Sexy Batman & Chums

[Patrick_Nicholas]

^ Yeah, agreed. Although Marvel does it very well for the most part, the absence of humor in superhero films definitely doesn't bother me. A more serious tone is simply more appealing to me (even when I know it's taking itself almost too seriously).

I prefer it when there's a strong balance between seriousness and humor, like the DCAU and the Burton movies (and to a lesser extent Batman Begins, where it takes a long while for the humor to come in). I liked The Dark Knight, but I still felt it took itself waaaay too seriously (though there was some humor around the beginning, but disappeared by the time the plot got off the ground). Obviously no one's asking for it to be a straight comedy, but I'm sure most people going to see this wouldn't really want to see nothing but misery after misery with everyone either dead or broken by the end (which appears to be the case with many recent comic stories I've been hearing about, especially in the New 52).

At the moment I am too broke to see it in the cinema (not helped that the sole cinema in my current town requires you to buy tickets like a month in advance). So I might end up catching to spoilers through some wiki after probably a week or two like I've done before, though there's probably not much that hasn't already been spoiled by the trailers and other promos. One of the things that wasn't might be which Robin was the one that this Joker killed before the events of the movie. I want to believe it's Jason Todd, but I'm a bit worried the crew thought it would have been too obvious and instead went for Dick Grayson: part for unnecessary shock value, and part to pander to the Bat-fans who don't give a single fuck about Nightwing and would rather see "The" Robin burn in hell forever because of how he was presented in the 60s show and the Schumacher movies (even though Dick really needs an official live-action version that gets his character right). Then the "official" excuse would be just to show how vile this Joker can be in case people may have doubts over it before Suicide Squad comes out.


I want the next Batman movie to focus on the Bat-Family to some degree: Nightwing, Oracle, either Tim Drake or Damian Wayne as Robin, either Cassandra Cain or Stephanie Brown as Batgirl, etc. And preferably a villain that wasn't already in a previous movie. Maybe even do away with the whole "hero has superpowers and/or goes outside the law to catch criminals, therefore the world has to treat him as the real villain" thing. (Okay, that last one is more for the next hero to get a movie than anything else.)

[Rabbit]

will go and see it tonight. judging from the critics, positive and negative alike I am really looking forward to this. A 2,5 hour long dark superhero movie with pretty much no humor? I loved Watchmen and if BvS is anything like it I will enjoy it eventhough the trailers included some cringeworthy moments.

It seems that critics really hate when a superhero film delves too deep into introspection or dabbles in the philosophical. They absolutely fucking hate it, they hate it for most movies actually.

I've noticed this, it's definitely a problem on the critics end. A lot of them aren't very well equipped to deal with or want to deal with "questions". A superhero movie either has to be goofy fun or give the impression of seriousness like the Nolan films but if they are actually too serious, or if they ask too many questions, it's a recipe for critical disaster.

[dlb]

Saw it tonight and holy hell, this absolutely has to be my most favorite incarnation of Batman since the Animated Series in a movie/television. Affleck totally nails it as either Bruce Wayne or Batman. The fighting style is glorious and the first real Batman scene really is something eerie and exactly how I like the character. I just love how cynical and relentless he is. The Batmobile scene was very nice, the Batcave looks great, the Batwing is rather cool and Jeremy Irons is a damn fine Alfred (and maybe the only comic relief in this movie?). The Batman theme is also really nice and vastly different but well fitting.

Really loved the Batman side of things and the actual clash of these titans was really well done aswell. I never expected the climax of the battle to hold me in such a tight grip.

Other than that the movie is really jumbled. There are things here and there and many scenes play out quite intruigingly but I have the feeling they didn't deliver in the end. Some of the action scenes were a bit too bombastic for my taste as well and way too loud but that's the Snyder-stlye that I sometimes love and sometims hate. I really enjoy Cavill as Superman but I guess the character itself doesn't really fascinate me and never has.

Eisenbergs performance is truly something and a nice nod to megalomanic enterpreneurs of the Google age. A really nice performance with glimpses of Zuckerberg but sometimes it seemed rather rdiciloious aswell. Let's see how the character will be developed in the future.

The cameos of the other Justice League heroes were handled quite well I have to confess and didn't make the movie feel too crammed.

I am really excited to see the longer cut that they will bring out on BluRay adding 30 minutes to the film which could have used some scenes to be cut short or left out entirely.

[botley]

Snyder gonna Snyder, apparently

EDIT: I realize this is a brusque and snarky thing to say as my only contribution to the thread, but you know what? This fucking movie is going to make a billion dollars and I don't give a shit

[implanted_microchip]

Saw it. Scratched every itch I had as a DC fan. Beautiful-looking, beautiful-sounding, thoroughly enjoyable for me. The whole audience seemed into it and the people I saw it with were very satisfied. The way it handled the different source materials it was pulling from was extremely faithful and great and the story arc it ends up covering really shocked me in an "I can believe they're doing this, holy shit this is amazing" way.

Batfleck is where it's at. The whole cast was wonderful. The crowd lost its collective shit when WW finally appeared in-costume, and the first shot of the Trinity onscreen got a big reaction, too. In general the audience seemed like a good mix of people, with a lot more women than the theatre I went to often has. There is absolutely a market for female superheroes in these movies, and I hope the reaction to WW is noticeable enough to start the trend. The way a certain JLA character was brought in has me so hyped, and the rest were exactly what I predicted pages ago in this thread but am too tired to go digging up. How critics felt that stuff took up too much time's beyond me. I thought it did a great job at cementing the foundation for going forward.

Tons of comic references! Felt really made for fans of the DC universe. Maybe it doesn't work with average filmgoers because of that? I don't really know. I just know that it made me swell up emotionally just seeing so much brought to life that I've always loved. A comic-loving friend of mine and I collectively freaked out at quite a few points, surprised and blown away at the things being mentioned or brough to life.

This kind of movie is what I want from superhero films. I kept waiting for it to turn into a trainwreck due to the critical response, but I never felt that it did. It is the closest I've ever felt in a theatre to seeing a great comic brought to life. I really dislike the MCU, haven't enjoyed Spidey since Raimi's second and find the X-Men stuff extremely hit or miss with a lot of it being forgettable. I'm not easily satisfied by superhero films. I just grew up on DC stuff more, as well, so I have more of a love and emotional response to it, I suppose. I always found Marvel cool, but rarely touching. Nothing involving Bucky is going to make me emotional. But show me Batman, or show me Superman being heroes and doing their thing set to the right music and I can't resist. So I'm definitely inclined to like this more.

But regardless, all I know is that I haven't loved a comic book movie like this in ... a very long time. I really hope this finds its audience, does well commercially and that Warner doesn't change things going forward. This is what I've been waiting for. Maybe I end up in a minority, but hey, if Amazing Spidey 2 has a fan base, I'm allowed to love this too. I just want to see so much more in this world and these interpretations of these characters.

[spiralout]

Saw it. Scratched every itch I had as a DC fan. Beautiful-looking, beautiful-sounding, thoroughly enjoyable for me. The whole audience seemed into it and the people I saw it with were very satisfied. The way it handled the different source materials it was pulling from was extremely faithful and great and the story arc it ends up covering really shocked me in an "I can believe they're doing this, holy shit this is amazing" way.

I feel the same way. I loved this movie. The "I can't believe they're doing this" moment for me was Spoiler: basically the entire fight against Doomsday. Back in '92/'93 as a kid I was completely obsessed with the Death of Superman arc and I own pretty much every comic in the series, including the Funeral for a Friend and Reign of the Supermen series....and to see it play out on screen, albeit not as I would have exactly wanted, but Superman vs. Doomsday nonetheless was incredible. From them "killing" each other to the way Superman was laid out after he fell and Lois holding him the way she did. This was the comic book movie moment I have been waiting for for 23 goddamn years.

Other notes: Affleck KILLED it, the dynamic between him and Alfred was perfect. Wonder Woman enjoying herself during the battle. Eisenberg was surprisingly good as Lex (jr?). Sure the movie was all over the place but for the amount of stuff included I thought everything was fleshed out pretty well. Also cant forget the fight the movie is named after. Spoiler: That shot of Batman repeatedly punching Superman in the face while Superman regains his powers!!

I need to see this again.

[GulDukat]

Despite some pretty harsh reviews, the fan response seems to be a lot more positive.

[dlb]

After a good night's sleep a few comments from the top of my had as someone who hasn't read any comics and only knows Batman by the movies (animated as well) and the comic series:

- I really really want to see more of this Batman, not only Affleck but the mindset of this guy. Sadly we meet him quite late in his crime fighting career and pretty much everything that is canon to Batman seems to have already taken place. This angers me a bit and dampens my expectations for any Justice League movie. I would love to spend more time with this character and Alfred in Gotham neither than Metropolis.

- This movie was the most enjoyable comic book movie for me since Guardians of the Galaxy which is on a whole different page. I really hated both Thor movies, Age of Ultron, Amazing Spiderman 1 and 2, Ant Man and the last two X-Men. BvS although no masterpiece by any means stands a good portion above these movies for me. Flawed, aot, but way above. Comic book movies these days tend to be full of great ideas, neat designs and some really great characters (and some astrocious) but seem to find themselves surround by one big mess.

Eitherway 2,5 hours went by fast, I was generally interested in what will happen next and had a really good time at the movies. Will I see it again? Definitely and not only the Extended Cut. Will I remember it? Probably not, it really is on par with Watchmen right now which has a love and hate relationship with me. So many great moments but ultimately it tastes like my most favorite cake slighty burned with a few foul ingridients.

I'm curious on what Warner will do and if the bad reviews will have any big impact on this franchise and on short notice on Suicide Squad.

[mrselfdestruct94]

I don't understand why everyone is condemning this movie simply because of a Rotten Tomatoes score. The last two days all I've heard people say is, "Oh, the reviews are really bad!" and "It's got a thirty-three percent so it must suck!," etc. Yet these same people will flock to shitty Adam Sandler comedies and corny romance movies with no regard for what critics think. It amazes me how many people want this movie to fail, getting smug about a handful of negative reviews when they haven't seen the movie.

With that said, I saw it last night, and I liked it. I wasn't a fan of Man of Steel and this is honestly a better film. Visually it looks great and the score is fantastic. Ben Affleck shines as Batman and I'm looking forward to a stand alone Batman movie fronted with his rendition of the character. Henry Cavill plays a good Superman. He looks the part and is able to balance strength and vulnerability while portraying a character who is all powerful and seen as a God while simultaneously struggling with his actions and responsibilities. Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman is barely in this movie, but she pulls off her role as Wonder Woman even though her character was never given a chance to really have her moment. We'll see how she pulls off a starring role in next year's Wonder Woman movie. Laurence Fishburne and Jeremy Irons were a lot of fun. They get limited screen time but their sarcasm and snarky delivery is welcomed comic relief. Jesse Eisenberg was a piss poor choice for Lex Luthor. I did not enjoy his portrayal of the character one bit. His awkward, sniveling, erratic behavior was annoying and his semi-sinister darker scenes one on one with other characters was laughable.

If anyone goes into the theater looking for an all out brawl between Batman and Superman you're not going to get it. What you'll get is a two hour build up to a five minute fight scene that ultimately disintegrates any bad blood between the two title characters and segues into the foundation for the upcoming Justice League movie. If you've watched the trailers than you already knew this was going to happen. This is not a movie about two superheroes fighting each other. It's about establishing the first part of a larger universe. With that said, the brief fight between Batman and Superman is fun, exciting, kick ass, and an absolute joy to watch on the big screen. It was certainly the highlight of the whole movie.

Then the remaining twenty five minutes happen, and the bloated and clunky aspects of Batman v Superman show themselves as this movie struggles immensely to conclude with a satisfying and exciting finale while once again reminding us that, yes, the Justice League is coming. The final showdown that should have been thrilling left me bored and perplexed. Why even bother throwing in an extra villain when it really isn't necessary? We've had our fight, we've had our resolution to that fight, and now it's time to bring things to a close. But instead of bringing everything to a close we're given another fight scene that's supposed to up the stakes and challenge our heroes, but instead feels tacked on and unnecessary. We've already seen Metropolis get destroyed in Man of Steel and even then it wasn't thrilling or breathtaking. It was taxing, and that couldn't be more true for this second round of explosions and building demolitions.

Batman v Superman flows very well for the most part despite the aforementioned finale. You've got a Superman story, Batman story, Lois Lane story, and Lex Luthor story, all of which tend to mesh well with one another and fuse relatively smoothly in the third act for the film's climax. There are moments where this isn't true--too many dream sequences, especially a jarring Flash appearance that should have been left on the cutting room floor--but overall the stories are interesting and you want to follow the characters through the exposition though you ultimately know where it's going. The marketing team was efficient in making sure there are no surprises left in this movie for anyone who's seen the trailers or television commercials.

The movie does seem to polarize audiences. The theater I saw it in was packed. When the lights came up I could hear some people around me talking as they left the auditorium. Some people enjoyed it and some did not. I saw it with two friends, both of whom did not enjoy the movie. I did, and I have no problem seeing it again. If I had to give it a rating, it's a solid 7 out of 10. It's a movie that bites off more than it can chew but it's far from the shitfest most people--who live and die by Rotten Tomatoes apparently--are saying it is. Overall it's a fun movie with too much ambition that's in need of some trimming, but I'd rather have a film that tries too hard than one that doesn't try hard enough.

[Rabbit]

The fan response will propel me to see this. I hope it's good.

Side note: don't for the life of me understand this Guardians of the Galaxy praise. It's so fucking overrated. I was bored pretty much from the start. Yeah, neat using the mixtape, ok but the rest was a bore. It was a movie for 10 year olds, and for that it was good i guess. The circle jerk around the movie though is unwarranted.

[onthewall2983]

[Rabbit]

well that just sealed it for me. i'lll skip it at the movies for sure

[marodi]

Haven't seen it yet but I'm glad to read that some of you enjoyed Jesse Eisenberg' Luthor. I've been rooting for him since his first appearance in the early trailers.

But I have a question: why the need to compare this to the MCU? It's like there is this "war" between the two. I really really don't get this. I enjoy comic book movies. I love DC and I love Marvel. I'm extremely happy to see movies from both of them. But I don't see why we should compare them to one another. If someone is incapable of enjoying this movie on its own and feels the need to compare it to something else, compare it to the movies that precede this one. Who's the better Batman? (I don't know) Who's the better Superman? (Reeves still is but Cavill is very close). Who's the better Alfred? etc.

I love Man of Steel. I love Cavill, I love Russell Crowe (I don't know why I'm the only one raving over his Jor-El, he was so perfect in the role). I want this movie to make a gazillion dollars because I want to see more of Cavill's Supes (yes, I know all the spoilers tyvm). I can't freaking wait for Wonder Woman.

Can't we just love or hate this movie for what it is in itself instead of looking to make it a "competition" in which the only losers are the CBM lovers?

[implanted_microchip]

@spiralout yeah, seeing that whole arc covered really gave me that feeling. Sorry, but people who want to say "But it was all in the trailers already!" are ignoring that entire finale's events and the last ten, fifteen minutes, along with quite a number of other things. And a friend of mine and I had said how much we hoped Doomsday would end up having more spikes on his body than what we saw in the trailers, so when he shredded his skin to reveal more underneath, we just about turned into 5 year olds. It was just so satisfying for me.

Also can another DC fan confirm or deny whether or not that was a mother box when we got our Cyborg glimpse? Pretty sure it was, and if so, holy shit what a great Easter egg. This thing felt packed with things for fans made by fans of the comic world. Flash in this universe seems to be the OP plot-shredding badass I'm used to him as, and I was somewhat worried that they'd (understandably) power him down for the movies.
@marodi I think the Marvel/DC comparisons keep coming because up 'till now, Marvel is the one superhero cinematic universe people know, and it's hard not to compare. Not to mention that a lot of people have become extremely used to the Marvel formula of a movie -- if you look at BvS's negative reviews, a lot of them complain that they aren't Marvel movies. To me, that's part of why I love it. I agree it makes more sense to compare it to other DC content, but there's been only one other movie in this universe so it's a little harder to compare it against something like, say, Nolan's Batman movies (although I enjoyed this far more than those).

Also, a lot of people have grown very disenfranchised with the MCU content or never really were on board with it, and this seems like an alternative in a way to that -- whereas the Marvel movies are focused on being blockbuster fun, popcorn type movies, both DCCU films so far have seem far more interested in delving into the character development and nuances of these movies and the philosophical connotations of them.

The MCU has owned most of the comic book market for ages now, giving audiences way more of their material to compare it to. So there's going to be people coming out saying how "You know, I've not enjoyed most of these kinds of movies, but this was very different and I liked it," and vice versa -- people who are really used to the way Marvel gets it done and want more of that from everything. Is it reductive? Yes. But I don't really think it's wrong to have something of a discussion, because they're both going for very different models and it's interesting to compare.

And I've been thinking that Jor-El was a total badass since I first saw MoS. Loved that whole sequence of the film at the start.
@dlb there are a whole lot of great Batman stories they could still do, actually! Under the Red Hood seems like a popular choice, which would tie in with one of the past Robin's being dead -- in fact, that makes it seem like that story arc has yet to happen. Court of the Owls is also another popular one, and there's just a wide variety in general they could choose from for more Batman stories. A good Arkham Asylum: A Serious House On Serious Earth adaptation would be my wet dream, and with all the focus on his nightmares and psyche in this, it'd lend itself really well to this Batman. There's certainly no shortage of good plots for a solo Ben Affleck movie, and if anything this would allow for some to get covered on screen that haven't been yet, as opposed to getting a rehash of the more commonly adapted arcs.

[cashpiles (closed)]

Today is BATMAN V SUPERMAN DAY. I'm going to see it with my girlfriend. And today I'm dressed in Luthor dark green and Superman dark blue. I noticed a bunch of people dressed in Superman colors today and a few dressed in Batman colors and then a few with mixes of 2 or 3 of the characters. Maybe that's just me filtering everything through BvS, but I really do believe that some people are wearing BvS colors for this premiere day. Review later

[Deadpool]

Been thinking about the brief introductions of the other JL'ers (and I haven't been reading reviews so I don't know what the popular thought is), but it seemed like an elegant way to show them because Spoiler: a.) Lex would absolutely be keeping tabs on other meta-humans, b.) it subtly hints at some Tower of Babel-esque surveillance/data-gathering, and c.) Superman's absence at the end is a great impetus for Flash, Aquaman, and Cyborg to make themselves known in future movies.

I guess we can assume Suicide Squad will take place after the events of BvS? Should be interesting. I hope we get a face-to-face scene with Bats and Joker. Weird but fun to imagine Affleck and Leto interacting in character

[implanted_microchip]

I hope we get a face-to-face scene with Bats and Joker. Weird but fun to imagine Affleck and Leto interacting in character

There were leaked set photos with Batfleck on top of Joker's car while he and Harley are speeding around, as well as someone's cell phone camera filming the Batmobile on set. So it's safe to assume we'll see it, unless it gets cut (which would shock me).

Also I loved how they introduced the entire JLA cast. People were so worried it'd be all bloated and take up too much time, but this allowed it to get done without it taking up more than, what, maybe ten minutes all in all?

[onthewall2983]

[Dr Channard]

Caught a matinee of BvS earlier today, and really wasn’t much a fan of it.

Question: Spoiler: What and/or who the fuck was Lex babbling about in the end, in the lockup scene? Did I completely miss something there?

[valiantsteed]

Caught a matinee of BvS earlier today, and really wasn’t much a fan of it.

Question:Spoiler: What and/or who the fuck was Lex babbling about in the end, in the lockup scene? Did I completely miss something there?

Spoiler: He's talking about Darksied. The dream sequence in the desert was from his invasion in the future.

I liked it a lot. I seriously think people wanted this movie to fail and the majority of the negative comments are coming from people who would have never liked the film no matter what it was, or who will never see it. It's trendy to hate on Snyder and Affleck, or to complain about super hero fatigue like somehow it has a negative effect on you personally by allowing fans to see some of their favorite storylines told in a new, exciting way. And this is coming from a "Marvel fanboy" who admitedly was much more interested in Civil War than this. But it hit all the right spots for me. The idea of seeing this version of Batman in a solo movie with no origin or backstory necessary is going to rock my world.

[Bachy]

[Dr Channard]

Spoiler: He's talking about Darksied. The dream sequence in the desert was from his invasion in the future.

Spoiler: Batman’s dream sequence, where Superman was some future tyrant overlord killing at will? That was about Darksied? Okay, I guess. But why is Batman having dream visions from the future? Also, why was Lex the one incoherently babbling about Darksied, how did he know, did Lex share the dream also, or something? Maybe the spaceship told him about Darksied? I don’t know. This part just really confused me.

I liked it a lot. I seriously think people wanted this movie to fail and the majority of the negative comments are coming from people who would have never liked the film no matter what it was, or who will never see it. It's trendy to hate on Snyder and Affleck, or to complain about super hero fatigue like somehow it has a negative effect on you personally by allowing fans to see some of their favorite storylines told in a new, exciting way. And this is coming from a "Marvel fanboy" who admitedly was much more interested in Civil War than this. But it hit all the right spots for me. The idea of seeing this version of Batman in a solo movie with no origin or backstory necessary is going to rock my world.

I personally found Man of Steel to be adequate, and as far as Snyder and Affleck go, Watchmen is my all time favorite superhero film, and Affleck portraying an unhinged Batman was probably the one thing that kept me somewhat interested through DoJ.

With DoJ, the story and all the elements just felt fractured and difficult to follow at times. Some plotholes. The unrelenting dark tone got monotonous. The approach of putting some important characters onscreen without any context didn’t work for me. And the climax of Spoiler: bringing in Doomsday out of the blue, felt tacked on, poorly executed, and just overall the wrong direction for this movie. Just my thoughts.

I actually feel bad for Snyder and crew, that they were pressured to do so much, and pack so much into a single movie, instead of just letting this be a focused and coherent film about Batman and Superman.

[october_midnight]

well that just sealed it for me. i'lll skip it at the movies for sure

Well shit, with this and Star Wars too are any of these movies gonna make any money?

Back in reality, just got back from it...Affleck clearly stole the show but I only give the rest of it a 7/10. A lot I dug, a lot I shook my head at. All in all a fun time.

[Rabbit]

Well shit, with this and Star Wars too are any of these movies gonna make any money?

of course because low brow ass hats will eat mediocrity up...

"pop culture"

[Jan]

wow^^ I know opinions are what message boards are for...but just wow to about everything you say (and this from a woman who rarely posts, but reads everything)

[october_midnight]

wow^^ I know opinions are what message boards are for...but just wow to about everything you say (and this from a woman who rarely posts, but reads everything)

Meh, everyone's entitled to their opinions but the one thing I can guarantee you. Honestly, the one thing that I can 1000% guarantee you is that every putz with that holier-than-thou, I'm smarter than you, pretentious attitude....every single one I've ever met thinks it's original. They think they're the first person to ever realize how they're so much wiser than all the other lowly losers who enjoy 'mediocrity'. It's the weirdest thing.

[october_midnight]

of course because low brow ass hats will eat mediocrity up...

"pop culture"

And unoriginal shitbags like you (trust me, I've met about six thousand or so) will never wrap their heads around the fact that opinion isn't fact. Didn't I see you mention you dug the show Better Call Saul? Yeah, that show's dull garbage riding the coattails of a better show with the hopes that idiots like you eat it up. Next...

[orestes]

Can we not?!

[neorev]

of course because low brow ass hats will eat mediocrity up...

"pop culture"

Here goes Rabbit again on his 24/7/365 heavy flowing period. At least 3 threads of you being an insufferable twat to people and just bitchin' and bitchin' and bitchin' and bitchin', can we ban this guy already? We need to create a whole thread just dedicated to every single one of your posts bitchin' about something.

[implanted_microchip]

More on-topic because I like this thread and would hate to see it locked due to petty in-fighting ...

What'd everyone think of the Darkseid teases and the imagery of the reversed painting representinb Darkseid from above and Superman from below at the end? I felt like they really nailed a sort of Lovecraftian horror of Darkseid and the parademons. Also it felt like they were sort of merging an Injustice and a Flashpoint-style narrative in that future vision.