Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice - Ultimate Edition - Movie Analysis
There’s no denying that this “Ultimate Cut” edition of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was more highly anticipated than the actual theatrical release back in March. For all the negative feedback this movie got, a good majority of people were still interested in a three hour edition of it. For me, I've been looking forward to this Ultimate Cut because I wanted to see director, Zack Snyder’s true version of this film in its entirety. Oh, and I got it.
Admittedly, I was not the biggest fan of this movie. No one wanted to love this movie more than me. I grew up watching Justice League, I’ve been waiting for this since childhood. This was a big deal for me. Unfortunately, the first time seeing the theatrical cut, didn’t do it for me. For the past three months, I’ve been calling this movie a “beautiful mess”.
However, after watching the Ultimate Cut, I can soundly say that Zack Snyder does deserve a little more credit because THIS Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is the definitive version to watch.
This review won’t be one of my standard movie reviews like I’ve done before because I think this point we all know what this film is about. Two of America’s most iconic and popular superheroes are manipulated and pitted against each other and Lex Luthor has an evil plan. This will be, more or less, an analysis of this extended version of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
First off, the narrative is so much better in this version. It’s almost unbelievable how well of an improvement this was compared to the original. The theatrical cut absolutely pales in comparison to this Ultimate Cut. Important story plot holes are finally explained and character motivations are fleshed out far better than before. Thirty minutes were removed so Warner Bros. could release this film at two and half hours, but those thirty minutes were actually necessary to have this film make more sense.
In my opinion, even though the Ultimate Cut does have the longer run time, it actually feels shorter than the original because of the extra one-to-two minute scenes that were added here and there throughout the film to help smooth it out in the long run.
Not to mention, this Ultimate Cut is definitely Rated-R, as in it’s a hard “R” movie. It’s more brutal than its theatrical counterpart. The actual fight between Batman and Superman was even more vicious than I remember it to be, it’s just very “kick ass” to say the least. Especially the Batman action sequences are callous and dare I say, more badass than the original.
For this part of my analysis, I just want to do a few quick hits on certain things about Batman v Superman that stood out to me the most, whether they were good or bad.
Quick Hits
My opinion on Ben Affleck as Bruce Wayne/ Batman hasn't changed at all, he’s still the best part of this movie. He absolutely nailed it as Bruce Wayne and definitely as Batman. He was phenomenal and the Ultimate Cut improves my opinion on him and his portrayal. He looks the part and he feels the part, best on-screen Batman hands down.
Jeremy Irons as Alfred is still really good in his role, him and Bruce Wayne/ Batman have great chemistry with each other. The Ultimate Cut gives them actually a little more screen time and dialogue, which is really good. Every scene with them is together is awesome.
This movie in general is visually gorgeous to look at, easily the best looking superhero movie I've ever seen.
Henry Cavill is still good in this film as Clark Kent/ Superman. Nothing anything amazing, but his character is better understood in the Ultimate Cut. Just a much more sympathetic character than the theatrical cut made him out to be.
Gal Gadot is still very good as Diana Prince/ Wonder Woman. She was mysteriously interesting and the Ultimate Cut helped me get a clear-cut reason to care about Wonder Woman going into the future.
I didn't hate Jesse Eisenberg's Lex Luthor as much as I did the first time I watched BvS, I'll say that much. My opinion on his portrayal hasn't changed much from then to now, but his motivations are much more clear and driven so it wasn't as dumb.
Compared to the crap editing job in the original, the Ultimate Cut blows it out of the water. Transitions feel much more natural rather than forced and really gives the audience a chance to breathe, so to speak, giving more scenes time to play out.
Overall "Ultimate" Thoughts
All in all, The Ultimate Edition of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is the movie the world should have got in March. While I do understand why Warner Bros. didn't want to release a three hour movie, I can’t help and think that if this was the film the world originally would have witness three months ago, we'd be holding BvS in a different light.
Does this version of BvS make it a perfect movie? No, there’s still a few problems in regard to the script and writing issues, but overall I had a better time watching and understanding this film than the theatrical cut. If I was reviewing movies a couple of months earlier, I would have given this movie a "C+".
Thanks to this Ultimate Cut Edition, I’m going to bump it up a whole letter grade. With that said, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice – Ultimate Edition (Wow, that’s a mouthful) a solid “B” on the movie grading scale. If you weren't a fan of the theatrical cut, I highly recommend checking this version out. It’s an entirely different film than the original in the best way possible.
As always, thanks so much for reading and make sure to stay posted to Frank’s Takes for more reviews. Until next time, keep it 100.
– Frank
