Zack Snyder's movies are heavily stylised, and not to everyone's liking. However, in recent years, the criticism of his work has become increasingly vitriolic, and often personal. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice received a lot of surprisingly nasty reviews, while we've all seen the ridicule that surrounded the #ReleaseTheSnyderCut movement (with many online writers claiming it would never happen).
In a recent interview with LightCast, Zack Snyder's Justice League producer Deborah Snyder tackled the subject of "unkind press" ahead of the movie's release, and spoke openly about how the constant barrage of negativity feels.
"We’ve had our share of unkind press. I think [Batman v Superman] is the perfect example. 'It’s too dark.' Too dark compared to what? I think that some of the reactions were ‘It’s not funny enough. It’s not the movie I expected it to be.’ And you’re [saying], ‘Is that the movie’s fault or is that your fault for having a preconceived notion of what it should be?’ It was kind of interesting to read that."
Snyder also shared her take on how critics sometimes conduct themselves in reviews.
"Sometimes I feel, not just about our movies, but in general, the reviewers are cruel, and there’s people behind it that spend a lot of time, whether you like it or not. And you don’t have to like it, but sometimes it gets very personal, and it gets mean. You can say what you think without being mean or cruel."
It's hard to disagree with any of this; some reviewers do take great delight in getting nasty in their reviews, with superhero movies often coming under fire from so-called "serious" critics.
What's your take on these comments from Deborah Snyder?