With Suicide Squad soon to be released, I thought I'd offer another look at DC's previous film, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. However, what I want to focus on is the new version of the film (the "Ultimate Edition), which extends the film's running time to three hours. I reviewed the theatrical release earlier this year and stated how I felt it was a disappointing mess, so how does this new, R rated version stack up against it?
One of my main gripes with the theatrical release was how imbalanced the motivations of Batman and Superman were. There are clear enough reasons why Batman hates Superman, but the film never dedicated enough time as to why Superman should hate Batman. In the Ultimate Edition, the balance is restored somewhat by having more scenes of Superman (as Clark Kent) investigating Batman's "reign of terror" in Gotham. Two new scenes help to show how Batman's brand of justice has effected the residents of the city, with Clark even meeting the partner and child of one of Batman's victims. She warns Clark that Batman cannot be reasoned with, and that the only way to stop him is "with a fist". We see the influence this has on Superman when he confronts Batman towards the end, as he quickly turns to violence after failing to negotiate with him. Had this been expanded on further throughout the film as the reason why the two heroes end up battling, it would have made for a more satisfying altercation, as there would be genuine motivation for both characters to confront one another. Like in the theatrical release, however, Superman only engages Batman in a fight because Lex Luthor threatens to kill his mother, which is a much weaker idea than having them fight over a clash of morals and principle.
There is also more of a focus on Lex's plan to frame Superman, which in turn makes Lois Lane's role in the film bigger. Whilst these new scenes help to shed some light on how Lex has staged these events, the plan is still a confusing mess, and I was still scratching my head has to what his ultimate goal is. I was happy to see more time devoted to developing the story, but it any improvements over the theatrical version in this area are moderate. This, along with the Clark Kent investigation scenes, is where the majority of the new scenes are included, which is an overall wise decision as they where the two weakest aspects of the the original cut.
As far as action, there's not a lot of new stuff included. The main conflict between Batman and Superman has the odd extra punch thrown in, but that's about it. Thankfully, I'm pretty sure no new footage of the battle with Doomsday is included, as that scene dragged on and on in the original cut. With the new R rating, I was expecting a more drastic change in the violence presented in the film. I don't think having the film be more bloody would be an improvement (the film has to also appeal to young fans as well), but I still felt cheated given how the change in rating is so drastic. The scene where Batman takes down a room of thugs (arguably the best scene in the film) has some blood added in and an implied moment of Batman either killing or severely wounding one thug who stabbed him in the shoulder. This is the only instance where the violence feels a lot more adult The other action sequences, particularly the one at the end, still feel like standard superhero stuff.
I'm at a loss as to whether this new cut of the film greatly improves on the theatrical release. On the one hand, we get to see some of the better ideas that were not included which helps to make the confusing plot slightly more coherent. On the other hand, these added scenes tease us with "what could have been" had they been more significant, rather than having them lead into the disappointing motivations of the characters we saw in the theatrical release. I can't say I recommend it, but it at least means we get to see the complete version of the film. I'd much rather see what Zack Snyder fully intended us to see (even if it still isn't good) than a chopped up mess that was seen as either too long or too violent by censors.
There is also more of a focus on Lex's plan to frame Superman, which in turn makes Lois Lane's role in the film bigger. Whilst these new scenes help to shed some light on how Lex has staged these events, the plan is still a confusing mess, and I was still scratching my head has to what his ultimate goal is. I was happy to see more time devoted to developing the story, but it any improvements over the theatrical version in this area are moderate. This, along with the Clark Kent investigation scenes, is where the majority of the new scenes are included, which is an overall wise decision as they where the two weakest aspects of the the original cut.
As far as action, there's not a lot of new stuff included. The main conflict between Batman and Superman has the odd extra punch thrown in, but that's about it. Thankfully, I'm pretty sure no new footage of the battle with Doomsday is included, as that scene dragged on and on in the original cut. With the new R rating, I was expecting a more drastic change in the violence presented in the film. I don't think having the film be more bloody would be an improvement (the film has to also appeal to young fans as well), but I still felt cheated given how the change in rating is so drastic. The scene where Batman takes down a room of thugs (arguably the best scene in the film) has some blood added in and an implied moment of Batman either killing or severely wounding one thug who stabbed him in the shoulder. This is the only instance where the violence feels a lot more adult The other action sequences, particularly the one at the end, still feel like standard superhero stuff.
I'm at a loss as to whether this new cut of the film greatly improves on the theatrical release. On the one hand, we get to see some of the better ideas that were not included which helps to make the confusing plot slightly more coherent. On the other hand, these added scenes tease us with "what could have been" had they been more significant, rather than having them lead into the disappointing motivations of the characters we saw in the theatrical release. I can't say I recommend it, but it at least means we get to see the complete version of the film. I'd much rather see what Zack Snyder fully intended us to see (even if it still isn't good) than a chopped up mess that was seen as either too long or too violent by censors.
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