[Review] Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (Ultimate Edition)

This review is for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, the ultimate edition. I have not seen the theoretical version.

BvS is a film that I didn't love, but I didn't hate. I enjoyed many things about the movie, but it did have more than a few flaws. One of the biggest issues I had with this film was the story. While the core story was decent, it had too many unnecessary subplots and the story as a whole was far too long and complicated. The theoretical cut was 2 and a half hours long, and the ultimate edition came in at 3 hours even. I have heard that the ultimate edition provides a lot of clarity to the story that wasn't found in the theoretical version. Personally, the movie should have never targeted a runtime of 3 hours from the beginning. Without spoiling anything, I will say that the story could have easily been simplified: specifically, the entire subplot involving the desert and the bullet which could have been cut entirely. I also want to add that the tone of the film, which is mostly story driven, was far too serious.

Concerning the characters, I am pretty split. I was not a huge fan of Ben Affleck's Batman/Bruce Wayne or Jeremy Irons's portrayal of Alfred. While I was not a fan of Affleck's Batman, I did like the Batman's voice this time around. I was a fan of Jesse Eisenberg's crazy take on Lex Luther and Gal Gadot's portrayal of Wonder Woman, and I can't wait to see more of them in future films. Finally, you have Henry Cavill as Superman. He has always been my favorite actor to portray the iconic character and with this film, that opinion is unchanged. The quick glimpses of The Flash, Cyborg, and Aquaman were also an unexpected treat.

The last thing I want to mention is the Hans Zimmer score. Hans Zimmer has always been known for his incredible film scores, and BvS is no exception. The phenomenal score helped set the dark and serious tone beautifully.

Overall, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (Ultimate Edition) is an entertaining film that provides some excellent performances of classic iconic characters and some of the best special effects I have seen. It suffers from a story that is overly complex and a far too serious tone. The 3 hour long runtime could have been trimmed down. I give Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) (Ultimate Edition) a 6 out of 10.

Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Jesse Eisenberg, Henry Cavill