hot or cold with perspectives on Batman or Superman, and that's as true today as it was the day it hit theaters.
The behind the scenes drama and the total disaster of demands for the Snyder Cut have certainly kept it in the conversation this whole time, but it's not only fans who bring it up. Even its biggest haters, four years later, are still talking about it.
There may never be any agreement on whether or not Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is a good movie or a bad movie, but the mere fact that this debate will continue in perpetuity makes it one of the most important superhero movie to ever hit the big screen.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice Tackles Timely Current Issues
When leaving all the blame on Superman for the destabilization of the region.
Bruce is convinced Superman represents a threat to the world - or could be if he isn't taken out first.
broken and brutal ways knowing mankind can be better and rebuild.
On a high level, it's impossible to ignore the relevant breaking the movie down minute by minute, it's packed to the brim.
While comic book movies always strive to strike on some sort of social relevance, nothing hits the zeitgeist on the head as strongly as Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, to its benefit or detriment. Many detractors have claimed these issues are actually a problem with the movie, as its ambition was greater than Zack Snyder's ability to execute, and while that argument isn't likely to be solved soon, its mere persistence speaks volumes as the movie is still a major point of discussion so long after its debut as many other higher grossing and better-reviewed superhero movies have come and gone.
Batman v Superman Challenges Viewers Perceptions of Characters
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice doesn't only tackle tough contemporary topics, but also their titular characters, in a way that challenges viewers. Zack Snyder has been accused of failing to understand Batman and Superman time and time and again by BvS's detractors, but the fact that he's capable of getting such a visceral response to his interpretation in the first place indicates he knows exactly what makes these characters tick and made a movie that challenged their ideals to the core.
Criticisms against Snyder's interpretation of Batman and Superman focus on core tenets of the characters like The Dark Knight, largely considered the best Batman movie, tackles this concept as Joker makes it his mission to force Batman to violate his "one rule." While audiences focus on the fact that Batman doesn't kill the Joker, they miss that Joker's plan wasn't for Batman to kill him, it's the fallen Harvey Dent, corrupted by Joker into Two-Face, that Batman is ultimately forced to kill - and he does - "because he's the hero Gotham deserves, but not the one it needs right now."
The fact that Batman kills - in any story - doesn't defeat the purpose of the character. At the core of Nolan's Batman movies is the theme of "why do we fall? So we can learn to pick ourselves back up." Keeping with that theme, in Batman v Superman, Batman is fallen, onlySnyder's Superman is capable of that kind of inspiration, even though he struggles to find his place in the world along the way.
an alien who doesn't seem to belong. Their character journeys aren't defined by exhibiting those characteristics, but by seeking and discovering (or rediscovering) them along the way.
The Lasting Impact of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
Since 2016, many superhero movies featuring well-known characters have come and gone. There have been 33 comic book movies in and out of theaters since Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, including 12 movies were better reviewed than Batman v Superman, and nine of them outperformed BvS at the box office. Yet in 2020, it's BvS that is still being debated.
The fact that the movie still frequently spawns debates over what Batman or Superman should be or whether or not it's ok for Batman to kill or what it means for Superman to be inspiring is the point. These are questions we should be asking of all characters, and Batman v Superman doesn't only ask them, but it still has people challenging those topics four years later.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice developed a strong following, so some may try to ascribe any continued conversations to the many ionate fans who continue to carry a torch for the movie, and while that certainly has an impact, it's far from the whole story. BvS is still treated as a benchmark by many detractors by which they compare other movies seen as a failure even though there are plenty of examples of comic book movies most would agree are worse, such as Green Lantern, Batman & Robin, Daredevil, Dark Phoenix, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, or Fantastic Four.
The reason Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is still talked about is because, despite its poor reviews, it struck a chord few other superhero movies successfully hit. Even Batman & Robin, which was so offensively bad it killed the Batman movie brand for nearly a decade, doesn't get as much attention. Meanwhile, Batman v Superman, despite the split reception, is still experiencing a re-evaluation four years later.
come around in recent years, so too has the opinion on his Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (with both shifts largely credited to each movie's respective director's cut).
Then, of course, there's the Snyder Cut, or Snyder Cut.
While it's looking like eventually Zack Snyder's Justice League will be realized in some form, the odds of his full vision being fully realized are still up in the air, making Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice that much more of a legend and securing its place as a part of the pop culture zeitgeist for years to come.
