I am SO glad that there is now a separate page for the Ultimate Edition. Lumping every review praising this cut with the negatively received theatrical version was pretty dumb and misrepresentative.
This (Ultimate Edition) comic book film ages like fine wine, and I can wholeheartedly defend *almost* every single choice this highly ambitious film made. It's this weird conglomerate of pieces that on paper shouldn't work together at all, yet it results in a product that is shockingly cohesive and rich. The pacing is excellent for a slow-burn superhero political thriller, and has one of my favorite introductions, fight resolutions (yes, I am 100% talking about THAT moment), AND endings in a comic book film ever.
I love how Superman and Batman have inverse story arcs that still mirror one another in the end; we start out seeing a Superman that has yet to be with a Batman that once was (they even both lose their "sidekick" to justify the direct setup for Justice League). The idea of characterizing Clark and Bruce this way was always going to be divisive, but the deconstructed elements feels like they come from a legitimate source of love for these iconic characters. The challenges these two face in the movie may be unsettling to watch, but they are necessary in reaffirming why these characters have the qualities they have. It honestly makes zero sense for audiences to be against the idea of Batman falling from grace and redeeming himself in the end-considering that despite his no-kill code, his most often overlooked belief is that ANYONE can be redeemed, even the Joker. Suddenly it's a terrible idea for that exact same philosophy to be challenged directly against Batman? If your issue is that Batman shouldn't kill, congratulations, you somehow understand a big trait of the character while completely ignoring or missing the movie's point of WHY a Batman that kills is a bad thing.
Film Twitter's take of the day is that BvS is to blame for DC's brand not having the general public interest Marvel does. And while clearly it is just a reactionary take to blindly hate on the film whenever appreciation posts make rounds 6 years later, it isn't *entirely* inaccurate. Warner Bros sabotaged the chance for this movie to perform as expected by executives/investors by forcing the film to remove 30 minutes of essential content. Removing these scenes makes Superman look reckless and homicidal, and Lex just an inexplicably lucky villain who just happens to be able to manipulate everything without much effort to justify how.
Oh, and Jesse Eisenberg was a great villain. Is he Clancy Brown? No. Is he in-line with Birthright Lex Luthor? ABSOLUTELY! His mannerisms are a great tonal contrast to the somberness of Batman and Superman, and the idea of him being this eccentric millennial philanthropist works perfectly. The fact he earned a Razzie for this role baffles me to this day, he is far too over-hated.
I'll also never understand where people get the idea that this movie is uninspiring/hopeless. Superman's sacrifice unites EVERYONE. He gets EVERYONE to see the best in themselves, and in mankind. Bruce is set on a redemption path moving forward, the world mourns Superman (in a VERY tastefully shot double-funeral bookending scene, which again, mirrors Bruce's introduction in the film-thus solidifying the inverse storytelling).
Had this been the movie released in March 2016, I am positive it would have cracked a billion dollars at the box office, word-of-mouth would have been substantially kinder, and DC's Trinity film would have kicked off a badass franchise. The expectation of this being the second film out of 24 for a cinematic universe got people to see this as some rushed project to catch up to the MCU. Knowing now that this was really going to be a 5-film franchise, the world-building in BvS feels far more organic than anything seen in the MCU up to that point. It isn't a perfect movie, I wish the fight between Superman and Batman lasted a lot longer than it did, I wish there was an explanation as to how Lex knew Batman and Superman's identities, but really that's about it.
Near-masterpiece of a comic book film. If you haven't given this cut of the movie a chance, please do. It pains me that a lot of people have only seen the theatrical cut once, yet continue to talk poorly about the movie on the daily 6 years later. Restore the Snyderverse, buckle down on what made the first two DCEU entries unique, and stop trying to make a copycat MCU. Give comic book fans the variety we crave.
Oh, and Release the Ayer Cut too.
This (Ultimate Edition) comic book film ages like fine wine, and I can wholeheartedly defend *almost* every single choice this highly ambitious film made. It's this weird conglomerate of pieces that on paper shouldn't work together at all, yet it results in a product that is shockingly cohesive and rich. The pacing is excellent for a slow-burn superhero political thriller, and has one of my favorite introductions, fight resolutions (yes, I am 100% talking about THAT moment), AND endings in a comic book film ever.
I love how Superman and Batman have inverse story arcs that still mirror one another in the end; we start out seeing a Superman that has yet to be with a Batman that once was (they even both lose their "sidekick" to justify the direct setup for Justice League). The idea of characterizing Clark and Bruce this way was always going to be divisive, but the deconstructed elements feels like they come from a legitimate source of love for these iconic characters. The challenges these two face in the movie may be unsettling to watch, but they are necessary in reaffirming why these characters have the qualities they have. It honestly makes zero sense for audiences to be against the idea of Batman falling from grace and redeeming himself in the end-considering that despite his no-kill code, his most often overlooked belief is that ANYONE can be redeemed, even the Joker. Suddenly it's a terrible idea for that exact same philosophy to be challenged directly against Batman? If your issue is that Batman shouldn't kill, congratulations, you somehow understand a big trait of the character while completely ignoring or missing the movie's point of WHY a Batman that kills is a bad thing.
Film Twitter's take of the day is that BvS is to blame for DC's brand not having the general public interest Marvel does. And while clearly it is just a reactionary take to blindly hate on the film whenever appreciation posts make rounds 6 years later, it isn't *entirely* inaccurate. Warner Bros sabotaged the chance for this movie to perform as expected by executives/investors by forcing the film to remove 30 minutes of essential content. Removing these scenes makes Superman look reckless and homicidal, and Lex just an inexplicably lucky villain who just happens to be able to manipulate everything without much effort to justify how.
Oh, and Jesse Eisenberg was a great villain. Is he Clancy Brown? No. Is he in-line with Birthright Lex Luthor? ABSOLUTELY! His mannerisms are a great tonal contrast to the somberness of Batman and Superman, and the idea of him being this eccentric millennial philanthropist works perfectly. The fact he earned a Razzie for this role baffles me to this day, he is far too over-hated.
I'll also never understand where people get the idea that this movie is uninspiring/hopeless. Superman's sacrifice unites EVERYONE. He gets EVERYONE to see the best in themselves, and in mankind. Bruce is set on a redemption path moving forward, the world mourns Superman (in a VERY tastefully shot double-funeral bookending scene, which again, mirrors Bruce's introduction in the film-thus solidifying the inverse storytelling).
Had this been the movie released in March 2016, I am positive it would have cracked a billion dollars at the box office, word-of-mouth would have been substantially kinder, and DC's Trinity film would have kicked off a badass franchise. The expectation of this being the second film out of 24 for a cinematic universe got people to see this as some rushed project to catch up to the MCU. Knowing now that this was really going to be a 5-film franchise, the world-building in BvS feels far more organic than anything seen in the MCU up to that point. It isn't a perfect movie, I wish the fight between Superman and Batman lasted a lot longer than it did, I wish there was an explanation as to how Lex knew Batman and Superman's identities, but really that's about it.
Near-masterpiece of a comic book film. If you haven't given this cut of the movie a chance, please do. It pains me that a lot of people have only seen the theatrical cut once, yet continue to talk poorly about the movie on the daily 6 years later. Restore the Snyderverse, buckle down on what made the first two DCEU entries unique, and stop trying to make a copycat MCU. Give comic book fans the variety we crave.
Oh, and Release the Ayer Cut too.