With a Rotten Tomatoes score of just 28%, and a Metacritic score of a measly 44 out of 100, you immediately think that Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is an absolutely terrible movie. Blamed for having a thin story, underdeveloped characters, and forceful world building, this movie has been slammed by the critics.
But, when you start to dig a bit deeper, you realize that there's more to this story. User and viewer reviews across the board are much more positive, with a Rotten Tomatoes user score of 69% and a Metacritic user score of 7.3/10.
So why are the reviews so drastically different between critics and fans? There's only one true answer to this question: this is a comic book movie made for fans, not a movie trying to win an Oscar for Best Picture.
The Batman
The movie was loosely based on Frank Miller's epic comic book miniseries The Dark Knight Returns. The similarities between the movie and the comic are undeniable. They got the look of the Batman right, all the way down to the studs on his boots (see Garrett Rowcliffe's article Batfleck: Why He's Good and Why it Matters). They also created a live-action Batman that mirrored exactly what a Batman from the comics would do: find a threat, use his skills to discover the perpetrator, and neutralize said threat. So, to any of the critics saying that this movie's Batman was the worst incarnation in history, you forgot about George Clooney.
The Action
For starters, the movie was absolutely gorgeous. It's best seen at an IMAX theater, and most likely the biggest piece of eye-candy you'll see this year. Now that that's taken care of...The fact that BvS is so visually stunning makes the actions sequences within it even more amazing. The action was fast paced, beautifully animated/choreographed, and left viewers on the edge of their seat, not knowing what to expect next. Comic book readers and fans all love superhero action, especially when so much time and care was put into creating these fight scenes. Not to mention that the Batman v Superman fight felt like it was ripped straight out of Frank Miller's comics.
The Characters
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice introduced a whole host of new characters for comic book fans to enjoy. The big new guys on the block were Wonder Woman and Lex Luthor. Lex Luthor was depicted in a whole new way from the comics, but his evil antics and scheming nature offered a lighter tone to the much darker movie. He was very enjoyable to watch and created a new version of the iconic villain. Wonder Woman, was, in short, epic. Her ultimate introduction near the end of the movie in the fight with Doomsday showed just how hardcore her character is. The theme music given to Lex and Wonder Woman were perfect, and fans can be pleased that they created themes that so seamlessly matched the characters' personalities and reputations.BvS also acted as the prequel to the highly-anticipated Justice League movie coming out next year. In order to do this, Warner Bros had to introduce heroes into the movie, but they couldn't be a distraction to the major plot. And they did just that. The introduction of the Flash through Bruce Wayne's nightmare sequence was ingenious and subtlety hinted at the arrival of the main villain of the Justice League movie. The other two inductees, Aquaman and Cyborg, were introduced through little clips that Lex had collected throughout the years. This allowed the producers to include the beginning of the League without actually taking too much attention away from the main storyline.
Fans are always excited to see their favorite comic books characters on screen together, and BvS managed to do that without creating too much of a fuss.
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| Aquaman |
The Box Office
Even though Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice didn't have a good turnout after the first weekend, it has still reigned in a lot of cash in a relatively short amount of time. As of April 14, the film has had a return of over $800 million worldwide. This a lot of money, but many critics are very disappointed in this turnout. This is an unfair opinion, as they are automatically comparing this movie with the success of The Avengers. The Marvel Cinematic Universe started way earlier than the DCEU did, and this gave them a huge advantage. They were able to roll out smaller movies over time, growing their fan base and testing their audience. When The Avengers released, their universe buildup was complete, and they raked in a lot of cash. With BvS however, they were only given one movie to start out their universe, and were automatically expected to perform just as well as Marvel did with The Avengers.Here's an article that explains it in more detail.
The Story
Most critics claimed that the film's story had no depth and was forced. However, the producers of BvS crafted a story that perfectly appealed to the fans. The main idea explored throughout the movie was the idea that Superman, a god, lived among man. What destruction would occur if Superman changed his mind about us? Who would stop him? That was the question asked by many of the world's citizens, and especially by the Batman. The pure drive and determination that Batman possessed to kill Superman was a great representation of his characteristics in the comics. But, his story was pretty straightforward: outsmart Superman, and do not allow him to continue as long as he still posed as a threat.The depth of the main story comes into play with Superman. Because of all the public outcry over Superman's actions, this also created internal conflict within him, as he was struggling to discover his identity, and whether or not what he had done was right. He also had to figure out whether or not our world deserved him. BvS explorers his inner struggle, and this creates a much deeper story .
Overall, the story created by the producers of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justicesatisfied comic book fans with its in-depth look into the character of Superman.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, was a perfect movie for newcomers and long time fans of the characters. It was not a movie meant to please critics (who all they care about is how it stacks up to previous Oscar nominated pictures), it was a superheromovie. A movie meant to amaze their fans. And, through a combination of story and character elements, action, and box office revenue, anyone can tell that this movie is much better than what any critic believes.Want to read the review from one of the movie critics? Just click here.
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