I gave myself time to wait a little bit to watch this movie two weeks after the premiere. It was in an excellent 300 seats movie theatre with only 3 people at 8:00 P.M. The movie, as a visual spectacle, works as such: excellent photography, good acting, very nice VFX's, and excellent music. The problem, is the narrative. For a movie, it's a bloody mess, that actually would work GREAT on a miniseries, with enough time to expand the plots and flesh out the characters. I didn't have problems to follow the story because I'm used to read books with hugely disjointed or dreamy plots. But this is a visual experience, and that sets a whole different level of expectations for the CASUAL viewer. DC Comics buffs won't have problems to find the virtues of this movie (and I must confess myself a fan of Batman) but I have to point out that the couple that was in the theatre with me, left the movie about 1 hour into the show, so I ended up watching the rest alone. I'm buying this Blu-ray (hopefully a director's cut) for my collection, but to be honest, BVSDJ needs one hour more of exposition and plot to really tell the story right. This movie will lose money, that's for sure. I just hope that fact doesn't mess with the rest of WB's plans, because I'm really looking forward for Suicide Squad and Aquaman (albeit not James Cameron's, sadly). As a bottom line: I'm sure there's a good BVSDJ movie in there, that was probably left on the cutting floor, and damn, I would loved that one!.
It sucks, even though not as much as I would have thought. Snyder’s kitsch aesthetics and bombastic directing style work well with this kind of material, if he only tried to make things entertaining for once. Why does it always need to be so lifeless...
The biggest problem is that he tries to do too many things and set up too many stories at once, only to end up failing at each. The buildup to Batman and Superman’s fights makes no sense, and its resolution is even more ridiculous. Not to mention that what is supposed to be the climax is one of the dullest monster fights ever.
Affleck works strangely well as an older, dumber, and far more tired Bruce Wayne. His Batman has little to do with the character’s usual traits, but I am alright with each film adaptation giving a different twist. His introduction scene was good, even though he looked like a shabby wrestler in his costume. Gal Gadot’s acting is distractingly awful, but the biggest problem with her character is that she serves no use to the plot. On the other hand, Jeremy Irons earned himself a sticker for his sharp and charming take on Alfred. We are tired of the teddy bear butlers we have seen up to this point.
I've always been more attracted to DC Comics than Marvel. Which is why it's been a bummer that other than Nolan's "Dark Knight" trilogy, DC has under-performed. I did like "Man of Steel". Its scope and incredible action, to the point of almost being too much, was memorable. Its scenes have stuck with me as much as any other action movie of recent years.
I've never gone into a super hero movie expecting an incredibly tight story but always with an expectation of amazing sights and effects. And that is exactly what Zach Snyder serves up here. The positives of the film far outweighed the negatives for me. The opening action that follows Bruce Wayne racing through Metropolis, a scene stitched into Zod's terraforming attack from "Man of Steel", was inspired. And I have to say, Ben Affleck's portrayal of Bruce Wayne and Batman is nothing short of fantastic. I thought that Batman would be flat and uninteresting here, but he's been positioned as a capable member among the gods being assembled for the Justice League. I loved his hand-to-hand fights with mob members. There's a great moment when a police officer spots the Dark Knight clinging to the ceiling of a darkened room. Batman is truly scary here and called the Devil by the very people he's saved.
Superman has his own set of problems. Time has passed since the destruction in Metropolis and many blame him for the thousands killed during his battle with Zod. The political underpinnings and moral dilemmas presented here weren't exactly heady, but were accentuated by the sheer rage of Bruce Wayne and his suspicion of Superman's motives. Or at least what Superman would be capable of if dissatisfied with something or anything occurring in the world.
Yes, the fight between Superman and Batman is memorable and worth the price of admission. The performance of Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor, Jr. is not. While superheroes fly at supersonic speeds, deflect pummeling with iron and concrete, and even survive nuclear explosions, the most difficult thing to believe was that this version of Lex Luthor could plan a trip to the bathroom much less the destruction of Superman.
The final battle doesn't live up to the first half of the movie, even though Superman and Batman are joined by a feisty and very satisfying appearance from Wonder Woman. She practically steals the final scenes as she attacks the final "boss". She gets hammered but shakes it off with a smirk, clearly enjoying the chaos.
I'm going to be a bit disappointed with a lot of the criticism this movie will receive. There are some problems with story continuity, not to mention the sloppy way that the recruitment of future Justice League members is staged. Personally, I'm not exactly overwhelmed with the film, but I find myself repeatedly impressed by Zack Snyder's ability to convey amazing sights and action. I guess I'm stating that I will dismiss some loose ends for the adrenaline rush of great action and exciting visuals.
I will point out the best things according to me without spoiling and ruining the excitement . As a demanding person by nature as I am, I will present my point of view. Being aware of the recent unexpected and unjustified hatred towards the whole project, I decided to point out 5 best things about the movie and why you shouldn’t hesitate to check it out.
This movie is the superhero equivalent of watching a WWE match.
It's dumb, theatrical, fake, sensationalist and schlocky, but it presents itself as hard, cool and meaningful.
So, it's really no surprise that critics trashed this, and certain portions of the audience embraced it.
Pros:
- The action sequences that don’t involve a lot of CGI are great.
- Ben Affleck’s performance as Batman & Jeremy Irons as Alfred. I’ll also say that I like Cavill as Superman more than most.
- Some visual flair at a few points
- Score, especially the Wonder Woman theme.
Cons:
- Incoherent. It has too many threads, many scenes don’t connect to each other or don’t progress the ‘story’. We know it’s possible to do a narrative that resolves around a bunch of subplots, but in that case you need a strong throughline. Just look at Infinity War and how Thanos & the infinity stones tie the entire movie together. This film just has no structure to it, and whatever structure that might’ve been in there at some point is removed through the inclusion of things like Wonder Woman, Doomsday, unnecessary dream sequences, etc.
- Some really nonsensical story choices. I’m not just talking about the Martha scene and how that becomes unintentionally hilarious because of its execution, or the spear scene with Lois, or the death of Superman which has no dramatic weight. Let’s also not forget how the (hypocritical) motivations they’d built up for the two heroes became irrelevant when they decided to just have the villain kidnap Superman’s mom and thereby force him to fight Batman.
- Mischaracterized & underdeveloped main characters. Especially Batman and Lex Luthor aren’t faithful to the spirit of what those characters should be.
- The final action sequence is a visual assault on the eyes, and I don’t mean that in a positive way.
- Jesse Eisenberg’s acting is awful, and his performance doesn’t fit with the tone of the film. Gal Gadot’s also pretty bad, but she isn’t in the film that much, so I have less of a problem with that.
- Visually ugly. Yes, I know that’s unpopular to say, and I acknowledge that there are some visual highlights, which look great in a clipshow or trailer. However, when you take out a scene, especially one that takes place during daytime, it’s not exactly a good looking film.
- I respect the tone that this film was going for. I’m perfectly fine with taking a more realistic approach to these characters. We’ve seen it work in The Dark Knight trilogy and the Daredevil show. The difference is that they still knew how to keep the pace up, despite having a more serious dramatic tone. This film is painfully slow.
- Some of the dialogue is really overwritten, trying too hard to be lofty and deep.
3.5/10
An improvement over the theatrical version, the Ultimate Edition is a better cut with some narrative patches, but not yet a great movie. Some scenes from the original release are trimmed and others totally missed (some very important for character development, as the fist fighter that Wayne helps in his match), as expected, because there is a limit of assets that you can have on the disc. However, the problem persists: the narrative is still very much disjointed and chaotic, with those lame dream sequences trying to serve as plot points and all the main characters developing telepathy by the third act, so they "know" where to go and what to do without exchanging a single word or even a glance. I would gladly give up half the screen time devoted to the action sequences in order to add more dialogue and clarify tons of plot holes and get rid of so many character contradictions, not to mention why in heaven and hell Luthor decided to put all these events in motion. When it comes to franchises, every director must play with the toys at hand, be grateful of having the chance and return them into the box in one piece, so others can play after him. So, you don't kill characters just to have fun (Kimmy Olsen), or alter a half a century old geography setting to place two N.Y.-size cities one across the other because it pleases you, just to name a few. Snyder is a great visual artist, and really I do happen to enjoy his films in a visual sense, but I don't like his vision for the DC's Extended Universe, and I can only really hope someone takes it from his hands before we end up with Darkseid as the antagonist in less than two movies (the Mother Boxes and the "dream" are so obvious). Remember: it took Marvel almost a decade just to place the chess pieces on the board for one single game with Thanos. After Thanos... it will be hard to find an all-powerful adversary. Warner is making a disservice to DC trying to play catch up and introducing their villain so soon. Take 10 years and a dozen movies to develop settings for the Darkseid battle. Enjoy the game, and let us enjoy it too.
Let's make one thing clear, the phrase "it's a movie for fans", is not an argument, let's go to the point.
Director Zack Snyder confirms here that he is a bad director, he doesn't know how to tell stories, he is so desperate to introduce the Justice League that the movie ended up being totally overstuffed and nonsense at some point. The montage of the movie is just HORRIBLE, like... one scene there's some tense moment and then suddenly, the screen turns to black and cut to a stupid scene of Lois Lane investigating something or Diana Prince checking her e-mail. Bruce Wayne's nightmare sequences are just empty, stupid and pointless.
The dark tone of the film is not necessarily bad, is not meant to be a joyfull film.
I still don't understand WHAT THE F*** is Laurence Fishburne doing in this movie, basically the same thing in "Man of Steel", nothing.
The movie it's so rushed for a 2 hours and 40 minutes that the epic battle between the 2 greatest heroes ends up being nothing but disappointing, and almost laughable at the end. Transposing scenes from the comics to the big screen is cool, but where's the context on them ? it's a buy fan ticket.
Doomsday........... Horrible, terrible, a visual rape, an insult to the cinema.
Lex Luthor................ no words worth it.
Wonder Woman: 5 minutes in the film and 5 as Diana Prince. But Gadot does a good job
Superman, it's actually better than in the previous film.
Batman is the best thing from this film, a bloodthirsty dark knight who can finally move his neck. It's the batman i've always wanted to see in the movies. Nice work Ben Affleck.
The other good thing from this film is Hans Zimmer's glorious score... Hans Zimmer is the god from this movie.
Conclusion: Could be the best superhero movie of all time, but ends up being worst as many of.
Thoughts after leaving the cinema but before reading critics reviews: The plot actually very coherent, I had no problems following it whatsoever. Things happened for specific reason, they were deliberate choices that moved the plot along as opposed to randomly contrived events. Not only that, the narratives that were occurring concurrently made for a comprehensive movie that was multi-faceted and set up the future movies well. Complaints on my end were negligible, really not worth mentioning.
Thoughts after reading some critics complaints: I'm sorry that you don't have the brain capacity to sit down for 2.5 hours and pay attention to a movie with multiple narratives to tell a story. I'm sorry that you don't like films that deviate from common Hollywood narrative structures. I'm sorry that you keep comparing it to summer-blockbustery Marvel movies that are meant to reel in everyone and their dog and have become so formulaic and vanilla that my 9 year-old brother is getting sick of them. I'm sorry that you're not comparing it to Watchmen. I'm sorry that you wanted to hate this movie from the beginning.
My reconciled thoughts: All of this aside, I thought it was a comic book movie through and through. It's a real service to the fans who pay for comics and keeps the industry alive (also see Amy Robinson's review on BvS). Despite some deviating creative choices, for me, the essence of the characters stay true and pure to the heart of who they are and what they represent. Henry Cavill's Clark Kent/Superman rings to what a modern day iteration of him would be, not whatever New 52 has done with him. They really captured the depth and breadth of 75 years of Lois/Clark's love in the movie. Even the tension between Bruce and Diana is right on the money and calls back to the awesomeness of the pairing that is Batman/Wonder Woman that we all got a taste of in JLU and Blackest Night. Batffleck's Batman/Bruce is the Bruce after Jason's death, before Tim came along, y'know? The movie leaves a whole lot of room for the future Justice Leaguers and maybe even beyond to legacy movies where mantle is passed on.
Also, if we got like 5 minutes of Jason Momoa's Aquaman instead of 10 seconds I would have died and gone to heaven right there on the spot.
I'm not going to take the film's title into account here, but now it seems fitting. This movie started and I kept thinking that, while certainly not without flaws, people are being overly harsh. Overall I liked the first two acts decently enough. One scene in particular was really strong and interesting around the halfway point.
But then the final act showed up and all the smaller issues I had suddenly grew larger and more severe. They felt just like the boss battle because as I judged the problems, it took in that problem to become a bigger, stronger problem. I wish I had had kryptonite to kill the growth.
Oh well. Superman is still portrayed really well, Wonder Woman looks pretty interesting for a future film, and I like the new Alfred. I did not care for Lex Luthor much at all. I don't always want to see another crazy villain. I liked him before because he is normally written as a super smart jerk who has reasons.
And then there's Batman. He never does anything that I outright despise I suppose, but at the same time he never really does anything interesting either. In case you didn't know how this went down, we do get yet another monotonous recall to his parent's death.
Oh, geeze, I just gave away a huge spoiler there didn't I. Now Batman is going to show up and shoot me to death with a gun, since apparently this Batman is cool with that.
Ok, so first thing. If you didn't like Man of Steel you WILL NOT like this movie.
This movie will also attract a lot of hate, but if you are a person that likes movies they like without listening to others, read on for my impressions.
I enjoyed it for the most part and went in completely blind (avoided all trailers/reviews/articles), there were a lot of great scenes and visuals but also a lot of terrible/boring scenes and visuals in a less but still substantial volume. Now some of the really great shots may have been spammed in the trailers so won't have the "wow" factor for people that watched all the trailers 50 times, but for me they were great.
A bit of overuse of CGI at points and some was bad, while other scenes had great effects. Some of the characters were fantastic like Ben's Batman, Jesse's Lex and Laurence's Perry White, while others should really move along... Lois looking at you.
I did find myself getting a bit excited for some of the fight scenes and "Justice League" setup. I will mention the lack of real "flow" for the first two acts of the films and I honestly think (hope at least) that if they release a "directors cut" it would solve the broken flow of the first two acts.
It may get called "Bad", but it's no where close to being Fantasic Four bad.
So, I’ve had my doubts about this since the infamous Doomsday trailer, but I wasn’t focusing on them, because I wanted to give the movie the benefit of the doubt. I’ve watched some spoiler free reviews that voiced by exact concerns, but mostly people were not passionately hating on the movie but saying that it was okay, passable. So I went into it with significantly lowered expectations but with naive hopes to be pleasantly surprised. And damn, was this movie bad. Like I’ve never actually seen more scattered, boring, messy and undeserving of its title or the hype around it superhero movie in my life. To be fair, I’ve never seen that horrible Fantastic 4 reboot, but pretty sure I’d put them close.
The party conversation we’ve all seen in the trailer is literally the only fucking conversation between Batman and Superman prior them butting heads. And it completely lacks the expected tension because, wait for it, they don’t even know each other's secret identities like the trailer made us idiots to believe. They are just dudes at a party.
The desert nightmare sequence holds no real relevance to the plot. It’s obviously just a blatant excuse for batman to kick some ass. Although I've enjoyed the fighting style and the visuality (and physicality) of it, very reminiscent of the Batman Arkham City I’m currently playing. The following Flash cameo was kinda awkward? And so was the Flash himself. (Though not even half as awkward as seeing Aquaman clearly holding his breath underwater.)
The placement of so many Justice League’ members as side characters or in small cameos is butchering and disrespecting them from the get go. Do we care for them with no build up? Is it right to see them in passing before their respectable movies? No fucking way.
Speaking of caring. Do we actually care for the Batman and Superman themselves and the feud between them? Is anyone seriously satisfied by them fighting because of Luthor’s jokeresque plan instead of their moral differences? Also isn’t Lex supposed to be a sane clever businessman and not a hysterical screechy chaotic clown that has zero believable reasoning behind him hating Superman - a person he had no history or opposing goals with whatsoever - so hard he orchestrates an explosion and create an indestructible monster from his blood (???) in order to defeat him; and everyone fucking acts like his psychotic behaviour is to be expected.
Even the Bats vs Sups fight that was supposed to be the core of this movie isn’t that good. They pummel each other (mostly Batman pummels Superman, let’s be fair), but, like I said, why should we fucking care? They are no one to each other, and frankly they are no one to us. These versions of Superman and Batman haven’t earned the audience rooting for them. I love the idea of those two larger than life characters fighting each other, but damn I hate the execution.
Superman is a fucking emotionless robot; Batman is a ragged killing machine. One of those concepts kinda works.
Why would Superman call his mother Martha… Come oooon...
And that’s what stopped Batman? Lots of people have that name. If Luthor's mom was named Martha, would they all the heroes shake hands with him?
“Why would you say that name??!!” barks Batman for the millionth time. What an asshat. The first time Lois’ interference was welcome.
People say the movie is dark - some pose it as a flow, others are convinced it’s a good thing and mostly bring up Marvel into their argument, like there’s no shades of darkness or any tone for that matter, like there are just those two extremities, and obviously those who claim this movie is too dark wanted a pop-corn flick (not saying all Marvel movies are all that, not at all). In my opinion this film is not necessary dark, but it is certainly lifeless.
The soundtrack is more off-putting than Lex’s hair. I cheered when Superman died.
I honestly never expected this to be as easy to follow, but all over the place and insufferably boring as it was. Anyone who isn’t absolutely stupid could have written the script for this, the plot is so shallow and the dialogues bad. The movie isn’t intelligent not it is creative. And neither it’s passionate. Definitely wasn’t written by a fan of comic books or at least of their heroes. This movie is just a dumb money maker. And because of that and the false hype it created it should absolutely fail. It won’t though, because people are dumb.
The thing about the movie is that it assumes audiences are familiar with the characters so it doesn't bother giving you much in terms of their backstories. This would be a legitimate comparison to the MCU--Marvel built up their audience's connection with individual characters in solo movies. The DCEU skips that and though I think it's possible that you can start with a group movie then branch into backstories and still be able to make the audience connect with a character, BvS needed to work on that a bit more. The movie tries to intrigue you about the characters so that you'll want to watch the other DCEU movies to find out about them.
But that being said, BvS felt like a love letter from DC to their fans. It felt like DC was saying, "Here's what you've been waiting for, you deserve this! I'm giving you all the treats!" I'm not sure why people keep saying that the first part was difficult to follow (I had no problems keeping track of what was happening). The pacing IS fast but if you pay attention (which, why wouldn't you pay attention to a movie you paid for) then you should have no problems.
I had an easier time connecting emotionally to Superman here than I did in MoS. You could really feel how 20 years fighting crime in Gotham jaded Batman and chipped away what little optimism he had left for fighting crime. And the cameos of the rest of the Justice League! The cameos were everything!!
The movie's not perfect but it's definitely an improvement over MoS.
Today I could finally see one of the most anticipated moments in the world of superheroes: the "Trinity" from DC Comics, Superman, Wonder Woman and Batman, together at last in a film that opens in style "Universe Extended DC "in theaters.
First, we note the obvious virtues of the film. The first, the music has an incredible soundtrack, made by Hans Zimmer (who reprises of steel -Man Man of Steel-) and Junkie XL. An epic music when required, which helps a lot to do most spectacular scenes. Then we have visual effects, another point very well done. The fight scenes of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman, but I do not see them as "the best film" as put at first, are amazing.
Second, we must mention another of the strengths of the film: the actors. Ben Affleck as Batman I like. Do not know if it would be the best Batman, but I would definitely stay good paper. Besides, I do not dislike much that his "Batman" will be one more violent and cruel compared to comics, though certainly divide the fans for long. Jeremy Irons as Alfred charm me with his sarcasm and willingness to help "Batman" in his adventures. It is the closest hotel to comic I've seen. Henry Cavill to repeat as Superman, we could say it was closer to the vision that we could have the comic of the superhero, although it is like my favorite interpretation, that's for Gal Gadot and Wonder Woman, whose appearance, albeit short, left with wanting more for individual film next year. Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor, although it is true to narcissistic crazy enemy of Superman, I feel that exaggerated the part of "crazy". In any case, the performances were generally magnified.
Now, the weak point of the film: the script. Do not be fooled, it is generally good, entertaining and understood, and I think that criticism tildarla exaggerating a bit of "bad". Will not go into details to avoid falling into spoilers, but if I tell you: make no mistake, it has its flaws and can not be denied. A couple of scenes that leave some of the main plot, a few moments that I miss them more explanation or a battle that was somewhat forced. It is ridiculous to say that ruins the movie, as there Marvel movies that equal or worst mistakes committed. It's magnificent history, and enjoys entertaining, only could be done better, but leaves a great prelude to what will be "Justice League" in the coming years.
Therefore, it is a great movie, I recommend seeing as this, DC comics and rich universe of superheroes finally have a worthy Cinematic Universe that will make war on Marvel. That if, forget the tone of the "House of Ideas" with his films. This is not another of Iron Man with Captain America paid by Disney. It is another study, another tone. In any case, I recommend watching this movie. For my part, I give it a 7/10.
No Spoiler
This film really has divided opinions of just about everyone who's watched it. My opinion, for what it's worth, is that this film is nowhere near as bad as the negative reviews will have you believe. Is it a great film, probably not but it's certainly a good film and there is a lot that works. Ben Affleck as Batman is phenomenal, definitely the best Batman to date IMO. Gal Gadot is excellent as Wonder Woman, I'm definitely looking forward to seeing her in her own movie. Henry Cavill holds his own as Superman but doesn't quite stand out like the other two. Jesse Eisenberg gives us an interesting twist on the Lex Luther and again IMO does a good job.
One bad point for me is that certain parts of the story seem to just happen without being explained or even giving us a clue as to why they are happening. Maybe I need to watch it again to be clearer on that bit.
I think an amazing part of the film is the fighting scenes...wow! Batman has never looked so animated and...well...bad ass!!! Wonder Woman kicks some propa ass and I think Gal Gadot portrays her brilliantly. There's a bit where she gets smacked down and she looks up, smiles, and jumps straight back into the fight...I loved that bit.
To end this off, I've heard an interesting rumour about where this story will be heading next and if this rumour comes to pass, the DC movie universe will be kinda awesome...time will tell.
Don't let the negative reviews dissuade you, check this film out.
First of all: I didn't expect much after Man of Steel!
Second: English is not my native language so please forgive my bad grammar and possible missuse of words or phrases...
That being said, i think it is a bit weird storywise. There were many hard cuts between the scenes (concerning the story) and it was not clear why things happened when it was shown.
In the end i couldn't shake the feeling, that the makers made it up as they went along - just so they could use all the special effects that they already paid for.
Besides that part they seem to be really determined to build a cinematic universe very fast - perhaps a bit too fast.
Why am i thinking this? Because they more or less put 4 origin stories into one film.
1st Batman's Origin
2nd Wonderwomans Origin
3rd The League of Justice
4th Lex Luthor's Origin
If you thought about it and did a bit of research about DC Comics before watching like i did you could expect this - For someone who doesn't have a clue about the original DC Comics (like most people in germany) i think it was not.
So if i think about the time they had for the movie and what they had to tell in it i think they did a solid job. But to be fair: I think without wonderwoman and a less dangerous monster it could have been a better film - they would just have had more time to build a real story - not just fragments of it which the viewer has to piece together himself.
That should be it for the story without spoilering it^^
To the Special Effects:
They seemed to be pretty expensive and they are a lot of fun to watch as long as you don't look too careful.
For Example: The Objects they used to calculate the breaking of glass seemed to be big quarders instead of small pieces (Superman crashing into a skyscraper must have been at least four times the size than he was in the picture to create a glass breaking as it was shown).
In another scene you can't see the skyscrapersthe camera is pointing up and it is in the middle of (Metropolis or Gotham - i am not sure...).
My resume:
If you are a DC-, Batman-, or Superman-Fan you have to see it.
For everyone else: It is a good Action movie with modern Effects, but don't expect it to be the best film you have ever seen.
This movie is far better than it's given credit for. I think a lot of people simply completely misunderstand the story of the movie, and especially misunderstand the Martha scene, and that has completely warped the public reception of this movie. It's a lot better than people give it credit for. If you didn't like this movie, I hope you read this comment and consider rewatching the movie with these things in mind, because I think you'll end up appreciating it a lot more. Also, you MUST watch the Ultimate Edition.
At its core, it's a movie about how humanity reacts to tragedy. Ben Affleck plays a Batman who has been brought to his lowest point after the death of Robin, and then gets driven even further down after he loses a ton of people he cares about in the Metropolis battle from the end of Batman v Superman. This obviously enrages Batman. He doesn't see Superman as a friendly character. He doesn't see Superman as a man. He sees him as a monster. A totally alien, unrelatable threat of a monster whose continued existence brings the earth one step closer to destruction.
Lex Luthor has a similar worldview as Batman, although he takes some different approaches to try to accomplish the same goal. Lex Luthor I think is an interesting character whose story is just completely trashed in the theatrical cut. Lex has this elaborate plan that involves Lois that is shown in much more detail in the Ultimate Cut, and it's such a crucial element to building the story, that the theatrical version really ruins the story by tossing so much of it.
The movie focuses on the point of view from Batman and Lex's perspective that Superman is a threat. So much so, that even when we see things from Superman's perspective, it's all about having him even doubt himself. This is important, because it should push the audience into thinking hey maybe Batman and Lex are kind of right, that even if Superman sounds like a nice idea in theory, there's just so much potential destruction that could be caused by his existence that honestly yeah, his existence is something that is dangerous.
So ideally, the audience should be on Batman's side when the ultimate battle occurs, at least ideologically. While we know Superman isn't evil, we also know just how much destruction he can cause, as we've seen it ourselves in the previous movie. We don't want Batman or Lex to succeed in killing Superman, because we know more about his history than either of those characters do, and we know Batman is better than this, but we still understand Batman's pain.
In this moment, Batman sees nothing but the monster, the alien. So when Batman is about to accomplish his mission and Superman cries out for Martha, Batman can only assume that Superman is mocking the fact that Bruce was unable to save his mother as a child. This enrages him further, causing him to lash at Superman, demanding answers for why he's mocking Bruce's mother. When Lois steps in and explains that Martha is actually Superman's mother, and that he's crying out in a desperate attempt to save his mother, Batman's entire worldview has completely been shattered.
Watch Ben Affleck's face in that moment. It's like he has just been hit in the face by a pro boxer. All Batman ever saw was the monster, the alien. A violent threat against the world. He never saw this guy as a man, and especially not a man who loves his mother. Bruce saw himself in Superman for the first time in that moment, and not only that, but he saw that he was about to become the very monster he set out to destroy when he became Batman. Batman exists because a little boy lost his parents, and Batman is about to become the cause of another little boy losing his mother.
It has NOTHING to do with Bruce realizing their mothers have the same name. That has absolutely nothing to do with this scene, and it's why so many people get it wrong. It has to do with a man building up this entire worldview and having it completely shattered, about becoming the monster he meant to destroy. It is crucial in changing Batman from the murderous rampaging beast that was created after the losses he experienced, and bringing him back to the hero that people could look up to. The type of Batman you need in order to form a Justice League, for example.
Another point is Lex. A lot of people are annoyed that this isn't the Lex we all know from the comics. Well... they're right. That's not who Jessie Eisenberg is playing. He's effectively playing the son of that Lex. Think of him as Lex Jr. I personally think his performance is quite strong, and from the perspective of a young man inheriting his father's business, it's a portrayal that makes a lot of sense.
I think when you consider all of these things, and also think about just how bloody gorgeous this movie is, and the music, I think this movie ends up being very special. It's up there among the best superhero movies for me. Not as good as the Nolan movies, or the top 3 or so of the MCU, but I still rate it quite highly among the superhero movies I've seen.
"Tell me, do you bleed? You will".
"Well, if it bleeds, we can kill it".
Superman has become the savior of Metropolis - but also a threat to many who fear his god-like abilities could lead to disaster. Gotham City's own Batman is among them, and he goes to confront the Man of Steel - but as these two titans clash, a new evil arises - one that poses a far greater threat to mankind.
The wait is finally over everyone, but was it worth waiting three years for? kind of. But how amazing is it that two of the most iconic superheros of all time are finally facing off with each other in one single movie. Unfortunately, not everyone was excited for it after the very mixed 'Man of Steel', as fans either loved it, liked it or hated the movie. Everyone was Curious, but also worried about Zack Snyder directing this movie, since he normally choices style over substance in his movies. Everything got worse when it comes to news, as the movie kept getting delayed, some casting choices that people got really angry over and the fact that movie was too crowed with it's characters. But hey, maybe Snyder has learnt from his mistakes from Man of Steel and might actually give us the faithful Frank Miller adaptation we've been waiting for.
After seeing the movie myself and letting it sink in for a while, I don't think this movie was terrible or good, but it could have been much better then the one we got. Batman v Superman has many problems with the plot, pacing and characters, but there's also some good things in it as well that I will get to later on in the review.
I think Zack Snyder took a bold move by taking the biggest criticism of "Man of Steel" was that Superman lets way too many people die (or just wasn't heroic enough), into the main story line of Dawn of Justice. I think it's a great way of replying back to the biggest problems fans or moviegoers had with Man of Steel, as it shows that you are aware and care of what people say. In this movie, Snyder sure dose make it as close as the comic when it comes to visuals and making it seem like the comic is leaping out of the comic book page on to the big screen, but sadly, Zack Snyder did what I feared he would do and that's doing the style over substance, with pretentious symbolism and very messy directing. Just when I thought he would fix the problems from Man of Steel, but instead make bigger problems in this movie. Now I don't want to give off the impression that I'm disliking Zack Snyder, because I don't want to, as I think he is a brilliant visual director with many ideas that doesn't always work out. I'm not a hater Snyder, but I had to be honest with you.
Ben Affleck as Batman was probably the biggest "WTF" casting ever and even I was a bit turned off by it when it was first announced, since at the time I wanted Josh Brolin to be cast as Batman. But just like Michael Keaton as Batman, Daniel Craig as James Bond and Heath Ledger as The Joker, we were all wrong to judge something without seeing it and that's once again the case here, as Ben Affleck wasn't the worse part of this movie, but rather the best part. Ben Affleck absolutely nailed it as Batman and I'm glad he proved everyone wrong. It's always a pleasure seeing annoying fanboys being proven wrong (like always). I can't wait to see that solo Batman movie starring Ben Affleck.
The fight scenes between Batman & Superman was really short and I wish it was a little longer, but it was enjoyable. Jeremy Irons as Alfred was excellent and perfect casting choice. Henry Cavill did a decent job playing Superman and the music in the film was pretty good. Gal Gadot did fine as Wonder Women, but her acting was a bit wooden and I hope she dose improve in the upcoming Wonder Woman movie that's coming out in 2017.
Now for the problems: Jesse Eisenberg was god awful as Lex Luther. I don't understand how some people think he's performance was good in this movie, because he was really cringe worthy and laughable. People will find away to defend his performance and over analysis the sh*t out of it to the point where it's really reaching for it. I don't put all the blame on Eisenberg, since it's mostly the directing and the writing that's the blame. It's awful to see a good actor like Jesse Eisenberg sadly being miss cast in a role that should have went to someone else.
Doomsday is in this movie and this isn't a spoiler as it's already been spoiled in the trailers and advertisements. Doomsday is one of the best villains in DC comics, because it's best known for being the one that killed Superman, but in this movie he's nothing but a big CGI monster that was shoehorned in the last few minutes. Also Doomsday looks like that troll monster from Fellowship of the Ring mixed with a Ninja Turtle. It's that bad.
The film itself is joyless and kind of dull at times, because every superhero movie (Mostly DC films) always try to be that dark and gritty movie that it's never going to be. This is 2 hours & 22 minutes of DC trying to catch up with Marvel, now I'm not comparing this to Marvel movies like some critics are, but it's very noticeable that this movie is leeching off the Marvel formal of setting up future movies.
Overall Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is a very messy movie that really dose lose focus on what it's doing. This is called "Batman v Superman", how is this movie not the most awesome thing in the world? it's kind of disappointing just thinking about it. If you like this movie and disagree with me on the problems I had with this movie, then that's fine and I'm glad you enjoyed the movie better than I did.
It seems ironic to have the word ‘Dawn’ in the title of Zack Snyder’s latest superhero epic, given how little light there is the film, both figuratively and literally. There is a lot of moping about, and a perpetual vibe of ‘oh no, this is the end of the world,’ as if Snyder is cribbing from his Dawn of the Dead remake (there’s that word again, dawn, implying a source of light that is tragically absent from any of Snyder’s auteuristic affectations). The iconoclastic treatment of Superman owes much, also, to a previous entry in Snyder’s visually stunning but incoherent oeuvre, Watchmen. The core visual inspiration for Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice comes from The Dark Knight Returns comic series by Frank Miller, whose 300 was also turned into a film by Snyder earlier in his career.
Those first three blockbusters by Snyder, Dawn of the Dead, 300 and Watchmen, were all pretty much lifted from existing works of visual storytelling, be they a film or a comic book, and all Snyder had to do was add his intolerable grainy close-ups and slow motion blood splatter. When left to his own devices, we get the incomprehensible Sucker Punch, which is a series of big budget dream sequences distracting from a rather tawdry pastiche of Girl, Interrupted and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest told almost entirely in a paradoxically shiny yet dirty toilet. He also gave us Man of Steel, and rather than use some of the incredible Superman stories already told on screen or in comics, he decided to plough his own trough with phallic spaceships, a Kevin Costner transplanted from Field of Dreams, and a climax cribbed from one of Toho’s Godzilla movies.
In his search for inspirational visuals to jam into the ponderous script for Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice (yes, I am going to use the entire title every time I reference it, because the unwieldy moniker is a delicious metaphor for this stupidly overblown film) Snyder has become tragically self-referential. There is a scene early in the movie where Amy Adams as Lois Lane slithers around in a bathtub that appears to be in one of the leftover gleaming but grimy bathrooms from Sucker Punch. The titular fight between the heroes takes place in a toilet that is equally grubby, but is only glistening from all the water splashed around. (I’m not even going to begin to examine the homoerotic undertones of two icons of masculinity writhing around in onesies on the floor in a urinal). It’s not just the bathrooms, either, as during the dreary first NINETY MINUTES of the nearly three hour film, there are no action sequences, save for those experienced by Batman when having a nigh nighs; yes, that’s right, a string of big budget dream sequences a la Sucker Punch.
Being a sequel to Man of Steel, it can’t help but borrow the visual language of that film, most notably in the opening sequences where Ben Affleck’s Bruce Wayne interacts with the human cost of the destructive climax to the previous film. Also, Snyder has another crack at his ‘Superman as Jesus in space’ image, while simultaneously paying homage to one of the more affecting moments from Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns. It’s this kind of confused layering that hampers much of the film. During one of the many unnecessary dream sequences (which feel like they’ve been jammed in as an ersatz defibrillator to the floundering story) Snyder uses images from Grant Morrison’s Batman 666, Rock of Ages and Final Crisis stories as well as nods to Crisis on Infinite Earths (Wolfman/Perez), the New 52 Justice League (Johns/Lee) and the video game Injustice.
The now-ubiquitous Batman origin gets yet another airing, Snyder’s over-graded, CGI treatment of it reminding me more of the risible TV show Gotham than Nolan’s or Miller’s understated efforts. The overuse of these reliable, and in some cases very worn, elements gives the whole film a sense of deja vu, and over the unnecessarily long running time, you start to wonder if you haven’t seen this film already. There is an explosion taken from Emmerich’s Independence Day; Eisenberg’s hammy performance as Luthor could be any twitchy genius villain in any number of cheaper films; the CGI monster at the end looks like it has been pasted in from Jackson’s Lord of the Rings or Letterier’s Incredible Hulk; the excruciating capital-D dramatic dialogue in the script by Chris Terrio and David S. Goyer is painfully reminiscent of Ang Lee’s Hulk; and all of this added to the fact that there is little of the film that wasn’t shown on the internet in the desperate marketing push, means you probably HAVE seen it all before. In fact, the only scenes in the film not aired in a trailer or on a talk show are the scenes of the fight between Batman and Superman, which also isn’t a surprise, because THAT’S THE TITLE OF THE MOVIE. Although, they did wrong-foot me a little with the title, because there’s no dawn, and there’s no justice. If there was, Zack Snyder would not be allowed to make movies.
Martha!
Now since that is out of the way, I kinda liked this more than I remembered. I think I'm going to bump it up from a 6 to 7. I saw the original cut in theaters and I saw the Ultimate edition as soon as it came out and it didn't really change my opinion on the movie. Now that I've had a year to forget about it and I'm getting ready for Justice League I'm starting to think this movie is alright. Now I'm not saying it is great but it can be entertaining. There are so many small things that are wrong with the movie that keep it back from being one of the better superhero movies. Lex Luther still sucks. I really wish they would of cast Bryan Cranston and gone a different direction with Lex. It was so lazy to introduce all the other heros with 30 second clips. Snyder couldn't think of any way better. Come on I mean the subtitle is called "Dawn of Justice". Wonder Woman is great but I forgot how small a role she has in this movie. Luckily she has her own movie to shine. Also Batman's line "I thought she was with you" has got to be one of the stupidest lines. HE LITERALLY EMAILED HER LIKE 2 HOURS AGO.
As I write this review I have just had a thoroughly disappointing movie experience and it so just happens that I have some strong feelings about the source material for this movie so be prepared for a bit of ranting and a few more “adult” words than usual.
I have to say that I bought this movie only because I felt I wanted it in my collection just for it to be complete. I was really expecting to be, shall we say, not impressed. A movie about Batman and Superman, heroes that I grew up with, fighting is not my kind of movie.
In the end I realized that my expectations of crappines was not enough. I really disliked this movie. In short succession this movie turns several of my childhood heroes to bad guys and the greatest superman bad guy into a unstable hippie-like jerk that goes through the movie behaving like he is a drug addict. So basically this movie went drown the drains for me straight away and then I have not even gotten started about the plot. Actually I felt so annoyed over this crap that I actually spent time taking notes while I was watching.
Let me see what I noted. Lex Luther is a fucking joke. Alfred, the same. Jimmy Olsen a fucking CIA agent? You got to be fucking kidding me! And not only does he screw Lois Lane but gets himself shot after a few seconds of screen time.
Same stupid nonsense about XXX being too powerful, is a threat and needs to be government controlled that has been used in hundreds. if not thousands, of crappy low and high budget action movies. I hate that crap. It is stupid, stupid, stupid.
Weird and totally uninteresting dream scenes, what the fuck did the writer smoke? If they wanted to pad the movie it a) was a crappy way of doing it and b) why? With over three hours (Ultimate Edition) it is way too long for such a crappy movie anyway.
Oh, here is a (somewhat) positive note at least. It was indeed rather funny that they had chosen CNN to spew out the nonsense conspiracy theories about Superman being responsible for the bomb in the wheelchair. Fake news anyone?
I had a little bit of enjoyment of the movie during the last part of the movie when it finally turned into a bit of action. Batman’s car and plane was cool. The action, once Batman getting knocked on his head enough to get to his senses again, was a nice chunk of CGI goodness. That I have to admit.
Okay, after three, mostly painful, hours the movie finally comes to an end. And what an end. Meh!!! Not only was it a crappy ending but they managed to drag it out forever with excruciatingly boring scenes.
I am sure a lot of the above can be said to be subjective. For instance my dislike of the way my childhood characters where treated. I am not a professional reviewer though so this is my personal take of the movie. If you don’t like it, fine with me and good for you but do not feel obliged to tell me about it.
First of all...this is a short review about the extended version of this movie. I never bothered to watch this one in the cinema, so I thought I would go for the version most people think are the better one.
So...what do I think?
Well...
Batman v Superman is not really very good. It's not horrendously bad, but it didn't really keep me interested. Especially the parts with Superman seemed misplaced somehow, and there are some stupid, illogical turns that threw me off somewhat.
I have no idea why, but Henry Cavills Superman is NOT my cup of tea. Don't like it...
Ben Affleck as Batman (which I thought I was going to hate) was actually quite good. Affleck actually pulled off being dark and moody. Who knew?
The rest of the cast was so and so. Eisenberg as Luthor was just a bit off. Gadot as Wonder Woman was ok, but mainly there to set things up for the next movie. And Jeremy Irons as Alfred? Well...that one was actually one of the things that were great about this movie.
The story in itself is not that bad, but there are some questionable turns that made no sense...even for a superhero movie. The effects seemed a bit cheap, but things actually improved towards the climax.
Would I watch it again? Not very likely...
Would I recommend other people to watch it? Hmm...probably not unless the person in question is an avid superhero fan.
When I was a kid, I still remember the first time I read Frank Miller's "The Dark Knight Returns". As a child whose idea of Superman & Batman was Christopher Reeve & Adam West, it was a revelation. Dark, brooding and so far removed from the movie and TV versions of these characters, yet so much more interesting for it. I remember dreaming of a movie version of Frank Miller's Batman & Superman.
This is why it was so surprising to me that when this film was announced, I wasn't more excited about it - here finally was "The Dark Knight Returns" adapted for the screen. The problem, was that I had watched 'Man of Steel' and wasn't enamoured with Snyder's vision - I felt that while that movie had had the potential to be good (the trailer's had made it look awesome!) it had failed to deliver on the fun - it just wasn't as fun as a Superman film should be. Nolan's Batman films were FUN, although the first one was a little weak, The Dark Knight found the perfect formula and ran with it. Dark and brooding, yes, but with humour and fun too. I never felt the fun with the Man of Steel - we're talking about a flying alien here! - and It was with this feeling that I sat down to watch Batman vs Superman.
It's worth noting here that I watched the Ultimate Edition at home - I never saw the theatrical cut that everyone had hated so much - but its safe to say my expectations weren't high. Having watched it, I am pleased to be able to say that it I actually enjoyed it way more than I expected, and it was not the complete train-wreck I feared. My conclusion is that it still lacks a sense of fun, and takes itself too seriously, but SOMEWHERE on the editing room floor is an absolutely AMAZING film. With the right editing this could have been something incredible. I've always felt that Snyder's films tend to be all style but no substance. While he has definitely matured in his ability to create multi-dimensional characters he still has a way to go. The whole Martha coincidence was just terrible writing, but that being said, there was actually a lot to like here (Ben Affleck makes a great Miller Batman. He nailed it.
Loved it! Loved it! Loved it! Just doesn't get any better than this. This is the Batman I like. I was not on board with either of the previous Batmen. The contrast of the two superheroes was Amazing! Nieve, alien, do gooder vs Seedy, untrusting, earthling. And the Bat did that thang all movie long, amazing. I've never really been a Batman fan, but this one is alright with me... He's just more realistic. I just used the word "realistic" in this review, lol! Supes is still, and will always be my favorite. I love how he is developing into a leader of heroes and learning about his destiny. Ww was... Hmm, put it this way, when she got in gear, she stole the show, period. My favorite line from this movie, "I've kill things from other worlds before", then she leads the team to battle. I've seen this a bunch of times, way more than I cared to watch the X-Men or Avengers movies, which I also liked. One and only problem I had, besides Superman not saving his mother, was the fact that WB didn't stick it to Disney by having Luke Skywalker voicing the Joker somehow... Lol at not talking in Force Awakens. Bottom line, this movie develops it characters, has underlying messages, and the characters actually stand for something, morally, mentally, and socially. Batman is man, we adapt, and we're optimistic, innovative, but yet not in a vacuum, we need help, synergy, I don't want to go on just give a few examples of what I mean. Superman is a metaphor of a way of thinking, ideology... Oh yeah and one last thing anyone else see the Bible belt Urban Republican Vs the rich, Big city Liberal Democrat theme? I just loved this movie!!!
Lex was pure icing on the cake, that good whip cream icing, too. Doesn't it kinda feel as if Lex created Facebook?
So the movie starts off from a different angle from the last Superman movie (Man of Steel). This time you see it happening from the ground, together with, you guessed right, Bruce Wayne. A lot of things break, a lot of things get destroyed, a lot of people die. This is the start of Bruce his hate for Superman (which I now kind of understand). The world starts to question Superman as well, seeing that he only does what he thinks is right and does’t consult with the anyone. Batman wants to teach Superman a lesson, but Superman wants to teach Batman a lesson as well after finding out about the things he does to criminals. In between these rivals is a man called Lex Luthor. Very smart guy with a lot of money who is a bit mad in the head. He would love to see Superman gone and starts manipulating Superman into killing Batman. Only once the fight between them starts they soon find out they have more in common then they thought and not only that because Lex created an alien monster called Doomsday and it’s on his way to destroy the world. Once Batman and Superman start to fight the monster a very charming lady by the name Wonder Woman joins them, and so we get our little introduction to Justice League.
I didn’t have very high expectations to be honest. Some of my friends saw it before I did and they weren’t too excited. I have to say though, I was pleasantly surprised. I enjoyed the story although I did feel like Zack Snyder got a bit too enthusiastic and tried to put too much in 2,5 hours. That was one of the thing that frustrated me. There is so much information I like to know, or know more about, but they used their precious time to fill the movie with one too many closeups and slo-mo shots. Also, I don’t think Bruce’s dreams gave me much more information about things, as well as the beginning of the movie (which was almost exactly the same as Batman Begins. I did like Jeffrey Dean Morgan, even if it was only a few seconds). At first I didn’t really know how I felt about Ben Affleck becoming Batman but he did a great job! Not as great as Christian Bale, but he surely didn’t disappoint. Someone who did disappoint though was Lois Lane, with that I mean the character not Amy Adams, she was as great as always, but Lois Lane, girl, you were nothing but a burden. I felt like she was just in the way most of the time, and I really like her but I feel like this movie didn’t really need her most of the time. Jesse Eisenberg was a GREAT Lex Luthor, he started of as a not yet too insane scientist but soon enough his dark side showed and in the end he got perfectly crazy (I like my bad guys a bit insane). I’m excited to find out what he is going to do next. Let’s talk about Clark Kent for a moment now. First things first. Some time in the movie I started thinking, how is it that Batman needs a mask to stay unrecognized but once Superman puts on glasses nobody knows he’s Superman. I mean, I never realized it before but HOW. I’ll tell you, once I put my glasses on I don’t become Wonder Woman. So that was a bit saddening, but it is what it is and we move on to talk about how great a Superman Henry Cavill is. I won’t stop saying it because it’s true. The one who casted him can be very proud. His looks are so alike with the comics, I’m impressed. Not only his looks though, he just plays a very good Superman, I don’t have much to say about it really. Only stating the facts. Doomsday did disappoint a bit. I’ll be honest with you, I don’t know much about the comics and stuff but what I heard about Doomsday, I expected more. I also think/know he is/can not be dead yet. Then there was Wonder Woman, only a small introduction, but we’ve seen her in action now and she is one fierce lady. I’m ready to get to know her story as well.
Okay, to finish off my story. I’m very exited and ready for Justice League Part One and all it brings with it. It’s too bad we have to wait till mid 2017.
Similar in structure and tone to Man of Steel, this is actually a much more disciplined effort from Snyder. It seems he has taken the criticism from the last entry to heart as much of the film centres on exploring Superman’s impact on the world, the fallout from the destruction and mayhem that he caused in the previous entry and both the awe and fear he engenders. These are themes well worth exploring and whilst they don’t solve the problematic nature of the last entry, they do help to make this film a worthwhile sequel. The film picks up several story strands at the beginning and as a result there are still some superfluous and unnecessary scenes within the film that only serve to confuse - the dream sequence in particular should have been cut as should reference to future films/superheroes which would have been better as part of an extended cut or post credit sequence. Despite this and some uneven editing in the first half, the storylines converge in quite a satisfying way. Like Man of Steel, the film then gives way to an extended action sequence in the final act, but despite the CGI overload, this is somehow less relentless. Casting is spot on with Affleck in particular standing out as Batman/Bruce Wayne, but Cavill makes for a great Superman, particularly as the film develops. It is a shame there is little room for the female characters, though Gal Gadot works well within the limited time she is given. Neither a perfect film, nor the atrocity that many mainstream reviews seem to have painted this as, this is an enjoyable sequel to Man of Steel and, given how the film ends, an intriguing set-up for the next.
despite all the bad reviews, i still had high expectations for this movie. sadly, even though its not as bad as the critics suggest, its also not the epic that many fans are making it out to be. for a movie that's nearly 2 and a half hours long, it takes well over 1 and a half before we actually get the fight between Batman and Superman. that wouldn't be a problem if the movie had a lot going on until then' and sadly it doesn't. way too much talking and not enough action, with the fight between Batman and Superman not lasting very long. Doomsday was basically shoehorned in towards the end, and then dispatched far too quickly, and the cameos by future Justice League members were unnecessary, not to mention baffling, since when does Barry Allen have long hair? he looks like a cross between a hippy and an emo. Aquaman's cameo was obviously meant to make him look bad ass, but instead he just looked comical, and what the hell was going on during that Cyborg cameo? Wonder Woman's appearance was probably the only good thing about this movie and has me already looking forward to her solo outing. unfortunately, when a brief appearance by 1 character is the best part of a movie, you know that's a bad sign. if this is how DC and WB launch a cinematic universe, things are not off to a good start.
The cast is mostly good despite Jesse Eisenberg's unnecessary over the top performance. The problem is Zack Snyder who actually compared Batman vs Superman to Watchmen in an interview. Which it should be nothing like. There's even a weird dream sequence that feels as if it was right out of Watchmen. The movie also feels uneven and unfocused. However it's one of the better movies that has tried to do too much at a time; like Amazing Spider-Man 2 for instance. With reviews only higher than Superman 3-4 and Batman & Robin ;Justice League probably would be better without Snyder. After Man of Steel; he explained why Superman had to kill. Now; is explaining why Batman has to. Some fans have told me on Twitter; Snyder is a genius who sticks to the source material. If that was the case Batman and Superman wouldn't go against their code in the comics. Which is "not to kill." Critics said the problem with Man of Steel was that it was too dark and not much fun. So...Snyder brought the same thing to Batman vs Superman. That's why the reviews are so bad. As well as being a pretty incoherent movie. Still; the movie has plenty of good moments to separate it from being awful. I however think with Snyder involved; it's like Bay with Transformers. The reviews will get worse with each of his DC movies. They will have their moments but without being nowhere near as good as a Nolan Batman film.
Review by vinaldo7BlockedParent2016-07-01T16:59:01Z— updated 2018-06-28T23:53:33Z
As far as I am concerned this is the ONLY version of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice that exists. That other thing that Warner Bros. released in theatres is good but isn't a patch on what Snyder originally created. Snyder took an awful lot of flack for the theatrical release, but whatever you think about him as a film maker, you will have sympathy for him once you see how the studio took a hacksaw to his movie. This Ultimate Edition isn't simply another scene or two which adds 30 minutes but doesn't change the movie, it is a sprinkling of expansions to scenes throughout that solve its much maligned choppiness and lack of flow. Apart from the improved editing which allowed the film to breathe, this version of the movie makes you care about the characters more, especially Superman. Following the journey of Clarke Kent in more detail, seeing him actually do some investigative journalism, and understanding his motivations makes a huge difference. This is especially the case in his death at the end of the movie. Without earlier shots of him doing "Superman" things such as helping people after the Capitol Building bomb, as was the case in the theatrical release, I simply didn't care when he died. With the added tidbits in the Ultimate Edition, Supermans sacrifice brought me to floods of tears. Even though I knew what was coming, the gut punch was overpowering! This character expansion also benefited his nemesis Lex Luthor, who with just a few additional scenes (that he isn't even necessarily in), transforms from a spoilt brat into a criminal mastermind. While it was previously suspected, it now becomes clear that he has his fingerprints on everything, from the Africa scene by blackmailing the witness, to intercepting Wallace Keefe's cheques from Bruce Wayne, and Keefe himself being an unknowing puppet of Luthor carrying a bomb in the led lined wheelchair so Superman couldn't see it. Overall, my recommendation if you haven't seen Batman V Superman yet, or if you saw it in the theatres and hated it, is to give this version a watch. I loved it.