Batman V Superman - Ultimate Edition: 11 Ways It Improves The Original

One big issue with the theatrical cut was that the motivations didn't seem clear enough: gigantic logic leaps were made on both sides that made it harder to get invested in the titular fight. The Ultimate Edition thankfully clears a lot of this up even if it's still imperfect.

Firstly, it's explained that Kahina was paid off by Lex Luthor to lie about Superman's destruction in Africa, and on the other side, Lex and Knyazev arranged to have the Bat-branded prisoner murdered in order to suggest that it was because of the branding.

This also clarifies the psychology of Batman not branding Lex at the end of the movie: by drawing more attention to the branding as a plot point earlier on, Batman not doing it to Luthor at the end shows how he has moved on from the brutality of his earlier killings in the film.

As for Supes, Clark's aforementioned visit to the prisoner's wife furthers Clark's resolve that Batman is a brutal vigilante, so his sudden arrival to stop the Batmobile minutes later makes more sense.

Also, though Superman is seen saving civilians after the senate explosion, a number of news reports show that the media has cast questions on Superman's involvement because he flew away so suddenly.