A crime against Batman

I watched Batman vs. Superman this weekend because I knew it was going to be bad and it finally appeared on Netflix so I didn't have to pay real money for it.  I had heard about why people thought it was bad and I was curious to see if I would agree with the haters.

I did agree with them, but not for the reasons they cited.

The problem with the movie was that Batman was the worst.  Superman is a garbage superhero, we all know that.  He is boring, in only the way an invulnerable demigod on a planet full of normal people can be.  Batman can be great.  Just not in this movie.

The thing about the Justice League is that it is full of invulnerable demigods with outrageous powers.  Also Batman, who is a guy who is good at martial arts.  Batman can outfight a half dozen assailants at once.  Superman can throw an aircraft carrier at an army.  These people should not be on a team together.  So why have Batman?

Because he is smart.  Batman is a master tactician, always outmaneuvering his enemy.  Batman plans, and thinks, and gets in people's heads.  That is the only thing he brings to the table that is remotely useful.

But in this movie Batman is an idiot.  He gets outthought by Wonder Woman, Superman, and Lex Luthor.  He is irrational and makes hasty, foolish choices.  His main contribution to the film is to be Luthor's dupe.  So much for The Detective.

Batman also generally has an aversion to guns and refuses to kill.  In Batman vs. Superman he uses guns regularly but foolishly.  He is happy to kill people but insists on giving them lots of chances to stab him.  I can live with Batman who won't use guns and won't kill.  I can also live with Batman who uses guns and kills people.  What is garbage is Batman who wades into combat with heavily armed opponents just using his fists and occasionally uses guns to kill people.  If you are willing to murder with guns, why the hell aren't you using guns all the time?  Be SMART.  The guy who is totally willing to use guns but insists on punching people for no reason is the opposite of a master tactician - he is a fool.  Either be a deadly sniper or be a brawler, but pick one.

Also Batman is supposed to be human.  Tough, smart, well trained, but human.  The demigods on the Justice League can all get punched through a building but Batman can't.  He has to out think his opponents so that he won't get punched through buildings.  Instead the movie decides to have Batman put on a suit of armour and get punched through buildings without any damage done.  No problem!  But he doesn't use the super armour suit all the time, which would make sense - no, he just puts it on when it is time for someone to punch him through a building.  That way he can use a normal suit and get stabbed by random dudes with knives the rest of the time.

I was hoping for Batman vs. Superman.  Instead I got Rich Idiot vs. Cardboard Smile.  I expected the Cardboard Smile, but the Rich Idiot was a real disappointment.

Possibly the Dark Knight series of films set the bar for Batman too high.  In any case, this new Batman utterly fails.