Why you- Yes you movie critic- hate BatmanV Superman: Dawn of Justice, and the reboot of the DC comic movie universe.
WARNING: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS!!!
Movie critics. You know, the experts that have a higher understanding of story telling, plot development, and great film making that they break down for people like us.
When they know their stuff, they help us navigate through the sea of movies to watch, help us decide what could be worth our dollars, and help us decide what could be a waste. In cases of movies based on previously created source material, a lack of true knowledge of the source material can negatively impact their reviews.
Batman V Superman is a classic example of the latter, and precisely why, when it comes to the blockbuster genre that is the comic book movie, I rarely pay attention to a word the critics write.
David Goyer and Zack Snyder's big "We don't care!"
Batman V Superman; Dawn of Justice simply put was David Goyer and Zack Snyder rolling the dice and betting on DC universe die hard fans. It was their bet that the best way to do justice to the DC universe reboot series, and the original super hero team up squad was to satisfy the fans of perhaps DC's most popular and beloved storylines: Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns, where Superman and Batman actually square off. John Bryne’s Man of Steel series, where Superman's core dynamic changes after 66 years. Dan Jurgens, Louise Simonson and Roger Stern’s The Death and Return of Superman series, where the most indestructible super hero of all time gives his life saving the world. Heck, they even had source material from the beloved Superman: The Animated series.
This reboot is Goyer and Snyder deliberately choosing not to go the Marvel route by making their story lighthearted and comedic. Yes critics, it is dark. It is dark because the source material that the reboot is based on was dark- especially for its time. At the mere mention of "Man of Steel" a fan of those series knew that this was not going to be your beloved Christopher Reeve Superman.
Anyone who has read the DC comic universe storylines from the Bryne , Miller, and the Jurgens and Simonson eras knows that compared to previous eras, these ones were deeper and darker- which is the very reason why us fan boys and fan girls loved it. Batman v Superman is Snyder and Goyer having the audacity to refrain from giving us two hours of mindless action and "cute" jokes just to satisfy those who simply want to see two of the most popular superheroes of all time bash each other into oblivion. It is betting that, in the long run, being true to the source material is the best way to go because viewers may come and go, but fans always stay.
THINGS YOU FAILED TO NOTICE AND WHY YOU MISSED THE PLOT.
1.) Scenes ripped right out of the comic books
I read one review that bashed the opening sequence where young Bruce Wayne witnesses the murder of his parents. The movie critic felt that it was overdramatized and overdone.
What that reviewer failed to realize was that the scene, as with several scenes in this movie, was literally ripped from the pages of The Dark Knight Returns. Thomas Wayne lunging at the robber, the barrel of the robber's gun getting stuck in Martha Wayne's necklace before he fires, the dream sequence where Bruce discovers the bat cave- all accurate depictions ripped right out of the comic book. I will refrain from going into all of the many examples of this, as there are too many to discuss, but this movie was literally a real life comic book with scenes that were in some cases reminiscent of the various comics used and in other cases exact scenes from those comic books. I'm sure other fan reviews will do justice covering this fact and these scenes, so I'll just leave it at that.
2.) Lex Luthor-the evil genius.
For those who read comics, it is not uncommon to see the attribute "genius level intellect" in the description of abilities for certain characters. Lex Luthor is an example of a character in the comic universe whose genius level intellect is the very reason why, though he is a mere mortal, he is the arch nemesis of Superman.
In Batman V Superman, Jesse Eisenberg's Luthor is the greatest example of a comic book evil genius with a long game plot and manipulation of events for a greater diabolical purpose ever captured on film.
The Batman V Superman Luthor pits the heroes against each other Psychologically more so than physically with a deeper more nefarious goal in mind. In the movie, it is revealed that Lex Luthor knows exactly who Wonder Woman, Aquaman, the Flash, and Cyborg are, and he has been keeping tabs on them for a while. In the final act, it reveals that he has also known Superman's identity for a while as well. What it never explicitly spells out for you, but gives you clues to figure out on your own, is the fact that he also knows that Bruce Wayne is Batman.
Moreover, he is fully familiar with the psychological profile of each member of the Justice league he has been watching, including the greatest detective in the world- Batman/Bruce Wayne. In order to get Batman to conclude that Superman is really a threat to humanity that needs to be stopped, he does two things. First, he gives the detective a follow the white rabbit case to solve. He creates an elaborate scheme involving the recovered Kryptonite rock from the wreckage of the chaos in the Indian Ocean in Man of Steel.
Lex does not really want the Kryptonite for himself. He wants Batman to steal it, so that he can weaponize it to kill Superman.
He invites Bruce Wayne to his gala because he is counting on the fact that he will steal his files, find out where the Kryptonite is being stored, and steal it, and he makes it super easy for him to do so.
When Batman eventually steals the Kryptonite, Lex gets exactly what he wants-The Dark Knight has the means to kill Superman.
Second, Lex puts a set of events into motion to solidify the Dark Knight's belief that Superman is dubious. He already knows that Bruce holds Superman partially responsible for the destruction and death in the battle against Zod, so all he has to do is stoke the fire. The massacre carried out by the KGbeast and his contract soldiers in Africa is the first event he uses. He knows Lois in danger means Superman is coming, so the fact that everyone is left dead in a place Superman has been obviously makes it appear to Batman and the world that Superman is the culprit.
Next, he sends Clark pictures of the Batman branded criminal that was murdered in jail on the same exact night that he knows Batman is coming for the Kryptonite. He knows that this will force Clark to confront Batman ( the bat mobile scene), further exacerbating the idea in Batman's mind that Superman is just a tyrant that uses his powers to force his will on others.
Finally, he uses the Wayne enterprise employee Bruce saves in the Metropolis massacre, Wallace Keefe, to plant the final seed in Batman's mind.
He manipulates Senator Finch to use Wallace Keefe as the symbol of those harmed by the carnage of an unchecked Superman in the hearings being held on his actions in Africa. Superman arrives at the hearings, where Lex detonates the brand new wheel chair he gave to Wallace, killing everyone in the room. As this is happening, Bruce finds out that all the checks he had sent to Wallace for financial support had been intercepted and returned with red marker messages to him written on them. Bruce believes that this is the work of Superman. He believes Superman broke Wallace's will to live and in a desperate attempt to make a statement against the man of steel resorted to terrorism. This is the final straw for Bruce because in his mind because he believes that Superman deliberately decides to let the bomb go off and let Wallace and everyone in the room die. It is no longer a question for Bruce- Superman is a threat to mankind, and he has to go.
These events are not orchestrated by Lex to turn the world against Superman. They are orchestrated to psychologically turn Batman against Superman, hence the reason why the name of the movie is Batman V Superman as opposed to Superman V Batman. The action is limited in the first half of the movie because it is about Luthor psychologically pitting Batman against Superman. This psychological warfare eventually leads to the physical standoff that everyone has been anticipating. Now why would Lex Luthor go through all of this trouble and create such an elaborate scheme just to get Batman to stand against Superman? The first reason is because he knows that Batman himself is brilliant, so if he creates a scheme that is too easy, the Dark Knight being the brilliant detective that he is will figure it out. The second reason is that Lex Luthor is not the true villainous architect pulling the strings.
3.) Darkseid using Lex Luthor to achieve his ultimate end.
This is perhaps the main reason why you missed the plot and how it is being used to set up the launch of the Justice league.
Darkseid is most powerful villain in the DC universe. He is the world conquering, world enslaving, demon-like New god of Apokolips whose ruthless and merciless rein of terror is unmatched. His powers are vast and include telepathy and even the capacity for mind control. He is the master puppeteer making Luthor dance to the pull of his strings in Batman V Superman, and he is coming for earth. As he always does, he plants his seed on the planet he wants to conquer and enslave.
However, before he begins his conquest, he wants to eliminate all of the possible threats that can get in his way.
The meta humans Luthor has scouted for him along with Batman are such threats. However, the greatest threat of them all, as with the comics and animated series of the DC universe, is Superman. With earth's greatest hero out of his way, conquering it will be a cakewalk. The speech Luthor gives senator Finch in his mansion where he discusses his late father's painting, stating that demons do not come from the ground, they come from the sky is a reference to Darkseid. The main demon in the painting is a grey hulking figure, like Darkseid. The focus on the painting again toward the end of the movie reemphasizes this fact.
The other device that is used to show that Darkseid is the architect behind Luthor's evil genius plot are the dream sequences of Bruce Wayne. It is clear that within the confines of these "dreams" are possible memories of events he has forgotten hidden in his psyche. The dream sequence where one of Darkseid's parademons suddenly flies out of Bruce's mother's gravestone is one example. The dream sequence in which Batman is a rebel on a barren earth which now resembles Darkseid's home planet Apokolips is another example. In this sequence, Superman is the conquering god of earth who reigns over the planet with his army of soldiers and parademons that are shown killing Batman's rebels. We also see Darkseid’s omega symbol carved in the dirt on the ground. This sequence is reminiscent of the beloved Superman: The Animated Series episode "Legacy" in which Darkseid brainwashes Superman, makes him believe that he is his son, and uses him to conquer the universe and earth. He resorts to this tactic because he is tired of Superman foiling his attempts to conquer earth. Within the same dream sequence, Bruce dreams what appears to be a memory in which a certain known figure traveling from the future, the Flash, warns him that Darkseid is coming.
The scene in which Wonder Woman opens up Cyborg's meta human file is the final explicit give away of Darkseid’s behind the scenes scheming. In this scene, we see Joe Morton creating Cyborg's AI system using a Mother box as the energy source. Mother boxes are Darkseid's tools of conquest, and they appear on planets he plans to conquer. Amongst the many things they can do, they can be used to communicate telepathically with hosts, and also control the minds of unwitting hosts. The Star Wars Easter egg is a hidden cue that's Luthor has been chosen to fulfill Darkseid's goal. In the scene where Luthor's is shown in prison, the prisoner Identification number we see on his uniform is 16-TK421. TK421 is one of the storm troopers that Luke and Han Solo jump and disguise themselves as when infiltrating the Death Star in the original Star Wars movie. A storm trooper is a soldier and tool of the Dark side, much like Luthor is a soldier and tool of Darkseid.
Darkseid's mission for Luthor is the elimination of Superman. If Batman fails to kill Superman, Luthor has Doomsday- a creature created by Krytonian technology for the sole purpose of killing Superman- as his fail safe. Either way, Superman will die, and Darkseid wins. The death of Superman will be the catalyst that unites the heroes of earth.
4.) No after credit teasers necessary because you got them all at the end of the movie.
The final piece of the comic pie that Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice references is perhaps the most popular comic line of all time- The Death of Superman. If you are aware of that storyline, then you know about all of the scenes and ideas that were ripped right out of the comic at the end of the movie. You also know that the black casket with the silver S logo at Superman's empty casket national funeral is the teaser for his return a la The Return of Superman where he comes back with long hair and the black suit. That was your teaser, and if you knew that you walked out of the movie in delight realizing that there will be nothing post credits because this is not a Marvel movie.
Batman V Superman :Dawn of Justice is live action comic book that is filled with "who done it" style clues for you to find, follow, dissect, and discern. If you did not know the source material enough to do so, it is understandable why you would watched it and thought it is all over the place and there was no unifying plot or point. However, if you did know the source material, you were elated that Goyer and Snyder were able to weave an intelligent, well thought out tapestry of the source material you love, and amazed at how they managed to create a great plot line that explains the formation of the Justice league and sets the tone for future JL movies to come. Being a fan, you knew coming in that the idea of Batman evenly squaring off with Superman was ludicrous to begin with, so your curiosity was about seeing what the twist in the plot would be. Finding out that twist was the baddest villain in the DC universe wanting the man of steel dead in order to create a clear path to his conquest of earth was a pleasant delight that left you excited for more.
Perhaps it was too risky a gamble for Snyder and Goyer to take. Perhaps they will be proven wrong for feeling that not satisfying everyone and focusing on satisfying DC fans by giving them a movie filled with crumbs that force them to think and play detective would not stop this movie from crossing a billion dollars. Perhaps their notion that just the fact of Batman and Superman, the two most beloved superheroes of all time, sharing the same screen for the first time ever would be enough. Perhaps. But, the one thing that they were not wrong about, is that the fans of the wildly popular DC storylines this series of movies invokes will be thoroughly pleased with what they have done.
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