The Column
Motto: :-(
21 hours ago I walked into a theater to watch one of the most anticipated movies… ever. The levels of hype varied from source to source - but all were looking forward to seeing it.
I was going to write a big long review of Batman V Superman, but honestly, there are so many reviews all over the internet that I couldn’t possibly contribute anything new to the conversation. Instead, I’m mostly going to focus on the trailers, then have a Top 5 disappointing things & Top 5 not disappointing things.
The following video will contain all the spoilers for Batman vs. Superman:
That’s the 2nd trailer Warner Bros released for Batman V Supes. It’s essentially a 3 minute version of the entire movie, presented basically in the order in which it happened, missing only small amounts of action one, arguably two plot points.
While we are talking about trailers getting people excited at the expense of them enjoying the movie later on…
Here’s the 3rd trailer they released:
This trailer is slightly less spoiler-ey, but commits the second-worst cardinal sin a trailer can commit: it shows the climax of the movie. In this case, it shows Batman’s awesome fight sequence. When I saw this trailer I thought “oh sweet! Batman is going to kick butt the whole movie!” Little did I know that the first 20 seconds of this trailer are basically just all of the cool parts of the only sequence Batman has like this… and it’s at the very end of the movie.
Trailers should give you a feel for the tone of the movie, and optionally tease the plot. They should leave you wondering “gee, what happens in the rest of this movie!” Basically, they serve the same purpose as the first act of a story… so they should be composed primarily of the first act of a movie. What they should absolutely not do is show you not only the climax, but ALL of the COOLEST parts of the climax. They shouldn’t say “okay, so this happens, then this happens, then this happens, then this happens, then the movie is over. If you enjoyed this trailer, there’s a longer version at your local cinema!”
The trailers for Batman V Superman really did the movie a disservice. I don’t think it would be a “good” movie for anyone who hadn’t seen the trailers, but not seeing them certainly would have helped.
That’s just my opinion.
Regarding the #3 disappointing thing in the upcoming Top 5 - here’s the picture to go out on:
Side note - you may notice the quotes in my posts are higher in quality now. That’s side benefit #73 of my new job. Funny people saying funny things.
Top 5: Not Disappointing Things about Batman V Superman
5. This movie addressed the chief complaints of Man of Steel head on
4. The fight sequences were pretty cool, on the whole
3. There were some very great visuals
2. The opening scene, following Bruce Wayne during the events at the climax of Man of Steel, was fantastic
1. Like everyone else, I think that Ben Affleck was a great Bruce Wayne & Batman… and Henry Cavill could be a great Superman, given some better writing
Top 5: Disappointing Things about Batman V Superman (ACTUAL SPOILERS AHEAD)
5. Batman V Superman was 2 1/2 hours long, the Batman versus Superman fight scene was 2 1/2 minutes long. Batman’s fight scene was great, but I’d already seen it.
4. Lex Luthor was interesting, but not really Lex Luther. No other characterization of Lex Luthor I’ve ever seen has he acted so… crazy. He was a very Joker-y Lex Luthor. That’s not his character.
3. The movie feels like a setup for the Justice League moreso than a movie. The introduction of the other Justice League superheroes was awkwardly presented, and really really weirdly placed in the movie. Marvel’s “after the credits teaser” is great, DC should have done that.
2. Batman and Superman both kill people. That’s a huge deal to some people.
1. They crammed a TON of otherwise great storylines together, presenting terrible, half-baked versions of each. Given that this movie is supposed to be setup for a long-running DC canon, they have to play in the world that this movie lives in. They can no longer use Doomsday. They can’t do a proper “death of Superman” storyline. They can’t give us a Batman V Superman fight with more meaning & substance. They have to deal with a crazy Lex Luthor. They killed off Superman’s best friend without even mentioning his name. This one movie kinda sucking has implications that will last for years (or until they reboot the franchise again).
Quote:
“Did you notice the pronounced sternum on that horse? I was the alpha horse.”
- Travis -