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Batman v Superman Ultimate Cut |OT| - Men are still good (out now)

Ahasverus

Member
Helloo Neogaf, time to revisit your favorite movie of the year. Or more like finally visit it over its ugly sister, because holy shit this is the real deal. Thank you Messypandas for your great banner.

Avaliability watch: July 19th for UK, August 8th for continental Europe.

batman_v_superman_stay_down_banner_by_messypandas-d9jhvo4.png


Batman v Superman UC "Is it worth it for me?" quick guide
- If you haven't watched the film. Watch the UC. Avoid theatrical.
- If you liked the TC. Watch.
- If you were meh on the TC. Watch.
- If you didn't like the TC because of technical reasons (Editing, pacing) but could see some good in there. Watch.
- If you didn't like the TC because of plot/character reasons. Watch maybe.
- If you didn't like the TC because of tone and its dark/depressing nature. Don't watch.
- If you hated the TC with a passion. Don't watch.


Differences between UC and TC
- Africa subplot/scenes expanded and finished. Now it becomes the driving force of the film.
- Stablishing shots for many scenes, some spread out and pacing mostly corrected.
- Lex Luthor's first scenes now rearranged as a single one.
- Dialogue expansions in most old scenes.
- Restored Superman subplot. Batman investigation in Gotham.
- Restored Superman subplot. Early talks with Martha Kent.
- Restored Superman subplot. Invitation to Lex's ball.
- Expanded. Diana and Bruce scene in antiques sale.
- Expanded subplot about Lex Luthor and Senator Finch.
- Restored.
Confession from the black actress paid by Luthor. Death
- Restored. Anatoylev Kynazev (KGBeast) appareances through the movie.
- Restored. Human trafficker subplot. Clark Kent's investigation.
- Restored. Senate scene bombing and aftermath. Superman scenes.
- Restored. Superman's exile.
- Expanded. Luthor's final plot.
- Expanded. Batman v Superman fight.
- Restored. Luthor's encounter with
Steppenwolf
- Expanded. Final fight.
- Restored. Scenes with the MoS smallville cast.
- Restored. Scenes with the Daily Planet cast.
- Expanded. Batman's scene with Lex Luthor.
- Expanded. Epilogue.


TL;DR WHAT IS NEW?
The technical issues like editing are now mostly gone. This cut restores Superman's part of the story, he's now an actual character with dialogue and motivations. It also makes Luthor more ubiquitous. Batman scenes are mostly the same (suspicious, isn't it?). All in all, the UC makes the movie whole on a technical level.


Why is it rated R?
There are some mild nudity shots and a bit of more explicit gun violence/blood splatters. Nothing too major.


But IS IT GOOD NOW?
The answer depends on you. If you don't like the dark deconstruction of your childhood heroes, this is not the movie for you. If you can see pass that, yes, it's an interesting and almost mature (with its flaws, and a very comic-y third act) take on a classic story that might be too convulted for his own good. But that's kinda its charm, it didn't take the easy route. It's a solid good movie, not the new Dark Knight, but perhaps the new Watchmen. Some critics like Schnepp from Collider have done a 180 for the movie. Take that as you will.


But Ahasverus, you sound like this should be nominated for every Oscar forever, what does still not work?
- Some plot contrivances are still there.
- It might be too long.
-
The kryptonite spear retrieval by Lois is still a big hole.
There is no explanation as to why she goes for it.
- We still have no idea how Lex knew who Batman/Superman were.
- The Martha moment is still good on paper, bad on execution.
- It's a sloooooow burn. It starts more like a thriller than an action movie.. then turns into a generic action movie in the third act.
- The motivation/knowledge to create Doomsday is still MIA.
- Superman is a little too tortured by everything. Poor guy.
- The dream scenes are jarring and have no place in the narrative
- The JL cameos are still out of place.
- The action is kind of lackluster and lacks physicality.
-
Batmurder


So, what happened with the theatrical cut?
We don't know, but there have been rumors since forever. The most suspicious one was that Warner Brothers loved Affleck's Batman and ordered to make the movie centric to his character. That one takes off because the cut scenes are mostly Superman's plot.
Other rumor is that the iMAX reels didn't have space to accomodate the whole movie due to size limits.
The other more common sense one says that WB simply wanted more screenings. The fact is that the original cut was ordered by WB, not Snyder, very close to release.


When/Where can I buy it?
All BluRay editions have the UC. Digital is out now on your favorite platfform. Bluray comes out July 19th in US. Check your regional dates. The UC will be avaliable WORLDWIDE, so please refer to your local store for launch dates. It might be out almost everywhere in digital form now.

Here's a good deal from Vudu to buy both the BluRay and the digital edition at a good price.

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The DVD version doesn't have the UC. Avoid at all costs.


BUT MARTHA?
Get over it.
WHY DID YOU SAY THAT NAME
 

SlimySnake

Flashless at the Golden Globes
I fucking hate how they are forcing us to buy digital a month in advance. Is the bitrate on amazon the same as it would be for a bluray? I highly doubt that.

This just reminded me why i dont buy movies anymore.
 

obin_gam

Member
It was quite funny / depressing to see the entirety of Supermans choice to battle Batman in the first place
(the vigilante-thing and murders in prison)
is totally cut out from the theatrical version.
 

LosDaddie

Banned
I haven't decided if I'm buying the bluray when it releases, or on Black Friday for cheap(er). Curious to see the changes.


Helloo Neogaf, time to revisit your favorite movie of the year. Or more like finally visit it over its ugly sister, because holy shit this is the real deal. Thank you Messypandas for your great banner.

How anxious have you been to make this thread?
 
i missed the movie in the theaters due to long work days. Any possibility to see the ultimate cut in germany? or do i have to wait?
 

Staf

Member
Pass. Didn't hate TC but it was such a depressing watch. Don't think i can handle another watch + 30 minutes.
 

DeathoftheEndless

Crashing this plane... with no survivors!
I may watch it out of morbid curiosity, but my biggest problem was the characters, so I don't expect much of an improvement.
 

fallingdove

Member
Looking forward to seeing this tonight. I enjoyed the TC quite a bit despite its flaws. Zack Snyder DCs are have always been better than his TCs. Watchmen TC was meh for me while the Ultimate Directors cut is one of my favorite comic movies.
 

IconGrist

Member
All you really need to know is John Schnepp from Collider just about hated the theatrical cut and talked shit about it as often as possible. Last night he reversed his opinion based on the Ultimate cut. Him and Frosty called it "like a night and day" difference.
 

Ahasverus

Member
Please post your impressions! I loved it of course, thought it was closer to a Nolan movie than MoS.. Until the third act, then the epilogue was Nolan-like again. It's a surprisingly solemn work by Zack.

But I know you won't believe me so please write your conclussions.
So is this for Europe too or us only?
It's worldwide of course. The dates might vary though, see your local iTunes store for reference.
 

Magwik

Banned
From what I began to watch last night, the Africa scene while a tad too long, adds a lot of context to the first act of the film and how the pieces move.
 
Please post your impressions! I loved it of course, thought it was closer to a Nolan movie than MoS.. Until the third act, then the epilogue was Nolan-like again. It's a surprisingly solemn work by Zack.

But I know you won't believe me so please write your conclussions.

It's worldwide of course. The dates might vary though, see your local iTunes store for reference.
Don't have iTunes, but amazon says august 1 and local online store says august 8. so probably around one of those. Might want to mention in the op that it's not out in Europe yet.

The long wait commences.

Edit: otherwise great op. Looking forward to it coming out here.
 
I thought the TC was exactly "meh"

Didn't love it and I didn't hate it. But "meh" for a comic book film with Batman shouldn't have been a reaction. I'll be interested to see how the UC stands up to it.
 
If this really does make the movie much better, I will be glad but at the same time I will be thinking Why the hell did they bother with the terrible Theatrical Cut in the first place ?
 

Magwik

Banned
If this really does make the movie much better, I will be glad but at the same time I will be thinking Why the hell did they bother with the terrible Theatrical Cut in the first place ?
30 minutes less means more showtimes which means more potential $$$. So basically it was hubris that led to a lot of this.
 

massoluk

Banned
I'm offended by this "You're just hating BvS because it deconstruct your favorite Superheroes" narrative. Fuck that.
 

witness

Member
Went with the vudu deal for digital and blu ray, never knew this was a thing before! I wonder if the blu rays won't have the vudu code in them though? So excited to watch this tonight after work.
 

atr0cious

Member
So that vudu disc+digital option does not have enough confirmation notices. I thought I would get a chance to use the credit on my account, but nope, just click and bought. Pretty lame.
 

Bishop89

Member
FUCK YEAH!

Cant wait to see it.


Loved the theatrical cut.

I do agree the editing in the first 20 or so minutes was really shit. But besides that I loved everything else.

Expanded bats vs supes fight? YESS!
 

Ahasverus

Member
I'm offended by this "You're just hating BvS because it deconstruct your favorite Superheroes" narrative. Fuck that.
...? That's not what I'm saying. There is no "just". There are many reasons to hate the TC. That one along with the characters portrayal are the ones that the UC doesn't fix. That's why it's important to point them out.
Expanded bats vs supes fight? YESS!
Don't get too excited lol it's just a couple of shots. The action is barely touched.
 

Grizzlyjin

Supersonic, idiotic, disconnecting, not respecting, who would really ever wanna go and top that
Best thing I can say about the Ultimate Cut is it helps with the coherency of the subplots but the pacing is still way off.

Even in the first hour of the film there are so many things you could just chop off, even differently than what we got in the theatrical version, to flow better into the 2nd Act. The dream sequences still feel out of place. Like they were ideas that they decided to add into the film later in the process but couldn't find a good place to insert them into the story organically.

If you looked at your watch multiple times while seeing the movie in theaters, just ask yourself if you really want more. First time viewing, I would definitely say this is the way to go to minimize confusion. But it's a slog. The titular conflict doesn't even occur until over two hours into the movie.

The internal logic of the film didn't really bother me until the third act. It is what it is. It's divisive and people will probably still be arguing about it.
 

massoluk

Banned
...? That's not what I'm saying. There is no "just". There are many reasons to hate the TC. That one along with the characters portrayal are the ones that the UC doesn't fix. That's why it's important to point them out.

Don't get too excited lol it's just a couple of shots. The action is barely touched.

Nah sorry, it's not this thread, I see the word deconstruct as an excuse before by the person involved with BvS earlier. Please don't be derailed by me.
 
30 minutes less means more showtimes which means more potential $$$. So basically it was hubris that led to a lot of this.

Guess so and it backfired on them too, with it performing worse than WB expected. Hopefully this will fix a lot of the problems I had with it and I can finally enjoy BvS.

I still don't expect it to be the truly epic movie it really should have been and I'm keeping my expectations low, but I can't imagine it to be any worse, so I'm hoping for the best here.
 
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