How Can The Batman V Superman: Ultimate Edition Fix The Movie's Problems?
We'll still get "MARTHA!", after all.
Depending on how you view the final film, Warner Bros. announcing an extended cut of Batman V Superman before the movie even released was either them realising they'd made a dud and wanting to curb criticisms by having fans able to claim a better version was on the way or a bonus to those same fans for all their support of the iffy project. I'm firmly in the former camp, because, quite simply, the movie was a thudding misfire, but based on the recent reaction to the trailer for the Ultimate Edition there is an alternative point-of-view.
Instead of being a blatant cash-grab to boost a movie with a relatively lacklustre box office haul, plenty of people out on Film Twitter have an optimism usually left for proven big name directors and Marvel, not a film where we know 80% is garbage. And that's really the curious thing: the people getting excited aren't just those who saw parademons on screen and gave Dawn Of Justice a free pass (I've heard this defence used several times, damn you Kevin Smith). Viewers like me - left cold by a film that acknowledged all the problems with Man Of Steel, then repeated them again but worse - think Snyder will pull a Kingdom Of Heaven and create a masterpiece from rubble.
You'd expect things to be a little more polarised, as did Larry Fong, the film's Director of Photographer, who entered the fray with a tweet that, like the movie itself, split the audience down the middle, claiming it was a total fan-marketed deal:
However, a week or so on and he's had a change of heart, rewatching the cut and saying that even someone like me "will LOVE it":
What's changed his mind? Perhaps there actually is a noticeable shift in tone or approach to this longer version he hadn't considered. Or did Warner Bros. told one of the film's key creatives to not alienate half of the prospective audience (even if you hated Batman V Superman, you'd be lying if you aren't tempted to check out the film's fix)? I'd suspect a bit of both - "LOVE" is a phrase that would have felt hyperbolic even before the theatrical release.
Although his claims do bring us back to a big question I've been asking ever since people started using this "director's cut" as an excuse for an awful movie: how can thirty minutes of additional footage (no word yet on if there's been any alteration with the existing film) fix all of Batman V Superman's problems?
Now, extra time could have an impact on the crippling pacing issues, giving a sense of story flow to the random scenes and better showing the individual motivations for Batman, Superman and Lex Luthor. It could also extend the fight, which felt like little more than a playground brawl. But everything else? Don't count on it.
The performances (Jeremy Irons aside) aren't going to suddenly come together into an Oscar-worthy ensemble. The ending isn't going to feel any less like Warner Bros. forcing Snyder to finally adapt The Death Of Superman. Heck, Fong's dreary image (which many forgive because it sometimes looks like a comic panel) won't inexplicably earn substance. And what of the persistent fundamental dumb ideas - Jesse Eisenberg's puppy-dog Lex Luthor, Batman killing and Justice League quicktime videos. Are they going to be edited out?
When Fong says it's for those already on board, I totally buy that - it's still the same base movie, just with more action and fan-baiting moments. You can hope for more (and I secretly do wish we get a good version of this mythic film), but don't get too excited. After all, Batman V Superman's Ultimate Edition could be the best made movie ever for 99% of its run-time, an emotional, thrilling tour de force that redefines how we view superheroes on film, but it'd still have the titular bout end when the participants realise their mummy's have the same first name.
What are you expectations for the Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice - Ultimate Edition? Share your thoughts down in the comments.