Batman v Superman Dawn of Justice (2016) | Dawn and Downfall of the DCEU

Introduction

Oh boy. Here we are. The big one. One of the most anticipated films of all time. One of the biggest box office disappointments and critical failures of the franchise. One of the largest-growing fanbases and cult classic statuses in modern film. Some call it the final nail in the coffin of a struggling franchise. Some call it a wonderfully done misunderstood masterpiece. What do I have to say?

Well, those aren't mutually exclusive for reasons far beyond the film. In fact, this is by far the film that requires the most context applied to it to really dig into why it was received the way it was by critics and yet is received so well from its fans. And no it's not because "it just baaaaddd and fans only like it cuz cultists!!!!'. For one thing, most hardcore Snyder fans are so because of this film. They don't love the film because they ride Snyder's D, they ride Snyder's D because they liked this film. I'm probably a weird minority in that I loved DOTD and Watchmen, had a bit a rocky start to MoS but eventually fell in love with it, and with BvS I had an equally odd experience. I saw the film in theaters and despised it. I thought it was incoherent, boring, overly flashy, totally substance-less, and just bad. I love dark CBMs but to me this film did nothing to really justify that tone when I saw it. If you're gonna make an incoherent mess, at least make it a fun incoherent mess, right?

A year later, I went back to the film and adored it. I found it engaging, thrilling, perfectly flashy, subtle and deep, and just great. It was like I watched a completely different film or something. Turns out, I kind of did. The story of BvS' theatrical cut and Ultimate Edition has become CBM legend at this point. 31 minutes cut from the theatrical cut leading to a difference far more than you might expect. I know a lot of people who never saw the UE who think "Oh what could be better with ANOTHER 30 minutes of this crap?". Yeah not much I guess. Except character motivations, story details, connective tissue, whole new character arcs, better pacing, better tone, better action, more of the soundtrack, more of Superman actually being Superman, more Batfleck, LexEnberg actually acting like Lex Luthor (Well, a version of him. I'll elaborate in a bit), etc etc etc.. But this movie's haters did try to convince me "it's not that much different" (Some even tried to tell me the UE changes nothing). So a few times intermittently I've gone back to the TC. Including for this review.

Nope, still despise the TC and still love the UE. To me, the TC rips out this movie's soul. I'll get more into that in the review (Mostly UE-focused but I'll bring up the cuts when appropriate). In that way, it really is the Kingdom of Heaven of comic book films. Like that film, I could never recommend the TC. But the UE is something I find truly fascinating. So let's take a deep dive into one of the most interesting films in DC history, whether for good or ill. This is Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice Ultimate Edition (Still hate that title though. Should've just been Dawn of Justice).

Production

Despite its divisive critical reception, Man of Steel made money. And it did do a good job, in general, at setting the tone the DCEU was going for. More grounded, more realistic, and more grimy than the MCU. If the MCU was a modern equivalent to Lester's Superman II, the DCEU was a modern equivalent to Donner's Superman 1. And so a universe began to shape. Movies based on The Flash, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Shazam, etc all started to go into development. As well as a sequel to Man of Steel, with Zack Snyder and David S. Goyer returning (Though Christopher Nolan took a backseat, wanting to focus on his own passion projects).

What this film started out as was, like the previous film, a mostly focused narrative on Superman, Lois Lane, and the newly added Lex Luthor. Eventually characters like Metallo were added into the mix to add some more of that good ol' action. Another thing that the movie was to do was to end with Kryptonite arriving at Wayne Manor, teasing Batman. When WB heard that idea, they, well, went friggin nuts. You see, Warner had been desperately trying to make a Batman vs Superman movie for, at that point, almost 20 years. They tried in the 90s, they tried in the early 2000s, they got pretty close in 2004. Hell, WB had more attempts trying to make a Batman vs Superman film than trying to make an outright JL film. So when they heard that Batman was gonna be in MoS2, they asked if he could have a bigger role.

And then EVERYTHING changed. Quickly. Within a month they shifted focus almost entirely to making this a film where Superman faces Batman. Of course, their plan also wasn't a straight up versus film like WB seemed to think. Goyer hated the notion of just a straight beat em up versus film. It was still, at its core, a true Superman movie. Just where he faces Batman. By late 2013, the script still featured many hallmarks of the original MoS sequel, including Metallo. At that point, Goyer ended up leaving the project to focus on other commitments. So Snyder managed to get Chris Terrio of Argo fame to rewrite the script. The script ended up tonally changing a lot with Terrio's influence, going less for Greek mythology and philosophy and sci-fi undertones, and more for Elizabethan-era tragedy and post-modern politics and philosophy. Metallo was cut from the film as well and replaced by another character (We'll get to that whole debacle in the review when we get there).

The film also became bigger, including Wonder Woman and cameo appearances of The Flash, Cyborg, and Aquaman. You see, it was in 2014-2015 that the overall plan of the DCEU began to come to fruition. Snyder had a saga in mind. A 5 part saga, focused on Superman, Batman, and Lois Lane. Man of Steel was the first step. This film, now titled Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, became the next step. And then a trilogy of Justice League films, uniting the heroes, causing the world's end, and then showing off a world becoming united behind Superman. A saga that would examine, deconstruct, reconstruct, challenge, and ultimately celebrate these characters. The other DCEU films for the other characters would branch off from this saga. If the MCU was building blocks that connected like Legos, the DCEU was a tree with other characters branching from a core saga. More like a traditional film franchise than the MCU's more new-style approach. This saga, drafted by Zack Snyder, Jim Lee, and Geoff Johns (Oh the irony of that last one. More on that in the next review).

As such BvS became without a doubt the most complex singular film of the saga, being the launching point for so much. If only it was just that simple though. Casting choices caused tons of controversy including Ben Affleck and Gal Gadot. The people who disliked Man of Steel really began salivating at the mouth to tear this film apart. Critics would say stuff like they already had negative reviews primed. It didn't help that while the trailers started off great, they shifted over time to not only misrepresenting the film as the pure action beat em up WB seemed to want but also spoiling plot details completely. Production did go smoothly for a majority of the time, the film even being delayed and then moved up to accommodate it. In late 2015/early 2016 there was a test screening and it went rather well. But the producers thought the 3 hour run-time was pushing it. So what did they do, ask Snyder to prepare a carefully thought out theatrical cut for them? NAH, they bypassed him and rushed the editor to make the film have a ~150 minute runtime. They also forced some key changes to the film that I'll get into in the review.

On March 25th, 2016, the DCEU was both born and nearly killed in one day, with a film that continues to be one of the most love-it-or-hate-it films in existence. Let's finally explore why.

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice Review

So I know it usually takes me a while to get into gushing about unconventional act structures, but with BvS it has to be made front and center. Mainly because BvS is by far the weirdest with its structure. BvS follows almost note-for-note the exact same structure as a Shakespeare Tragedy. And I know some people probably just rolled their eyes. Please, just give me a minute to explain before you start declaring me a pretentious cultist.

Elizabethan Revenge Tragedy has 5 acts. Tragedy (Witnessing of horrific events inspiring the protagonist(s)), Preparation (Investigations and training for confrontation), Judgement (A public and/or legal non-violent confrontation between the avenger and his victim), Revenge (Violent confrontation in which the revenge is either completed, fails and the victim wins, or a third party is revealed to be responsible), and Aftermath (Typically bloody consequences of the actions of both the avenger and his victim). BvS not only fits perfectly into this structure, but it also obeys lots of the tropes of Revenge Tragedies. Somber dour mood? Check. Violent? Check. Machiavellian Figure? Check. A figure of good being corrupted? Check. Motherhood/Oedipal Themes? Can you say "Martha"? And of course, the last two of the five acts being utter bloodbaths with "spectacle for the sake of spectacle". Or to put it in the terms used so often when discussing this film, "style over substance". A hallmark of the climaxes of classic Revenge Tragedies.

I love this. But by god it was a terrible decision from a financial point of view. For one thing, Revenge Tragedies are LONG. It's a miracle BvSUE is even 3 hours. 1996 Hamlet has the same structure and it's 4 friggin hours! For another, who out of the general audience seeing a movie literally titled "Batman v Superman" has read anything by Shakespeare that isn't Romeo and Juliet from their high school English classes?! I'm willing to bet not many. And even out of those that have, who would ever make this connection other that literature nerds like myself or English Professors or... Chris Terrio. Yeah, now it makes sense doesn't it. From a creative standpoint, I adore this. It makes BvS, among CBMs, wholly unique. From a business perspective? Yeah it was friggin doomed.

Anywho, let's actually begin reviewing the film, yeah? So we start with a beautifully stylish opening credits sequence. Depicting the Wayne Murders almost deadly accurate to panels from The Dark Knight Returns. It also makes MoS not having an opening credits sequence feel even weirder in retrospect. But ultimately I think this is my favorite version of the Wayne Murders onscreen. For two reasons. One, the score. "Beautiful Lie" is the first Batman theme that really feels tragic, and the piano melody stands as one of the most iconic tracks from the DCEU. Two, it's almost all visual and music. Barely any dialogue, no explanations, just pure visual and auditory storytelling. It's like a Silent Film suddenly came into being with a modern budget.

We exit the creation of Batman, to the fall of Batman. We see the Black Zero Event from the last film, only now from the perspective of Bruce Wayne. What once looked heroic now looks terrifying, as we see the human perspective. Admittedly I'm torn on this since I know a reason this was done was to bow to the crybabies who said MoS had too much destruction. At the same time, I do like that it only took one movie to address this. The MCU took 8 friggin years for a movie to go "Hey, what about the consequences?". As well, it inherently felt better here because MoS didn't shy away from the harsh realities of the event, while The Avengers never gave any thought to any damage caused. This kicks off the Tragedy Act of the play, as we see once again with very little dialogue how deeply this impacts Bruce. And it coincides with the monologue from the credits. There were "diamond absolutes", his metaphysical system. Laws of nature, laws of man, the law that Batman himself lived by (No killing). But with one act, the laws of nature were broken. The laws of man, and the law of the Bat followed suit. A "Beautiful Lie". And again, this is all told through subtext, visuals, expressions, and motifs in the music. Not a word of exposition or psychology textbooks is used. Very Silent Film-esque, and I could've sworn this was exactly what people were wanting when they said TDK Trilogy and MoS had too much explanation and needed to "show" more than "tell". Well here it's shown, and people complain it's hard to understand.

We then move later on as we see Kryptonite being discovered, and then cut to Africa. Lois Lane and Photographer Jimmy Olsen are interviewing a general (Lois also has an actually pretty funny line to Olsen at the beginning of this scene). Olsen is found as a CIA spy and then killed. Honestly? I'm fine with this. I like Olsen as a character well enough, but none of the old movies ever did anything with him, and those were just Superman films. What are films that stuff in the Justice League supposed to do with him? Nothing, that's what. At least CIA Jimmy in the 2 minutes we see him for doesn't irritate me like classic Jimmy did. Anyways, some Mercs in the area start killing other soldiers and the CIA tries to send a missile into the area. And in the first of the many dumb cuts made for the Theatrical Cut (TC), there is a scene of the Mercs (Led by KGBeast. Odd choice but I'm game) burning bodies to make it appear as if Superman used his heat vision to kill them. Gone in the TC of course. Superman saves Lois and contrary to popular belief, does not kill the General. It is literally stated in the film by Clark that he never killed anyone here, not to mention that if you actually slow the footage down you can clearly see Superman drop the guy to the side after PUNCHING the wall. The General never actually feels the impact of the walls, only Superman. Maybe they should've focused on that more though. We then see a woman from that country testifying to Congress that it was Superman who burned the bodies. In the TC, we have no idea what she's talking about, or worse, we're actively misled into believing Superman killed them. Which may have been the intent in the TC for a really stupid reason we'll get into later.

Did I mention the TC is badly paced? Cause this is one area where it REALLY shows. So in the UE we cut from here to Batman's modern introduction, then we see Lois and Clark together, then the next Batman scene, then the full scene of Lex, the Senator, and him getting Zod's body, then Clark waking up (IMPORTANT), then Wally vandalizing the monument. Establishing all major characters and smoothly transitioning to the next act, the Investigations. The TC says "NOPE!". In the TC, we immediately go to Lois and Clark together after the Congress scene, then Batman, then Clark waking up (IMPORTANT), then to Lex, but only for half of that scene. Then we skip to the entire Wally scene (Including the Planet's reaction), and then back for the second half of the previous scene! As if we've suddenly skipped forwards to the next act without finishing this once. What it does essentially is break the pace, pushing the movie fast in this one sequence which makes the film going back to its slow pace after feel disjointed. 

That said, these are still mostly good scenes. Batman's modern introduction is terrifying as we see him straight up brand a victim (Something right out of the Golden Age. In fact, they did that in the 1943 serial! Is that an intentional homage?). It really establishes this Batman as something to be feared. Also THIS FILM LOOKS GORGEOUS. Gone is the grey filter from MoS, and instead we have beautiful high contrast colors meaning dark colors can get pitch black and bright colors can break all that up. As well, the cinematography is a step up. Larry Fong is one of the best photographers in cinema right now, and this film really shows it. Sadly this all only applies to the Blu Ray and not the 4K disc we have right now. The 4K disc has this really ugly Yellow filter over everything, and it's poorly upscaled too, it's not true 4K. Though that all will be fixed in the upcoming remaster which not only restores an even more high contrast color grading (YAY!), not only is true 4K, but will also allow the IMAX ratio scenes to be displayed Open Matte so you get the full image instead of a crop. Also now that I think about it my fanboy-gasm over high-contrast palettes might be because I have protanopia (Fun fact, it's a quality I share with director Christopher Nolan! That's it, I just thought it was really cool that one of my favorite directors was colorblind like me).

Where were we? Oh yeah, Lois and Clark's scene. It's nice, one of the few depictions of a healthy, loving sexual relationship in CBMs (Sex is CBMs is 90% of the time depicted as immoral and/or for cheap laughs and teen appeal. Here it's actually quite tender and nice). Bruce and Alfred's first on-screen interaction immediately establishes their dynamic. Jeremy Irons nails IMO the militant version of Alfred, the ex-MI6 Alfred. Michael Caine still nails the father figure aspect better, but Irons really feels like an Alfred that would defend the Bat-Cave with a shotgun. Also I have no idea what "funnel ferry butter bar" is but I love it..

Lex's introduction also perfectly explains what this Lex is like. Insecure, eccentric, abandoned by his father. Of course, this portrayal is... not great. They're trying to mimic the Lex from Birthright. A mix of the threat of Byrne's Lex and the over-the-top persona of Gene Hackman. It didn't work in Birthright, and it doesn't work amazingly here. That said, it's not like Hackman was exactly a good Lex either. And Spacey could be pretty boring. Einsenberg, for what it's worth, still managed to entertain me even when I was questioning what drugs he was on. Anywho, he gets Zod's body from the Senator (In THIS scene this time, rather than cutting away for no reason), and we hear another great score track. In fact, this entire score is fracking amazing.

Then we get Clark waking up and cooking some admittedly pretty fake looking eggs. He watches a TV broadcast of Ziri (The woman who testified against him) saying all these horrible things about Superman. At least, in the UE he does. In the TC they digitally edited it to be a broadcast about Batman. Which allowed them to basically cut Clark's entire story from the movie. Why? Because it's clear that WB wanted this to be a film focused on Batman, rather than one focused on Superman. Every decision in the TC serves cutting as much Clark Kent from the movie, and putting as much emphasis on Bruce as possible. As if the TC wants Bruce to be the driving force of the story, the main protagonist. Not realizing that Bruce is THE VILLAIN of the story. He by definition cannot be the main hero that WB wants to portray him as. But that's why every one of these decisions is made. Why are we able to be misled into thinking Clark really did kill those people in Africa in the TC? Because that's what Bruce thinks and WB wants us to view the story through Bruce's eyes, rather than Clark's. But that's just it, Clark Kent is this movie's soul. He is the web that ties this messy film together. Reporter Clark Kent. Investigator Clark Kent. Selfless hero Clark Kent. And the TC RIPS that away from the film under the guise of making it a "cool Batman movie". And in the process it reflects onto the movie and those who made it as heartless, soulless, and even downright nihilistic. Cut the symbol of hope from a movie trying to balance hope of redemption against fallen dark figures and all you're left with is the fallen dark figures. That's the biggest issue with the TC. It's utterly fracking heartless, from a movie that HAD a heart.

Then we get to the scene of Wally (The Wayne employee from the beginning of the film) vandalizing the Metropolis Monument. The Daily Planet reacts, with Perry stating the "Love Affair With The Man in the Sky" is over. And... let me put that it my "rant later" folder. But then we get in my opinion, the biggest change in these versions of the film. In the TC the film just sort of... continues to different scenes and begins to lose its flow and coherence around this point. In the UE we get the plot thread that actually ties that all together. Perry White asks Clark to GO to Gotham. And he does. Clark Kent in Gotham is the thing that makes this movie make sense. He goes to talk to Ziri, but ends up learning about Batman. Suddenly his focus changes. A show of Clark Kent's true nature, he chooses investigating and stopping a wrong he learns of over solving his own problems. Putting the focus on others rather than himself. We then see Bruce continuing his investigation of the "White Portuguese" by hacking into KGBeast's phone at a fighting ring. This scene doesn't particularly add much, but it is a nice scene as it shows Bruce's attentive nature and gives Affleck one of the few opportunities to show off more of the playboy persona. It's within these scenes that Act 2 of the play, the Investigations, begins.

Clark tries to get Perry to print a story on the Batman, which Perry refuses. Lois then reveals her investigation into the bullet (leading to some really funny banter with Fishburne), causing Clark to show concern. But Clark can't stop her as Perry hands him an invitation to a Benefit for the Metropolis Library at Lex's Estate, as he was personally invited., We then get one of the best scenes in the film. Lex and Senator Finch. Despite Finch's disdain for Superman, she still recognizes Lex's plan as being assassination. When Lex's plan falters the facade cracks. He grows more unhinged for a few seconds, and the score is excellent. This transitions into a pretty pointless scene where a Man-Bat appears in one of Bruce's dreams. I get what it symbolizes, but it doesn't add to the plot. Yet they left it in the TC while cutting far more crucial scenes. Bruce wakes, popping some pills (THAT was cut out from the TC. Pointless dream sequence stays but an indicator of his mental state? Gone!). Bruce and Alfred have some great Banter, with Bruce having been invited to the benefit at Luthor's. We get a really cool sequence of Bruce wordlessly looking over both his suit and Robin's suit. We immediately get the emotions without any exposition, again playing to this film's strength of visual storytelling.

Bruce arrives at the Benefit, looking to plant a bug (As he knows Luthor is the "White Portuguese") as Lex Luthor basically explains his true motivation. "Knowledge without power is paradoxical". As one of the smartest men alive, he detests feeling powerless in comparison to Superman. Unlike Hackman, Eisenberg actually DOES have the alien hatred of comic Lex. I just wish his persona went more serious, and we only get glimpses of that. Clark overhears Alfred on the radio, and notices Bruce disappearing. Bruce plants the bug, but on the way back is intercepted by Clark. Affleck's duality is shown off great. At first it's playboy Bruce, but in one line it becomes different, "Don't believe everything you hear son". For a second, Batman rises through. Batman is consuming Bruce Wayne. It continues throughout this great scene... until Eisenberg shows up and Goyers his way through dialogue. Yeah I'm entirely convinced Lex's dialogue hear is leftover Goyer script, it's just so... Goyer-ish. The quirky villain acting, the thinly veiled winks to the audience, it's all very Deacon Frost but not nearly as fun as Deacon Frost. Anywho, Bruce leaves to get the bug, but finds it's been taken by a mysterious woman who was following him. Clark at first went after Bruce, but then he hears about a fire in Mexico. He immediately leaps into action.

Thus entering the saving montage. Didn't think he saved enough people in MoS? Here you go, minutes of him saving people. He even begins each scene with a smile, and it only disappears when people begin reaching to him like he's a god. The meaning is explained in actually a pretty creative way to provide exposition. A news montage a la The Dark Knight Returns. In fact, that's an interesting parallel. In that comic, Batman is the last symbol of hope for a cynical world, and is constantly scrutinized by the media and his villains. Superman is a fallen hero become villain, losing his humanity in the process. In BvS, it's the opposite. Superman is the last symbol of hope who is combatted by biased media, and Batman is the fallen hero become villain. IMO, the latter is more in line with these characters. Clark losing his humanity, unless it's in a way where he doesn't truly mean it and is only trying to convince himself of so (Like in Smallville), just doesn't seem plausible for me, I never liked that idea. But moving on, we get real life media figures giving, well, exactly their thoughts on Superman. Everything they say is exactly how they, or us for that matter, would react to Superman. They would either vilify him, declare him a fraud, a devil, an alien invasion. An "other". Or they would put expectations of a messiah on him, they would declare him their savior, they would declare him a god. But Clark Kent doesn't see himself as a god. That's why the smile faded when people started reaching to him like he was a messiah, that's not who he is. He's just a guy who wants to help people. We also get so many good lines "Every act is a political act", "We project ourselves onto him, maybe he's not a devil or a Jesus character, just a guy trying to do the right thing", "Existence challenges our own sense of being in the known universe", etc.. It shows how we really would react to a figure like Superman. In fact, think about it. People expecting Superman to be a Jesus character, a perfect savior with no doubts and no mistakes? Sounds a hell of a lot like the people who whined and cried at MoS Superman making mistakes and having doubts doesn't it? It's not even a hypothetical reaction, it's how we ARE reacting. And as Clark is "just a guy", this does make him sad. Would you be able to be a smiling humor-filled person if this was all being said about you? People try to tell me Clark shouldn't care what people think, but he's human. OF COURSE he cares what people think. It won't stop him from saving people, it just affects his confidence in himself. That's where this Clark is at. He has ultimate faith in humanity, in Earth. But he has almost no faith in himself.

And what does this supposedly "brooding edgelord who isn't relatable at all" do in his moment of doubt? He calls his mother. Yeah, so NOT relatable amirite? (/s if it wasn't painfully obvious). This is such a human thing to do, looking for just a little bit of support. It's a really nice scene. Meanwhile Lois finds out due to an analyst that the bullet was made from experimental metal, and handed out to the rebels by... THE U.S. MILITARY! DUN DUN DUN! Yeah this is for all the people who claimed MoS romanticized the military, this movie says they used live soldiers as test subjects. Clark then continues to dig into the Batman, finding out about that kidnapper from the beginning of the film, who is being put in jail. From that same jail, Wally is bailed out by Lex, who gives him a new wheelchair and sends him off to Senator Finch, to push her to force a public confrontation with Superman in court of law. Meanwhile KGBeast pays off people in the prison to kill that man. Lois goes to General Swanwick and asks about the military arms (Provoking some funny lines from Lennix), and he of course tries to deny it and points out her guilt. Clark and Perry argue over Clark using the paper being used to target Batman. Again, getting some great Fishburne lines. We get one more Newscaster (A Faux News stand-in fittingly enough, talking about Superman being "not American"), as we follow that mysterious woman, Bruce having caught up to her. She reveals the drive was slipped back into his car because she couldn't break the encryption. We also get some great quotes related to Alexander The Great (Much like Alexander Luthor) that have symbolic meaning I won't get into. This woman is Diana Prince. A lot of people complain Wonder Woman is in this movie, but I don't see an issue with having a side character be a JL member. Also Batfleck and WonderGal's chemistry is perfect and I love them.

Bruce takes the drive and as it's encrypting we get the Knightmare vision. A premonition of a Post-Apocalyptic future, where an Omega Symbol (Fanboy SQUEEEEEE happened here). Bruce, donning a badass Shadow-esque Trenchcoat goes to get Kryptonite only for it to be just a green light. He's been betrayed. A cool action sequence wherein Bruce actually wields a regular ass firearm (That's how bad the future is), fighting off both human combatants and disgusting Parademons. What provokes him into this rage is his resistance fighters being slaughtered, and I love how his voice changer is permanently on here. Symbolizing that he really is just Batman at this point, there is no more Bruce Wayne. He's captured and put in a prison-like area. Superman comes in, but he's not himself. He's angry, and his suit is muddied up. He lasers through other prisoners like they're nothing, and declares that Batman took "his world" from him. And then he kills Batman. Then Bruce wakes up to a crazy vision of The Flash telling him to "fear him" and that "Lois Lane is the key" and to "find us", but that he's "too soon". This is all of course buildup for future movies. Now, I don't see anything wrong with a few minutes of sequel-baiting like some people. After all, I believe you should be allowed to tell a winding story that has those elements of time loops across multiple films and non-linearity. My issue isn't the scene in the UE, it's that this scene went fully uncut in the TC. And frankly, this would've been the second scene I'd trim down. I wouldn't cut it entirely, but I'd maybe just leave Bruce in the prison, and Bruce with the Flash. Maybe have that ominous Omega view too if there's enough space. But I'd cut the entire middle chunk for the TC. Instead it went fully uncut at the expense of cutting way more currently relevant scenes.

Moving on, Clark receives photos (Sent by Luthor) of the murdered prisoner, blaming Batman for his death. Meanwhile, Bruce cracks the encryption and finds out that the White Portuguese is the boat transmitting the Kryptonite to America. This is where he reveals the Kryptonite to Alfred, before then he was lying that it was a "dirty bomb" being taken to Gotham. Alfred questions Bruce wanting to "go to war" with Superman. And once again, Bruce Wayne disappears and Batman takes over. "If there is even a 1% chance he could be our enemy we have to take it as an absolute certainty". This is very much the same logic used by Xenophobic politicians for Muslim Bans and the PATRIOT ACT. Bruce represents that primal fear of "the other", a mirror of our disgusting Xenophobia brought on by post-9/11 Paranoia. Superman's story in this film really is just an immigrant taking on rich elite Xenophobes, a pretty relevant message for a 2016 film. Act 2 ends, the investigations complete. Act 3, the First Confrontation, is upon us. Affleck and Irons in this scene are amazing.

Clark goes to the prison and tries to ask about the inmate. He's pointed towards the grieving woman and child taking his stuff. Turns out Mister Kidnapper had a kid. "One man decides who lives". "Words don't stop him, what does? A fist". Again, WHY WAS THIS CUT?! It explains why Clark is now willing to bring the weight of Superman against Batman. Also, we get a funny Perry White interlude. I'm bringing up a lot of the humor because, while it is a more understated type of humor, this film's humor is much better than MoS'. It's actually funny, mostly thanks to Fishburne and Irons. The movie isn't "humorless", it's just somber and keeps humor more understated and minimal to achieve its goals. Bruce tracks down the Kryptonite (Recreating some more TDKReturns panels with excellent score behind him). Leading to the film's first really major action sequence. Batman giving a Batmobile chase on the criminals. I really like the Batmobile here, it's like a mix of Bale's and Keaton's. And Bruce shows just how relentlessly apathetic he's become. He doesn't go out of his way to murder these people, he just doesn't care anymore. If something he does causes death it's collateral damage. That said, not nearly as many people die here as people think. Batfleck does not kill 20-30 people here. He kills like 7 at most, probably 5 considering that contrary to popular belief, not every time a Car is hit people die. People can and do survive much worse than some of the stuff here. Except that giant truck explosion, those people are dead. Even then, that is the point of the scene, and it's just such an awesomely shot and scored scene. Batman gets close to getting the rock, but then Superman shows up right in the middle of the chase.

Superman effortlessly stops the Batmobile, with Batman looking truly afraid in that moment. Clark lets him get out though and, still trying to hold on to a little bit of Clark Kent pacifism, tells him to let the Bat die. He doesn't beat him up, he gives him the chance to leave it all behind. But Bruce utters that famous trailer line. "Do You Bleed? You will". I don't care, that's still badass. Notice I'm really loving the dialogue for this film? I really love the way people talk here. Simply put, Terrio's dialogue is just so much better than Goyer's. Lex manages to get the Kryptonite, though Bruce knows where it is. Lois goes back to Swanwick, expressing that she recognizes her guilt, and is only asking for Swanwick to tell her the truth as she knows he really doesn't think Superman is a killer. Fittingly enough, Finch appears on TV, asking Superman to come to the Capital and face the accusations. Clark goes to his mother for help. And Martha reminds him he does have a choice. If he didn't want to save people, he wouldn't have to save people. The point isn't that she's telling him not to save people, she's not. It's that she's reminding him that despite his doubts, he DOES want to save people. It reminds me a lot of the subplot in Spider-Man 2 wherein Peter is reminded he has a choice, only for that choice to still be saving people because that's who he is. Guess Spider-Man 2 is an "Objectivist Nihilistic Film" because it even acknowledged that choice, right? Also nobody should be allowed to call something objectivist when they've clearly never actually read Ayn Rand. I've read Rand. This ain't Rand.

Just then, Ziri from the beginning sees KGBeast outside of her house, and dashes off to confess to the Senator that she was lying. Turns out Lex Luthor was using her as a pawn. At the same time Swanwick reveals the bullet came from LexCorp and that those people were Private Security for Luthor. The ambush was arranged to frame Superman of course too. Lois realizes Lex knows Clark is Superman, and tries to rush to get to him to warn him. Meanwhile, Bruce at Wayne Enterprises sees Wally on TV and asks to get his file, as he now begins to suspect something very bad will happen. Lois tries to get Perry to run her story, but since she has no source, he won't. Finch reveals to her aides that Lex was using her Committee as his puppet. Bruce finds out that Wally returned every disability check back to Wayne Enterprises, with words of hatred across them. He declares himself Bruce's "Ghost" (Another Revenge Tragedy reference there), and once again Batman comes out of Bruce growling why he hasn't seen them yet. Superman of course chooses to go to the Capital. Finch and Lex's scene here is great as both of them know of what's about to happen, but don't break character once. Lex also issues perhaps the film's greatest line, "Do you know the oldest lie in America Senator? That power can be innocent". That's especially relevant after the last four years, eh?

As KGBeast murders Ziri by pushing her into train tracks, Superman lands in the capital, not aware of Lois trying to warn him. In a shot that parallels Superman with the military in MoS he walks into the court room. Finch gets ready to let him speak. This is the moment, this is the chance for him to show the world who he really is. But then Finch sees the label on the jar, a nod to a declaration she made to Lex earlier. She notices Lex's absence. She was fooled. The wheelchair Wally is in explodes, destroying the building just as Bruce reads a note telling him "You let your family die". Superman, seeing the wreckage, bears an expression that shows just how distraught he is. But then we have, in my opinion, the single stupidest cut they made to the theatrical cut. A scene of Clark pulling people from the wreckage. Trying to help. Only for him to realize that he's not helping anyone by being there. He's only making things worse. This is gone in the theatrical cut, and there it looks as though Clark just left without helping anyone. It makes him look like either a coward or a jerk depending on how you look at it. But here you see him react to everything around him. The suffering. The death. He's seen death before, but not when, in his mind, it was his fault. He blames himself for it all.

Alfred goes to the Lake House, and finds Bruce gone, and the notes on the table. He knows what's about to transpire. We see LexCorp, up in flames. The Kryptonite gone. Security footage showing Batman mercilessly taking down all of the guards Batman Arkham style. His plan worked. We see Clark and Lois, Clark again blaming himself. He says he can't be Superman. That Superman was never real. That he isn't worthy of humanity's admiration. That he only sees himself now as Kryptonian. "My world doesn't exist any more". It's an inverse of why Doctor Manhattan left. Manhattan was sick of humanity and saw himself above them. Clark here is sick of himself, he sees humanity in the best way he can. And he believes he is only a detriment to them. He doesn't leave because he hates humanity. He leaves because he thinks that's how he can protect them. Meanwhile, Lex uses Zod's fingerprints to gain access to the Kryptonian Archives, to learn, and Bruce begins refining the Kryptonite. He's preparing for, what else, Act 4. He's preparing for The Fight.

But he also decides to investigate Lex's other Meta-Human files. Finding the truth of Diana Prince. That she's been alive since World War 1, in which she fought. We get a kickass score playing here, an electric cello driving the melody. Wonder Woman's theme, one of the best character themes in any modern CBM. Lex decides to create a Kryptonian monster, a contingency plan if Batman is unable to finish the job. He splices his blood, General Zod's body, and the wreckage of the Genesis Chamber. The ship, unable to disobey, begins to do so. We also see the Daily Planet, a mess due to the events, and newscasts of people lynching and burning images of Superman (And I mean lynching. The parallels are pretty obvious). Clark himself has gone to the arctic. Isolated from everyone. Gone there to die. Lois, unable to accept defeat, goes to Wally's apartment. She realizes he stocked his fridge. Someone planning to die doesn't stock their fridge. Lex was so caught up in the high-level complexities that he forgot to check for something simpler. Lois also finds out the Wheelchair was lined with lead. He literally couldn't have stopped it even if he wanted to. This was also stupidly cut. Back with Clark, he comes to the mountain's peak, and has a vision of his father. Telling him about an event in which he tried to save his farm. They did, but another farm was washed away. He had nightmares, just like Clark admits to having. Johnathan says what made the nightmares stop was finding Martha, and her managing to restore his faith in himself as human. That all he needs to truly believe in humanity and himself, is the realization that so long as there is one person who loves him and who he loves, that he is human and humanity must be cherished. It's a natural extension of the "make the world small" part of Man of Steel. It doesn't mean Clark "only cares about Lois and nobody else". It means Lois represents all of the good of humanity, and if he recognizes her connection with him he can realize he has that too. She is the best of him is what he realizes.

Batman espouses a different lesson. He notes to Alfred in the wreckage of Wayne Manor that he is embracing his family heritage. As a "hunter". He sets up the Bat-Signal. A declaration against Superman. Lex puts his final motions into action. Martha is kidnapped from the diner she works at, Lois is taken as well, directly to Lex Luthor. Again, amazing score here. This is one of the few scenes where I legitimately really like Eisenberg. He's actually kind of threatening here. He also quotes The Dark Knight Returns which is neat. And then he freaking pushes her off the building. Clark arrives just in the nick of time saving her. He flies back up, and again, I legit like Cavill and Eisenberg when they're on-screen together. In fact, Eisenberg might be growing on me. Maybe I hated him so much because of that "Bruce Wayne meet Clark Kent" scene and nothing else, idk. And again, better this than real estate man. The sadistic pleasure Lex Luthor gets from Clark kneeling before him once he realizes Lex has his mother is kind of my everything. Clark's anger at his mother being captured gets a lot of flack, but that's exactly how he'd react. Hell, remember when Aunt May nearly died in the comics and Peter went friggin psycho? This is that. Now, there was meant to be a scene after this where Clark tried to fly up and listen for Martha, but since it's Gotham he wouldn't hear anything because of all the other horrible things happening. It would overwhelm and weaken him, leading to why he decides to take on Batman. That was never shot sadly, apparently they thought it was too twisted.

The ship starts to go crazy and we get some scenes of people reacting. Clark once again displays the doubt in himself he has to Lois. "No-one stays good in this world", referring to what he might have to do,. But back to Diana where we get the most pointless scene in the entire film. An mp4 montage of Diana seeing Lex's files on all the Meta-Humans. Including the Flash, Aquaman, and Cyborg, the latter showing off a Mother Box being activated in his creation. It's not a bad scene, and in the longer version it's fine. But oh dear god why wasn't this cut from the theatrical release. It's 3 minutes that didn't need to be there if they needed to cut stuff. Lois, chasing Superman, gets Perry to give her a chopper. Perry, remembering last time he didn't listen to Lois, complies.

But now we're here. The fight. Clark tries, at first to get Bruce to listen. But Bruce declines. Clark escalates to simply trying to beat him down to force him to listen. He gives Bruce one last chance. "If I wanted it, you'd be dead already". Bruce then shoots a Kryptonite grenade at him. The gas enters his lungs. Clark tries to fight back, but Bruce now starts laying the smackdown on him. And yeah, Bruce is vicious here. Just beating down on him. Clark regains his strength though, and now he isn't holding back. Now he's actively fighting for his life. He takes every punch effortlessly. Again with great score and visuals, Clark gives back every bit of brutality Bruce launched. Until Bruce gets one more Kryptonite shot in, Superman's blow destroying half of his mecha mask (Oh btw, Batman's TDKReturns suit looks awesome). Now Bruce takes a fracking SINK and just bashes it over Clark's skull, rendering him barely conscious. He doesn't stop there. He just continues to wail on him. Using him as a goddamn Yoyo and giving the "My parents taught me life only makes sense if you force it too" speech. With Clark now at his weakest, Batman draws a Kryptonite Spear. He poises to kill him. And then we get it. The Martha moment.

This is the most talked about scene in the film, so honestly I don't have much to add. So I'll just sum up my view. I love the scene in concept as the scene of Bruce realizing Clark is human deep down. I think the way it's acted is pretty bad though. It feels... rushed. Like it needed another take. And it needed Clark to more audibly trying to say "Martha Kent" instead of just "Martha". But he can't get it out. I need to hear "Martha K-". I always assumed that's what the intent was, it just needed to be made clear. With all of that adding up I think the scene is "eh". I don't hate it, I don't particularly like it. Honestly the discourse has made me kind of apathetic. Luckily the film returns to good stuff. Bruce, now indebted to Clark as all the anger dissipates, promises to Save Martha. He ditches the mech armor, dons his classic gear, and uses his KGBeast connection to track him to a Warehouse. Leading to the best action sequence in this film, hell one of the best action sequences in any CBM, the Warehouse scene. He guns down the defenses and crashes in. And it really is like something out of the Arkham games, as well as being a parallel to a sequence in TDKReturns. Now some people hate that he kills here. I think it's important to remember that at this point, while Bruce has recognized Clark's humanity, he has not regained his own. As of now his focus isn't returning to his old humanitarian ways. It's saving Martha at any cost. That includes killing. Although he does go a bit less out of his way here. Like he shoots KGBeast's flamethrower tank rather than his head, giving him a small chance to live. He doesn't take it, causing his own death by igniting the tank. And also, this scene is awesome. He saves Martha as Lois tries to cast the Kryptonite Spear away.

Lex notices the time is out on his timer as Superman finally goes to the Scout Ship. Act 4 is done, the main fight is over. Now it's time for the consequences. The true conclusion. Act 5, the Aftermath. Lex unveils his creation, Doomsday. So arrogant, he believes that it will listen to him as it is his blood. It attacks him, Superman saving him (Which does mirror what Lex said of his father's abuse and nobody saving him). And Doomsday looks... fine. For when he's first born. All smooth and sickly and whatnot. Baby Doomsday. Doomsday grabs him and crashed out all the way to the Heroes' Park Monument to those who died in Metropolis. It's possible some semblance of Zod still remains hence it's anger towards Superman. Even using the wall of the dead to attack him. The military, under Swanwick, gets involved. Diana, seeing the monster on the news, decides it's time to act, leaving the plane. When Doomsday goes after the oncoming military and rampages through the abandoned port, Superman comes back, lifting Doomsday into space. The president (Voiced by Patrick Wilson) makes the call to nuke them, hoping to destroy Doomsday at the cost of Superman, against Swanwick's wishes. Also there's green lights all around Swanwick... curious. The nuke hits them both (Which creates a hauntingly beautiful visual). Doomsday however crashes back to Earth on Stryker's Island, but Superman is still in space, horribly weakened (Again, TDKReturns scene parallels). And Doomsday grows some spikes. Not enough spikes though. This is the design I have an issue with. I'm fine with the way Baby Doomsday looks, but empowered Doomsday needs more spikes and also the horns. I'm fine with no hair or shorts though, that'd look super weird in live action.

Either way, its nigh unkillible and is gaining heat vision. Batman decides to lure it back to the port, to the Kryptonite. Meanwhile the sun revitalizes Superman. Doomsday blasts Batman out of the sky and prepares to end him. But then, Diana drops from the sky, full Amazonian garb. With that epic "Is She With You?" theme playing. Clark blasts down from the sky as well and they all group up, having some neat banter in the moment. Lois also dives into the water to get the spear back. And outside, the fight continues and it's just awesome. Batman's grappling all over the place shooting it, Wonder Woman's fighting tooth and nail and clearly enjoying the fight, Superman and Doomsday blast each other with heat vision in a gorgeous painting-like scene, it's just epic. But then Superman hears Lois, getting close to drowning under the wreckage. He gets her, and then dives into the water himself to retrieve the spear. Lois then has to pull him out as it's weakening him. But he's the only one who can do it. Bruce is human, he can't possibly kill it. And Diana is the only thing holding Doomsday down in the moment. Clark says his goodbye to Lois, remarking that through her he finally realizes the simple truth. This is his world. He grabs the spear and flies to the monster. He plunges it into the beast, as Doomsday retaliates by stabbing Clark with his own spikes. But Clark uses that to bring him closer to it. Pushing the spear completely through its body. It's a brutal scene. And in the UE, it actually goddamn means something to me when he dies. Just barely though.

Okay it's time to pull out my "rant later" topic. So everyone always likes to say the biggest issue with BvS being the second film is we never got a Batman film before it, and I kinda disagree there. No, my big issue is this should've been the third Superman film, not the second. In the UE, I feel there is enough between this and MoS to make me care when he dies. JUST enough. Just barely enough. And with the TC basically ripping out Clark's entire character, it's no surprise his death felt empty for a lot of people. But here's my thing. The film references a "love affair with the man in the sky". We should've gotten to see that. A slight peak at the type of Superman Clark is destined to be before this deconstruction. There should've been a Superman film between MoS and BvSUE. It would make this moment even more impactful, and it would've given us another Cavill film, something we're now likely to never get.

Back to the film. In a scene cut from the TC (Which is really stupid for a reason that'll become apparent momentarily), the military captures Lex, finding him communicating with Steppenwolf in the Kryptonian Ship. He's imprisoned thanks to Lois' plot (Which was also cut from the TC in its near-entirety). We see the world react to Superman's death. As, just like the "just man" of Plato's Republic, the society is finally united in recognizing his worth after his death. A military funeral for Superman is held, and a funeral in Smallville for Clark Kent is held. Including Pete Ross, the Priest from Man of Steel, Perry White, Jenny, everyone. Clark is buried with a photo of his father as well. Lois and Martha have a scene together where Martha gives her something Clark left for her. An engagement ring. Amy Adams acts this scene perfectly. In fact this entire funeral segment is beautiful. As he is buried they reveal Bruce paid for the funeral, as he stands with Diana at Clark's grave. Bruce, now fully realizing how far he had fallen, makes an oath. Not only to himself to rediscover his humanity, but to find the other Metahumans. To bring them together to honor Superman. The Justice League itself, formed in Superman's memory. He expresses this in an excellent speech with a clear, simple message. "Men are still good". No nihilism, no Objectivism. Just a message of hope. One born from tragedy yes, but a message of hope nonetheless. It plays over a gorgeous image. "If you seek his monument, look around you" written in Heroes Park. Bruce notes he has a feeling that they will have to fight.

Batman visits Lex in prison, telling him he's being transferred to Arkham Asylum. Lex reveals he of course knows who Bruce is, but it doesn't matter. What does matter is what Lex says next. "They've heard it. Out in the dark among the stars. The bell cannot be un-rung". This scene is of course referring to Steppenwolf coming, but since that scene was cut people watching the TC had no idea what happened here. What is nice though is Batman doesn't brand him. A clue of him truly changing his ways. But hey, that symbolic painting is now right-side up to also symbolize the coming enemy. Back at the grave, Lois drops dirt into the grave (A Jewish tradition I believe? Nice callback if so). And as she leaves we zoom in and see the dirt beginning to float. And that ends Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

Conclusion

I can see why so many people don't like this film. It's niche. It's somber. It's the ultimate indulgence in Snyder's most deconstructionist polarizing tendencies. But it's creative. And beautiful. And haunting. But most important to me, it's one of the single most ambitious CBMs ever crafted. In style, in substance, in tone, in writing, in execution. There is so much ambition here that the film is shaking under the weight of it all. It's barely held together under it... in the Ultimate Edition. Cause in the TC, it does fall under the weight of it all. It crumples without the key supports laid in the UE. It caves in on itself entirely and becomes an incoherent and ultimately heartless mess of a film. It didn't have to be. You could've trimmed the UE easily in ways that preserve the heart and coherency of the film. But they chose not to. The Theatrical Cut gets a pretty bitter 5/10 from me. If the UE didn't exist I might say a bit higher, like a 6/10, but with the UE's existence the TC is so baffling and obsolete that it is, while not nearly the worst DCEU film, the one that is least worth watching. Every other film has something that makes it different. But BvSTC is completely obsoleted by its Director's Cut. BvSTC has become worse over time because of that.

While the UE has only gotten better. While it does shake under all the weight, it does hold. It's at the very least a solidly made film even if you disagree with its decisions. And in all honesty, I totally get that. I'm not gonna be nearly as snarky about "Why don't you like this?" here as I was with MoS. I mean I'm sort of that way with Batman killing (Keaton and Bale got passes so why is Affleck singled out?), but everything else I totally get it. I get why Batman's deliberately wrong persona makes some people mad. I get why Superman being so conflicted is so off-putting. I get why this weird hodgepodge of different versions of Lex combined is so cringe to some. I get it. And I will never try to make anyone love this film the way I do. That's your opinion on these things, they just don't work for you. All I ask in return is that you don't try to force people to feel the way you do. That you don't try to gate-keep anyone who likes the film as "not real fans". That you don't try to say they're "stupid and have poor taste". That you don't get needless obsessed with some idea of "objectivity" in film. Even if I did believe film was objective at all it'd be such a meaningless quality anyways. Art is in the eye of the beholder. I get it if you hate this film. I just ask that you never try to make me feel bad for loving it.

Because I do love this film. I love every gorgeous shot. I love every poetic speech. I love every track of the score. I love every crack in the foundation caused by the weight of its ambition. I love every scene that goes all out with its ideas even when it doesn't succeed fully. I love every flaw, every imperfection, every nuance, every meaning, every overstuffed, niche, nerdy, artsy-fartsy second of it. Because BvS did something no CBM had ever done. If MoS targeted my love of mythology, BvS weaponized my adoration of strange, dark literature. It's Shakespeare if Shakespeare was fracking nuts enough to have his characters dressed in over-the-top superhero suits. It's Nietzsche if Nietzsche was imaginative enough to give his Ubermensch an over-the-top alien backstory. It's Dante if Dante was optimistic enough to end tons of bloodbath with a "Men are still good" speech. It is the film that targeted every one of my most niche interests. The literature nerd, the Poly Sci major, the philosophical rambler, etc.. It is a film I love more every time I see it because of how it combines all of that with my love of Superman (Post-Crisis Superman especially in this context) and the DC world. Even if you don't see the film I do, I hope you can at least see that I see that film.  And I hope you don't get too bent out of shape over the conclusion that I give Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice Ultimate Edition a 9/10. Yes, the same rating as the Donner Cut of II. And yes, a higher rating than Superman 1. Last time I watched this I wouldn't have said that. But this film really does get better every time I see it. And it has reached that eclipsing point for me. Regardless, love or hate, everyone feels strongly about this film. It is to be remembered, discussed, debated, and talked about for years to come. Really, that's all I ask for in film. Give me something that makes an impact. And BvS surely made an impact.

For better... and for worse. Because next time, we talk about two films that did the opposite of what MoS and BvS did. Unite people rather than divide. One that united us in hatred. And one that, at least right now, seems to be uniting us in appreciation. Next time, we cover Joss Whedon's Justice League, a film that torpedoed the DCEU itself. And then we cover Zack Snyder's Justice League, a film that many are saying holds the promise of a brighter future. Until then, have a great day. And if there's one thing to take away from this all, it's those four words. The message of the film could not be any simpler. Just four little words...

Charlie Hunham Green Arr-

DarkLordRyan has been banned from life for his overuse of this tired meme.