Movie Review:Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice - Ultimate Edition *Some Spoilers*

Movie Review:Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice - Ultimate Edition Some Spoilers

If you haven't seen Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice click the link to my spoiler free review. Then see the film before reading further. This isn't so much of a review but more of an addendum to my original review with some extra thoughts on the Ultimate Edition version of the film.

Without a doubt the Ultimate Edition is the better cut of the movie over the theatrical cut. The extra 30 or so minutes do clarify some of what was missing in the theatrical release and generally helps the story flow a little better.
That said, the film still has most of the same problems. If you didn't like this version of Lex, got upset at Batman killing, wished Superman would crack a smile or we're incredulous at the whole 'Martha' moment this version of the movie won't do anything to change your overall opinion.

I've seen the theatrical cut twice, a week or two after release, and this new version once so it's a little hard for me to remember what I did or didn't see in the theatrical cut. Two things did stand out to me.

In the theatrical cut, there's a moment with Bruce Wayne attending an illegal fist fight where Bruce helps up the losing fighter, gives him a quick tip that turns the fight around. The fighter nods his appreciation to Bruce for the advice.

I swear the advice part has been cut from the Ultimate edition but the fighter giving Bruce a nod for the tip has been left in. It's odd because Bruce and the fighter have this brief moment of acknowledgement that seems like they both know something that the audience hasn't seen. Maybe I missed it but I'm sure it's been cut out because the exchange between them now seems a little odd? Why they cut it I have no idea? It makes no difference to the plot, it's just a moment that shows Bruce knows how to size up an opponent and see their weakness.

The other thing that stood out is that the previously unnamed (except in the credits) CIA agent, posing as Lois' photographer, now introduces himself, on screen, as Jimmy Olsen. This means the name in the credits can no longer just be a 'fun' thing or potential mistake, that character is definitely called Jimmy Olsen and he dies. (Zack Snyder, your idea of a 'fun' thing is very different to mine!)

Personally, I'm going to believe that the Jimmy Olsen we see in the film is Jimmy Olsen senior who has a younger son called Jimmy, who is following in the old man's footsteps as news photographer. In a future Superman film we'll see the young Jimmy Olsen be teamed up with Lois Lane - maybe he'll seek her out since she was there when his dad died? Then we could have the proper version of the character rather than some expendable CIA agent (I just don't buy Jimmy Olsen as a CIA agent in any version of these characters).

Overall if you liked the theatrical cut, you'll like the Ultimate Edition even more because it does improve the film without really changing anything that you've already seen. Mostly it helps you understand just a tiny bit more about Bruce and Clark's respective viewpoints in the build up to their anti-climatic fight.

Unfortunately they don't cut out the whole 'Why did you say that name?' moment and give Batman a real reason to do a complete 180 degree turn on his motivation. Seriously, the world's greatest detective didn't do any background research on Superman's life on Earth? Lois Lane tracked him down to his Earth family before anyone even knew him as Superman... and she even leaked her initial story to a blogger.

I digress... overall I still like this film for its parts more than the whole. I hope WB and Zack Snyder have learned from all the feedback where they're missing it with audiences and, perhaps, get back on track with the upcoming Justice League movie.

Batman v Superman is a solid introduction for Batman and Wonder Woman into this new DC universe. What's needed is someone else to take the reins on Superman because Zack is making him almost joyless... which is more of a Batman thing.

For me the movie has done it's job. I"m excited to see Wonder Woman's upcoming solo movie. I'm interested to see how the Justice League pans out and, if I could get one good Batman solo movie with Ben's Batman (with a bit less henchman death) I'd be pretty happy.

Oh... and Suicide Squad... I'm really looking forward to Suicide Squad in August.

Comments

Movie Review: A Complete Unknown (2024) No Spoilers

Y ou would think the Bob Dylan story would be 'wind-swept and interesting,' to quote Billy Connelly, however, despite A Complete Unknown being quite an engaging film, it feels like it missed the years that really shaped him as a song writer/performer. The film starts in 1961, with a then unknown, 19-year-old Bob Dylan (Timothée Chalamet) arriving in New York City with his guitar. From there he forges relationships with musical icons on his meteoric rise, culminating in a groundbreaking performance that reverberates around the world. The problem being, according to this film, Dylan arrived in New York, for the most part, fully formed as a folk singer/song writer. In virtually no time he makes a very important connection that puts him on the trajectory of doing the work and becoming a name, before making his world changing performance. While there is some drama behind the scenes with his various relationships, none of it is particularly unique to any number of up and com...

I'm Confused About Why People Prefer to Say Discombobulated?

D iscombobulated. Is a word that I think someone rediscovered about three or four years ago (maybe more because the pandemic years have thrown out my sense of time) and now I hear it a lot. It's not a new word by any means, but when I started hearing multiple celebrities using it in everyday sentences, I actively had to look up what it meant. Define it with as many synonyms as you like but essentially it's just another word meaning 'confused'. Seinfeld Quotes: Quotes.net The words are pretty much interchangeable. He was discombobulated by too many choices. He was confused by too many choices. My confusion is the length of the word. It's unnecessarily long with too many syllables. There are many other words that mean confused, and therefore also mean discombobulated. Most of them are shorter and easier to say. So why not just say 'confused'? Perhaps discombobulated sounds more intelligent, maybe? Hawaii Five-0 Quotes: Quotes.net I've noticed it gets us...

Movie Review: Hellboy: The Crooked Man (2024) No Spoilers

I would not call myself a comic book fan of Hellboy. I've never read a single comic about him. My sum total knowledge of the character comes from the first two live action films, Hellboy (2004) and Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008), staring Ron Pearlman in the titular role. Essentially I'm a fan of those two films. Particularly Ron's portrayal of the character. I've been wanting to see the two later reboot attempts, in particular, David Harbor's run at the character in, Hellboy (2019), but reviews suggested I'd be disappointed if I spent any extra on them beyond a streaming service subscription. I missed David's Hellboy when it was on streaming, and currently I think you can only rent or buy it. However, Hellboy: The Crooked Man (2024) surfaced, at no extra cost on Amazon Prime, so I decided to give it a go. The poster says it's the fourth installment in the franchise, so I guess these films are loosely set in the same continuity and are all the sa...

James Gunn's Social Media Monkeys Joke Was a Highlight of His Superman Movie For Me

B efore James Gunn's Superman Movie was released there was a whole rumor going around that the movie would feature monkeys on computers trolling Superman's social media, sparking much outrage. #supersh*t. I didn't know this was even a thing until just prior to writing this article. I did a search to see if anyone had posted a clip of the monkeys scene from the movie and got pages of discourse featuring videos and articles prior to the film. Most of it from Gunn detractors (let's say) seeing it as some kind of childish swipe at them... well not them specifically but, you know, those other people who have every right to hate on anything sight unseen. Anyway, I'm not going to give even one such example a link or air because it's kind of sad watching someone devote so much commentary to a throw away gag that is absolutely a nod to James Gunn's Superman trolls. The whole reason this post exists, is to say I loved the joke, because fourteen years ago, and I...

I'm Joining the Illuminati Brotherhood By Personal Invitation of Hiltom Rothschild... Wait, What?

How special am I to have finally come of age (53 years young) and am now eligible to participate in building the world alongside other members of the Illuminati Brotherhood... Yes I've received the call by way of an email, which I'm sure is real because I had to translate it from the Dutch language and it was personally written by Hiltom Rothschild, one of the non-existent members of the Rothschild family (or perhaps deep undercover because Google has never heard of them?). A Transcript of the email below: To: etourist From: Illuminati Brotherhood Subject: Illuminati Broederschap (Illuminati Brotherhood) I am Hiltom Rothschild, a member of the Rothschild family, one of the 13 families of the Illuminati brotherhood. I'm here to let you know that you've come of age and are eligible to participate in building the 🌎 world. It is a calling and a privilege to honor him with pride and gratitude as not everyone will ever be chosen by the LIGHT, many are called but few are ch...

Movie Review: Superman (2025) No Spoilers

T he one thing I like about James Gunn as a comic book movie director is that he leans into the comic book nature of the world and the characters. He's not trying to do a realistic take on any of the characters. He's simply bringing the comics to life. It's still his take on the characters, but he doesn't shy away from their comic book origins. James Gunn's Superman is very much a comic book movie in every sense. Nothing is off the table because it's too 'comic-booky' and might look silly in a live action film. To me that's incredibly liberating. It lets James actually tell a proper Superman story that isn't hamstrung by reality, or tip toeing into the fantastical just enough to allow Superman to exist in the real world. Superman begins in the middle of a battle. Metropolis is under attack by a super powered being known as 'Hammer of Boravia', however everything is not as it seems, and Superman (David Corenswet) must work with other s...

Australian Federal Election 2025 - World's Most Boring Government Re-elected by Landside - We're Even More Fine!

Anthony Albanese Victory by ChatGPT and TET. W hen I started writing about the 2025 Federal election the polls were suggesting the world's most boring government was crusing to a defeat . As it turns out, boring is good, and Australia wants more of it, handing the current government a landslide win with a majority vote. Anthony Albanese became the first PM since John Howard to win a consecutive term, and the first Labor PM since Bob Hawke to do so. Some of that comes down to the leadership revolving door both major parties had through the mid 2000s. Although Anthony is my preferred PM over Dutton the irony is Dutton sounds more like a leader with a fairly commanding voice and an ability to speak well, without sounding like he's waffling and dodging questions, even if he is. Anthony, on the other hand, does have the ability (and speech writer) to say a lot of inspiring things but it gets lost in the delivery. He doesn't seem to know when to emphasise a point for effect. In h...

TET.Life (The Extraordinary Tourist Life)

Search This Blog