Film Preview: Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)

Page Revisions:

(April 19, 2015) Original
(July 19, 2015) New Trailer (#2) / New Posters (#1 & #2) / Synopsis Added
(December 6, 2015) New Trailer (#3) / Page Redesigned
(March 20, 2016) New Trailer (#4) / New Posters (#3-#11) / Added Image Gallery

Release Date:

March 16, 2016

Synopsis:

From IMDb: “Fearing the actions of a god-like Super Hero left unchecked, Gotham City’s own formidable, forceful vigilante takes on Metropolis’ most revered, modern-day savior, while the world wrestles with what sort of hero it really needs. And with Batman and Superman at war with one another, a new threat quickly arises, putting mankind in greater danger than it’s ever known before”

Poster Rating: C (2) / C+ (6) / C / C+ / C

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Review: (#1 & #2) This pair of teaser posters seems a bit chintzy, blinding each character with the others’ symbol. That kind of cheap theatrics might seem an advisable ploy, but it really isn’t. They could be worse, though.

(#3-#8) Three heroes, two support and one villain. Generic backgrounds, generic poses, generic logos. These are emblematic of the seemingly tone deaf approach the film’s designers are using. (#9) The designs from the original pair are used in combination, which weren’t that interesting in the first place. (#10) Sadly, the best design of the set, the background design still feels lazy, but the mano-a-mano positioning carries a decent amount of weight. (#11) If this is the best advertisement they can come up with to sell the film as an IMAX release, they are woefully uninformed.

Trailer Rating: B- / B+ / C- / B

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Review: (#1) After the release of the new Star Wars trailer and the unfavorable comparisons between it and this, I wanted to like this more. Being a teaser for a film so far out, it seems quite polished. Unfortunately, it’s not the level of polished fans of either Batman or Superman really want. Perhaps their next attempt will be a bit more fascinating.

(#2) Teasers help deliver expectations to a pre-sold audience, but for the general public and the wary fans, a full trailer is all that can sate their curiosity and build any level of interest. After the Comic Con footage was leaked, Warner Bros. released the trailer early. It might mute some of its sales, but the decision was a wise one. The trailer, with a few caveats, gives us more to anticipate than its predecessor and from all appearances, it looks to have some very interesting concepts at play, which could make for a better movie than many are currently predicting.

(#3) Lex Luthor seems brash and childish. Batman and Superman seem only mildly upset with one another. Wonder Woman is their savior, but doesn’t seem to have much to do in the trailer. The final scene is laughable, not funny. It’s amazing how a trailer can be so poorly constructed as to make the film look worse than people are expecting. I gave wide latitude to the first two trailers, but this one is just dreary, poorly constructed and surprisingly lame.

Oscar Prospects:

It will be an effects extravaganza, which could benefit it greatly at the Oscars for 2016, but it all depends on the competition, which isn’t going to be as fierce as this year’s.