This is my first review, so I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments section! I'm thinking about doing more of these in the future.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was, at one point, my most anticipated movie of 2015. Yes, 2015. The further the movie got from the original release date, the more worried I was about the quality of a film with so much potential. Batman is the character that got me into comics. He was going to be the redeeming factor of the DCEU. When I heard about BvS: DoJ, I literally screamed. THIS could be what saves Man of Steel for me! Everything could make sense, but the delays kept coming. The movie was further and futher away.
In March of 2016, I continued hearing poor reviews for the film. I went in with low expectations, and came out of the theater sad. Granted, Batfleck was brilliant. I was one of the original advocates of his take on the Caped Crusader, but something about this movie didn't sit right. I wasn't sure if it was the quick cuts, the increasing number of by-plots, or just how much I still hated Superman, but last night I picked up the Ultimate Edition. Reviews said it improved the film, and I agree, but there's still a lot to take away, so let's get into it! I will try to explain everything as much as possible, so it's as much of a legitimate review as it can be, while still including some personal opinions.
The Good
Batman - Batsy had a mean streak going into this film. Several people throughout the film pointed out that something snapped in him. Alfred was worried. The homeless guy that Clark spoke to pointed it out. Lex Luthor took advantage of it. I may not agree with the direction they took him, but everything made sense. In a movie with a lot of flaws, Batman was not one of them. He was a detective, a fighter , and he was jacked! I don't have much more to say. Oh, and the Batcave was perfect. And the warehouse scene.
Bruce Wayne - Was Ben Affleck great or what?! Bruce was a wonderful facade. The opening scene of his parents dying was very well done. I may not prefer the flying out of the cave dream sequence thing, but that doesn't change how great it was visually. Anyway, Bruce was a playboy, schemer, passionate dude. And he was jacked!
Side note: how about those first 12 minutes, huh? WOW what a way to introduce Bruce.
Alfred - Shouts out to Jeremy Irons. Alfred personified. Not that my opinion matters here, but I believe that Michael Caine was not a good version of Alfred, and was very satisfied with Iron's portrayal.
Clark Kent - With the little that he was given, I believe that Cavill did a great job as Clark. I'll cover some other stuff about him in "the meh."
Wonder Woman - Good stuff. The end.
Visuals - Everything LOOKED great. The scenes themselves were shot well (though I could've used less lense flares haha).
BvS - The fight scene was fun to watch. The personal motivations made sense, but the set up didn't. More in "the bad."
Continuity - Everything was consistent with the timeline. That's a freebie that I'll give to the movie.
The Meh
Dawn of Justice - I expected there to be more here. Aquaman had a bunch of fiqures made, but Flash got more screentime than he did. I have no problem with how the DoJ stuff happened necessarily, but again, with DoJ in the title of the movie, I just expected more substance in this area. Not bad, just meh. Could've used more of the trinity as well.
Diana Prince - I didn't think she was bad, she just didn't serve much purpose for the film. Again, that's why I have the "meh" category.
Knightmare - It was a cool scene, but it didn't do anything for me as far as the overall narrative goes. It felt out of place personally.
Lois Lane - As my girlfriend (who knows little to nothing about comics) pointed out, Lois isn't supposed to be so needy. I think that Amy Adams did a good job as the character, but they didn't give her as much strength as her lore has had. Nothing wrong with that, just a new characterization to get used to I guess.
Africa - I thought that this scene was good until Superman showed up. The ultimate edition cleared up some stuff about why Superman would take the blame, but it still didn't do much for the film for me, it just kinda gave Lois something to do.
The Bad
Superman - Truth, justice, and the..moping...way...? While I appreciate the 2 entries in the DCEU trying to humanize Superman, he just kinda..exists in this movie. The Superman I know would continue to fight despite the hatred towards him, not stop because of it. And what the heck was with the scene on the mountain? Again, I get it, it humanizes him, but it seems out of place with everything else happening.
Lex Luthor - The more I watch the DCEU version of Lex, the more okay I am with him, but I still could use less conveniences in his whole BvS plotline.
so
BvS - Everything was so convenient. Batman just like...stood there for 20m? Superman couldn't just like..go get Martha right quick? Lex flew away to the crash site, so how would he know if Clark didn't go to Gotham? Plus, it's 2 hours into the movie, but it's the title of the movie.
Cutting 4 scenes in a row - There was a sequence of 6 scenes, 5 of which were cut, 4 of them in a row.
The Ugly
These have been harped on enough so I'm just gonna breeze through them.
MARTHAAAAA
Doomsday
Conveniences
Momoa holding his breath
Choppy scene editing (fixed in Ultimate edition)
RIP Mercy
RIP Jimmy
RIP KGBeast
Batman just mowing people down
Overall, I think that the movie isn't bad. I went in with a lot of opinions and expectations originally, and was therefore disappointed by it. Having watched it a second time (being the ultimate edition), I believe that Zack Snyder has a great vision, but needs to learn how to step back and not try to overdo everything. I understand the idea of trying to make a complete film, but there was a lot that could've been done in the writing phase to trim this down and still make it an "adult" narrative.
Since this is a review, I guess I have to give the movie a grade so I give it
Theatrical Cut: 6/10
Ultimate Edition: 7/10
What do you think? Comment below with your thoughts on the movie itself, or on my review. I know I missed some big things, but you guys have read enough reviews of this movie to not give a crap.
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