Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is such a movie that continues to divide the fans to date. While Zack Snyder’s vision looked impressive to many, there is a major section that doesn’t feel the same about it. Be it the most controversial “Martha” moment or the tonality, several reasons have often seen the movie being subjected to wide discussions regarding its pros and cons.
Zack Snyder is a topic that still polarizes DC fans to date. Even though many people believe that he was a crucial key to DC’s success which they failed to utilize, it can’t be denied that his movies are plagued with countless controversial creative choices. Batman v Superman is one of the best examples of this. Despite the release of the director’s cut titled Ultimate Edition, it was not enough to fix everything.
Here we have listed 8 bitter truths in Batman v Superman which speaks well about the problematic aspects of the movie that are evident to date:
8. Lex Luthor’s motivations were extremely unclear
One of the most problematic aspects of Dawn of Justice was Jesse Eisenberg’s Lex Luthor. One of the greatest comic book villains of all time didn’t even have a clear motivation and path in the movie. The fans were highly confused if his objective was to make Superman bad in the public eye, kill him, or be one of those “some men” who “just want to watch the world burn” as described by Michael Caine’s Alfred Pennyworth in The Dark Knight.
7. Lois Lane’s character was irritating at best
Even though Amy Adams is considered one of the best actresses of recent times, the same can’t be said about her portrayal of Lois Lane. The complaints and highly divided reception to Lois Lane’s character have been there since Zack Snyder‘s Man of Steel was released. Batman v Superman only pushed it further as her presence didn’t make any sense in several portions of the movie that ruined the experience of those scenes. The love story between her and Clark didn’t land as well and she was reduced to just a damsel in distress who constantly needed to be rescued.
6. Zack Snyder didn’t understand Superman’s character
Following the portrayal of Superman in Man of Steel and Batman v Superman, there is no harm in saying that Henry Cavill‘s superhero was extremely misunderstood by the fan-favorite director. While the first movie still presented the Last Son of Krypton as a beacon of hope, the latter completely lost it in a bleak atmosphere of pessimism. There is hardly any moment for Superman to cheer up in the movie. On top of it, the citizens of Metropolis also seemed to have a very mixed reception to the superhero after him nearly destroying the city during the events of the first movie. This had a huge impact on the persona of Kal-El.
5. Lex Luthor’s miscast is worth remembering
No matter how much we praise the Snyder Verse movies for their outstanding casting of a perfect Superman by Henry Cavill or the Batfleck, Jesse Eisenberg’s Lex Luthor will be remembered as one of the greatest miscasts of all time. Starting from his appearance to his motivations, nothing was even close to the comic book versions of one of the greatest villains of all time. Even if solely compared to the live-action iterations of the character, Jesse Eisenberg falls far behind.
4. The Death of Superman didn’t get the treatment it deserved
The Death of the Last Son of Krypton was meant to be one of the most important things in the whole movie but even the momentary deaths in Avengers: Infinity War were more impactful. The death of Henry Cavill’s character didn’t make much sense and took place way early in the cinematic universe that was still in its initial stages. Despite looking impactful from a screenplay perspective, the moment that followed after that widely controversial final battle didn’t provide it with the emotional depth it deserved. Moreover, the whole Doomsday plot seemed forced in the movie and was not completely necessary.
3. The pressure of setting up DCEU ruined most of it
One of the most important lessons needed by the DC is to have patience and move slowly and steadily. Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither was the MCU. But their urgency in setting up a cinematic universe like their rival was so much that it ruined the movie. The Zack Snyder movie was already burdened to introduce a character like Batman. On top of that, it also took the responsibility of Wonder Woman and countless teases for a Justice League movie and the future of DCEU that forced the movie to have far more materials than what it could process.
2. The plot of the movie is too dark and unnecessarily complicated
While it can be said that it was Zack Snyder’s personal choice to make the movies gritty and dark, Batman v Superman went severe in several portions. We got to watch a plot too dark and unnecessarily complicated at several places in the movie. Unfortunately, even after so much, neither we get an idea of the clear motivations of Lex Luthor nor understand the whole tussle between the two big forces of DC. The plot also ignored major themes related to the characters, be it Batman’s “No Kill Policy” or Superman’s ever-increasing pessimism.
1. The iconic Martha moment
Here comes the moment that continues to traumatize the viewers to date. One of the most controversial scenes in the history of superhero movies was witnessed when the epic battle between the two giants ended on a completely random note. Just because both Superman and Batman had their mothers’ names, Martha. As ridiculous as it sounds, it’s pathetic to think of such a gigantic dark story ending resulting in such a conclusion. It took no time for the scene to build an unexpected companionship between the heroes while the audience was left fully confused. Interestingly, it gave rise to A Dawn of Countless Memes and a recurring Pop Culture Joke.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and other DC movies can be streamed on Max.
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