Double Feature Sunday: Snyder vs Snyder

I mostly write in spanish, but I’m trying to get to the most people possible, so I’m going to translate some of my content to english, so I hope you enjoy. For those of you who don’t know the double feature Sunday is about two movies that have similar elements, as many movies share similar ideas, or some deal with the same subject, but with different results, here I propose two films with similar themes, or that share some themes, techniques, or even share members of production (it can be from directors, producers or actors), to reinforce the ideas of a film or to prove them wrong, to see why some films work and others don´t, and the experience of both movies is enriched to see both films concurrently.

This week we have Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, and Watchmen, both in their theatrical releases, both movies where directed by Zack Snyder, both are pretty lengthy, and both received mixed reviews upon release.
*NOTE: Contains spoilers for both movies

Watchmen
What is it about?

Based on the graphic novel masterpiece by Alan Moore, Watchmen is an analysis and deconstruction of superhero stereotypes, it basically states that a person who wears a colorful costume to fight crime at night cannot be emotionally stable. In an alternate versión of 1985, an old superhero and former member of a group known as The Watchmen called The Comedian is found dead in his apartment, leading to Rorshcach another former member of The Watchmen to investigate his murder, and uncover a conspiracy that could have apocalyptic consequences.

Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice

What is it about?
Although not a direct adaptation of a particular comic or graphic novel, BvS takes some elements of comics as The Dark Knight Returns and The Death of Superman, in this sequel to Man of Steel, Bruce Wayne/Batman after witnessing first hand the destruction of Metropolis, sees in Superman a threat that must be eliminated at all costs. Meanwhile, Superman/Clark Kent faces the consequences of his actions, discovering that every heroic act has a consequence, sometimes negative, and disapproves of the violent acts of the Bat Gotham, leading to an imminent conflict between the both superheroes.

Similarities

Both Watchmen and BvS are directed by Zack Snyder, and it shows not only in his super stylized slow motion sequences, but also in the cold blue filter he uses, that makes the screen to look like it has a lot of film grain and mutes the colors. The theme of both movies is also quite similar, since both have a character who is practically a god, in Watchmen is Dr. Manhattan, and in BvS is Superman, and both of these characters are manipulated by highly intelligent humans to isolate them, pushing them to leave the world, or at least to abandon the main plot for a while. In Watchmen this role is performed by Ozymandias, while in Dawn of Justice is Lex Luthor who manipulates Superman.

Mayor Themes

One of the main ideas of Batman v Superman is that if God is all powerful , He cannot be all good, and if He’s all good , He cannot be all-powerful, that's what Lex wants to prove . In addition, the movie proposes that for all heroic act there is an equally disastrous consequence, as shown in the dialogue between Clark and his late father, when he talks about the time in which his barn is almost flooded, and they managed to divert water, but in doing so someone else's farm ends up flooded. And finally, another idea of this movie is that nobody stays good forever in this world.

Watchmen on the other hand, is an epic that spans multiple decades and diverse characters, and although the film is reduced in scale, remains equally ambitious in it’s themes. As already mentioned, one of the main themes in this film is that superheroes in real life wouldn’t be emotionally stable and balanced people, each of the main characters have serious psychological issues, Rorschach calls his mask "My face", Nite Owl II can not perform sexually if he is not wearing his costume, the Comedian is a fascist who uses his hero status to justify his violence, Dr. Manhattan has been separated emotionally from humanity to the point he no longer empathizes with the events of the world, and Silk Spectre II has serious maternal issues. But also in the end it is about the superman (Ozymandias), using the power of God (Dr. Manhattan) to force the world to peace. In Watchmen there is no specific villain itself, the closest thing we have is Ozymandias, but is so well done that it is difficult to stereotype him, his actions make sense, and in the end he wins, leaving a question to the audience: Is peace really worth it if it’s based on a lie?

As we can see, both films have interesting ideas behind them, and want to be more than just entertainment, however, it is in its execution where one performs better than the other. Watchmen, after The Dark Knight is my favorite movie in the genre, and despite it’s incredibly ambitious source material, it is a very faithful adaptation of the graphic novel by Alan Moore, many of the changes made sense and the film is completeley enjoyable, the opening credits do a great job in showing the lore of the world in a cinematic way to the tunes of Bob Dylan’s The Times They Are A-Changin, the action sequences, although sporadic and are definitely not the main theme of the film, provide a good change of pace, and are very well executed; Jackie Earle Haley who played Rorschach in the adaptation was a revelation at the time, and the sequence of the birth of Dr. Manhattan is simply masterful.

While BvS has severe problems of pace, subplots that lead nowhere, and the resolution to the central conflict is disappointing, the biggest problem is that Snyder fails to capture the spirit of its main characters and fails to tell a consistent and well-developed story.

It seems that Zack Snyder is ideal for direct adaptations of previously established works, his best received films by both critics and audiences (although he has never been a critic's darling) have been Dawn of the Dead, Watchmen and 300, while his original works like Sucker Punch or indirect adaptations like BvS have given him his worst critical reception, and in the case of Sucker Punch, also financial.

Watchmen is infinitely more ambitious than BvS in both themes and scale, however it works much better than Dawn of Justice. If BvS would have been a direct adaptation of The Dark Knight Returns I think it would have been a better film, Zack Snyder is not a bad director by any stretch of the imagination, he has a very cinematic language and knows how to perfectly combine songs with the images on screen, but for some reason when it comes to original works or indirect adaptations he loses the focus of the story and the spirits of his characters.

What do you think about this section? Are you fans of Watchmen as I am? What do you think about BvS? Make some noise in the comments section!

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