‘Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice’: The Ultimate Edition Review

Let’s just start and say that the theatrical version of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was a problematic film and quite divisive when it came to theaters. The film ended up grossing a buttload of money, but critically it was considered a failure. I’m not quite sure how a film that grossed more than $800 million could be seen as a failure, but it definitely made fans choose sides. While the action was great, and Batman was awesome, many of the problems of the film seemed to be story related. There were times were some things just didn’t make sense tonally. As a result, director Zack Snyder was raked through the coals in both the press and the fanboy community for the film. The director was on record saying that he did have an R-Rated 3 hour cut of the film, but for the sake of time had to be trimmed down to the film we saw in theaters this past spring. When it was announced that there would be a Director’s Cut of the film being released digitally and on Blu-Ray, some fans had a little bit of skepticism, myself included. I’m more than happy to say that after watching a screening of the Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice Ultimate Edition, I’m a convert.

Turns out the big issue with the theatrical cut is editing. This happens in every film, but it wasn’t any more prevalent that editing hindered the story of the film until watching the final cut. This version, while longer than the theatrical, just flows a lot better. There are great character building moments for many of the main characters that absolutely should have remained in the film. Fans who purchase the digital or Blu-Ray might be pulling their hair out wondering why specific scenes were removed from the film after seeing this. Lex Luthor is a better character and his diabolical plot makes more sense. The scene in Africa is fully fleshed out. Batman’s motivation is much clearer, and we get to see more kickass Batman scenes. Clark Kent has his own arc where you get to see him do some actual reporter work. Even Superman smiles! A few of the existing problems in the film remain, but overall this film is 100% better with all the cut scenes in it.

Let’s take a look at some of the stuff in the Ultimate Edition (spoilers)