Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice [Ultimate Edition] [Blu-ray] [2016]

Here is the first thing that needs to be understood about Batman V Superman (BVS): it is not a feel good super hero movie for kids, rather it is a movie that is basically rated R, in fact the director's/ultimate cut is rated R, and is a movie that explores the dark and dangerous side of having "super heroes" exist on Earth. The second thing that needs to be understood is that BVS received disastrous reviews when it was released in theaters and mostly because critics felt the movie "took itself too seriously." So if you are going to give this movie a chance I ask that you put everything you heard aside and make up your own mind. As a helpful measure to understand if you'll even like this movie try to remember if you enjoyed Man of Steel, if you did then think of this movie as Man of Steel 2 mixed in with The Dark Knight and you've got a good idea of the serious tone and weighty, mature themes that the film will deal with. The third things that has to be understood is that if you missed the theatrical release of this movie but are still on the fence about seeing it then it's best you watch the Director's/Ultimate cut of the movie that fleshes out what was already a solid story and connects the dots of the plot more precisely, most specifically in regards to Lex Luthor's devious plan. I look at BVS as the super hero movie that a lot of grown up comic book/and even action fans have been waiting for that deals with tough subjects ranging from the nature of God, the nature of having power (superhuman and human/scientific/technological), to what true justice means, to what the obligations of individual citizens are to uphold the law and protect basic human values. You have to realize that Super Heroes are great metaphors for all our fantasies, desires, and the best and worst aspects of who we are as humans. This movie is a celebration of the power of comic books to help us look inward and examine exactly who we are and what we stand for. And don't get me wrong there is plenty of action and the Blu Ray is a blast with a first class audio and video that will give your home theater a workout but this movie is best enjoyed when you are not comparing it with other movies (Marvel specifically) and just let it play out as it's own story. So for serious comic book fans and action movie fans and those looking for something different in a super hero film, I encourage you to add BVS to your collection, especially for the Ultimate Cut. This isn't cheap DC Universe World Building, this is a stand alone movie about the price of having Superman existing on Earth. So it is a sequel to Man of Steel but also the introduction to arguably the best Batman on film. Oh and Wonder Woman is truly ready to win the hearts of cinema goers world wide. She's one of the classic superheros finally brought to life on the big screen and she stands strong besides Batman and Superman. I've watched this movie several times and it gets better with each viewing because it has a lot of heart and a lot to say. It's richly packed with big themes, great action, strong performances, and will reward patient views who like their movies to take chances once in a while to say something.

Maybe minor spoilers... It's unfortunate that Ben Affleck's debut as Batman was in this film. Overall it was a great Batman film, but the direction was so scattershot that I had no idea what the focus was supposed to be. I was waiting for some "ah-ha" moment that never came and just ended up with more questions. Now I will say, I am not the biggest DC fanboy so some references were over my head anyway, but I went into this film with a clean slate in terms of cinematic universe lines. Just some quick points for me: -Best thing by far was Ben Affleck as Batman. UNFORTUNATELY, his best part was spoiled by the trailer and it was the perfectly done "warehouse" scene. I am a huge gamer and the second I saw him move the first thing I said was "Arkham." He pulled it off perfectly. If you don't know what I'm talking about, look up Batman Arkham Freeflow fighting and you'll see. -Jeremy's Iron (Simpson joke there...I know it's Jeremy Irons :) was perfect as a younger Alfred. Nothing against Michael Caine (he's already amazing in everything), but it's good to see a more youthful and smart-mouthed Alfred to keep Bruce in line. -Although people didn't seem to think so, I thought Diane Lane was, is still, a perfect Martha Kent. She was the lone bright spot in any Superman parts for me. I like their little talk when she says something like "be their everything, or be nothing. You don't owe these people anything." That's very true and I like how she tried to keep Clark in line to what they tried to teach him on how to use his powers. UNFORTUNATELY, Superman decides to mope around for hours on end watching CNN and how they badmouth him. Let's face it, Superman could basically solve most of these "problems" in a blink of an eye but he's just kind of wasted power. -Worst part was almost everything else unfortunately. Superman was average at best, but the sloppy story had me just kind of along for the ride. Whatever they were trying to do with Lex Luthor was a terrible idea in my opinion. A very wasted opportunity as he seemed so twitchy and, again all-over-the-place attitude. -If you haven't seen already, the trailers spoil so much, especially the "epic" end battle that came out of nowhere. Speaking of fighting in general, for a film billed as Batman v. Superman there was very little fighting for a movie this long. -Lots of wasted talent. Okamoto Tao...not really sure what they were trying to do with her as she just kind of walks around in her scenes. She's a beautiful woman and was wasted entirely. The entire Justice League thing was way too tacked on...and also Wonder Woman. Again, so sloppily thrown together plot that basically saw the DC Universe trying to put some cohesion together for a big team movie it seems. Instead of this method, I would have liked to have seen more flushed out characters and DC/WB make coinciding films so that we can get a feel for these characters more than just a quick blirb of videos. Oh well...so goes the film industry. Recommend only when on sale or if you're a huge comic book fan.

Batman vs., Superman: Dawn of Justice is the setup of DC Comic book universe that will ultimately lead into the Justice League. Henry Cavill reprises his role as Superman, the man from Krypton who saved Planet Earth from the evil General Zod. Ben Affleck joins the cast as Bruce Wayne and Wayne's alter ego Batman. Also joining the cast Gal Gadot as Diana Prince aka Wonder Woman. The movie begins where Man of Steel left off. Bruce Wayne witnesses the destruction of Metropolis because of the epic battle between General Zod and Superman. Wayne immediately distrusts the Man of Steel, he believes Superman's actions are irresponsible and his alien powers are not to be trusted as Wayne believes he can be easily corrupted. The film moves forward 18 months and we meet the main protagonist of the film Lex Luther, Superman's arch-nemesis played by Jesse Eisenberg. Luther's master plan is to discredit Superman and tarnish his savior image and pitting Superman vs. Batman in the process. A lot worked for this film. Gal Gadot stole the show. Her portrayal of Wonder Woman was awesome. After watching her embrace this role, I cannot wait for her stand alone film. 2017 cannot come too soon. Surprisingly Ben Affleck was awesome. I was completely worried when they announced he would be playing the role of Batman. I remember his Daredevil film and how disappointed I was with the film. I did not expect him able to carry another superhero role let alone Batman. The tone of the film is a plus as well. The film is dark and gritty, a grownup superhero film, not one where a guy flies around calling people names of characters of other big films because they look like them or constant silly jokes. Doomsday was also pretty cool; he was created different than in the comics but looked perfect for the part. There are a couple things that do not work. The story at times drags a little but not too much where you will be bored with the film. Also, some characters are a tad underdeveloped like Holly Hunter as Senator Finch. At times she seems like she wants to be good and there times she wants to be bad, she can't decide. Lex Luther was off. He seemed more like The Joker than Luther as he was portrayed as a psychopath not a sociopath. Eisenberg's portrayal was at times over the top, but not overly annoying. I found myself OK with him and at times frustrated with him. Overall I enjoyed Batman vs. Superman. Is the film perfect? No, no film is no matter what anyone says. Is this the best superhero film, no it is not the best. Fans of Frank Miller's Dark Knight and The Death of Superman will appreciate this film. Marvel fans will pick this part just to find ways to hate this. Everything they criticized the film to me, they praised about The Avengers. Am I a DC fan boy that hates Marvel? No I am not. Guardians of the Galaxy, Deadpool, Captain America: Winter's Solider, X-Men: First Class, and X-Men: Days of Future Past are some of my favorite films. I tell everybody, see the film for yourself as everyone has different tastes.

****SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW**** I did not see the theatrical version and based on initial reviews and comments I am extremely happy I didn't. I decided to take a chance on this since the extra 30 minutes (from what i was told) helped the story tremendously. I will start with the characters. Affleck did an ok job as Bruce Wayne, but the story back story was done horribly and there are always variations from movie to movie on what happened and it gets old fast. If anyone doesnt know the back story of the Wayne family, then there is no need to rehash it in every single movie with batman in the title. the batman flashbacks to his childhood were useless. Alfred came across at a poor attempt to be an older more hammered version of Robert Downey Jr. Wonder Woman had a solid performance, but again the back story was terrible and this along with other nods towards, cyborg, flash, and aquaman showed this was really a terrible story designed to tell you about what other movies DC has coming in the future. Superman was spot on as was his last role. big fan of Super Henry C. Lex Luthor...I am on the fence with this one. A lot of people hated him in this role, but I didnt mind him as much as I thought I would based on the reviews. He was a bit cartoonish at times, and Lex Luthor, at this point of the Batman V Superman world would have already been well known to all as a super villain. They dropped the ball on the story here so its hard to tell if this was bad casting or just a bad approach to the character. Doomsday...not sure what to say about this other than there are 3 other movies that you could say were used to develop his image, a sort of Love Child from the following movies: The new steroid-infused Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The Cave Troll from Lord of the Rings and lastly the Abomination in the Incredible Hulk. i think the character issues cause enough of an issue, so i wont even waste much time on the story, that isnt really a story, but things happen and then other stuff happens and things blow up and batman hates superman, and people die, then superman is framed, and batman hates him some more, then they fight and then batman loves superman and they are friends, and then a hot wonder woman fights with them, and things die and more explosions and then it ends in a funeral, but only sort of because we all know the person in the coffin isnt actually dead..AND OMG thats the movie.. 3 stars for some moments of cool effects and since it could have been worse (Ben Affleck's Daredevil, Jennifer Gardner's Electra, Superman Returns (sorry Brandon Roth), all the mortal combat movies etc.).

The expectations for two of D.C.'s greatest characters coming together in a film were high, and I had such high hopes, since the stories from the comics were so good. Unfortunately, they tried to do too much, too quickly and too soon. Bruce Wayne/Batman didn't come across as brooding, dark, but heroic, even if a vigilante. Instead, he comes across as a brutal dictator and murderer, no better than the people he fought, and if you didn't like his decision, then God help you; deciding what is best for him, you, me and the world at large and to heck with anyone else opinions. I really didn't care for his storyline at all and the suit he wore, it was unrealistic. The man wouldn't have been able to turn his head. Clark Kent/Superman had the better storyline, it was deeper and more thoughtful, but I felt it was not developed as well as it could have been. Plus, the fact that Superman barely has any lines in this movie. It was cool to see Wonder Woman, but I would have preferred her to be introduced in her own film, instead of briefly in this one. And Lex Luthor, I hated him. He's a cool, calculated, somewhat older, genius and mastermind, who thinks before he reacts. They turned him into an annoying brat, that I'm still not sure what his purpose/plan was. And all I can say is Zod and Doomsday are NOT the same person, period! This film had talented actors, a massive budget, a huge fan base ready to love it, only to not spend some of that time and money of coming up with an equally incredible storyline. As much as D.C. films want to do thier own thing, and not be accused of copying, they really need to look at how Marvel/Disney are creating their franchise; It works. This film had so much potential, could have been so much more, but fizzled out instead. I hope, when these two iconic characters meet again (and they will), that they will have learned that less can be more and substance does matter over huge special effects.

Batman V Superman Dawn of Justice has been criticized for not being what it should be or being too dark well guess what...nobody cares about what movies should be anymore..they are what they are. This movie was a huge moneymaker regardless of all the bad reviews etc. Ben Affleck plays a truly remarkable Batman/Bruce Wayne, and Gal Gadot does an excellent job as Wonder Woman..The story is pretty simple both Batman and Superman lead separate lives in different places..Gotham City and Metropolis..however whiz kid Lex Luthor does what he does best...plays everybody and causes the two most popular superheroes to clash and literally kill each other. When he doesn't succeed in that happening he uses General Zod's dead body, and DNA and forges it with his blood to create a super kryptonian deformity Doomsday to attack and destroy them both. Wonder Woman shows up to help out both Superman and Batman. The fight scenes, action, editing, music, photography, and choreography is fantastic throughout the film. There are subtle references from The Dark Knight franchise as well as Man of Steel..The rest of the Justice League aka The Metahumans have small cameos..Cyborg, Flash, Aquaman but don't enter the fray to help out yet. I won't reveal what happens but I can tell you this the D.C. Heroes are going to have their hands full with many more movies, stories, fights, adventures and villains(Darkseid) I saw this movie twice at the theaters & twice on Blu-ray and its an excellent entry in the DC Superheroes Saga of Films..if you don't like it for whoever is in it, or how dark it is..its real simple don't watch it. I have a feeling the rest of the DC Expanded Universe are going to go more in a direction of the 70's Challenge of the Super-friends T.V. Series and stray away from the more dark/brooding Man of Steel, Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad..Buckle up Comic fans, nerds, and geeks our time is now!!

While the previously unreleased material do add a little more context to what is going on, it does not fill in all the holes that exist in this film. With that said, this is still a highly enjoyable film that is at the level of the early MCU films. One of the issues that the DCEU movies are running into is that they are focusing on their most well known characters, and having to try and introduce them as something new. The MCU started with characters like Iron Man and Captain America, while well known, were not the foremost characters of the Marvel comic universe. They certainly are not at the level of Batman and Superman in terms of being known characters in popular culture. So, the introduction of these characters did have some unknown qualities to them. Batman and Superman are so well known that there is no way to really introduce the characters without creating some serious changes. Thus we get a sullen Superman, and a murderous Batman. Where BvS seems to get right, and what might ultimately be the DCEU's path to righting the ship, is with Wonder Woman. She is certainly one of the better parts of BvS. Early previews of her standalone film also provide hope. What makes Wonder Woman such a better character to follow in the DCEU than Batman and Superman is that she is a known character, but few non-comic book people could really say anything substantive about her. This allows for a film similar to Iron Man. A movie about a known character, but is able to tell a story that a large segment of the audience might not know. What all of this amounts to is that this is a worthwhile purchase because it could be the start of a good thing, much like the early films of the MCU.

I went into this movie as open minded as I could (Man of Steel left much to be desired). I had hopes that they tweaked their flaws and made their first team-up movies a great one, but for me it didn't happen. By no means is it a bad movie, however it isn't particularly great. Another consistently Dark movie, both in content and filmography. There wasn't much of a plot to the movie and what little it had wasn't that great. The cinematography is nice in some spots, but the overall darkness takes it down a notch. The acting is nice, but I'm not a huge fan of some of the actor/actress choices (Lex Luther, Wonder Woman, and 50/50 on Batman). I think the final fight sequence was rushed and the outcome was pointless (Granted I can see their reason, but it wasn't needed). In my opinion they over powered Wonder Woman, given that we don't know anything about her feats for the DC Movie-verse. One of the most powerful beings in the comic books (Villian of the movie) is basically beat down by someone who has had like 10 mins of screen time and basically no one knows much about her. It's just a little much to take in. Even though I wasn't pleased with what they did with her, she kind of stole the show from the boys. Finally, it was a bit long for the amount of plot there was. It was kind of drawn out and used a lot of filler. It could have been a better overall movie, but it could have been much worse. I think Batman is overrated, but that's the only character WB has wanted to utilize, until now. I think they rushed to throw him into a team-up movie (Same with Wonder Woman). Here's to a brighter future (hopefully). Oh and MARTHA?