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Rewatched Batman v Superman Extended Edition; this version of the movie's pretty good

Sephzilla

Member
The fact that they murder Jimmy Olson in the first five minutes of the movie shows how much contempt the people behind this movie have for the source material.

Also, something that generally doesn't get discussed, is that Superman also murders someone within the first 10 minutes of the movie.
 

Temp_User

Member
Watching Wonder Woman made me dislike BvS even more. The latter as a film comes off as amateurish in retrospect compared to the former.
 

shira

Member
How long was that pointless CG end battle plus the whole underwater spear bullshit.

That's not fair to an audience.
 
If you told 12 year old me that, in the future, there would be a Batman vs Superman movie that I didn't see for AGES after it came out, I would never believe it. And yet, I've still never seen this movie.
 
If you told 12 year old me that, in the future, there would be a Batman vs Superman movie that I didn't see for AGES after it came out, I would never believe it. And yet, I've still never seen this movie.

You're not even curious to see what it's like? Curiosity alone would make me watch it.
 
Can we please stop talking about this movie on GAF? It's not even because I hate it. I actually enjoyed most of it. These threads always turn out repetitive; Everyone is going to try to convince you it's the worst movie in cinematic history. There is no middle ground with this movie for most.
 

emrober5

Member
I will forever defend the ultimate cut. I think it's a solid movie that could be a great movie with a good lex Luthor.

The theatrical cut IS trash in comparison.
 

VeeP

Member
Was the Knightmare scene really that hard to understand? I know some people didn't understand it, some even asked me what the hell that was about after the movie finished. I thought it was pretty obvious. Maybe it's because I read comics?
 
Can we please stop talking about this movie on GAF? It's not even because I hate it. I actually enjoyed most of it. These threads always turn out repetitive; Everyone is going to try to convince you it's the worst movie in cinematic history. There is no middle ground with this movie for most.

yeah, it's weird. "The worst movie I've seen", really? I've seen so many worse movies than that. Freddy Got Fingered is probably the worst of the worst. And I saw it at the theatre!
 

Sephzilla

Member
What I want to know about the Knightmare stuff is why is Batman having nightmares about things he's never seen or even knows exists?
 

cr0w

Old Member
Was the Knightmare scene really that hard to understand? I know some people didn't understand it, some even asked me what the hell that was about after the movie finished. I thought it was pretty obvious. Maybe it's because I read comics?

This is pretty much the answer to most peoples' complaints when they don't understand something in the movie, i.e. the Robin costume, the Knightmare sequence, the Man-Bat reference, etc.

Of course, the fact that there are so many things in the movie that require comic knowledge to fully understand is an issue in itself, but as someone who lived and breathed the comics growing up I was in hog heaven the entire time.

What I want to know about the Knightmare stuff is why is Batman having nightmares about things he's never seen or even knows exists?

It's a premonition triggered by the imminent arrival of Darkseid and Barry's interference with the timeline, not an actual dream per se. I think Darkseid's unseen influence on the DCEU could be a reason for the oppressive tone of the first few movies, his arrival is always preceded by a general enhancement of humanity's darkest tendencies.
 

Shoeless

Member
I think the movie tried to do a lot of interesting things, but it was very uneven. The ideas were good, the execution was a bit clumsy at times. The Bruce Wayne/Alfred dynamic was great. Snyder actually does make some good casting choices, even if he doesn't always give them great direction, but Jeremy Irons as a tired, more combative Alfred that has seen too much of how Bruce Wayne has lost the way was a great choice.

I liked that they tried to give Clark a bit more to do as an actual journalist, and the extended scenes give you more of that. I wished they'd made his view on Batman a little less black and white, though. John Byrne, when he was rebooting Superman post-crisis in the 80s did a nice take on the new Superman/Batman dynamic where Superman basically realized just how corrupt and ambiguous Gotham and its criminal underworld was, and how the moral simplicity that worked so well for him in Metropolis wasn't going to cut it in Gotham, and that's why Batman acted the way he did.

I wish there had been a bit more give-and-take between the two in terms of their attitudes towards each other. Clark shouldn't have automatically thought "Batman executes criminals indirectly with his brand, therefore, he's bad and needs to go to jail." And Batman should have had more nuance to his argument. On the face of it, I don't have an issue even with his "If there's even a 1% chance that he's going to be evil, we have to take that chance as a given," since that's often the argument people use for "smaller scale" convicted criminals like rapists and pedophiles and why they shouldn't be allowed to work with children and women. But I think it would have been more justified for him to believe this danger not because of Superman, but because of US. I would have found it more realistic to think his big worry would be that Superman wants to do good, and wants a safe, orderly society, and if humanity can't get its act together, Superman will force the issue and create society that does this. I could see how Batman, being a cynic about humanity's inherent goodness, would find that to be a realistic threat, that people always complain that God never steps in fixes things. Well, this god will do just that, and take away your freedom in order to do it, because he's already decided he gave you a shot and you blew it.

There was a lot of interesting opportunities here for the movie to explore different kinds of heroism and how they work--or don't--in modern society, but a lot of that got undercut by Lex Luthor's manipulations which always strangled these ideas before they got a chance to get off the ground. Like the Senate hearing blowing up. Superman really should have had a chance to speak. There should have been an argument withe everyone, including Superman, questioning his role.
 
A bad movie that has a longer cut is just a longer bad movie.

Not true. Depending on how good or bad the editing is, editing can make a good movie mediocre to bad and a movie that would have been bad good.

If OP thought the lack of coherency was bad in the theatrical cut was it's worst flaw and that was caused by editing, the extended cut would be good while the theatrical cut is bad.
 
yeah, it's weird. "The worst movie I've seen", really? I've seen so many worse movies than that. Freddy Got Fingered is probably the worst of the worst. And I saw it at the theatre!
Fans really take these characters to heart; So when they get a version they're not happy with, it gets personal for them. How else do you explain the hate Snyder gets? He works in a genre with one of the worst fanbases in the industry. They'll do everything they can to paint him as an abomination to cinema.
 

cr0w

Old Member
I think the movie tried to do a lot of interesting things, but it was very uneven. The ideas were good, the execution was a bit clumsy at times. The Bruce Wayne/Alfred dynamic was great. Snyder actually does make some good casting choices, even if he doesn't always give them great direction, but Jeremy Irons as a tired, more combative Alfred that has seen too much of how Bruce Wayne has lost the way was a great choice.

I liked that they tried to give Clark a bit more to do as an actual journalist, and the extended scenes give you more of that. I wished they'd made his view on Batman a little less black and white, though. John Byrne, when he was rebooting Superman post-crisis in the 80s did a nice take on the new Superman/Batman dynamic where Superman basically realized just how corrupt and ambiguous Gotham and its criminal underworld was, and how the moral simplicity that worked so well for him in Metropolis wasn't going to cut it in Gotham, and that's why Batman acted the way he did.

I wish there had been a bit more give-and-take between the two in terms of their attitudes towards each other. Clark shouldn't have automatically thought "Batman executes criminals indirectly with his brand, therefore, he's bad and needs to go to jail." And Batman should have had more nuance to his argument. On the face of it, I don't have an issue even with his "If there's even a 1% chance that he's going to be evil, we have to take that chance as a given," since that's often the argument people use for "smaller scale" convicted criminals like rapists and pedophiles and why they shouldn't be allowed to work with children and women. But I think it would have been more justified for him to believe this danger not because of Superman, but because of US. I would have found it more realistic to think his big worry would be that Superman wants to do good, and wants a safe, orderly society, and if humanity can't get its act together, Superman will force the issue and create society that does this. I could see how Batman, being a cynic about humanity's inherent goodness, would find that to be a realistic threat, that people always complain that God never steps in fixes things. Well, this god will do just that, and take away your freedom in order to do it, because he's already decided he gave you a shot and you blew it.

There was a lot of interesting opportunities here for the movie to explore different kinds of heroism and how they work--or don't--in modern society, but a lot of that got undercut by Lex Luthor's manipulations which always strangled these ideas before they got a chance to get off the ground. Like the Senate hearing blowing up. Superman really should have had a chance to speak. There should have been an argument withe everyone, including Superman, questioning his role.

Speaking of '80s Batman and Superman stories, I'd love to see a scene like this one day.

Batman-Punching-Superman-Death-in-the-Family.jpg

get
 

JB1981

Member
yes the World's Greatest Detective spend a year obsessed w Superman and does NO detective work, never looks into Superman's human parentage, never looks into the international incident at the center of the movie, just spends all day getting mad at the news.

worst Batman

He doesn't do any detective work about Superman? I am fairly certain he does do detective work since I saw him explain to Alfred that he discovered a weapon capable of degrading Kryptonian cells. So he evidently knows where Kal comes from and has learned about something that could potentially kill him, which was his mission.
 
I can't imagine this thread going well for you OP.

But I absolutely agree with you. The theatrical was pretty terrible but the Ultimate Cut is great.
 

cr0w

Old Member
I still find it fascinating how polarizing this movie is.

Something like Civil War, people can debate and share opinions and generally be decent human beings about, but for BvS there's absolute rigidity on both sides and there will be literally no flexibility or thought put into understanding a differing point of view. I can't think of another movie that's been this divisive. Even A Serbian Film has more nuanced debate surrounding it.
 

Lothars

Member
As someone deeply familiar with DC, the Knightmare sequence was fucking awesome. Parademons, Omega, time traveling Flash. Awesome.


BvS was a good movie, not great like MoS and WW, but good. The only stinker so far in the DCEU has been SS.
You have that reversed the only good dc movie is Wonder Woman. BvS and man of steel are terrible movies that should be ignored especially with the terrible superman. SS is better than those two but still not very good. Batman was the only redeeming part of bvs but still wouldn't want to rewatch them.
 
This is the only version I saw. A boring and dumb movie, I can't even imagine how bad the theatrical must have been if this version is supposedly much better. At least the theatrical would have been less of it, so I would assume that would be better by default.
 

cr0w

Old Member
As someone deeply familiar with DC, the Knightmare sequence was fucking awesome. Parademons, Omega, time traveling Flash. Awesome.


BvS was a good movie, not great like MoS and WW, but good. The only stinker so far in the DCEU has been SS.

giphy.gif
 

Addi

Member
You have that reversed the only good dc movie is Wonder Woman. BvS and man of steel are terrible movies that should be ignored especially with the terrible superman. SS is better than those two but still not very good. Batman was the only redeeming part of bvs but still wouldn't want to rewatch them.

SS is the worst piece of garbage I have ever seen at that budget level, I really don't understand how MoS and BvS can be seen as worse movies. Those two movies make unpopular choices and have their issues, but SS does filmmaking mistakes not even film students would do. Fuck that movie.
 
yes the World's Greatest Detective spend a year obsessed w Superman and does NO detective work, never looks into Superman's human parentage, never looks into the international incident at the center of the movie, just spends all day getting mad at the news.

worst Batman
Batman is basically three taco bowls away from being Donald Trump.
 

Shoeless

Member
Speaking of '80s Batman and Superman stories, I'd love to see a scene like this one day.

Batman-Punching-Superman-Death-in-the-Family.jpg

get

Man, the pre-Crisis 80s... It was such a weird time back then. Superman and Batman as BFFs, the Justice League having an annual party with the Justice Society via a teleportation machine that allowed them to cross parallel dimensions. Firestorm crushing on Power Girl, the Legion of Superheroes legitimately having members like Bouncing Boy and Matter-Eater-Lad. Such a crazy time.
 

RoH

Member
I loved the extend cut. As for Wonder Woman--- it was too happy for my tastes. I prefer the darker D.C. Universe we currently have.
 

Caja 117

Member
It's a premonition triggered by the imminent arrival of Darkseid and Barry's interference with the timeline, not an actual dream per se. I think Darkseid's unseen influence on the DCEU could be a reason for the oppressive tone of the first few movies, his arrival is always preceded by a general enhancement of humanity's darkest tendencies.

huh? I dint knew this, this could help explain a lot if they decide to use this.

I Love BvS one of the best Comic book movie that I have seen, I really need to get my hands on the extended edition. and while I know a lot of people are not too fond of the justice league cameo scene, for me it was one of the most exciting moments, even today I still get goosebumps watching that scene.

Batman is basically three taco bowls away from being Donald Trump.


Let me know when Trump can either weaponize an Element or after observing a fight give tips on weakness to win over an opponent.
 

Sojgat

Member
It's the cut that should've been released theatrically because it at least makes sense, but it's still mostly bad.

The fact that they murder Jimmy Olson in the first five minutes of the movie shows how much contempt the people behind this movie have for the source material.

For me, this is a big part of why the movie is irredeemable. Snyder had a beloved character shot point blank in the head because he thought it would be "fun"

Such edgelord garbage.
 

jelly

Member
It needed much less than more and at least it wouldn't have dragged for an eternity. The film was a wreck either way, should have never been made as it was. I would have had Lois going after Batman for the scoop of a lifetime which gives her and Clark something to do while he confronts Batman on his methods. There is enough there without big monster thing, Lex and you could even have Jimmy being himself looking for the Bat at night.
 

Superflat

Member
BvS Extended actually has scenes that alter the film's structure significantly, but it doesn't really save it because aside from things being left out, I felt like there was a lot of bad that was left in.

The conspiracy plot against Superman didn't make sense (bullets and bombs isn't his MO), and Louis Lane's goose chase mission just to find out it was Lexcorp bullets was like a slap to the face you knew you were getting 2 hours ago. Lane tossing the spear into the well, only to run back to it and get herself endangered again is completely pointless, and feels created just so Superman can have his dialogue with her before going stabby with the spear. Jittery Lex tricking a Kryptonian ship into creating life is just... what. Lex Luthor having no real motives in mind, but forces a battle between Batman and Superman while creating Doomsday just in case it doesn't work out? And don't get me started on Martha.

All in all when it wasn't frustrating, it was boring, and when it was neither it was actually cool and fun. But most of the film was filled with boring or frustrating sequences, accented by cool moments.
 

Shoeless

Member
Yeah, he uses the Anti-Life Equation to take over and influence peoples' minds. Influences their "dark side", if you will.

I'm super curious about whether or not the Snyderverse will make use of the Anti-Life Equation, or whether they'll come up with some other conceit. I've always loved the crazy New Gods stuff Kirby injected into the DC comic book universe and the idea and power of an "anti-life equation" has always appealed to me.

But, I can also see how current decision makers would look at the basic concept, without looking at all the ways different writers have expressed it and think, "Wait, so you want us to say the Final Boss of this universe is... math? No. No way, it won't fly. I KNOW! Let's have a big CG army! They'll never see that coming!"
 

cr0w

Old Member
I'm super curious about whether or not the Snyderverse will make use of the Anti-Life Equation, or whether they'll come up with some other conceit. I've always loved the crazy New Gods stuff Kirby injected into the DC comic book universe and the idea and power of an "anti-life equation" has always appealed to me.

But, I can also see how current decision makers would look at the basic concept, without looking at all the ways different writers have expressed it and think, "Wait, so you want us to say the Final Boss of this universe is... math? No. No way, it won't fly. I KNOW! Let's have a big CG army! They'll never see that coming!"

Well I mean, they've already gone super sci-fi with Man of Steel, we've seen motherfucking Steppenwolf already, and they've already used Mother Boxes. They've also been unafraid to use comic concepts that have (as we've seen in this thread) confused the shit out of general audiences that aren't familiar with the comics, so them using the Anti-Life Equation wouldn't be surprising.
 
Eisenberg's Luthor was worse than Leto's Joker. What a stupid take on the character.

Eisenberg's casting and the way Luthor was written/performed was probably the worst thing about the movie to me. His speech and mannerisms seemed more akin to a Joker or Riddler type character than Lex Luthor.
 

Ashhong

Member
If you told 12 year old me that, in the future, there would be a Batman vs Superman movie that I didn't see for AGES after it came out, I would never believe it. And yet, I've still never seen this movie.

This seems like the wrong way to approach things. Considering the fact that there are plenty of people out there that enjoy the movie, there's at least a chance that you do as well. Although you seem to have made up your mind about it already so you will probably hate it no matter what.

Eisenberg's casting and the way Luthor was written/performed was probably the worst thing about the movie to me. He speech and mannerisms seemed more akin to a Joker or Riddler type character than Lex Luthor.

All of it is gone in the end though and Lex implies he was doing it all so that he could use the insanity defense
 

cr0w

Old Member
Eisenberg's casting and the way Luthor was written/performed was probably the worst thing about the movie to me. He speech and mannerisms seemed more akin to a Joker or Riddler type character than Lex Luthor.

Eisenberg's Luthor was performed spectacularly well given how the character was written as a millennial billionaire on the autism spectrum.

It's just not the traditional Luthor fans wanted or expected.
 

Shoeless

Member
Well I mean, they've already gone super sci-fi with Man of Steel, we've seen motherfucking Steppenwolf already, and they've already used Mother Boxes. They've also been unafraid to use comic concepts that have (as we've seen in this thread) confused the shit out of general audiences that aren't familiar with the comics, so them using the Anti-Life Equation wouldn't be surprising.

Yeah, I was NOT expecting Steppenwolf to look that way. Then again, they couldn't really go with his original look. And their take on the Mother Boxes was interesting, although I'll miss the "pingpingping!" sound effect they used to write in whenever they used them.

Really curious about how closely they'll stick to Darkseid's look when he finally puts in an appearance, and whether or not they'll let him have--and use--his Omega Beams, and what that'll look like.

It's probably also never going to happen, but if they have a cameo with Metron in his chair, or even go so far as to show that crazy Source Wall, I'd completely lose it. That would be ultimate fan service for me, especially if they throw in some oscillating Kirby-Dots somewhere.
 

godhandiscen

There are millions of whiny 5-year olds on Earth, and I AM THEIR KING.
I really like this movie. I just watched it again last week.
 
Yeah, I was NOT expecting Steppenwolf to look that way. Then again, they couldn't really go with his original look. And their take on the Mother Boxes was interesting, although I'll miss the "pingpingping!" sound effect they used to write in whenever they used them.

Really curious about how closely they'll stick to Darkseid's look when he finally puts in an appearance, and whether or not they'll let him have--and use--his Omega Beams, and what that'll look like.

It's probably also never going to happen, but if they have a cameo with Metron in his chair, or even go so far as to show that crazy Source Wall, I'd completely lose it. That would be ultimate fan service for me, especially if they throw in some oscillating Kirby-Dots somewhere.
I just hope they use Boom Tubes that make the classic boom.

Imagine if the plot of the first Justice League was that Darkseid was trapped in the Source Wall and there is something on Earth that Steppenwolf needs to free him.
 
It's just not the traditional Luthor fans wanted or expected.

I can agree with this. And I still don't want it. I don't mind an alternate take on a character, most of the Jokers over the years have been great (I haven't seen Suicide Squad). However, this version of Luthor doesn't work for me.

All of it is gone in the end though and Lex implies he was doing it all so that he could use the insanity defense

That's fine but he still doesn't look or sound the part, IMO.
 
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