Director: Zack Snyder
Distributor: Warner Bros Home Entertainment
Duration: 151 minutes (Theatrical), 182 minutes (Ultimate)
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice: Ultimate Edition (Blu-ray) – Movie Review
Not that long ago Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice hit the theatres and was pretty much burned to the ground due to the negative reviews that quickly ensued. Nonetheless, the ultimate edition of this movie quickly changed the minds of many, be it critics, casual or diehard fans. That being said, we are bias free, as we never did a piece on the movie’s original release and we are lucky enough to jump right in the ultimate release with thirty minutes of extra content. Everything aside, we were just stoked to see a human take on a superhuman, with a dash of Wonder Woman on the side.
When several years ago Metropolis was nearly destroyed by the hands of general Zod (Michael Shannon), Superman (Henry Cavill) was still able to save the day, more or less. While he stopped the evildoer from waltzing over the city, many lives were lost, and others would never be the same ever again. When Superman stops a raid in the Middle East because Lois Lane (Amy Adams) was being held as a hostage, he is getting more and more negative attention. Not only is he under fire by the government, he is also noticed by Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck) who roams the cities at night as the masked vigilante Batman. When a man named Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg) is doing research on a material that could harm the alien superhero, Batman is intrigued and decides to keep tabs on Luthor.
As time progresses the hate for Superman grows more and more, and even Batman, a man who stands for (brutal) justice is starting to hate the man from Krypton more and more. Everything reaches a point where it’s clear that both heroes will soon clash, but those who already know the Superman universe will know that a certain character will probably cause even more mayhem and will present a problem for both parties.
Overall the flow of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is rather slow, especially seeing the Ultimate Edition spans three hours, making it one lengthy superhero movie. Nonetheless, in hindsight some of the longer scenes add a certain value to this grayish flick, which binds everything properly together. That being said, some scenes sometimes feel a bit out of place, or simply in a different style than the rest of the movie. One thing however the movie should be commended for is the beautiful sceneries and the overall atmosphere. All of that being said, this movie’s problem is probably its length, certain slow moving scenes and perhaps the director’s attempt of making things look too grey and gritty, which is seemingly becoming Zack Snyder’s thing, which you’ll either love or hate.
This story builds further on the knowledge of those who have already seen Man of Steel (2013), thus granting you the necessary knowledge of the current Superman. Nonetheless, you’ll get a bit of a recap of what occurred in the 2013 flick of the modernized reporter/alien, while you’ll also get a small introduction of Batman, who will probably need no further explanation. As the creators have chosen Ben Affleck as the new Batman, instead of Christian Bale, they also added a bit of his origin in the mix, while they clearly do not intend to make a separate movie of him after the trilogy that dates back a few years. It’s clear that DC is also working on a high number of movies, which will overlap and refer to one another, like Marvel is currently doing with their universe. Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) gets a small role in this flick, and references are made to Cyborg, Aquaman and The Flash, the latter of course being played by another actor than in the current, popular, series. Overall, this movie sets a decent foundation for said universe to properly kick off.
Truth be told, it’s hard to top Christian Bale’s performance in the last Batman trilogy but Ben Affleck does a great job in upholding a rather badass image Batman has received thanks to said movies. Nonetheless, without an actual movie revolving around the masked vigilante, his role might pale in comparison with Henry Cavill’s character, Superman. Other than that, all acting performances are solid as well, but perhaps Alfred, who is played by Jeremy Irons feels a bit out of place. The old and relaxed butler makes way for a tech-savvy engineer who pretty much provides Batman with all his nifty trinkets and armors.
This Blu-ray Ultimate Edition comes with more than two hours worth of special features which go beyond simple discussions of key scenes of the movie or a making of, but they tend to explore this cinematic universe even further. You’ll see snippets of other movies to come, indepth looks of Wonder Woman, Batman and Superman and other pieces revolving around certain choices behind this movie. The bonus content on this release adds a lot of value to the entire package.
Conclusion
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice might have had a rowdy and disappointing start when it was still playing in theatres around the globe, it seemed to have righted many of its wrongs with the Ultimate Edition. Not only does this package offer you a decent movie experience, the extras amount to several hours of fun facts about DC and its superheroes. If you’re a fan of DC, and you love some extra snippets that are not only about the movie, this release might prove to be worth your while.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice: Ultimate Edition (Blu-ray) - Movie Review,
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