Batman V Superman: 13 Biggest Blunders Zack Snyder Makes That Completely Ruin It
He couldn't even think of a good reason for them to fight.
It's here. After two-and-a-half years that have encompassed controversial casting, title changes, release date shuffling, one of the most divisive marketing campaigns of recent years and cries of major studio worries, Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice has been unleashed on the world. And it's as bad as all the sceptics feared.
With big movies like this it's usually hard to pin the blame on one person - moviemaking is a highly collaborative process and all manner of production issues can have an impact on the final product (it's still unclear who was really behind the incompetent-on-all-levels Fant4stic). However, this dud appears to be all the fault of one man, a "filmmaker" lacking in all filmmaking skill and unable to balance what little creativity he has with studio mandates. That's right, Batman V Superman's failure is all on Zack Snyder.
I've already taken down the film in my full review, but now it's time to hone in on its biggest problems and look at just how much he messed this up.
Spoilers will be kept to a minimum - there are naturally going to be some discussion of the plot and in doing so some elements will be revealed, but I'm avoiding details.
Honourable Mention - The Trailers
This isn't really the movie's fault, and to his credit Snyder didn't seem totally on board with the approach taken, but the marketing for Batman V Superman did it no favours; the third trailer revealed "surprise" villain Doomsday, and while the forth doubled back on that, it had its own share of extra footage too. That's bad enough and could have been summarised pre-viewing, but it's what happens after that really matters.
Without going into spoilers, the movie subscribes to the "One Shock" form of filmmaking - where most of the movie is spelled out in the marketing, but there's a big element kept hidden (see Han Solo's death, the Blofeld reveal or Jean and Scott being alive). While it doesn't have much of an impact on the film's quality itself, knowing pretty much every key beat makes it that bit harder to get immersed in.