Readers have been asking me for my opinion on this film for quite some time, even before the movie made its theatrical debut. Originally, I had no plans to see the film since nothing about the premise or marketing enticed me to go see it, and I didn't feel like I would gain anything meaningful from the experience. What ultimately got me to see the film was the opening of a brand new cinema down the street from where I live, plus I had a movie pass to go see it. I found myself liking the new cinema (they have comfy recliner chairs!), but I didn't care for the movie at all.
Even though I didn't go to this film expecting to like it and went in with very low expectations, even as a story, very little made sense and felt creatively bankrupt. I walked out of the cinema thinking too much story was missing and the theatrical version provided very little context to justify what was an otherwise stupid brawl between two of DC's iconic heroes. As it was, there was really nothing to talk about.
Last week, the Ultimate Edition of the film was released on Digital HD. The thirty minutes that were cut from the theatrical version? Those scenes were actually crucial to the story the film was trying to tell. I don't understand why Warner Bros. decided to cut those thirty minutes from the film, but I'm assuming it was to keep it from being three hours long and to avoid the R-rating. However, I would've preferred getting the three hour film that was saved for the Blu-Ray over the hack job that was the PG-13 theatrical cut because it tells a more complete story even if it wasn't the story I would've liked for these characters.
Additionally, there was very little in the Ultimate cut that justified the R rating. For the most part, the additional sequences of violence that were reinstated for the Ultimate release were not as intense or graphic as described in the description for the R. I have seen far more triggering depictions of violence in DC comics that were rated T for teen than anything that was shown in this film. Even the brief blood splatters that were shown from people getting shot were pretty tame compared to what you see depicted in mainstream superhero comics, or even the R-rated
Deadpool film that came out earlier this year.
If those brief blood splatters were the 'intense sequences of violence' that triggered the R for the MPAA, those blood splatters could've been easily edited out and no one would've noticed. Not even (spoiler alert) Jimmy Olsen's execution scene was actually shown on camera in the R-rated film, and that was the scene that I was expecting to trigger the R. Other deaths that were depicted in this film were also, again, not graphic or triggering, nor anything different from what was shown in the PG-13 theatrical version.
Other things that could've potentially triggered the R that were still not intense enough for an R were (spoiler alert) Ben Affleck's brief nude scene in the shower in which his full back was shown, and the one F bomb that was dropped. That was it. PG-13 films tend to have those too, which makes the R rating for this film all the more baffling. James Cameron's
Titanic from 1997 had more swearing and graphic depictions of nudity than anything that was shown in this film and that still made the PG-13 rating. So I don't understand why the more complete version of
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was considered an R movie by the MPAA. I guess Warner Bros. decided to experiment with the idea of an R-rated DC film to see how many people would buy the Blu-Ray and inform their decisions for future films?
Either way, my thoughts on this film will be based on the R-rated Ultimate cut since it, once again, tells a more complete story from what was shown to us in the cinemas. If you haven't seen either version of the film and don't want to be spoiled, now is your chance to exit this page until you do see it. I will be talking about the scenes that did get cut from the theatrical version because those scenes are what's going to inform my opinion on the overall film, which is considerably different from my initial thoughts on the theatrical version. You have been warned!
