So the reviews have come in for Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice, and at a glance, it looks for all intents and purposes to be a terrible film. This follows the premiere on Sunday, where many fans took to Twitter with overwhelmingly positive feedback, many claiming it was one of the greatest comic book films of all time. As of right now the film sits at 33% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes with nearly 100 negative reviews. And yet it’s audience score sits at 79%. On Metacritic it sits low with 44% (but far less reviewers), while on IMDB it has a user rating of 8.1/10. What does this all mean?
It could mean a number of things. It could be critics joining forces to curb the swell of the Superhero genre, as part of the ongoing “superhero fatigue” debate. It could mean fans are going in and loving it for the sake of what it is. It could mean many went into the theater looking to hate on a film that is different than the status quo, and non-Marvel. Or it could just mean it’s a bad film, with a lot of actiony-glitter sprinkled over to make us forget the fact.
I’m seeing the film tonight. I bought my tickets before the reviews dropped the other day, and I’m actually more excited to see the film now than before, because of all the press it’s received. Obviously I don’t want the film to fail. But many have already considered it garbage because of what the critics are saying. I will admit that seeing such a low approval rating from such a large gamut of reviewers is disheartening. But so many reviews had such varying critiques that it becomes questionable whether or not these critiques are actual flaws in the film at all. Some reviewers said that Cavill’s Superman is wooden throughout, and that Snyder must hate the character. Other’s praised what he’s done with the role. Some say the CGI visuals were horrendous, and others say they melted their face away with sheer awesomeness.
The only glowing reviews I’ve seen have been from critics and sites who absolutely love DC Comics. And fans who are just happy to finally see their characters take the screen for the first time. I have a friend who got to see a fan screening, and he said it was awesome, but he couldn’t ignore the clunky storytelling, albeit the third act was excellent.
I will go into the theater tonight very worried. Superman has always been my favorite superhero. He’s the moral compass other heroes can only look up to. That said, I have very strong negative opinions of Zack Snyder’s first attempt at the character in Man of Steel. I’m hoping he’ll prove me wrong. I want him to get the character right. But it will be difficult for me not to go in with the weight of 100 negative reviews clouding my vision, and the notion that I didn’t like the last film in the DCEU. To illustrate, the same happens every time I see a Marvel film, but I usually don’t have much to worry about. I haven’t strongly disliked any of Marvel’s films. Age of Ultron was far weaker than the Avengers, and that will carry over into my viewing of Captain America: Civil War, but that’s as far as I need to worry, because I know what I can expect with Marvel.
I want this film to show me that the DCEU can work. I want it to prove to me that it’s worth investing time and money into. I’m worried it won’t. But I’ll keep an open mind, and I’ll give it an honest review after I’ve seen it. Below is my rating criteria for the film (so as to keep myself unbiased), and how I’ll give it a proper rating:
•How did they do with Superman? (Out of 10)
•How did they do with Batman? (Out of 10)
•How did they do with Wonder Woman? (Out of 5)
•Trinity as a whole? (Out of 5)
•Lex Luthor? (Out of 5)
•Were the other cameos done well? (Out of 5)
•How was the action? (Out of 10)
•Was the cinematography/CGI up to par? (Out of 10)
•How was the writing/story? (Out of 10)
•Editing? (Out of 10)
•Musical score? (Out of 5)
•Is this a good setup for Justice League? (Out of 5)
•Is the movie actually about Batman V Superman? (Out of 10)
What are your thoughts going into the theater? Are you still excited? Are you even seeing it? Do you usually agree with the critics? Let me know in the comments below. Keep them spoiler free, because spoilers are out there.
Geekritique
I’m seeing the film on Saturday, and I’ll be going in with a kind of professional fascination. I didn’t like Man of Steel, and I wasn’t really taken in by the trailers for this one – but I was always going to go and see it because it’s still Batman vs Superman and therefore worth a look at least. Having read some reviews by critics and bloggers I like, and some (non-spoilery) discussions, I’m really not sure what I’ll think, and I’m eager to find out and join in the conversations afterwards.
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Looking forward to your review – and to seeing the film myself, as well! I’ve not booked any tickets, but will hopefully be taking a look sometime next week. I think I agree that all of the press around it has actually got me interested in seeing what happens!
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Hi, there! Hope you manage to enjoy this movie. I hope I still can. This is a movie I’ve been waiting decades for. It’s really depressing to see this kind of reaction from critics, but I’d consider myself in the same opinion-boat as you: I love Superman and boo Snyder. Maybe they’ll can him, finally, and get a real director to put together Justice League with the best parts of Synder’s vision. I get that they’re trying to create something that’s different from Marvel, but did they accidentally create a bad movie? The reviews are all over the place. Guess I’ll just have to wait my turn…
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Yeah, seriously can’t agree more with this. I’m worried, excited, and anxious.
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I told myself I wouldn’t look for validation online until I saw the film, for fear of spoilers also. But looking at rotten tomatoes today, it’s bizarre that the critical consensus is so low and the audience rating isn’t. Sure, it’s dropping. How low will it go? It’s not even opening weekend yet.
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And I wonder if audience approval is dropping because people are second guessing their opinions.
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Could be. I’m sure there are many general audience members who will genuinely not enjoy it. Especially if they go in expecting the light fun and humor of Marvel. It’s like I’m okay with it being polarizing. I can live with that. But if it’s universally lambasted… someone needs to can Snyder.
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At the moment the high audience reviews you mentioned just meant that a lot of people felt the need to endorse the movie without ever seeing it…especially on IMBD. I have watched with fascination how the audience review on RT has steadily fallen now that people who have actually watched the movie chime in.
Honestly, based on the negative reviews and the “I didn’t love it but I liked it…I think…” reviews from those who really wanted this to succeed, this movie is most likely a turd. I hope you have some fun nevertheless when you see it.
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Some of the reviews I have seen contradict things others say to the point that it sounds like they saw two different movies.
Of course some reviews come from sites that did not exist last week so there’s that
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Lol, yeah, many new sites popping up with their opinions.
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It’s a flame job. I swear the number of people claiming to have seen it are in the thousands…maybe hundred thousands
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I thought the same thing. I’m seeing a ton of people already who’ve already seen. Like, just random people on the Internet.
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Other countries release movies in the theatres on Wednesday or Thursday instead of Friday, so, yeah, there are thousands of people who have by now seen it (especially since you take into account that Europe is around eight to ten hours ahead of the US), and they speak English well enough to make their opinion known.
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I have only looked at US reviews though
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From the stuff I’ve seen, I’m going to guess it plays to its audience nicely, but it’s probably just as bombastic and forgettable as the bulk of superhero movies out there. But that’s kind of the norm these days.
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From what I hear it actually doesn’t play to the audience as it “isn’t fun” and is geared towards adults, so I really don’t know what to expect.
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One thing I don’t understand about the reviews is the complaints that the story didn’t make sense. I thought it jumped around quite a bit from scene to scene, but I can’t think of anything that didn’t make sense or couldn’t be inferred with a little imagination. I could be wrong though, going again Friday and I’ll look out for that.
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Well I’ve heard it’s over complicated and in some instances paper thin, but other reviews say it was a really good plot. Ugh. Divisive.
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Well, as we know, I’ll see anything if it has the DC or Marvel logo in the trailer (*cough* Fantastic Four *cough). The trailers managed to get me excited, but then so did the Man of Steel trailers; now, my worst fears seem likely to have been confirmed. That said, of course I’m seeing it, though not for any reason I can justify to myself. In terms of Man of Steel, I can’t remember whether I liked it not, having only seen it in its opening weekend; hopefully when I re-watch it tonight, I’ll like it. My main fear with this is that it’s directed by a promoted fan-boy rather than an actual film-maker. Though naturally, I look forward to reading your review, and of course writing my own (which will probably be unreasonably long).
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I would definitely say it’s geared more to fans than film junkies.
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I’ve enjoyed reading the bad reviews, but what really poisoned this movie for me was my reaction to Man of Steel. I thought it was relentlessly grim and depressing, and completely missed the point of what Superman is all about–and from everything I have heard about Batman v. Superman, it only makes these problems worse. It’s a shame, because Batman is by far my favorite superhero; and yet I’m looking forward to Captain America: Civil War much more than this movie.
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This is how I’ve been feeling.
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