Film of the Week: Batman Vs Superman: Dawn of Justice (Ultimate Edition)

The main problems I had with Batman Vs Superman: Dawn of Justice was how it appeared to be rushed. They tried to include too many elements into one film, and the character development from the previous film, Man of Steal, didn’t carry over. They seemed to have taken a couple of steps back whilst trying to move forward, and it didn’t work as well as we would have liked.

We, the audience, knew that if and when Batman and Superman ever appeared in film, it would be a monumental occasion, and seeing them battle with each other would only but be the cherry on the cake. A seemingly invincible alien from a distant planet being knocked down onto his knees by a human being. Batman and Superman’s rivalry is as frequent as them working together, so finally seeing a live-action adaptation of that battle needed to be done right or not at all.

Whilst the battle between them was an epic one – Batman most defiantly showed that he is perfectly capable of taking down Superman. True to the comics, Batman did win the fight, it’s only when he discovered that they have mothers with the same name, did Batman instantly become friends with Superman. That moment has been parodied and criticised by fans all over, because we all thought that Superman would have to give it his all to make Bruce see that he needs help. There was no gradual transition, but an instant one, which made the narrative fell a little clunky. Another time with there was no gradual moments was with Lex Luthor. His character development was sudden with hardly any explanation. It felt as if he was just there, and I know he is the one who creates Doomsday, I just didn’t think he was a necessity, especially if they weren’t going to develop his character enough. I can understand why Doomsday is there, to bring Batman and Superman together, but did the plot really need Lex to create Doomsday?

Speaking of undeveloped characters. Wonder Woman. She turned up, then went away again, then turned up again, then went away again, and then turned up in her costume to help Batman and Superman defeat Doomsday. I struggled to see how she fitted in with the overall plot other than to show the audience that there are more people with special powers out in the world, a job that Batman could have done when he found out who the mysterious woman he kept meeting actually is. Don’t get me wrong, they portrayed Wonder Woman well, but her inclusion didn’t feel absolute necessary.

Lois Lane’s character in Man of Steal was tough and took no prisoners. In this film, it seemed that her own role was to be rescued by Superman whenever she tries to help move the story forwards. She played the damsel in distress, which was not who she was in the previous film at all.

Those are all the problems that I had with the film, and the reason why I preferred Captain America: Civil War better, because although they had plenty of characters, every single of them had a reason to be there, and played an important part with moving the story forwards. What Batman Vs Superman did wrong, Captain America did right.

This is where the Ultimate Edition comes in. Adding an extra half-hour to the total run time, increasing the length from 2hrs 30minutes, to 3hrs and 2minutes, including credits, I felt as if I had to give the film a second chance. I knew what the film tried to be, and so with several extra scenes, maybe it finally was what we wanted from the beginning.

So the question is: Is it better than the theoretical version? Well, yes, it is. The main problems that I had with the development of the characters had been fixed. There are more scenes with Lois actually doing some reporting, which in turn is allowing her to be who she was in Man of Steel. There are a few more scenes involving Lex: Explaining who is actually is, his company, and showing the reason why he was going insane in the jail by saying the bells have already been rung. A member of Darksied’s army was shown briefly just before Lex was captured, which is setting up the climatic ending with Justice League. The film feels more necessary than it did before – not too much more, but enough to fill in some plot holes that were left open when the theoretical run finished. There are plenty of questions that need answering, but only the right ones, except:

Why was Wonder Woman there? Even in the extended cut, she still doesn’t really do anything other than just be there to show the audience what we already know – the Flash, Cyborg, and Aquaman are going to appear in the Justice League after appearing in their own solo movie. Again, Batman could have shown us that piece of information; and there still is the moment when Batman instantly becomes friends with Superman – of course they couldn’t cut it out, it needed to show them realising that they need to work together. Frankly, that scene could have been totally different.

It’s immersive. Being 3hrs long, there is a lot to get roped up in. Batman Vs Superman, we all knew would be a massive story, but so is Civil War. Call me a Marval fan boy if you wish, but if they were able to include a massive storyline within two and a half hours, then why couldn’t Batman Vs Superman. There are a lot of elements that didn’t absolutely needed to be in there. The film was about Batman versing Superman, and although the subtitle means it is including some elements of the Justice League, but even with all the extra scenes, there are just too many elements.

It is a better film than it was. I cannot deny that. But it still could have been better. Yes, every film could have been better – there’s always room for improvement and no film is absolutely perfect in everyone’s eyes – but when dealing with a massive storyline such as Batman versing Superman, it needed to leave as less room as possible.

Thanks for reading

Antony Hudson

(TonyHadNouns)