Batman V Superman V Anderson Cooper: Struggle for Screen Time

In all seriousness, it was okay. It still has a lot of thematic problems and the score is still as overbearing as ever. But an it's an overwhelmingly okay movie. People will still be entertained. I just wouldn't recommend it to people who thought the 9/11 shit in Man of Steel was a bit much, cause this doubles down on it.

I'm still not sure if Zack Snyder understands the character of Superman beyond being a blunt aloof goon. Also, there was an abundance of insert shots of Diana Prince watching the downtown electrical storm that was still unnecessary. I don't know why this cut keeps those.

The Martha scene is still ridiculous. I don't know why anyone would write Batman as a man descending into a vengeful madness over Superman's existence, even giving a marquee speech about how little good men are left while the rising tides of common criminals replenish as fast as he can put them away, then doubling down with a vision of Superman being a dictatorial leader of an apocalypse wasteland only to hinge Bruce Wayne's change of heart on an answer to a trivia question. I don't see how them both having parents with the same name convinces Bruce that Superman is someone who not only is good, but is someone who will remain good. He literally was shown proof of a future where Superman is turned cruel by the potential death of Lois Lane. The two ideas, Martha mother names showing the understanding to Bruce Wayne that Superman is an unshakable force of good cause he was raised by a mother and Lois being a frail key to Superman's fragile state of mind in which the fate of Earth depends on her survival, don't connect. The threat is still there.

Clark Kent still has problems as a character, or rather his being a journalist is a welcome inclusion, but this is missing an entire movie in which Superman and Clark Kent are the focus (and his journalistic endeavors here only serve set up), where we see Clark finally acclimate to being human. Whoever gets the series next will have their work cut out for them. They won't have the duality of Clark working to blend in and learn to become human, they won't have the kind of benefits of Lois Lane not knowing who Superman is IRL and so I can't imagine what they would make Man of Steel 2 about. I don't think Snyder understands that Superman also has a duality story that serves with the existence of his alter ego Clark Kent.

Lex Luthor gets an expansion as to how he orchestrated a plot to blow up the senate, but still missing is the context of why he's so obsessed with the idea of God. Beyond the ideas that he was a bibliophile and cowered under his fathers fist they didn't really explain why he's so overtly religious about killing God. Was he this obsessed before Superman's arrival?

I'm not sure how Superman's hearing power works. Its introduction really doesn't make it clear how he filters out all the voices to focus on Bruce Wayne's earpiece. A large static of voices would have cleared this up, but he instantly tunes in. Secondly, the issue with Lois Lane also occurs when he seems keyed into her frequency the entire movie to know when she's in danger, but he can't hear her conversation about the gun metals? A throw away line about him hearing so many voices that it's sometimes hard to key into one specific one would have basically explained this away easily, how he's learning to hear the sound of her voice. It would have been perfect to add to the bath tub scene, but it doesn't happen so it's just like an on off thing.

This movie also makes me realize how much I miss the Donner and Singer Supermen. If Superman was curious about the Batman then he would probably hear him with his super hearing. He causes a lot of squeals of pain from people that Superman would hear. But this is nitpicky. The real problem is that it perfunctorily addresses the idea of Superman being a potential danger, but doesn't broach the idea from the perspective of Clark Kent and Superman deciding who to save and who not to. Killings can occur at the same time around the world coincidentally, but Superman at most has the opportunity to save maybe two. You hear about the potential for Superman to beget more violence on a catastrophic scale, but since Snyder's superman still gets almost zero time to develop beyond the line near the end when he says this world forces men cruel, you never hear what it's like to be helpless from his perspective. That Superman not being there for someone just once has the potential to turn men cruel. That assuming the mantle of heroism makes people assume that you will be everywhere and when you fail that makes brings the potential of turning the loss of someone into anger and then into hate. That the more people he saves the more he is needed. And what happens when he can't be somewhere where he is needed? This is why Zemo in Civil War is a far better villain than what people think. Zemo is the end result of the actions of the Avengers. He makes you understand why these Superheros running around never truly seem to be able to be heroes.

This feels like a movie where the second Man of Steel is missing. The first one establishes Kal-El as a potential threat. It shows that the world is afraid of him and they're willing to use the military to stop him. None of the leg work is done to show how people assumed he was the hero in the last movie, and just because he was the last man standing doesn't seem to cut it here since he and Zod leveled a city. The movie basically asks you to accept that the overwhelming majority of people now see him as a hero without something in between to show that he made overtures to show that he was actually a force for good. I think a Man of Steel 2 in place of this would have gone a far longer way to make this movies stakes seem more important, but the reason so much of it seems drab and grim is because it basically works on the assumption that you work out the details in between on your own.

The set up of the final fight is still confusing. Superman goes with the intent of wanting to convince Batman, so Superman's inclination should be always to talk it out first here. So when Batman springs the first two traps that fail, Superman decides to begin punching him. Even though Superman knows he, himself, is invincible he still goes with the punching match. It's bizarre for the character. It would make sense if Batman gave no opportunity for him to talk, but there literally is. Right after Batman is lifted into the air, you could have begin the scene with Superman saying "we need to talk." And Batman not listening, then beginning the punching match, but it hinges on no words between the two. It's a bizarre moment that's out of character even for this iteration of Superman.

Lastly, I can't imagine shooting and detonating a nuke directly over metropolis and Gotham is a good idea. I know they basically eyed the "in space part" but that fireball cloud looked like it was essentially shot in the atmosphere.