Batman v Superman

[Toddzilla]

Screw the reviews, I liked it a lot. Long and loud, but highly enjoyable. I can't imagine what people's expectations were that were disappointed by the movie. Even knowing most of what was likely to happen there were 2-3 "holy shit" moments that caught me off-guard. Great movie IMO

[Arles]

That's exciting, looking forward to taking my kid to it next week

[spleen1015]

I wasn't going, but you may have changed my mind.

[SackAttack]

People's expectations = Marvel. Marvel spent the time building the universe and the team-up movies are the payoff.

DC is trying to have the Oreos first and the broccoli later. So while it may (or may not) be a fun movie, there's not quite the same vested interest there. Nobody but Cavill has continuity in that universe.

[BillJasper]

SPOILERS...













I thought Batfleck just wasn't very good, that his anger got to the point that he needed to kill Superman made no sense. The mention of "Martha" somehow breaking his homicidal rage was non-sense.

But, I thought they hit a home run with Gadot as Wonder Woman. So did my wife who is a long time fan of the character. The movie had some fun things in it. There just wasn't enough to overcome Batfleck and his disjointed story.

[Toddzilla]

I disagree, I thought Affleck was the heart and soul of this movie.

Spoiler

Even though Lex was supposed to drive the plot forward, I thought Affleck did it much much better. He was exactly what the movie needed out of Batman: older, angry, cynical, world-weary. I was really curious as to how they were going to turn Batman back to Superman's side to fight the big bad guy. While I wasn't really a fan of spending 20 minutes at the beginning of the movie watching Bruce Wayne's parents die *again*, it provided the emotional spark that was necessary when Superman said to save "Martha". I thought that was brilliant. Having Batman essentially "win" the fight was huge, too, giving that character moving forward much more gravity - as seen in the final seen with him and WW.

[Toddzilla]

Originally Posted by SackAttack

People's expectations = Marvel. Marvel spent the time building the universe and the team-up movies are the payoff.

DC is trying to have the Oreos first and the broccoli later. So while it may (or may not) be a fun movie, there's not quite the same vested interest there. Nobody but Cavill has continuity in that universe.

Meh. I think once you understand that the title of the movie is "Batman v Superman, Dawn of [THE] Justice [LEAGUE]" it works as a kickoff.

[Neuqua]

Just watched it, I think the movie was just fine. A couple people didn't like it and the negative momentum just started.

Personally I thought Affleck was great.

[CrimsonFox]

lol Batfleck


thats funny



cue gilbert gottfried

[Neon_Chaos]

I thought it was good, but came out of the theater more tired than entertained.

They crammed 2 full comic series into one film. Completely rushing what took Marvel 5 films to get the buildup for the Avengers and compressed it in 2 hours and 30 minutes.

Batfleck was great.

As for Superman...

Spoiler

I thought that since they have not been able to establish this Superman as the guy who had his shit together and connected with the audiences, his death was compeltely rushed. They could have saved Death of Superman for a completely different film instead of tacking it on to this one. I didn't feel any emotional weight in his death, as opposed to if we had a separate film just building up to that one. The entire actual Batman v Superman + Death of Superman was completed in the last 45 minutes?

It was good, but definitely not great for me. But I guess I'm just used to the tight focused scripts of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

[Edward64]

Who cares about critics anyway ...

Batman v Superman takes $424m at global box office - BBC News

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice has taken $424m (£300m) at the box office worldwide in its first five days despite poor reviews.

The global total - the fourth-highest ever - included $170.1m in the United States, a record for a March debut and the sixth-highest US opening weekend.

[CrimsonFox]

From what I've heard from comic book friends of mine is that it seems to be exactly like most comic book movies. Just mediocre. But mediocre is all these things need to be to make money and generally please the masses.

I've heard Affleck is really good and that his batman is a great brooding monster that hasn't been the case thus far.

But that he is written poorly with no motivation or justificiation for his words or actions.

aka the writing and directing was bad but there are some bits of good within. WHich is kind of typical really.


So yeah. Might see it on DVD but probably not

[Toddzilla]

Originally Posted by CrimsonFox

But that he is written poorly with no motivation or justificiation for his words or actions.

You have to try REALLY hard to not see the justification for his words or actions. Christ, it's 25% of the move, setting up his justification.

[revrew]

I have a handful of criticisms of the movie, but the one glaring thing that still boggles my mind is ...

Spoiler

the "Martha" moment. I just didn't buy Batman's transition from "Kill Superman" to "Help Superman" in such a blink of an eye. And Affleck just stumbling around dazed didn't convince me that he was having an epiphany.

That pivotal moment needed to go back to the drawing room, IMO.

[BillJasper]

Originally Posted by Toddzilla

You have to try REALLY hard to not see the justification for his words or actions. Christ, it's 25% of the move, setting up his justification.

It may have been 25% of the movie, but they made no real sense. Batfleck becomes so fixated on Superman because he is different. For a guy who is suppose to be so smart, he didn't put together the simple fact that Earth would've been toast without Superman. And if there is one crazy group of aliens gunning for Earth, there may be more?

Originally Posted by revrew

I have a handful of criticisms of the movie, but the one glaring thing that still boggles my mind is ...

Spoiler

the "Martha" moment. I just didn't buy Batman's transition from "Kill Superman" to "Help Superman" in such a blink of an eye. And Affleck just stumbling around dazed didn't convince me that he was having an epiphany.

That pivotal moment needed to go back to the drawing room, IMO.

That was non-sense and I found myself laughing after watching two hours of rage reversed with a single word.

[Subby]

Wonder Woman was the star of the movie. She was incredible in the huge battle scene. Our theater erupted when she showed up in full costume.

I thought Affleck was outstanding as Batman. I just think it's fashionable for people to criticize him but he was really good.

[BillJasper]

Originally Posted by Subby

I thought Affleck was outstanding as Batman. I just think it's fashionable for people to criticize him but he was really good.

Affleck just seemed stiff to me throughout, almost like he was acting out constipation. I didn't think he did a very good job.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by Neuqua

Just watched it, I think the movie was just fine. A couple people didn't like it and the negative momentum just started.

Personally I thought Affleck was great.

Yeah I think there is a bit of a hivemind with movie reviewers these days. Everyone scared to go against the grain.

I mean the movie isn't winning any Oscars but it was fun. Not sure what people expect from a comic book movie. Not supposed to change lives, just be an entertaining 2 hour action movie experience which this is.

[larrymcg421]

Yeah, critics really don't like comic book movies, as evidenced by these Rotten Tomatoes scores...

The Dark Knight - 94%
Iron Man - 94%
Spider-man 2 - 93%
Avengers - 92%
Spider-man - 89%
Guardians of the Galaxy - 91%
Captain America: Winter Soldier - 89%
The Dark Knight Rises - 87%
Batman Begins - 85%
Captain America: First avenger - 79%
Iron Man 3 - 79%
Thor - 77%
Superman Returns - 76%
Avengers: Age of Ulton - 75%
The Amazing Spider-man - 73%
Iron Man 2 - 72%
The Incredible Hulk - 67%
Thor: The Dark World - 66%
Spider-man 3 - 63%
Hulk - 61%
Man of Steel - 56%
The Amazing Spider-man 2 - 53%
Fantastic Four: Rise of the silver Surfer - 37%
Batman vs Superman - 29%
Fantastic Four (2005) - 27%
Fantastic Four (2015) - 9%

[Toddzilla]

Originally Posted by BillJasper

It may have been 25% of the movie, but they made no real sense. Batfleck becomes so fixated on Superman because he is different. For a guy who is suppose to be so smart, he didn't put together the simple fact that Earth would've been toast without Superman. And if there is one crazy group of aliens gunning for Earth, there may be more?



That was non-sense and I found myself laughing after watching two hours of rage reversed with a single word.

That's just incorrect. Earth would have been perfectly fine were it not for Superman. It was Superman that Zod came looking for, so it's Superman's fault that Earth got all fucked up in the first place. "He brought the war to us" was how he put it. It's all there, alarmingly clear and consistent for a super-hero movie in fact.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by larrymcg421

Yeah, critics really don't like comic book movies, as evidenced by these Rotten Tomatoes scores...

The Dark Knight - 94%
Iron Man - 94%
Spider-man 2 - 93%
Avengers - 92%
Spider-man - 89%
Guardians of the Galaxy - 91%
Captain America: Winter Soldier - 89%
The Dark Knight Rises - 87%
Batman Begins - 85%
Captain America: First avenger - 79%
Iron Man 3 - 79%
Thor - 77%
Superman Returns - 76%
Avengers: Age of Ulton - 75%
The Amazing Spider-man - 73%
Iron Man 2 - 72%
The Incredible Hulk - 67%
Thor: The Dark World - 66%
Spider-man 3 - 63%
Hulk - 61%
Man of Steel - 56%
The Amazing Spider-man 2 - 53%
Fantastic Four: Rise of the silver Surfer - 37%
Batman vs Superman - 29%
Fantastic Four (2005) - 27%
Fantastic Four (2015) - 9%

I don't think it's a gripe against comic book movies, I think it's just movie reviews in general. First few reviews come out negative, it gets attention, and everyone jumps on the bandwagon to trash it. Not a lot of people in the review business willing to go against the grain.

[larrymcg421]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

I don't think it's a gripe against comic book movies, I think it's just movie reviews in general. First few reviews come out negative, it gets attention, and everyone jumps on the bandwagon to trash it. Not a lot of people in the review business willing to go against the grain.

There were 79 critics who gave it a positive review.

[RainMaker]

And 193 who gave it negative reviews.

[larrymcg421]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

And 193 who gave it negative reviews.

Yes, hence the pecentage. I'm responding to your comment that not many are willing to go against the grain. 79 of them were. I think that's more than "not a lot". If there were many more, then there wouldn't be much of a grain to against at all.

I think it's silly to dismiss what someone says about a movie because you assume there's another reason behind it. That's a typical ad hominem attack. I take critics at their word that they don't like it for the reasons they said, even if I don't always agree with that.

[Groundhog]

I don't know how Age of Ultron managed 75% fresh. I thought that was the worst Marvel movie in recent memory.

[Toddzilla]

Originally Posted by Groundhog

I don't know how Age of Ultron managed 75% fresh. I thought that was the worst Marvel movie in recent memory.

[Arles]

Originally Posted by larrymcg421

Yeah, critics really don't like comic book movies, as evidenced by these Rotten Tomatoes scores...

Superman Returns - 76%
Man of Steel - 56%

How is this possible? Superman Returns was dreadful and almost killed the Superman brand. Yet, this was 20 points better than the Man of Steel movie? (which wasn't fantastic, but atleast watchable)

[larrymcg421]

Originally Posted by Arles

How is this possible? Superman Returns was dreadful and almost killed the Superman brand. Yet, this was 20 points better than the Man of Steel movie? (which wasn't fantastic, but atleast watchable)

Yeah I was surprised Superman Returns was that high. Honestly, I hated both that and Man of Steel, but I am not a Zack Snyder fan.

I did really like Age of Ultron and I'm really surprised people here hated it so much.

[Subby]

larry's list reminds me that Winter Soldier was FUCKING AWESOME.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by Subby

larry's list reminds me that Winter Soldier was FUCKING AWESOME.

Yes. Yes, it was.

My list of Marvel films:

1. Avengers
2. Guardians of The Galaxy
3. Winter Soldier
4. Age of Ultron
5. Iron-Man
6. Iron-Man 3
7. Thor
8. First Captain America
9. Iron-Man 2
10. Thor 2

I haven't seen Ant-Man yet. After "Age of Ultron", things get a little less clear for me. So, 5-10 is subject to change.

[Groundhog]

Winter Soldier was probably my favorite plot of any of the superhero films the last decade or so. I prefer Guardians of the Galaxy overall:

1. Guardians of the Galaxy
2. Captain America: Winter Soldier
3: Deadpool
4: Iron Man 1
5: Avengers
6: X-Men: Days of Future Present
7: Captain America (really didn't like it first time I saw it, becomes a lot more impressive watching it after Winter Soldier - this whole movie was made to set up the sequel).
8: X-Men: First Class
9: Thor
10: Spider-Man 1 or 2

[Arles]

Saw Batman vs Superman tonight and loved it. I'm surprised at how much I enjoyed Affleck as Batman. In terms of enjoyment, I'd put it on par with Batman Begins. Cast was strong - Wonder Woman was also great and I think they did the best they could given the aggressive nature they attacked the DC comics. My son also couldn't stop talking about it.

I really don't get all the negativity. I do think there's a lot of "group think" with reviews on blockbuster movies. After some negative ones come out, I think some reviewers think being critical = credible. Given the unwatchable movies in the past year that have been acclaimed on Rotten Tomatoes, knocking this one just doesn't make sense.

[stevew]

Originally Posted by Groundhog

I don't know how Age of Ultron managed 75% fresh. I thought that was the worst Marvel movie in recent memory.

Oh yeah, that movie was horrible.

[larrymcg421]

It's not just critics who are lukewarm on it. Batman vs Superman also got a B cinemascore from audiences, which is actually very low for a comic book movie. That's the same score Catwoman got and lower than Spider-man 3 or Man of Steel.

I guess I don't get this groupthink argument. I mean, it's not like we just have their ratings. Each of these Rotten Tomatoes critics has a full review of the movie. It's seems silly to dismiss what they're writing. "No, no, that's not why you disliked the movie. I know why you really disliked it."

[Marc Vaughan]

Finally saw it last night with my youngest son - I thought it was 'meh' ... not an awful movie by any stretch, but simply ticked the various boxes without being a standout movie by any means.

The characters, their interaction and dialog were 'so so' and in my opinion its that which makes the better movies stand out ...

[Marc Vaughan]

This explains what I thought was missing from the interpretation of Superman ... the personal touch and truly caring ..

http://imgur.com/gallery/gHZLO

[Ryche]

Enjoyed it well enough, probably would put it on par with Batman Begins. Biggest complaint, dwarves and hobbits already defeated Doomsday.

[Shoveler]

Saw it today and it was good enough. I thought they way over did the dream sequences to justify batman's motivation for going after superman, they were well done, but just added to the length of the movie.

I would agree the with the weak transition between angry batman and batman the best friend.

I went in expecting long drawn out fight scenes like in man of steel, but I felt that the fight scenes were all reasonable in length and didn't feel like an advertisement for sears or 7-11. If there was a fight scene advertisement in there I must have missed it, but my subconscious probably picked it up. Hrm, the urge to have a coke zero just hit me.

[Kodos]

Holy crap was this a terrible movie. I'd avoided the Superman movies because they were directed by Zack Snyder (of 300 fame). I should have avoided this one too. He is like George Lucas with splashing as much crap on screen as possible in the hope that you will ignore the awful plot. There was so much stupidity in this movie. It is like the Star Wars prequels. Lots of pretty effects on screen, but that's all it has going for it. Even Superman's constantly-flowing cape was annoying.

Spoiler

Like the whole if there is a 1% chance Superman will turn on humanity, then he must be destroyed thing - that's fine by itself. I can understand it. But then you toss that out the window because your mom had the same name as Superman's mom. What?

And "Alex" Luthor with all his speeches was horrid too.

[Subby]

Originally Posted by Kodos

Holy crap was this a terrible movie. I'd avoided the Superman movies because they were directed by Zack Snyder (of 300 fame). I should have avoided this one too. He is like George Lucas with splashing as much crap on screen as possible in the hope that you will ignore the awful plot. There was so much stupidity in this movie. It is like the Star Wars prequels. Lots of pretty effects on screen, but that all it has going for it. Even Superman's constantly-flowing cape was annoying.

Spoiler

Like the whole if there is a 1% chance Superman will turn on humanity, then he must be destroyed thing - that's fine by itself. I can understand it. But then you toss that out the window because your mom had the same name as Superman's mom. What?

And "Alex" Luthor with all his speeches was horrid too.

Yeah but Wonder Woman.

[Abe Sargent]

I saw it this weekend:

1). I thought it was just alright. Basic, by the numbers, alright. Not enjoyable by any stretch of the imagination but alright

2). I agree that this film was tonally bad. Zack Snyder isn;t good at changing the pace, lightening things up, and more. But it needs to get fleshed out more, and this movie lacked fleshing out.

3). I felt the whole "Cyborgl, Flash, etc" in the middle was a bit of a fan service wank more than anything else.

4). i like this Lois Lane. I dislike this Lex Luthor.


5). Glad I saw it in the theaters though.

[rjolley]

Saw this with my wife last night. About half way in, she started complaining about not being able to follow it and agreed a to an large extent. The movie jumped around a bit too much. They tried to stuff all of Marvel's set up movies for Avengers into the first 90 minutes and it felt like it. Once they finally got down to the action, the movie felt pretty well paced. We were discussing walking out of the theater before the Martha bit happened. I just threw up my hands and couldn't believe they would make THAT connection change everything. I know Bruce's parents are his driving force, but that was a bit too much.

Overall, it was a good movie with way too much crammed into one movie. I read the initial movie was 4 hours long and the director's cut is 3 hours. Seems like they should've filmed more and split this into 2 movies about 1:45 each. Might've worked better.