The DCEU Discussion – Part IV - Episode 3: Wrapping-Up Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
- Luke Evans
- Jan 9, 2021
- 5 min read
Updated: Jul 5, 2021
Nearly done... I swear...
- Pic: From Vulture.com and it originally comes from The Dark Knight Returns
by Frank Miller and Klaus Janson. (©DC Comics, 1986).
This was the original inspiration for Batman's battle armour, costume and characterisation in BvS.
Warning: SPOILER heavy article to follow!!!
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice: The Ultimate Edition
Wow… Okay… Look…
At the end of the day, this is a far better version of the film, but there is way too much going on in here. Originally, they had said there was going to be a BvS movie, then a two-part Justice League. They went straight from filming BvS into filming Justice League, before BvS was released to horrible reviews. That was a mistake and made it hard for them to course-correct the next film. Regardless, while I get that the idea was that the whole thing was a complicated mega-plot by Lex Luthor, it was simply too confusing to follow. It’s an incoherent mess. They would’ve benefited from removing half the nonsense and slowing it down. Taking time to explain some stuff… like why Batman has gone a bit nuts… and why he wants to kill Superman and how Lex was involved in everything (in less screen-time than was used). Doomsday should never have been in there. That whole Death of Superman plot should have been a movie of its own. Wonder Woman should have been teased, but not appear in costume. Again, save it for the next movie… They rushed it all and they paid a dear price with fans… but they still made nearly $1 billion in theatres, so do they really care???
They simply tried to do too much in one movie. I know it’s a painful comparison, but the Marvel MCU had five totally separate movies before they forced their heroes together. These guys did Man of Steel, this monstrosity introducing everyone and then Justice League where they all shared the screen together. It was ridiculously rushed and the storylines suffered. Now, the actors are all brilliant in their roles. But the writing is chaotic and they were never given a chance to do their characters… dare I say it… justice.
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I think I could almost make a cut of this movie that works with no re-shoots at all.
You take the Ultimate Edition of the film.
You take out all the shit about Darkseid. You remove Wonder Woman's performance at the end, but keep her other scenes - a crowd teaser like Marvel is so good at. We will see Diana in the film but not Wonder Woman (even though she - and her theme music - are badass in this film).
You tone down Jesse's Luthor performance. All... the... way... down...
All of that crazy shit has to go. Oh my God, he was so over the top! Why did any of those characters trust that man with any power? He is clearly not eccentric - he's straight-up nuts. But we don't have to throw away his performance. You include all of his talk about demons coming from the sky and gods among men. All his spiels to Lois and Superman on the rooftop. You delete any aspects of him working for Darkseid or Steppenwolf and you get rid of Bruce's pre-cognition dreams - what... the...hell... was... that?!?! Get rid of it all! And you are left with a Lex Luthor who is an actual threat, not some crazy megalomaniacal idiot.
You include his manipulation of both Bruce and Clark - and show us how he did it.
And please - for the love of God - get rid of all that Martha bullshit... That is the weakest storyline since... I don't know... something Biblical... or a Hallmark Christmas movie...
You include a reason as to why Batman is in such a bad place. Now, Ben Affleck seemed almost cheerful at times when he was out of the Batsuit. He can't. This is after Robin was murdered by Joker. Spend a bit more time with that. That's why he's in this dark place.
And then, two alien dickheads had a pissing contest in Metropolis and destroyed the city - including people Bruce loved.
That's why he's so dark.
He wants to make sure that Superman is not a threat, that this will never happen again. I can understand that.
(I was wrong... I need some reshoots for this next bit...)
Then, when they finally come face to face - Bruce needs to tell him what his problem is - he never even tries to talk to Superman. "This is why I hate you, you big blue son of a bitch..." And Clark has to listen and own that shit - "Yes, I am sorry for what you lost and for my part in this. I didn't mean for any of this to happen and it's on me. I swear to do better in the future. I am here to help."
And then, they go and save Martha - Batman can still do it - and capture Lex - Clark can do that.
And that's a good movie... You nearly brought down the gods with the machinations of one brilliant, paranoid man... And you took out ten half-arsed storylines that made this whole mess confusing...
... And you gave me a better reason for Bruce and Lex to hate someone who is - at the end of the day - a pretty nice guy, if you stop to talk to him...
...
...
... Sigh...
Too late... I'm too late to help.
That’s it. I’m done with this one…
Here... Watch this:
A great vid here on why BvS didn't work as well as the Captain America: Civil War film - Because the BvS story was not personal, in the way CA:CW was:
If you didn't watch this one on the Lex Luthor post, here it is again... It's a quicker version of saying everything I'm saying here... funnier too...
Join me for the next section: The DCEU Discussion - Part V: Suicide Squad
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Previous posts for this series:
NOTE: The pictures and videos used here have been sourced from different internet sites, always linked to under the picture. In the case of comic panels, the original issue numbers and creators are listed, as well as the company that owns them. All rights remain with the original creators and have been used here for entertainment and educational purposes only.
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