Batman V Superman: 10 Positives For The Future Of The DCEU
9. It Established A Distinct Style From The MCU
Comparisons between the enormously successful existent Marvel Cinematic Universe and the attempts of the Distinguished Competition to develop something similar are inevitable. Fans and critics know it and so do the studios themselves.
Having set out with the aim of producing the kind of successful large scale franchise that Marvel have, DC must be prepared for people to compare the two and must be prepared to offer something different.
This is especially true of Batman V Superman and Captain America: Civil War, whose hero versus hero concepts are really very similar. Pitching an all-American boy scout against a gadget-loving billionaire playboy, a battle based, in part, on accountability for the collateral damage typified in the previous movie of the series.
Based on all of that, it was important for Batman V Superman to set out a distinct tone and style to that offered by the MCU in general and Civil War in particular.
It may have wound up a little too humourless and pretentious, leaving people longing for some Marvel levity, but Batman V Superman's commitment to take its heroes seriously is also its selling point, something that makes it discernibly a superhero movie from the people behind The Dark Knight not those that made Iron Man.
For it to work, the grim and gritty probably does need to be leavened with a little warmth, though, and clearly a few jokes could be introduced without every hero being a Star Lord snarker.