*Podcast link at the bottom*

the hype

Batman and Superman. These 2 names are probably some of the most recognizable characters in all of literature. As 2 of DC Comic’s key properties, Batman and Superman have shared the page and TV screen (cartoons) for decades. Usually, they are a part of a team, but sometimes we are fortunate enough to see them face off against each other – an idea that was popularized by Frank Miller’s graphic novel The Dark Knight Returns. So naturally, when Batman V Superman was announced as the big-screen debut of this duo, people… lost… their… MINDS.

The film was marketed (and executed) as a direct follow-up to Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel. MOS is excellent in mine and the opinion of many others, but it needs to be said that the film received largely mixed reviews overall. It’s hard to say whether that impacted the excitement around the release of BvS, but it didn’t seem to. All of this coupled with some excellent trailers and marketing made for a potential box office titan.

The casting of affleck

It feels necessary to talk about the backlash of the casting of Ben Affleck as The Bat. Yes, there was backlash. Having said that, there has and will always be backlash; something that probably deserves a full article of it’s own at some point. I’ll make a note about that. But listen, if we are talking about backlash with casting, we also need to talk about the backlash when people like Heath Ledger was cast as Joker, or Michael Keaton as Batman, or Daniel Craig as James Bond, or Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen. All of these are examples of casting announcements that made the plans grit their teeth and all of these are examples of how a lot of the time, the fans don’t know what the @&#$ they are talking about. 

Batman v superman

The outcome? Just as mixed if not more than MOS. It’s clear here that Zack Snyder had a vision for where he was taking the DCEU. It’s not always clear though what that vision was (somewhat later made clear in the Snyder Cut of Justice League). The Ultimate cut of BvS is not only much longer, it’s slightly better because it fleshes out storylines a little more thoroughly. Ultimately? This was not the delivery of awesome that so many Batman and Superman fans were longing for.

The Movie Men Podcast

If you want to hear a little more about out thoughts and what parts of the film worked for us, and what parts didn’t, check out this week’s episode of The Movie Men Podcast.