Excitement for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was through the roof before its release in March 2016, especially as comic book fans had long looked forward to the two DC Comics icons sharing the screen.
That would explain its record-breaking opening weekend, but negative reviews from fans and critics alike saw it suffer a massive drop the following week. Ultimately, it was deemed something of a box office disappointment and the response led to Warner Bros. changing course with the DCEU (hence why Suicide Squad went through such big changes).
Talking during a Q&A at the recent "Full Circle" event, director Zack Snyder reflected on the reaction Batman v Superman received and suggested it might be down to him making a movie the masses simply didn't want...or necessarily understand!
"I think that probably is what caused the movie to be so polarizing," he said of his decision to take a deep dive into what makes Batman and Superman tick. "I feel like a lot of people went into the movie going, 'Oh, it’s [a] superhero romp, right? Let’s have fun with it.'"
"We gave them this sort of hardcore deconstructivist, heavily layered, experiential modern mythological superhero movie that you really need to pay attention to. That was not cool [for them]. That’s not something anyone wanted to do. They were like, ‘What? No! That’s exhausting. Why do they fight at night?' I hate that."
Looking back, Batman v Superman may have tried being a bit too smart for its own good, with the still widely mocked "Martha!" scene a good example of that.
There was fun to be had with the movie, though, and the fight between the title characters definitely delivered. Doomsday's bizarre appearance countered that by being something of a let-down, but Batman v Superman still has more than its fair share of fans.
How do you look back at Snyder's work on Dawn of Justice?