EVERYONE! Agrees with this statement. No argument. And so I thought until I ran into an internet troll which led to the creation of this post. Little did he know Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice left a huge mark on the superhero movie industry. Even though we all know he’s a fake hater, hypothetically, let’s assume he isn’t and that we’d have to prove him wrong. Let the fun begin!
THE CHARACTERS
image via medium.com
This movie managed to give us the most definitive Batman of all time who will be forever remembered as the Dark Knight that kills. It also brought us a darker and more depressing (meaning more realistic and therefore better) Superman that has barely any lines, which I don’t see as a negative, rather a positive. Henry Cavil showed us his acting skills at the disposal of 43 lines in an entire 2-hour run. The movie gave us the debut of Wonder Woman who only shows up at the end, which too is okay because she appears throughout the rest as a mysterious figure. In fact so mysterious she also forgot how to speak (again brilliant symbolism on Snyder’s part).
Fun Fact: WW Theme confirmed to be played by Aquaman actor
Jessie Eisenberg delivered us a new and more complex Lex Luthor. Through his intricacy, the actor himself didn’t know what to do with the character. Such brilliance! We also got Lois Lane who seems to have superpowers of her own such as knowing everything about the plot. Snyder left little hints throughout the films to tell us she possesses super-gifts of her own. Will Warner Bros. officially go on to confirm this in the DC Universe’s equivalent of Infinity War? One can hope. Moving on, there’s Doomsday, just one example of the utilization of the amazing special effects. The Frankenstein-inspired look right away became synonymous with the character. And finally, Jeremy Irons’ Alfred who steals every scene he is in!
THE EXECUTION
image via YouTube
The movie brought so much to the table. It managed to fit Batman vs. Superman, introduce Wonder Woman, set-up Justice League, tease Darkseid, pay fan service to the Death(-ish) of Superman and still find success in balancing all this content. Speaking of fan service, Zack Snyder perfectly implemented its use into the movie without confusing any casual audience member. He even hinted at the love and intimate relationship between Batman and Superman with this photo.
The Passionate Stare of Love
Zack Snyder actually told us he deleted an entire section where the two cinematic icons share a romantic scene. It was taken out due to claims it distracted too much from the movie’s core. Thankfully, the director did release a shot of what could’ve been for the letdown fans. Another proof of studio interference at its worst. The official image is shown below.
The director tried yet again while filming Justice League. Warner Bros. and Joss Whedon came in and obviously took those scenes out, although if you pay close attention it seems they weren’t all that successful in hiding it this time around. There are numerous scenes where you do feel the sexual attraction the two have for each other, most notably during the Steppenwolf final battle.
image via Snyder’s Vero account
The fans loved the film so much that Warner Bros. decided to release a version with 30 more minutes that they originally cut out. They put out the so-called ‘Ultimate Cut’ (that made the BvS haters go from threatened to extinct) because it didn’t come out as a whole film in the theater. It’s the equivalent of the DLC in video games, only for movies. Everyone loves those so why not utilize the idea here? Another genius move.
We couldn’t talk about the significance of this movie without mentioning the marketing strategy. It all started with an over two-minute teaser that came out a year before the film’s release. From there we went nowhere but uphill with three more trailers, none of which gave away the plot’s secrets. It’s amazing seeing how they managed to show so much, yet have the viewer not expect a thing when it came to actually watching it.
THE SUCCESS
image via Caitlin Bell
The movie became a huge hit for everyone. Rotten Tomatoes gave the film an amazing 27% which means their films only sucks 27% of the time while many Marvel movies like Civil War according to Rotten Tomatoes is rotten 91% of the time (ouch, Marvel needs to catch up). The movie is so good it is DCEU’s 2nd best film of all time (right behind the Academy Award-winning Suicide Squad). The movie also became a monstrous hit by earning over $800 million. It definitely made the money Warner Bros. wanted it to make. This movie just doesn’t know how to disappoint.
What other kind of number would you expect from the two greatest icons and the big-screen debut of the biggest female character in one showing? The actors were asked about the amazing score that it got on RT which gave birth to an amazing meme showing Ben Affleck internally holding back from exulting into tears of joy.
The director Zack Snyder also received a lot of great and positive feedback after the movie came out. He was hailed as one of the best things to ever happen to DC Comics. He was so successful that he became involved with every DC property since like Suicide Squad, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and Justice League. IN SNYDER WE TRUST! #GiveUsTheSnyderCut
THE RESPONSE
So it was a box office hit — and a critical one at that — but let’s dive further into the opinions of fans and critics. Every fan I spoke to said the movie is purely amazing so that means everyone else thinks that as well. Then there are the actors themselves who have spoken out about how amazing this film is! The first actor is Michael SHANNON.
image via KryptonNerd
The actor who played Zod said:
“I watched it once and I fell asleep…”
I agree! The movie is so good it can put anyone to sweet dreams. Next up we have the man himself, Jeremy Irons.
image via JeremyIronsMan
Alfred told us how BvS deserves all the amazing reviews:
“Deservedly so. I mean it took $800 million, so the kicking didn’t matter but it was sort of overstuffed…It was very muddled. I think the next one will be simpler. The script is certainly a lot smaller, it’s more linear.”
Now that we’re on the topic of critic reviews. There were some strong ones like a review by SONNY BUNCH (Washington Free Beacon) who complimented the movie’s amazing and perfect use of characters:
“Wildly overstuffed and oddly slapdash, filled with characters and sequences that serve little purpose other than to set up a cinematic universe.”
image via WhyYouSayThatName
Then we have BRAIN GIBSON (Vue Weekly) who praised the dark and realistic tone:
“Snyder’s gone all drab and dire, determined to lay siege to our senses (and plot). There’s so much glowering, gloominess and good-ness talk that it’s hard to imagine the sun, or justice, ever dawning for this disastrous cavalcade of dreary characters.”
Up next is WILL LEITCH (New Republic) who was so pleased he did not want to leave the theater:
“A movie that beats you into submission and makes you wonder if the sun will ever come out again.”
DAVID KEYES (Cinemaphiles.org) challenged the everyday opinion and said that, despite its darkness, it did have plenty of comedy:
“The most expensive prank ever committed to film.”
SAM WATERMEIER (NUVO Newsweekly) used highly warm words like “hot”:
“Batman v Superman is a hot, steaming heap of trash.”
What about that troll I mentioned earlier? In our conversation, he called the movie “nonsensical” and accused it of being all over the place. First of all, “nonsensical” is a four syllable word for any thought too big for little minds. BvS was perfect. Second of all, well, real cinema isn’t supposed to give you answers or tie everything up in nice little bows. It should elicit reactions and discussions. Up to this day, I still discuss this film with my pals which makes it fun, not frustrating. For anyone that struggles to understand this, I’ll try to help you a bit. First of all, you need to read the Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice prequel comics. Once you do that, I’ve compiled more things to make you understand what you’re truly missing out on.
THE CONSENSUS
image via SyFy Wire
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is a movie EVERYONE adores. Yes, there is that 27% of critics on RT who didn’t like it, but that’s a very good score given the other 73% loved it. My guess is by now they finally see the ridiculousness in their critiques. Critics bashed on The Shining, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and Blade Runner when they initially came out. Sometimes recognition takes time.
Thinking about it now, the guy who prompted me to write this piece is a blind hater. Some people like the negative reviewers or internet trolls just wanna hear and see what they wanna hear and see. They’ll lie to themselves just so their foundation of reality doesn’t shatter. And to that, there is no cure.
I’m contractually obliged to mention this is satire. If you’ve made it this far into the post without figuring it out by now, we need to hone your satire sensors better.
Thank you for reading! What are your thoughts on this Citizen Kane Killer? Comment down below!
This is a repurposed version of an article I once wrote on a different site.
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17 comments
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I gave up on it after the first hour, glad I’d waited to check out the DVD from the library rather than spending actual money. But oh, that’s an hour of my life that I’ll never get back.
How am I just finding this. I love it so much. Long live Batman v Superman!
The movie could have been better in my honest opinion. Zack Snyder’s biggest weakness is storytelling and there is a lack of spectacle during the first half due to the world-building that had to be done.
I actually really like this movie, so I find satires like this to be a bit offensive and not taking into account that everybody is entitled to their own opinion and no movie can ever be considered definitively bad.
It’s all good sport! Nothing written here is definitive nor should it be treated as such. If you like BvS then that’s great for you. I love Man of Steel and get saddened every time someone doesn’t appeciate it as much as I. So I’ve been on the other end of that stick and I wouldn’t take so much personally.
Great review of what is most DEFINITELY a classic piece of cinema. “Super-hero movie”? Nah… HIGH ART I would say (“The Favourite”… move over)… yet WHAT WERE THE ACADEMY THINKING that year?
Yet I fear I must troll you just a little for overlooking in your review one of the most dramatic encounters in the whole film: I’m referring of course to “Martha-gate”. What an inspired piece of writing where the coincidence of a mother’s name can divert a murderous attach in its tracks. Curiously this has inspired police force training around the world to change: when faced by an armed criminal, officers are now not trained to shout “Drop your weapon” but instead shout “What’s your Mum’s name?”…. “Really! Mine too!”. A lamentable omission… don’t let it happen again.
By the way… what’s your mother called?
I do not kid you, my mother’s name is actually Martha.
No way…. mine too!
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This is brilliant! Great piece, Olaf!
Sarcasm at its finest. I’m telling you, I nearly crapped my pants reading this review because I was laughing so hard. HILARIOUS!
Thanks for making my evening. LMAO.
Thank you very much. Making your evening made mine.
:)
I think that the issue for BvS for me is that it seems like a lot of great material was wasted here. Lex Luthor putting Superman in a position to fight Batman would have been amazing on it’s on. I didn’t feel the under glorified cameo of Wonder Woman and Doomsday were necessary. The movie just felt rushed to me and I absolutely loved it!!