Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice [Ultimate Edition] [Blu-ray] [2016]

(MINOR SPOILERS) This movie absolutely does not deserve all the negative criticism it gets. As a very keen comic reader, one who is particularly a fan of DC Comics and to be even more specific, Justice League related things, I can safely say that this movie did not disappoint. The hype was worth it. I've notice most complaints about the movie are about it being too dark in tone and a bit over crowded. Yes, it is dark but why is that a bad thing? Anyone who reads DC Comics will know that a dark tone has been a very common element to many of DC's greatest stories for nearly 30 years and especially in the last 10. With Man Of Steel, people complained that Superman was too dark and not enough of a "Good guy". This complaint continued here. Yes, Superman is supposed to be a good guy and no, he is not best known for being one of DC's darker characters but in recent years he has moved away from the old typical "I'm a big hero. I must always do what's right" thing. I personally find the perfect Boy Scout who's always right image Superman is kinda unbelievable. Comics have given his character a lot more depth and they have continued to do this with the movies with Henry Cavill. Superman IS a good guy and he DOES want to do what's right all the time but the world is not black and white and good or bad. Sometimes you have to make the best out of a bad situation. Sometimes you have to decide not what's good or bad but what's...least worst, we'll say. Superman wants to do right but in a world where there's so much bad, it's not always easy to know what's right, especially when you are a Super powered person who is both looked up to and hated by many. And as far as Clarke Kent goes, he too has a lot more depth. He is a believable character, despite being from Krypton and that is what these movies should do: bring fantasy and fiction into the real world. As for Batman? I can't say just how interested in Batman I am and always have been. I feel I know Batman like no other character meaning I really do feel like I know how Batman should be and when I see Ben Affleck in this movie, cape and cowl or suit and tie, he absolutely NAILS it. Batman is a dark character. We all have our own opinions but I feel to complain about Batman being "too dark" is like complaining about orange juice tasting like oranges. Bruce Wayne may be a billionaire but he hasn't exactly had it easy and that's no secret. Because this movie is Batman v Superman it was obvious it would have to be an older Batman. A well expirenced Batman. And again if you read, you will know that after a few years as Batman, Bruce has more than his fair share of every negative thing you could imagine happening and an older Batman has often been written as a harder character and in some cases, he has even lost his way from time to time. I didn't actually see many complaints about Ben other than people complaining about how Batman never kills but did in this movie. Well 1) Batman does not kill but HAS done. 2) Yes, (without giving too much away) he did things that might kill a person in the movie (MIGHT) but if you really look, he did it in a certain way and you can't actually prove they died at all and when death did happen, it wasn't actually intended. Ben Affleck will become the definitive Batman if he keeps going on how he is. Everything about his acting as both Bruce and Batman is perfect and his movements as Batman are spot on which has never quite been nailed before. I am very happy to call Ben Affleck Batman. As for the rest of the characters we saw introduced, I can't say much on any of them just yet because not enough was shown (it was only cameos/introductions though) but I can say a bit about Wonder Woman: Perfect. Absolutely perfect. Just like with Batman and Superman, this is exactly how I imagine Wonderwoman. The way she speaks, the way she moves, her look, everything is just brilliant and I'm VERY excited for her solo movie. I saw Lex Luthor getting a few complaints. Some said he was too crazy. I picture Lex as a genius, a bit cocky but in an intimidating kind of way and he is a bit crazy but normally his insanity is due to his obsession and hatred for Superman. I see how some say he was a bit too crazy but I think everything else was good and here's my point: This Lex is young. Younger than most versions of Lex Luthor we see. But because he is young, I think he's a bit cockier and a bit more "power mad". A young man, a genius with billions of dollars under his name who is also obsessed with Superman in a bad way and who is a bit power mad is certainly gonna have a screw or two loose. Maybe the screws will tighten with age but I don't see it as an issue either way. I really like this version of Lex. I won't go into the plot details too much to avoid spoilers but I will say one minor thing in as discreet a way I can. The whole complaint about Martha makes no sense. It wasn't stupid or cheesy. I won't say why I think that because it might spoil it but I'll just say look deeper into it if you don't see it. So here's my summary: For comic fans, this movies is if not perfect, pretty close to perfect. Sure, it might seem a bit rushed in places but c'mon, this is a movie trying to bring together 3 of DC Comics biggest characters in feature length time through a story. I think they did a great job setting up the future of the DCEU here. If you're not a comic fan, it might be a bit harder to pick up but I really don't think you'll have too difficult a time with it. Some may wanna watch it twice but I think it's easy enough to follow and to get into. It's action packed and interesting and despite what critics say, it never fails to be exciting. The critics are mostly strictly movie critics meaning they are looking at this movie not as a comic book movie, not even as a superhero movie but a movie. These same critics reviewed Marvel movies and gave great reviews but they bash BvS. Why? Because after seeing the often humorous, more light hearted movies where the heroes fight the bad guys, they think Superhero movies aren't meant to be so dark. DC Comics is and always has been darker than Marvel Comics and I and many other comic fans love both. I think it's the same with the movies but unfortunately DC came in with their cinematic universe quite late. Critics really don't know what they're talking about with this movie. They did the same to Man of Steel and Suicide Squad but most comic fans love these movies (Man of Steel didn't win over some more classic fans though but I feel it's time to move on. This is how it is.) and these movies are comic book movies after all so I think you'd be best to trust what comic fans say about superhero movies before you trust what some critic who's probably never picked up a comic in their life and is reviewing dramas and horrors and everything in between and getting paid for it. Maybe I am a bit bias but if I forget my love for comics and these characters, I can still say it's a brilliant movie. Make your own mind up at the end of the day but please don't let a critic do it.

Let me begin by clarifying where I come from when it comes to superheroes. I've been a comic book reader since 1976 when I found a spinner rack full of the things when on holiday at Skegness. It was a rainy weekend and, during a lull in the downpour, I went with my mother to the nearest shop. To stop my incessant moaning, she bought me a bunch of comics. In that bunch were a good mix of DC and Marvel comics and I was immediately hooked. I've loved comics and superheroes ever since. Both companies. There have been times when I've bought more Marvel and times when I've bought more DC, but I've never hated either company. And, so, you should see that my positive review isn't because I hate Marvel. Far, far from it. Having said that I'm, kind of, getting bored with Marvel Studios' current output. They aren't bad movies, by any means, but they are becoming far too homogenous. Too samey. Even though they have different directors, writers, cinematographers, etc, they are starting to look and feel the same. Bleeding into each other in an increasingly bland fashion. BvS is definitely NOT like a Marvel movie. It is its own beast, with its own tone and feel. More akin to a mythological epic rather than a popcorn friendly fun-fest. And that is one of the things other people react negatively about with this movie. Not enough fun and frolics. Well, as I mentioned earlier, I'm a very long time comic reader and I can tell you that not all comic stories are sweetness and light. Not all comic stories are fun and frolics. The "Extremis" storyline in Iron Man (which Iron Man 3 was partly based upon) was NOT a fun fest. It was a very serious, important and deep story. The Civil War story (which the recent Captain America movie was based on) was NOT sweetness and light! People who watch superhero movies need to get out of the mindset that these movies have to have one tone. They need to stop thinking that all superhero movies should have fast quips, prat falls and comedy side characters, because if they don't all we'll end up with will be superhero movies that are just comedies with superhero characters. BvS has a specific story about the fall from Superman's battle with the Kryptonians in MoS. Not just the fall out from the destruction and deaths (you are naive if you think there weren't similar amounts of death and destruction in most of the Marvel movies. We just didn't see it. That many explosions, aliens, huge fricking space ships flying through the canyons of New York? Come on!), but also the fall out of people's emotions. Both Superman's emotions and the other people of planet Earth. BvS is an exploration of how people would really react to such a disaster. How they would react to the arrival of a creature like Superman. The narrative twists and turns taking in the many different feelings such events would bring about. Fear. Awe. Love. Hatred. The movie is complex because the reactions to such an event would be complex. Aside from the story, this is a beautiful movie. The world is extremely well realised. The powers shown work very well on screen. Each actor in this movie hits their mark. Ben Affleck and Gal Gadot are excellent additions to the universe. I'd say especially Gadot, but we don't get to see as much of her as Affleck. What we do see of her is more as Wonder Woman than as Diana Prince but what an entrance she makes as Wonder Woman in the final act! She comes across as powerful and graceful. A little smirk to herself mid-battle as she relishes being able to cut loose is a particular highlight for me. She is a warrior! And, yes, a stunningly beautiful one at that. Affleck is great as both Wayne and Batman. I very much look forward to seeing both actors play these characters again and I'm especially looking forward to Patty Jenkins' Wonder Woman movie coming next year. The extras are interesting and in-depth, going into the comic book histories of all the characters and giving glimpses of Suicide Squad and the Wonder Woman movies. I love this movie. I can't wait for more DCEU movies. I can't wait for more Marvel movies too. I just hope they are more than just the cookie cutter sameness that I've seen up to now. It is truly a Golden Age for comic book superhero fans. It's been a long time coming and long may it continue.

The critics have been way too harsh on this film. It really all depends on what you 'expect' from the film that will determine your over all experience. If you expect it to be a run of the mill, fun for all the family superhero film (like pretty much every single superhero film to date, which I love by the way) with throw away one liners and happy smiling people... then you will not enjoy this film. If however you're looking for something we've never seen before in a Superhero film, then this is for you. Warner Bros and Zach Snyder have given us something very different. We've been given a film which challenges the audience. It challenges our very perception of what a 'Superhero' film should be. We've been so inundated with bright, colourful and happy Marvel films that some people seem to think that if we have something different, it's a bad thing. It's not a bad thing. Batman V Superman is one of the best comic book films I have ever seen. From the word go I was gripped. From the dark, brutal and unforgiving Batman to Supermans constant conflict and struggle with who is he and what he should do. Instead of having our hero's running around saving cats out of trees and being model citizens, this film shows us the World around them. This film is more about the Worlds perception of a Superhero and what people would make of them should they really exist. Should we fear them? Should they have rules and if so, how do we make sure they stick to those rules? For me, this is not a 'dark film. It is a 'realistic' one. Critics seem to have trouble understanding the difference. It is a brave direction to take for a film that is setting up a new franchise, and one that pays off. You need to think of this film less as a 'superhero' film and more of a political action thriller that just so happens to feature comic book characters. If you watch this film with that in mind, you will truly enjoy this film. If you want a load of throw away action and bright colours and funny one liners, then you can always watch the old Superman films or any of the several Marvel films. We now have the best of both Worlds. Just because Marvel have it done it one way does not mean that is the ONLY way.

With all things such as art, movies, music etc it is always a preference of taste to the individual. This movie recieved quite a slating from reviewers upon release in the cinemas and to be fair I thought most reviews were a little harsh. A lot of people complained that the film was to dark and serious, not enough laughs. With all the great Marvel films that have come out I feel we get our fair share of the more lightened Super hero movies to keep us entertained. But honestly it's nice every now and again to watch a movie that has a darker, brooding and grimmer tone to it in both story and visualisation. For me, and again it's personal preference here, I loved this film from start to finish. It's quite long the extended cut but it's worth it compared to the theatrical release. Also the old Batflick didn't seam to be welcomed as the new Batman and to be fair again I thought Ben Afleck did a great job, also the on screen presence of Wonder Woman was awesome. Luckily for me this film wasn't over bombarded with to many different superheroes. The villains were good, Lex Luthor was a tad crazy compared to the Lex we have come to know over the years but again he added a nice dynamic to the heroes. I'm not going to give away any spoilers, only to say that the ending had me shocked, but in a good way. Looking forward to seeing what they do with the Justice League movie and really looking forward to the stand alone WonderWoman film. Man of Steel was quite an onslaught to the senses visually, I much preferred this films pace and story. Anyway I loved the film and would recommend to anyone that wants a darker super hero movie

Zack Snyder and Chris Nolan come together again after Man of Steel with another super hero action blockbuster,and while this and MoS have their detractors I can't see the reason for the hatred espoused in a lot of reviews for either of these films. Yes in MoS Supes was akin to Hulk in his building toppling antics but he didn't really get much choice since that is where Zod brought the fight to ! What was Supes supposed to do,ask him to change the venue to Montana or Wyoming? Much the same happens here in DoJ,the battle begins in the city and there is bound to be collateral damage !People in the Christopher Reeve films often paid with their (imagined) lives,so there's nothing that sets those films apart on that score. Like MoS,this presents a dark,more mature view of of our superheroes,who themselves are more complicated,less 2 dimensional characters than those imagined decades ago by their creators,and this is something some fans don't like . Each to their own . The Ultimate Edition fleshes out a lot of rough edges from the Theatrical version making for a much more rounded tale,although Batman's sudden change of heart in his one on one with Superman is a little jarring and still a weak point,but what the hell,no film is beyond criticism it's just a shame this has drawn so much . Vastly superior to The Farce Awakens (which millions seem to enjoy )in terms of plot ,character motivation,acting etc etc . Watch MoS and then this straight after and so many little nuances become far clearer,making for a good superhero moviethon. Looking forward to Wonder Woman and Justice League due for release soon. It's a shame that the Ultimate Ed. isn't 3D but that's the movie business for you!

Early on in Dawn of Justice’s weighty 2 hour and 30 minute runtime, Ben Affleck’s Bruce Wayne commits one of the greatest acts of real world heroism ever portrayed in a fictional action movie. Arriving in Metropolis during the cataclysmic battle between Superman and General Zod seen in Man of Steel (2013), Bruce charges headlong into the dust cloud billowing from a collapsing Wayne Enterprises skyscraper. Very clearly echoing 9/11, he’s running towards a hopeless situation, not to stop it, but to help others caught by the destruction because that’s what Bruce Wayne/ Batman commits his life to doing; helping others. It’s a pity then that the rest of the film is so full of dropped balls. It starts with a superfluous and overly stylised rerun of Batman’s origins, now with some gratuitous Freudian rape symbolism added to his mother’s death. After this, the actual plot of the film takes the questionable step of building on the divisive climax of Man of Steel by showing us a world where the God-like figure of Superman (Henry Carvill) seems to be hated more than praised or revered. Whilst presenting us with an aptly problematic religious metaphor for the 21st century, it fails to capture the nobleness of the original superhero. Much like in his 2013 debut, Carvill’s Superman spends too long contemplating, worrying, brooding and simply does too little. There was a real furore over Affleck’s casting as Bruce Wayne/ Batman when it was announced, with some fans petitioning to get the role recast. Yet his performance is the saving grace of a character so badly written he’s barely recognisable as the caped crusader. Casting around for a new slant on one of the world’s most recognisable pop culture icons, Snyder et al seem to have settled on lifting their Batman almost wholesale from Frank Miller’s landmark-but-actually-not-very-likeable The Dark Knight Returns series. So we have an older Bruce Wayne who has been Batman for twenty years and who either through old age or experience, or perhaps because that Wayne Enterprises Building got destroyed, is a harsher more violent version of the character. This Batman uses a bat shaped iron to brand the criminals that aren’t killed by his heavy handed vigilantism. This approach recalls the poorly thought through antics of Tim Burton’s Batman and leaves you struggling to know which of these two heroes to root for. Manoeuvring the eponymous combatants into their titular spat is Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg), a very different version of the character to those we’ve seen on screen before; like a hyperactive and more evil Mark Zuckerberg rather than the refined megalomaniac portrayed elsewhere. It’s a daring approach that falls into the familiar trap of comic villain portrayal; never dialling it down. Instead he flaps and jibbers and monologues his way through a performance marginally more nuanced than Jim Carrey’s Riddler. Like Affleck, Eisenberg is hamstrung by the script, the problem here being that other than a dislike of Superman that comes pre-packaged with Lex Luthor, it’s difficult to understand his motivation or his end goal. He wants Batman and Superman to fight but it’s not clear what he’ll gain from either or both being eliminated. His back-up plan of creating a powerful and uncontrollable Kryptonian mutant only serves to muddy these narrative waters. Worse still, the subplot where Luthor has files on various superheroes-in-waiting suggests his ultimate goal might actually be to create DC’s Justice League rather than to destroy it. However the main result of his scheming seems to be to set up all the film’s set pieces. All of which is made worse because Lex must surely have near omnipotence to know everything he appears to know in this film, including the secret identities of both Batman and Superman. A few months after Dawn of Justice was released, Captain America: Civil War hit cinemas. It was film number 14 in Marvel’s highly successful cinematic universe and coincidently also saw superheroes facing off against each other. Aside from the absence of slo-mo, unnecessary dream sequences (4 in total) and other Snyder excesses, the main difference between the two films is Civil War benefits from narrative threads and characters having been established in those previous films. Dawn of Justice is Warner Bros. trying to catch up with Marvel’s 14 film winning streak in a single movie. It attempts to build a world and tear it down at the same time and falls between those two stalls by throwing in references to DC mythology that at the least take screen time away from what could’ve been a more coherent plot and at worst baffle the uninitiated. Thankfully, there is some salvage aboard this wreck. Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) is a highlight, but her screen-time is too short and she mostly spends it as a “mysterious beauty”, leaving you hoping the character will be handled better in her forthcoming solo outing. Other supporting roles are more successful. Taking the notion of Alfred being an aide to Batman’s crusade from the Christopher Nolan films, Jeremy Irons’ version is both quartermaster and mission control. He is also possessed of a withering dry wit that injects some much need humour into proceedings. Similarly, Laurence Fishburne’s Perry White is brilliantly acerbic and has some of the funniest gags in the film (“Crime and corruption in Gotham! In other news; water – wet!”). The final battle, when it comes is awesome, helped along by Hans Zimmer’s pounding score and implied peril rather than the mass destruction of Man of Steel. Seeing DC’s big 3 fighting shoulder to shoulder is very satisfying – possibly more so than the mano a super-mano battle that precedes it – and the cost of that victory is a real shock. But with an end as good as this, it’s a shame that the journey there is so woeful. It’s hard to imagine this confused and bleak movie being the basis of a franchise to rival Marvel’s more affable and enjoyable cinematic universe. About the Ultimate Edition. The extended version of Dawn of Justice adds 30 minutes of new footage to the theatrical version. If you were disappointed by the cinematic cut of Warner Bros’ superhero clash, you may well wonder if this new cut improves upon it. The short answer, unfortunately, is no. Most of the new runtime comes in the form of minor extensions to scenes present in the theatrical release – longer tracking shots, additional lines of dialogue here and there. A more useful addition is the expansion of the sequence towards the start of the film with Lois Lane (Amy Adams) in the desert. It clarifies what is happening but fails to explain why it leads to a senate committee hearing about Superman. There are also sequences showing Clark Kent investigating the impact of Batman’s war on crime on Gotham’s poorer citizens, something that we haven’t seen before. The film’s climactic battles are extended to around an hour, but also come later in the proceedings. The Ultimate Edition’s finale also includes a glimpse, via the Kryptonian ship’s display system of Darkseid, the major villain from the forthcoming Justice League movie, although only those well versed in DC comics mythos will get the significance. Other changes deepen the grim unpleasantness of this take on the DC universe. The death toll is raised; the photographer killed in the desert is identified as Jimmy Olsen, a long standing Superman character. It seems that the film revels in killing off characters as soon as they no longer serve a purpose, even to the unnecessary step of killing off the grieving Kahin Ziri (Wunmi Mosaku). Ultimately, this edition of Dawn of Justice is much like the theatrical one, only more so. It still doesn’t pass the Bechdel test, Batman is still a mass murdering alcoholic, Superman is still too broody and everything derisible about Zack Snyder movies is still in there. The DC Universe, as presented here, is still a deliberately morbid, unpleasant place to be. Sadly, no amount of re-editing is going to have changed that.

While this is not a film without its flaws, the extended edition of BvS has put right a lot of the most glaring issues with the original cinematic release. It's not 30 minutes of extra footage all in one or two scenes, it's 30 seconds here, 10 seconds there. This edit makes a lot more sense, as the intricacies of the plot are better explained & explored, and characters' motivations are made much clearer. This leaves the film what it should've been - an adult superhero epic. The tone of this film is, for the most part, not intended to be the laugh-a-minute fun & comedy of a Marvel film. Nor should it have to be. A lot of critics constantly compare this to the Marvel films as though they're the only way to do superhero films. Nonsense. This is dark, this is moody & this deals with things with a certain seriousness and it's all the better for it. However what it also does is transport us from a DC landscape at the start where the last Batman we knew was Nolan's ultra-realistic take, and where Man of Steel had followed suit (to the extent that MoS could just as easily have been incorporated into Nolan's cinematic universe as it was to use it to launch a whole new one). This film effectively takes you on a journey from there to the point where it's acceptable to have have an Amazonian demigoddess assisting the Dark Knight & the Man of Steel. Hence the injection of a little levity within the final act where suddenly one-liner quips make an appearance - something that will be more prevalent in Justice League. This movie leaves us in a place where there will be more humour, because we're now in a DC world where the likes of Aquaman, The Flash, etc exist - a more traditionally comicbook world than the previous DC movies. This film through it's epic runtime is, essentially, a journey from the "realistic world" to one that allows for more fantasy. Affleck as Batman & Bruce Wayne is instantly superb. Cavill is a great Superman. And Gadot, despite fairly minimal screentime, comes close to stealing the show as Wonder Woman. The score is immense, the film is beautifully shot, and despite being 30 minutes longer now actually feels shorter to watch because it's more coherent. If you didn't enjoy the cinematic release because of the editing/pacing etc, give it another try. If you didn't enjoy the cinematic release becacuse you believe all superhero films have to be light, fluffy & funny, then this is still not for you, but you really should open your mind to the fact things don't all have to be that way. Biggest point of confusion - why include a copy of the theatrical cut in the box at all? Runs the risk people will still continue to see the inferior product.

I won't spoil much of the story, most people know it already, mixing the classical Superman vs Doomsday and Superman vs Batman comics. You'll hear many insulting comments about Zack Snyder these days and how he does superhero movies. Honestly since recently, I hated what Snyder does, his Dawn of the dead is so bad it's bad, with ridiculous scenes with the dog not attacked by the zombies for no reason, the van with side openings for chainsaws that of course kill more heroes than zombies ... Then 300, yeah it's a worldwide success, but I still wonder why. The deliberately greyish but still not totally black and white image usage with the lots of red contrasting only tired my eyes and didn't feel graphically awesome, and the poor story with the hunchback betraying (sooo obvious), and shouting "spartaaaa" all around became ridiculous fast. So I didn't give much of his future movies. I somehow did't watch Watchmen when it was released and watched Sucker punch first, was confused obviously but didn't really hate it. Then I saw Watchmen and I was really stunned by both the visual elements, the narrative, the character development ... It's still one of my all time favourite superhero movies. Then Man of Steel. First I watched only the beginning Krypton scene and when young Clark saved the schoolbus and I stopped, something didn't click and I didn't want to watch more. Weeks later I tried again and really really liked it. Now on to B v S. First I'll say it's an adult movie, meaning a movie targeting an adult audience, not children or teenagers (or older teenagers). The themes of a "greater power" that could fight for the good but also become a menace, an alien being coming to Earth, thus not Earth born, the extreme destruction and death caused by a fight of 2 very powerful beings and their psychological consequences, the reaction of the lambda citizen to such events, having difficulties to fit in, a "dark" superhero ready to use lethal methods to help his fellow citizens ; those are very serious themes, that need a mind both capable of deep analysis and perspective to take in and appreciate. So here we are with now lots of super hero movies that are mostly "fun", even comical (Guardians of the galaxy, Ant man), and a very dark and serious super hero movie happens. A movie where super heroes are treated with psychological flaws, extreme hatred or love for such super beings from "normal" humans. And yet these characters show human emotions and both try to help others and live a normal life. So yes I love this movie.