BvS Batman v Superman - Reviews Thread [TAG SPOILERS] - Part 1

[catch22]

I loved the film, but I have to be honest, they did take a bit of artistic license in terms of the utilisation of Superman's powers. There were a few key scenes such as

Spoiler

the explosion and death of Senator Finch etc

.... which could have been avoided by the obvious solution of Superman using his super-speed. But this didn't happen for some reason.

The faster they make supes the faster they'll have to make Flash, and then both chracters become almost impossible to write because they both become basically indestructible.

I think a Superman that moves about a few times the speed of sound makes sense.

 

[Willi Berg]

I loved the film, but I have to be honest, they did take a bit of artistic license in terms of the utilisation of Superman's powers. There were a few key scenes such as

Spoiler

the explosion and death of Senator Finch etc

.... which could have been avoided by the obvious solution of Superman using his super-speed. But this didn't happen for some reason.

I find this can tend to happen with superhero movies and it did in this one. Why don't they use their particular powers to solve a problem? Why didn't Superman use his hearing, speed or x-ray vision? Or why doesn't Batman know about Lex since he is the world's greatest detective? Or why doesn't Wonder Woman use her Lasso of Truth to extract information from Lex instead of sneaking around? It does seem convenient when powers and skills are ignored to suit a particular plot dilemma. Then again, it can also kind of be explained as well, usually.

 

[DeadPresident]

nope didn't glaze over it, thought it was ham fisted and obvious and nowhere near as deep as it thought it was, actually - then again I only got halfway through the video you posted as the guy kept stating the obvious, it wasn't subtle in the film, it was very easy to pick up on not sure why this guy is acting like what he is saying is a revelation

I am glad that there are people who like it though and feel differently about it

I think the telling part is it had different levels of significance for different people, which is why there's such a spectrum of responses.

For some people the symbolism of kid Bruce being lifted by the bats is "What is this, is it a dream? Why's this happening? This makes no sense", for others it's "Hmm, this must be visual symbolism, not sure I would've done it, but I get it" and for others it's "I really enjoy that they've included something that's supposed to allude to something a bit more symbolic". Very little of the thematic discussion that happens in a visual medium is "subtle", at least at this scale of GA moviemaking - so it being easy to pick up on seems to be a stick to beat a script with which is incorrect IMO.

My take away from it is some people were drawn to the thematic discussion more than others and attributed different value to different things, which is how things should be. Everyone's opinion is just a product of their own personal experience.

 

[HELLilac]

The faster they make supes the faster they'll have to make Flash, and then both chracters become almost impossible to write because they both become basically indestructible.

I think a Superman that moves about a few times the speed of sound makes sense.

Interesting. I never consider that to be the issue but you're right.

 

[Mrs. Wayne]

This review, will make you believe, .................... to do it.
But this is my honest rant about this messy, uninspired, lame, lazy, badly edited, poorly characterized protagonists and antagonist, nonsensical story.

First, the positive:
Affleck and Irons are cool in their respective roles, and the outfits are cool.
Bill Finger is credited as the co-creator of Batman.

Followed by my rating:
2/10

Spoiler

*RANTING TIME:

WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?
Batman scenes are ok, everything else is poorly paced, and the bad editing is all over the place, why is this scene added where this scene is at? Why does it permeate it? WHY?

The opening monologue of Bruce sounds like someone wrote it 5 minutes before lunch, trying to sound cool, but it's not good.
Bruce at the funeral of his parents, discovering the bat cave, and flashback to the night they died.... so unneeded.

Jump to the future...past....present...
Past of the movie main events, future of child Bruce.
With the exception of "Jack, get everyone out of the building.", no word uttered out of the mouth of Bruce Wayne made me think "Wow, this is a guy in tension", instead it made me think "What is he saying?"
Visuals are good, words are bad.
When he told that girl he will help her find her mom, the first thought to come to my mind is "She must be Carrie Kelly, he will turn her to Robin."

Jump 18 months to the future, which is the present of the movie events.
They find a little Kryptonite in the waters.
Lex Luthor convinces them to give him control and more Kryptonite, after his crew found Kryptonite and told the senate about it.
He kills that old guy because..... reasons.

You know what, I'll cut this review short instead of making one post long enough to fill two pages of posts in one rant post.

Every negative thing people say about this movie, is honest truth.
Wonder Woman is just there, she's useless.

Superman barely stays on screen for more than 4 minutes in a row.

Perry White is useless, that's not Perry, who is Laurence Fishburne playing? How did he act in a movie far worse than the Matrix Revolution? You'd think by now he'd learn to avoid such mistakes.

Camera with film? Really? I know some people actually use them, but really?
They just used that to make way for the tracking chip.
That guy who opened the camera and exposed the film is the guy who Batman chased after, and he was there, while Superman reached, how was he still loose?

Bath tub scene is stupid. Clark, dude, water in a bath tub is meant to wash people, not for you to soil it by dipping your dirty shoes into it.

Last fight is useless and idiotic. Final fight in Man of Steel made a lot of sense, this one is the exact opposite.

Who should do what? Why is that happening? Why is Martha being both a Kent and a Wayne make the duo friends? How did that magic blood trick work to give life to Zod's corpse to make him Doomsday? Did the writers take lessons from Star Trek Into Darkness magic blood school?[

Senate hearing bomb scene has a most useless silence and staring.

The whole movie is dumb.

....everything else is poorly paced, and the bad editing is all over the place, why is this scene added where this scene is at? Why does it permeate it? WHY?

Pretty much.

 

[conan69]

I think a 6 is generous.

 

[InvisibleWoman]

I'm a bit late to the party and I haven't felt inclined to post on The Hype for a LONG time, but I just saw BVS and I am literally BUZZING. I feel like I just went on an exhilarating ride and I don't understand the hate. Maybe it's because although I'm a comic book fan, I wouldn't call myself a hardcore Superman or Batman fan so any inconsistencies in characterisation didn't bother me but I also knew enough about JL to not be confused by certain things. Perhaps that's the key. If you're a solid fan of SM and Batman then you might have a problem. If you're not a fan at all, you might have a problem understanding. If you sit in the middle, you'll love it.

I certainly did. I came home and said to my housemate that it was a 9/10 film. She asked what stopped it from being a 10/10 film and I literally cannot think of one thing I didn't like.... nope. Can't think of one.

So 10/10 from this middle of the road fan.

 

[DigificWriter]

I'm still formulating and processing my full thoughts on the movie, but I'm now fully convinced that critics are hypocritical and "fans" are too overly cynical, because as far as I'm concerned BvS has done for DC heroes and the DC universe in general what The Dark Knight did for Batman, something that general audiences are proving given the film's tremendous Box Office performance thus far.

 

[The Joker]

I'm still formulating and processing my full thoughts on the movie, but I'm now fully convinced that critics are hypocritical and "fans" are too overly cynical, because as far as I'm concerned BvS has done for DC heroes and the DC universe in general what The Dark Knight did for Batman, something that general audiences are proving given the film's tremendous Box Office performance thus far.

This post translates as 'The critics and fans are wrong. This movie is making lots of money so that means it's great'.

Excuse me while I go watch that 1.1 billion dollar masterpiece Transformers: Age of Extinction

 

[mace1]

Here is a review from someone loved it.
Batman v Superman:REVIEW
Batman v Superman: How I surprised myself & fell in love with this film
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKRmMQaLZz8

 

[DigificWriter]

This post translates as 'The critics and fans are wrong.

And that's a problem because?

If you analyze BvS and The Dark Knight side-by-side, the two films do things almost identically when it comes to owning their world-building and raising the stakes, and yet TDK didn't receive the kind of critical and "fanboy" negativity that BvS has.

Thankfully, general audiences have rejected the vitriol BvS has received from critics and "fanboys" and spoken with their wallets in numbers that have surpassed both TDK and its less-well-received sequel.

And just so this post has some "substance" to it that is relevant to the movie itself, Jesse Eisenberg, Ben Affleck, and Henry Cavill were born to play Lex, Bruce, and Clark, respectively, owning the roles for all time.

The movie also fearlessly and boldly embraces the same sense of "hyper-realism" that made The Dark Knight Trilogy as a whole work so incredibly well narratively while at the same time employing a "balls to the wall" philosophy that is reminiscent of stuff like The Avengers, Captain America: Winter Soldier, and Independence Day.

 

[Goshdarn Batman]

This post translates as 'The critics and fans are wrong. This movie is making lots of money so that means it's great'.

Excuse me while I go watch that 1.1 billion dollar masterpiece Transformers: Age of Extinction

Michael Bay and Snyder could team up and make a Transformers movie. The whole movie could be in slow motion...rated R for strong, sadistic violence, dog humping, naked penises (penisi?) and Shia LaBeouf.

 

[The Joker]

And that's a problem because?

Because your reasoning was bogus - "something that general audiences are proving given the film's tremendous Box Office performance thus far"

I mean do you really want to go down this road and be shamed by the myriad of examples of awful movies that made huge money but are stinkers?

If you analyze BvS and The Dark Knight side-by-side, the two films do things almost identically when it comes to owning their world-building and raising the stakes, and yet TDK didn't receive the kind of critical and "fanboy" negativity that BvS has.

Yeah because TDK is a great movie that did what it was going for well. BvS is a rushed, sloppy, CGI fest with wafer thin characterizations and a plot that is three or four movies chopped up and stuffed into one movie.

 

[DigificWriter]

Both BvS and TDK are very well-executed movies and are pretty much identical in terms of what they do character-wise and how they build on what's come before, even if critics and "fanboys" have inexplicably rejected one (BvS) while adorizing the other (TDK), in contrast to general audiences making BvS more successful, financially, than TDK through its opening weekend and its first week of release overall.

 

[The Joker]

Both BvS and TDK are very well-executed movies and are pretty much identical in terms of what they do character-wise and how they build on what's come before, even if critics and "fanboys" have inexplicably rejected one (BvS) while adorizing the other (TDK), in contrast to general audiences making BvS more successful, financially, than TDK through its opening weekend and its first week of release overall.

No, because TDK is a very well executed movie. That's why it got the critical acclaim and fan love to go with it's impressive box office.

Whereas with the argument you're making BvS might as well be called Transformers: Age of Extinction. That made more money than TDK. So did Transformers: Dark of the Moon. You really trying to tell me that's the audiences saying they think Transformers is better? Or even nearly as good?

 

[Greens]

Digific.... I know you've posted some weird stuff in the past but come on. People aren't "inexplicably" rejecting BvS. The film has legitimate editing and script issues... issues TDK did NOT have.

 

[Pokkle]

Finally saw the movie.
It was good for me.
I understand some criticism, it was slow, lack of actions until the last act but I like it overall.

I liked how they tied the start with the ending of Man of Steel.
Batfleck was awesome, really like him in this movie.
WW was cool and Lex Luthor a little too much but I liked him.
Really intrigued by the Flash from the future and the vision of the future.

Very surprised about the ending, but he will comeback somehow, I guess.

 

[DigificWriter]

Digific.... I know you've posted some weird stuff in the past but come on. People aren't "inexplicably" rejecting BvS. The film has legitimate editing and script issues... issues TDK did NOT have.

I disagree. My honest assessment of this movie is that it's almost identical to The Dark Knight in narrative intent and execution, and that critics and fanboys are criticizing things that were praised in the latter.

Disagree with me if you want, but that's how I feel.

 

[The Guard]

I disagree. My honest assessment of this movie is that it's almost identical to The Dark Knight in narrative intent and execution, and that critics and fanboys are criticizing things that were praised in the latter.

Disagree with me if you want, but that's how I feel.

I feel similarly, at least in terms of structurally.

This movie is very similar to THE DARK KNIGHT, in that it's a bunch of simple, straightforward concepts laid out in a somewhat complex manner that moves quickly and leaves some things up to the viewer. The main difference is a lack of exposition in this film, whereas TDK had it in spades.

 

[Lord]

I'm still formulating and processing my full thoughts on the movie, but I'm now fully convinced that critics are hypocritical and "fans" are too overly cynical, because as far as I'm concerned BvS has done for DC heroes and the DC universe in general what The Dark Knight did for Batman, something that general audiences are proving given the film's tremendous Box Office performance thus far.

Of course it's box office performance is good, it's freakin Batman Vs Superman. And even if you went with that in order to judge quality, why judge it during the first week? You can only get a real picture of how much the general public liked it after it's done with its run.

 

[Flint Marko]

something that general audiences are proving given the film's tremendous Box Office performance thus far.

Everyone and their mother knew this thing was going to make crazy money. What's more telling is the word of mouth and that underwhelming cinema score.

 

[DigificWriter]

I feel similarly, at least in terms of structurally.

This movie is very similar to THE DARK KNIGHT, in that it's a bunch of simple, straightforward concepts laid out in a somewhat complex manner that moves quickly and leaves some things up to the viewer. The main difference is a lack of exposition in this film, whereas TDK had it in spades.

I really don't know what you wanted by way of exposition that was needed for the story they were telling here, because they pretty much laid out everything you needed to know by way of motivation and characterization.

 

[The Guard]

I really don't know what you wanted by way of exposition that was needed for the story they were telling here, because they pretty much laid out everything you needed to know by way of motivation and characterization.

I didn't want anything. I don't like a ton of exposition. I'm just saying that's the major difference.

I'm fine with the way this movie is structured. Very clever work.

 

[DigificWriter]

^ Okay.

 

[MadVillainy]

Saw this a couple hours ago.

I think a lot about this film is blown out of proportion.

Is this a good/great movie? No
Is this a horrible movie? No

Pros:
-The Knightmare sequence. Good lord. It was scary, it was badass, it was intriguing. For sure it was the highlight of the movie
-The whole last 30-45 minutes. From the point the Bat signal goes into the sky then movie is a lot better. It was more fun, had a bit more humor, and the action was better

Cons:
-Eisenberg as Lex. Just felt so out of place with the rest of the movie
-The biggest problem was that it tried to do too much. Really suffered from Amazing Spider-Man 2 syndrome of trying to set too much up, while giving fans moments they want, and continuing the story from the first film. And it just didn't really do a good job with any of those ideas.
-It was just boring. Until the last 45 minutes I just wasn't moved by this movie. Nothing engaged me
-Henry Cavill as Superman. The writing failed him, but his acting didn't help either. That scene of the [BLACKOUT]senate explosion[/BLACKOUT]. His reaction to that and the writing of it was so stupid
-The whole Lois/Clark romance is terrible. They really just dropped the ball with that whole thing.
-Character motivations were pretty stupid
-The actual Batman vs Superman fight was kind of "meh" to me. It was one of the better parts of the movie, but I just wasn't that interested
-The whole JL set up was so f***ing clunky and poorly done. Come on...when the music came in, those powerful drums...they might as well have just started chanting "JUSTICE LEAGUE! JUSTICE LEAGUE! JUSTICE LEAGUE". And the whole [BLACKOUT]Flash[/BLACKOUT] thing "AM I TOO EARLY?! SHE'S THE KEY!". Come on. They can do better than that
-Too many "endings" aka Return of the King syndrome


I also feel Wonder Woman was very overrated. Everyone kept telling me how good she was. I mean I knew she wouldnt be in the movie much, but she did not do anything to deserve as much praise as I've heard.
Affleck as Batman was overrated too.

I know I listed a lot more flaws then pros, but I didn't hate it. I think this is a below average movie. 5/10

I wouldnt buy it, I wouldnt see it again most likely, but I have and will see worse movies. I don't think DCEU is off to a good start at all.