Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (March 24th, 2016)

[IrishJedi]

You didn't like MOS. You didn't like BvS. You won't watch WW next year...

Trolls gotta troll, I guess. :

 

[greygoose]

Took my 8yo son to see BvS last night ... and ...

That's the movie people are complaining so much about?!

Gotta tell ya ... I don't get all the complaints. At all. I thought it was pretty awesome. Liked it better than The Avengers. And, my son liked it even more than I did. Affleck's Batman was truly brilliant. The cinematography was very impressive. The fight scenes were compelling, sensible (as opposed to MOS) and action-packed. Doomsday was better than I expected. It was a solid blend of my favorite Batman graphic novel and my favorite Superman graphic novel -- Dark Knight Returns and The Death of Superman. That warehouse scene with Batman ambushing the paramilitary team was phenomenal.

It corrected a lot of the problems with Man of Steel. I understood the complaints on Man of Steel ... the thoughtless destruction, the weird characterization and death of Jonathan Kent. But, this showed there were consequences to the destruction ... and there were lessons to learn from it. Superman -- like any true hero -- isn't universally loved. I like that twist on the big blue boy scout. That he has to develop trust, from the people and the powerful alike.

It even corrected the major problem I had with Miller's Dark Knight Returns ... his characterization of Superman. Superman as government stooge is lousy. This was WAY better.

And, I thought the slow introduction of the Justice League was really good. Wonder Woman hanging in the background, with the same distrust of Superman as Batman has. Luthor's files on Flash, Aquaman and Cyborg. I like this more organic way of bringing the team together better than the 'Avengers initiative' version. I was concerned going-in that it would be overcrowded or awkward. It wasn't.

The major complaint I had was the casting of Lex Luthor. Eisenberg is awfully young, and awfully scrawny. He played the part pretty well -- certainly better than he looked in the trailers. But, still, a too much Zuckerberg, not enough Luthor.

Also, I'm not entirely sure I understood the Flash's involvement in the knightmare scene.

Overall, I thought this was a great cornerstone movie for building the DCU. It made MOS better. And, I'm really looking forward to Affleck's Batman franchise. Kinda wondering if maybe people are just jaded, and bent on disliking most anything.

SnakeDoc

Great review SnakeDoc! Glad you enjoyed it.

 

[a-dev]

That's a great meme. I loled even though I myself wouldn't be a huge fan of this DCCU so far.

 

[rushmore223]

81% box office drop from previous Friday

What Should We Expect from 'Batman v Superman's Second Weekend? - Box Office Mojo

 

[jye4ever]

Well, there goes that enthusiastic box office article I had posted!

Holy......Crap!

WB wishes they owned Deadpool now.

Well, khev and I are still buying the DVD!

 

[rushmore223]

If you take out the Thursday box office, it ends up being around a 70% drop.

 

[Rambler]

Yikes. Not good.

 

[guyver1]

81% box office drop from previous Friday

What Should We Expect from 'Batman v Superman's Second Weekend? - Box Office Mojo

Makes sense as good as a DC film it is, not too many Snyder fans and I'm sure people are happy to see it only once

The rest of this month, it will drop even more and come May with CW, B vs S will drop out of the Box Office . I think X-men will probably be the only other comic based summer movie that will tank less than B vs S this summer

Regardless if CW is good or not, it will gross more than B vs S

 

[karamazov80]

You didn't like MOS. You didn't like BvS. You won't watch WW next year...

I didn't like either movie that much, but will watch all the DC/WB movies probably. I personally post because I care about the source and franchise. I am invested in what happens with the movies.

 

[a-dev]

Makes sense as good as a DC film it is, not too many Snyder fans and I'm sure people are happy to see it only once

I reserve 2nd viewings only for true greats - like Caspar the friendly ghost and Return of the Jedi Special Edition.

 

[Victοr]

"The Snyderverse is dead. Bury it. Consider this mercy."

Okay, okay, it's most definitely not dead, but this stupid AF quote seemed appropriate for now. Let's just hope they listen to the criticism and improve. I want a damn near perfect Batman movie dammit!

 

[karamazov80]

Dropoff isn't too surprising. Audience reviews weren't bad, but they weren't great, either. So, it's not going to have the word of mouth of a Deadpool.

 

[greygoose]

Well, there goes that enthusiastic box office article I had posted!

Holy......Crap!

WB wishes they owned Deadpool now.

Well, khev and I are still buying the DVD!

Khev and yourself need to get back to the cinema straight away!

 

[Khev]

I would have to mostly agree but Avengers 1/2 still have some very unique special moments as well.

As I mentioned before the Avengers movies really aren't "intense" movies at all for me and that limits them, especially with them being big budget action films. If I see them more as action comedies with a couple brilliant site gags (with that slo-mo group sequence of the team defending the core at the end of AoU being the pinnacle of those IMO) then it's easier for me to appreciate them. Galaga, Don Cheadle's story about the tank, some of the arguing on the helicarrier "I'm threatened, I feel threatened!" are all great and funny even after multiple viewings.

But the conflict and action just isn't as compelling IMO (other than the base "gee whiz" geeky joy of seeing the characters in motion like the aforementioned core scene.)

I know the first Avengers film is this untouchable darling here but no amount of "are you nuts?" gifs are going to make me rate it higher as a viewing experience than Batman v Superman. I could break down both films scene by scene and BvS will pretty much win every single Pepsi Challenge.

The opening of BvS showing Bruce's origin; very artsy and tragic. Compared to some ant view shots of Nick Fury getting off a helicopter and walking around a base. Then each film's opening action sequence. The dread and intensity of Metropolis under siege, the street level Cloverfield-esque view of these titans going to war, that freaky sound of the terraforming machine, the white-knuckled hero moments of Bruce speeding into the danger and him calming and rescuing innocents. The resolve mixed with rage on his face as he hugs the girl.

As opposed to the emotionally sterile action of Loki just appearing and clinically blasting some SHIELD guys across the room. Someone said that watching action in a Marvel film is like witnessing a waiter falling down some stairs with a full tray of food. A possibly spectacular visual and you might either be impressed by how well the guy recovers or embarrassed for him but that's as far as it goes. While I certainly wouldn't apply that metaphor to all MCU films (especially the great TWS) it does hold true for most of The Avengers IMO.

jye I think you mentioned that in addition to the spectacular visuals of Batman fighting Supes it also had this unnerving "Mom and Dad fighting" vibe to it. The Avengers never do (though I'm sure CW will change that.) IM and Thor fighting in the woods? Funny and cute. Thor fighting Hulk on the helicarrier. Again kind of funny and cute. Same with the Hulkbuster fight and pretty much every other tussle between the heroes. So BvS has a more sinister villain, it's opening action kicks *** over the opening scenes of Avengers, the middle "fight between heroes" is profoundly better in BvS, and then there's the final battle. Once more BvS feels more desperate and cool. Why do the legions of Chitauri just hang politely on the buildings while the Avengers discuss their plans down in the street? Why doesn't Thor actually just listen to Cap and bottleneck the damn portal which he actually DOES successfully for like five seconds and then inexplicably leaves his post to ride-em-cowboy with some random leviathans? The whole fight is just a big sprawling "fun" visual, nothing more.

Which leaves all the character moments in between and during the action sequences. Again The Avengers are funnier "How does Fury see the screens to the left/I understood that reference/please tell me nobody kissed me" but the Bruce/Alfred dynamic and all scenes with Lex were much more compelling for me than any group dynamics in The Avengers.

Even little things like production design and costuming. The Avengers just gets crushed. Cap's stupid costume, Widow's lame hairdo, the lackluster Chitauri designs compared to MULTIPLE Affleck suits, WW, parademons, etc.

Yeah The Avengers was the "triple threat" of 92% RT, $600 million domestic, and it was "first" in bringing multiple heroes together. But there's no way I'm going to concede that is a better film in any aspect other than situational comedy to a film that trumps it on every other level.

 

[YoNoSe]

I didn't like either movie that much, but will watch all the DC/WB movies probably. I personally post because I care about the source and franchise. I am invested in what happens with the movies.

I do try to keep it light and not repeat the same point too much. I know it's annoying to read the same person crapping on something you like repeatedly even if you have a thick virtual skin.

This movie has me in a weird place where I am a fan of the people involved, the characters are important to me as fictional characters go, and I want to like the movie. I'm just having trouble reconciling all that with the actual movie. But I hope I'm not being a **** about it.

 

[rushmore223]

I do try to keep it light and not repeat the same point too much. I know it's annoying to read the same person crapping on something you like repeatedly even if you have a thick virtual skin.

This movie has me in a weird place where I am a fan of the people involved, the characters are important to me as fictional characters go, and I want to like the movie. I'm just having trouble reconciling all that with the actual movie. But I hope I'm not being a **** about it.

No, I think some people were much harder on TFA, bringing up the Same points about Rey's lightsaber/force skills vs Kylo for almost every day for 6 weeks.

 

[Khev]

No, I think some people were much harder on TFA, bringing up the Same points about Rey's lightsaber/force skills vs Kylo for almost every day for 6 weeks.

Yeah, the trolls went full ****** in the TFA thread which was indeed annoying but that's been minimal here which has been nice. 12BarBlues, karamazov, Clown Prince and others have been cool about their criticisms so I tip my hat to them.

 

[IrishJedi]

Yeah, there's only really been a couple of obvious, insufferable trolls. It seems that once the movie came out things settled down a lot in here. Well done, all.

 

[Khev]

Dropoff isn't too surprising.

Didn't we already know that this movie was doomed when it had the greatest Day 2 to Day 4 drop on an even year Easter weekend in the history of superhero team-up films that are based loosely on two famous graphic novels?

 

[jye4ever]

As I mentioned before the Avengers movies really aren't "intense" movies at all for me and that limits them, especially with them being big budget action films. If I see them more as action comedies with a couple brilliant site gags (with that slo-mo group sequence of the team defending the core at the end of AoU being the pinnacle of those IMO) then it's easier for me to appreciate them. Galaga, Don Cheadle's story about the tank, some of the arguing on the helicarrier "I'm threatened, I feel threatened!" are all great and funny even after multiple viewings.

But the conflict and action just isn't as compelling IMO (other than the base "gee whiz" geeky joy of seeing the characters in motion like the aforementioned core scene.)

I know the first Avengers film is this untouchable darling here but no amount of "are you nuts?" gifs are going to make me rate it higher as a viewing experience than Batman v Superman. I could break down both films scene by scene and BvS will pretty much win every single Pepsi Challenge.

The opening of BvS showing Bruce's origin; very artsy and tragic. Compared to some ant view shots of Nick Fury getting off a helicopter and walking around a base. Then each film's opening action sequence. The dread and intensity of Metropolis under siege, the street level Cloverfield-esque view of these titans going to war, that freaky sound of the terraforming machine, the white-knuckled hero moments of Bruce speeding into the danger and him calming and rescuing innocents. The resolve mixed with rage on his face as he hugs the girl.

As opposed to the emotionally sterile action of Loki just appearing and clinically blasting some SHIELD guys across the room. Someone said that watching action in a Marvel film is like witnessing a waiter falling down some stairs with a full tray of food. A possibly spectacular visual and you might either be impressed by how well the guy recovers or embarrassed for him but that's as far as it goes. While I certainly wouldn't apply that metaphor to all MCU films (especially the great TWS) it does hold true for most of The Avengers IMO.

jye I think you mentioned that in addition to the spectacular visuals of Batman fighting Supes it also had this unnerving "Mom and Dad fighting" vibe to it. The Avengers never do (though I'm sure CW will change that.) IM and Thor fighting in the woods? Funny and cute. Thor fighting Hulk on the helicarrier. Again kind of funny and cute. Same with the Hulkbuster fight and pretty much every other tussle between the heroes. So BvS has a more sinister villain, it's opening action kicks *** over the opening scenes of Avengers, the middle "fight between heroes" is profoundly better in BvS, and then there's the final battle. Once more BvS feels more desperate and cool. Why do the legions of Chitauri just hang politely on the buildings while the Avengers discuss their plans down in the street? Why doesn't Thor actually just listen to Cap and bottleneck the damn portal which he actually DOES successfully for like five seconds and then inexplicably leaves his post to ride-em-cowboy with some random leviathans? The whole fight is just a big sprawling "fun" visual, nothing more.

Which leaves all the character moments in between and during the action sequences. Again The Avengers are funnier "How does Fury see the screens to the left/I understood that reference/please tell me nobody kissed me" but the Bruce/Alfred dynamic and all scenes with Lex were much more compelling for me than any group dynamics in The Avengers.

Even little things like production design and costuming. The Avengers just gets crushed. Cap's stupid costume, Widow's lame hairdo, the lackluster Chitauri designs compared to MULTIPLE Affleck suits, WW, parademons, etc.

Yeah The Avengers was the "triple threat" of 92% RT, $600 million domestic, and it was "first" in bringing multiple heroes together. But there's no way I'm going to concede that is a better film in any aspect other than situational comedy to a film that trumps it on every other level.

You don't have to twist my arm, i'm with you all the way with BvS.