Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.0

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice 3D Blu-ray Movie Review

Sound and Fury

Reviewed by Michael Reuben July 22, 2016

Warner's Blu-ray release of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (hereafter "BvS") has arrived in at least ten iterations (including retailer exclusives), nearly all of them containing both the theatrical version and a director's cut that adds an additional half hour to the film's 151-minute running time. In an optimistic prediction, Warner has labeled this three-hour epic an "Ultimate Edition", and its added scenes are being touted as the magic bullet to cure BvS's narrative shortcomings, which even the film's defenders have acknowledged. The release strategy smacks of desperation, as if the studio were trying to force-feed BvS to the Blu-ray fanbase. No matter where you turn, BvS awaits.

This aggressive marketing suits director Zack Snyder's divisive blockbuster, because, in whatever version, BvS is less a movie than a corporate strategy, a declaration of franchise war marketed as entertainment. Having watched with envy as Marvel and its producing partners built their comic book properties into the cash cow known as the Marvel Cinematic Universe (or "MCU"), Warner and DC Comics are now desperately playing catch-up, after their first attempt at a Superman reboot (Superman Returns) fizzled and the latest (Man of Steel) disappointed. But the overseers of the anticipated "DCU" have failed to learn essential lessons from Marvel's success. That company's strategy was meticulous:

• Step 1: Introduce a group of iconic superheroes in separate films that operate as chapters in a continuing story, with each entry spotlighting a single character and establishing his origin, powers and back story.


• Step 2: After their introduction, assemble Iron Man, Thor, the Hulk and Captain America (plus others) for The Avengers, which served as a dramatic climax to the cinematic novel—and also a gateway to further installments.


• Step 3: Repeat, while continuing to add new characters. (e.g., Ant-Man).

The MCU wasn't built in a day, but Warner and DC have tried to construct their equivalent in a single film—hence BvS's non sequitur of a subtitle, "Dawn of Justice", which has little bearing on a smackdown between Batman and Superman but refers instead to a future film about DC's Avengers equivalent, the Justice League. Trying to accomplish too many things at once, Warner and DC have done all of them poorly, and the problems can't be patched with deleted scenes.

The theatrical cut of BvS has been widely reviewed and its flaws extensively catalogued, including by my Blu-ray.com colleagues Brian Orndorf and Josh Katz, and I see no reason to repeat those criticisms here. I'm more interested in what the additions in the director's cut reveal about the thinking behind BvS.

The critical early sequence in which Lois Lane (Amy Adams) attempts to interview an African terrorist and has to be rescued by Superman (Henry Cavill) now makes sense. In the theatrical cut, shooting erupted wildly, without any sense of who was doing what to whom, stranding the viewer in narrative incoherence at a critical point where the master plan of arch-villain Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg) is beginning to unfold. In the restored version, the players are now clearly delineated (except for Luthor's mercenaries, who are identified subsequently), and the process by which Superman is framed for a massacre is laid out systematically. As a result, when Lois realizes later in the film how she and Superman were set up, her light-bulb moment now makes sense. More importantly, the African events now build logically into the fateful Congressional hearing convened by Sen. June Finch (Holly Hunter), which turns out to be the second phase in Luthor's scheme to destroy both Superman and his reputation. Luthor's role as puppetmaster behind the scenes is now thoroughly illluminated, including his manipulation of former Wayne Enterprises employee, Wallace Keefe (Scoot McNairy), and of Kahina Ziri (Wunmi Mosaku), the chief witness against Superman. In the director's cut, the viewer gets enough information about Luthor's master plan to generate some genuine suspense.

Also restored is Clark Kent's investigation of Batman's (Ben Affleck) activities in Gotham City, especially his practice of branding criminals with the bat symbol so that they are marked for death in prison. The extent of Kent's activities on this personal quest now provides context to the constant stream of complaints from editor Perry White (Laurence Fishbourne) about Kent's neglect of his assigned duties. Kent/Superman's disapproval of Batman's vigilante tactics also supplies the missing motivation from their initial confrontation, when Superman interrupts Batman's pursuit of the kryptonite being transported to LexCorp. In the theatrical cut, the Man of Steel's dire warning to the Caped Crusader ("Next time they shine your light in the sky, don't go to it") made no sense. Now Superman's threat has a basis, and the scene plays effectively as the first skirmish leading to their ultimate showdown.

The interesting question is why these sequences were trimmed down to incomprehensibility in the first place. Why was narrative coherence sacrificed while other scenes were retained that not only fail to advance the plot, but also add to the overall confusion? Bruce Wayne's nightmare of a losing battle in a landscape devastated by a Superman-led armageddon, followed by his vision (or is it too a dream?) of the Flash (Ezra Miller) delivering a message from the future, remain just as incomprehensible in the director's cut and should be cut altogether—but they were retained, while vital information was deleted. Wonder Woman's (Gal Gadot) review of the files gathered by LexCorp on Aquaman (Jason Momoa), Cyborg (Ray Fisher) and the Flash remains just as much a distraction from BvS's main action as it was in the theatrical cut, especially as it occurrs at a point where BvS should be accelerating toward its climactic confrontation.

At the risk of incurring the wrath of Wonder Woman's fans, I'll go one step further: Why retain any of the many scenes in which Wonder Woman's alter ego, Diana Prince, lurks on the outskirts of the main story? It's not as if Diana's pursuit of LexCorp's file about her is essential, nor does the extended game of cat-and-mouse between Diana and Bruce Wayne do anything to advance the plot. Wonder Woman's sole function in BvS is to hover in the background until she bursts into the fight against Luthor's Doomsday creation—and in the theatrical cut all that hovering took priority over basic narrative coherence. It's still filler in the director's cut, but at least it's no longer replacing the narrative essentials.

Despite being more intelligible, BvS's director's cut remains a long, tough slog, prompting watch-checking instead of thrills and excitement. Even the occasional attempts at livening the proceedings with humorous asides fall flat, because the quips ("I thought she was with you!") feel like something lifted from another script, one that was written to entertain rather than service a corporate agenda. Far from curing the ills of BvS, the added scenes unmask it for what it really is: an extended trailer for future DCU entries, presented with maximum spectacle and sacrificing the integrity of its core story at every turn to lay the groundwork for coming attractions. The entertainment industry succeeds best when it places equal emphasis on both halves of the phrase "show business", but in this case the business stole the show.

One can discern amidst the bloated excess of BvS the outlines of an effective two-hour movie that could have been made. It would have jettisoned all of the Justice League distractions to focus on Luthor's scheme to set Batman and Superman at each other's throats, and it would have concluded with the foiling of his plot and the rescue of his hostage. It would have eliminated the tiresome and redundant battle with Luthor's genetically engineered Doomsday (which, let's not forget, lays Gotham City to waste just as indiscriminately as Metropolis was wrecked in Man of Steel, thereby restarting the cycle of tragedy and loss that first set Batman on the path of revenge). And it would have left Wonder Woman to her own movie, which, as the Blu-ray extras repeatedly assure us, will be arriving in theaters next year. The "Dawn of Justice" could just as easily have resulted from a reconciliation between Batman and Superman. Instead, in both cuts of BvS, the future Justice League is a mournful proposal that Batman tosses out to Wonder Woman.

To make that leaner film, however, one would have to surrender BvS's misguided aspiration to birth an entire universe of superheroes in a single bound. The film's $872 million worldwide box office may be a testament to the power of corporate spending to foist a product onto the public, but that doesn't make the product any good. Future filmmakers charged with expanding the DCU may yet succeed in building sturdier structures on BvS's shaky foundation, but BvS itself is a lost cause.

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice 3D Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Batman v Superman reunited Zack Snyder with his long-time cinematographer Larry Fong, who previously shot the director's 300, Sucker Punch and Watchmen. Behind-the-scenes clips in the extras show a variety of cameras, and IMDb reports that BvS was photographed on formats ranging from the Arri Alexa to 65mm film in IMAX format. The final product, including extensive effects work, was finished on a digital intermediate at 4K, making BvS one of the rare Warner features to be completed at the higher resolution. On Blu-ray, the theatrical and director's cuts are presented separately, with each occupying its own 1080p, AVC-encoded BD-50. All screenshots with this review are taken from the 2D presentation of the theatrical cut. Additional screenshots from that version, plus shots from scenes added in the director's cut, can be found accompanying the standard-edition review.

There is no difference in quality between the two presentations, and the new footage in the director's cut has been seamlessly integrated. Despite partial digital origination and copious CG effects work, BvS's presentation is noticeably film-like, with a finely visible grain pattern that is never obtrusive but gives the image depth and texture. Much of the action is set at night and in dark interiors like the Batcave, with deep black shadows where detail is often still visible (and where it isn't, it's not supposed to be). The film's colors are desaturated, for the most part, even including the reds and blues of Superman's signature costume (which has gained even more detailing since Man of Steel). On the rare occasion when colors are intense (e.g., the early Indian Ocean scene when local divers make an important find), they stand out brightly. While some viewers may find the cinematography's brooding atmosphere oppressive, that appears to be the intended effect, and there's certainly no faulting its Blu-ray rendition.

BvS's 3D presentation is a product of post-conversion, and certain scenes take notable advantage of the added dimension. A good example occurs during the film's opening, which depicts the murder of Bruce Wayne's parents; as the holdup man yanks the pearl necklace around Martha Wayne's neck, the strand extends outward in a line of individual pearls, which then pop out of the frame after the necklace breaks. The heavily CG'd sequence of the Batmobile's return through an underwater trap door and along an elevated underground road has a more visceral impact in 3D. Cityscapes and crowd shots frequently gain additional depth and definition. Overall, though, much of BvS doesn't seem to have been designed for 3D, and the lack of any 3D option for the superior director's cut is a puzzling omission for a version of BvS labeled "Ultimate". The 3D score for this review reflects a discount for failing to provide 3D fans the complete experience they deserve.

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice 3D Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

BvS thunders onto Blu-ray with a Dolby Atmos soundtrack that fully delivers on fans' expectations for an epic superhero showdown. With broad dynamic range and deep bass extension, the track renders every blow, punch and crash in crisp detail, with sound emanating from multiple points throughout the listening space. Atmos localization enhances immersion into car chases, gun fights and the bone-crunching combat between the two title characters. The new version of the Batmobile is as fully realized sonically as in its muscular physical presence (the latter being the subject of a whole separate extra). Explosions and building collapses are almost painfully real. The collaboration of Hans Zimmer and Junkie XL has produced an ever-present and overbearing score that is almost an additional character in the film, constantly commenting on, and underlining the importance of, the events onscreen. My sole quibble with the track is the dialogue, which is occasionally buried in the mix (Holly Hunter and Jesse Eisenberg are the most frequent victims).

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice 3D Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

All of the extras accompany the theatrical cut of BvS; both the 3D version and the director's cut have no extras. The extras are very obviously promotional in nature, with a heavy emphasis on establishing the film's place in the aggressive roster of upcoming DCU films. The fact that Geoff Johns, Chief Creative Officer for DC Entertainment, appears frequently is not an accident. Cast members provide occasional comments, but the floor belongs primarily to the official DCU shepherds, including Snyder and his producers, and selected members of the technical crew responsible for the look of the film.

• Uniting the World's Finest (1080p; 1.78:1; 15:05): This featurette contains clips from Wonder Woman. It also catalogs other future members of the Justice League who have cameos in BvS (Aquaman, Cyborg and the Flash).



• Gods and Men: A Meeting of Giants (1080p; 1.78:1; 12:28): This featurette focuses on the two title characters.



• The Warrior, the Myth, the Wonder (1080p; 1.78:1; 21:16): A review of Wonder Woman's history as a character in comics, animation and live TV, with additional glimpses of the upcoming movie.



• Accelerating Design: The New Batmobile (1080p; 1.78:1; 22:46): Hosted by extreme sports commentator Sal Maskela, this featurette interviews the design team behind BvS's reinvention of Batman's vehicle, as well as the stunt drivers.



• Superman: Complexity and Truth (1080p; 1.78:1; 7:08): A refresher course on the incarnation of Superman first introduced in Man of Steel, plus a look at his redesigned costume.



• Batman: Austerity and Rage (1080p; 1.78:1; 8:15): How the makers of BvS reimagined the Dark Knight, with emphasis on the new Batsuit.



• Wonder Woman: Power & Grace (1080p; 1.78:1; 6:48): How Gal Gadot transformed into Wonder Woman.



• Batcave: Legacy of the Lair (1080p; 1.78:1; 7:12): The production design for the latest Batcave.



• The Might and the Power of a Punch (1080p; 1.78:1; 5:15): This breakdown of the battle between Batman and Superman explains Batman's various weapons and strategies.



• The Empire of Luthor (1080p; 1.78:1; 12:33): An anatomy of Luthor's villainy.



• Save the Bats (1080p; 1.78:1; 4:37): An ecological plea.



• Trailers: The film's trailer is not included. At startup the disc plays a trailer for Suicide Squad and the usual Warner promo for digital copies.

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice 3D Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Despite critical drubbing, BvS delivered at the box office, and I am under no illusion that my issues with the film will make a dent in its fan base, which is almost as fanatical in its devotion as the equally vocal chorus of BvS detractors. Warner's Blu-ray presentation should satisfy fans, as well as providing an effective introduction to the world of BvS for those seeking to learn what all the fuss is about. My sole recommendation, for both new viewers and old, is to favor the director's cut, which, even with all the franchise-building distractions, manages to do a much better job of telling the story.