Finally got around to seeing this, so I've now seen both Civil War and Batman V Superman.
First off, I assume that Lex Luthor figured out that Clark Kent is Superman because he's the only person in the DC universe with both eyes and a functional brain.
Anyway, I think the main problem with the movie, as has been brought up before in this topic, is that it just tries to do too many damn things for the second movie in a franchise. We're introduced to a totally new Batman with an entirely new backstory than the Batman we just got done watching a few years ago. We're introduced to Lex Luthor. We're introduced to Wonder Woman. We meet the Flash for about three seconds. We see kryptonite for the first time. Doomsday is involved. There's just so much shit going on here, and I think the problem is that it all feels unearned.
I think what DC really needed was a Batman reboot prior to this film that established the new Batman and what he is about, because we go from Nolan's "no kills" Bats to a goddamn lunatic and it's a little too jarring. For the record, I'm fine with Batman killing people, but I think that a set-up movie to this new Batman would have been very, very beneficial. This is especially true since he's easily the best part of the film. I found myself wishing the whole thing was just a Batman movie that flirted with expanding the DC universe in the future rather than the clusterfuck it actually becomes. Like, maybe start showing Batman's obsession with Superman and his first steps to secure kryptonite to bring him down, all while having him deal with a different main villain, but save the actual fight between the two for a future film?
I actually liked Eisenberg's performance a lot more than I thought I would. That said, I still don't like him as Lex Luthor. His portrayal just seems wrong for the part. He acts more like the Joker. I do like that he thoroughly outsmarted both Batman and Superman, and easily manipulates Superman into doing his bidding, but the weird, crazy way he plays the characters feels like it's just a totally new character. Honestly, it kind of reminds me of what they did to Baron Zemo in Civil War. The name is the same, but the character is so different that the name doesn't really matter.
Also, I'm no expert on DC geography, but should you be able to see Gotham from Metropolis? In that scene where you see the Bat signal from Lex's helipad they look like they're about a mile away from each other. I honestly thought at first that they were already in Gotham because it looked like the same city, just across the bay, but then later Clark tells Lois that he has to go to Gotham. It seems like the only city you might be able to see from Gotham is Bludhaven.
And I hate, hate, hate how the new Flash looks. He looks like a fucking hipster. The guy on the TV show is so perfect at the role (even if the show sometimes sucks) that it's a shame they recast the role in the films and did it so horribly wrong. Maybe he looks less godawful in his costume? I dunno, as you don't really get a clear look at it during that vision Bruce had.
That vision kind of underscores what is wrong with this film, though. Why is Bruce having visions of the future? I have to assume that was real, given that the Flash showed up, but that doesn't really explain why Bruce Wayne is able to have a vision of a possible future. Like, where did that come from? It was interesting, to be sure, but just totally unexplained. To Bruce, that would seem to just be a dream, yes? Does he normally base his actions on shit that happens in his dreams? I just don't really get the inclusion of that without any sort of explanation as to why or how it happened.
I'm equally uncertain as to why a combination of Kryptonian DNA and human DNA creates a cave troll from Lord of the Rings. Considering that Kryptonians look, you know, fucking identical to us, you'd think a combination of their DNA would look sort of human. I'm willing to let this one slide, but it's still kind of dumb. Further, Lex didn't appear to have any control over Doomsday. Did he have a backup plan if it killed Superman and Batman and then just proceeded to murder everyone on Earth, himself included? Also, why didn't Doomsday have a dick?
The Batman versus Superman fight was fun. It took some clear inspiration from The Dark Knight Returns, and that's fine, as the confrontation between Batman and Superman there is probably the best there is. I do question why Superman kept walking toward Batman knowing that Batman had all kinds of shit set up to fuck with him. Why not just stand still and be like, "Bro, Lex Luthor kidnapped my mom and then told me to come kill you." Might have saved a lot of time.
Still, what was even better was the awesome Batman fight scene after that where he went and saved Superman's mom. It left me wanting to see more of that and less of Superman fighting a giant abomination in a pretty by the numbers superhero/monster fight scene with no emotional investment involved. Again I found myself wishing that DC had just made a Batman movie and built up to a film like this one rather than just leaping in.
I feel like Wonder Woman's introduction was kind of lazy as well. This, again, is why some build-up movies prior to big team-ups like this are the way to go, as evidenced by Marvel. She's just kind of there early in the movie, and then shows up at the end because sure, why not. It's a good thing she got off that plane, though, or Batman would have gotten fucking roasted. If you contrast this with how Black Panther is handled in Civil War, his inclusion into the plot of that movie feels much more natural. I won't go into that in this thread for those of you who have yet to see it, but he's there for a reason and you understand his motivations. Spider-Man's inclusion is a bit more like Wonder Woman in this film, but I can at least give them somewhat of a pass on that one since Marvel got the rights to use him late in the game and wrote him in, whereas Black Panther has been a fundamental part of the film from the beginning.
Finally, I found the amount of time spent dwelling on Superman's death to be a little obnoxious considering that literally no one thinks he's actually dead for real. When you know a death is only temporary, there's no emotional attachment to it. It reminds me of when a certain Game of Thrones character was killed last year, only there was no emotional impact because basically everyone knew he was coming back. Contrast that with earlier deaths in the show and books and there is a very clear difference in the way I felt because those deaths felt like they mattered. And generally speaking, I think it was really dumb to kill Superman off in the second fucking movie of the new film universe. Killing off your most powerful character is something you do mid-to-late game. Not in the first half.
All in all, I'm glad I went into the thing with lowered expectations. There were parts of the movie that were good and a lot of fun, but there were plenty of parts that felt crammed in there and out of place. As a whole, it was just kind of a clusterfuck. Not an unenjoyable one, but a clusterfuck nonetheless. I really think that DC should have taken Marvel's approach and worked to build their universe and their characters before throwing them all into the pot together. Like, who the fuck is Wonder Woman and why is she in this movie? The movie certainly doesn't tell you. You'd also have no idea that it was the Flash who appeared to Bruce early in the movie unless you either read it online or were very familiar with the lore.
