'Blu-ray or Bust' BATMAN V SUPERMAN: THE ULTIMATE EDITION

'Blu-ray or Bust'

BATMAN V SUPERMAN: THE ULTIMATE EDITION (2016, R, 182 minutes, WARNER BROS./DC ENTERTAINMENT)

I had a soft-spot in my heart for Zack Snyder.

The man that so brilliantly brought WATCHMEN to the screen… his interpretation of the comic was spot on. A long, glorious vision that captured every nuance of the comic book. To date, the “director’s cut” of the film is one of the most direct interpretations of the source material. Several other franchises exist, and each one has its own feel, its own sense of self which permeates and allows no confusion between the types of storytelling each entails. In that respect, WATCHMEN was perfect. It felt like you were actually watching a comic book, one that a certain core group of fans love and know every detail to. It was a love-letter to the graphic novel itself, written and captured by a true fan.

Then he went and did that SUPERMAN movie. Not a huge fan of the maniacal and destructive ending of that film. But it made bank, so the studio okayed Snyder to continue with his vision of the Superman franchise—hell, they went ahead and let him spearhead the future of the DC Comics cinematic universe. He follows up his first foray into the Man of Steel by not only pitting him against the one benchmark premier character that has grown more successful with each iteration (“Batman”, played here as an aging, cynical blowhard by the entirely capable Ben Affleck), but by giving birth to several characters in the universe that make up “The Justice League”.

With the theatrical version, this was a big mistake.

The introduction of Wonder Woman is a nice foray into territory DC has been all too hesitant to get into; the closest thing they got to a stand-alone female superhero film was the horrendous Halle Berry-led CATGIRL. But Snyder bites off a whole hell of a lot here, and what the original release of the film spewed out at us was a superhero ass-sized chunk of undigested storylines and too little of what he really wanted to accomplish. DC is trying to move too fast in catching up with Marvel Studios, who laid out a plan for their vision and, thus far, have hit pretty close to what they wanted to capture. But they move too fast with the theatrical version of the story, propelling events at a speed that sometimes defies logic. At times it seems slow, but then suddenly gives you too much. And the current vision of Lex Luthor is a wee bit too over-the-top. Terribly unlike the comic version, and too close to a cross between Heath Ledger’s “Joker” and Kevin Spacey’s narcissistic version of Luthor.

In an answer to the “disappointing” box office returns of the theatrical release, Snyder vowed to release an unrated version on Blu-ray, one which made the film better, more cohesive, and less…well, boring. He did the same thing with WATCHMEN, and it made a great film into a brilliant visual feast.

This time around…Snyder regains my faith.

The “Ultimate Edition” of BATMAN V SUPERMAN is far superior to the theatrical release, and shows exactly what a director is capable of achieving if given the time. For the studio to not have released this, a final, finished product, instead of the mish-mash of references and half-assed plotting they did the first time around, was a mistake. This second version of the film allows the story time to develop. The characters are more fleshed out, their doubts and fears made into present day concerns of the viewers themselves. I still don’t like Jesse Eisenberg’s version of Luthor, but everyone else in the film nails their characters.

As soon as I am done writing this, I am going to go back and re-watch WATCHMEN—Snyder’s ultimate vision of the book, not the dirt the studio threw at us. I just hope that the studio learns a lesson here, and just allows Snyder to do what he must. His vision is strong—he just needs backing at the studio to have the faith in him that he deserves.

Grade: B+

Special Features: A (there are a little over two-hours’ worth, and they are worth watching)

Blu-ray Necessary: Only for the “R” version of the film. Skip the PG-13 crap.

-- T.S. Kummelman