directed the 2009 movie adaptation of “Watchmen”? That would be Zack Snyder, who’s directing “Batman v Superman.” The film version was not well-received critically and currently holds a score of 56 out of 100 on the review aggregator website Metacritic. But this movie could give Snyder another chance to explore those themes on the big screen. And the fact that “Batman” seems to be invoking some of the themes of “Watchmen” is interesting, at the very least, and may give comic book fans who were previously dubious about the movie some reason to hope.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

QR Code to 'Batman v Superman': Why the trailer's themes could make dubious fans pay attention
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/Culture-Cafe/2015/0421/Batman-v-Superman-Why-the-trailer-s-themes-could-make-dubious-fans-pay-attention
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe