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July 19, 2016: "Batman v Superman: Ultimate Edition" Blu-Ray Review
Posted by Neil Cole
The theatrical release of "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" was met with less than stellar reviews thanks in huge part to poor editing which resulted in a storyline that was often times very confusng throughout the film. However, the "Ultimate Edition" cut of the film - which contains over 30 minutes of new footage originally edited out of the film - does an outstanding job of filling in the gaps which results in a truly amazing movie from beginning to end.
First off, this cut of the film goes much more indepth into the intricacies of Lex Luthor's (Jesse Eisenberg) plan to increase the fear that many citizens already have of the Man of Steel (Henry Cavill) by framing him for the murder of several people in the somewhat confusing opening sequence that takes place in a war-torn area of Africa.
Expanded footage shows that the people were actually killed at the hand of KGBeast, Luthor’s hitman, and that the finger of blame is placed squarely on Superman as a result of the the bodies being burned with a flamethrower to make it look like the result of Superman’s heat vision.
This false accusation orchestarted by Luthor adds to the storyline of Superman being called upon to testify before the government committee in the film which, as featured in the theatrical cut, has a disastrous ending when the Man of Steel's defense of himself is cut short by an explosive hidden in a wheelchair.
Actress Jena Malone - who was long speculated to be playing Batgirl - is finally introduced in the role of a laboratory technician named Jenet Klyburn who helps Lois discover the origins of a bullet created by Luthor. The scene doesn't really add much to the overall film but does help establish Malone's character and her possible inclusion in other upcoming DC Comics films.
Storyline elements - which heavily focus on Luthor - leading up to the iconic showdown between Superman and Batman are more sophisticated and better explained which results in certain scenes from the theatrical release making much more sense. The added footage helps everything flow together and showcases the increasing rage building between Superman and Batman as opposed to the two iconic superheroes just suddenly going into battle with one another following a sub-par setup as was featured in the theatrical release.
While the additional 30 minutes of new footage definitely results in a much better film, the overall tone is still largely dark and somber with only a few light-hearted moments. The extended version also has the feel of a three hour long film which makes it more understandable why Warner Bros. chose to edit it down to what was the theatrical release.
Overall, "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice: Ultimate Edition" is a vast improvement over the original theatrical cut and fixes many of the problems audiences were unhappy about. The storyline flows along much better and the additional scenes result in a much better film. Hopefully, next year's "Justice League" film will have a theatrical cut that is just as good if not better than the "Ultimate Edition".
"Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice - Ultimate Edition" officially releases today in the following formats: "Ultimate Edition" Blu-ray Combo Pack, "Ultimate Edition" 3-D Blu-ray Combo Pack, 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Combo Pack, and DVD.
