#BvS SPOILER THREAD

[Paul (ral)]

Obviously this is for those that want to discuss the film.

I would ask that any discussion about the film's plot be kept here until April 8th (after which time it will be renamed) - to allow fans wishing to avoid spoilers a decent chance.

[Wayne49]

Not spoiler material but an early perspective from those who know many critics. Go to time marker 19:30 and let it play from there.

[The Dark Knight]

It's all chinese whispers at the moment. I'll be on radio silence and wait this thing out.

[BatmAngelus]

For the curious. Nothing major given away, but some praises and teases:

- Batman has the clearest character arc in the film.

- This Batman is heavily influenced by The Dark Knight Returns, right down to lifting imagery and dialogue from the book. He does not, however, come across as insane or reach quite the same extremes as Miller's version. Think of him as a mix of the TDKR Batman and the BTAS Batman.

- The murder of the Waynes is practically ripped from the pages of TDKR. The mustached Thomas Wayne. The Mark of Zorro. The gun caught in Martha's pearl necklace before it goes off. I'd rank it the best adaptation of the murders in terms of comic accuracy, but Burton's version still remains the most haunting to me.

- While the Nolan films gave a ton of prominence to Thomas Wayne and practically zero about Martha, this film goes in a refreshing direction and makes Martha Wayne have the more important presence, of the two parents, through the film.

- For the first time in cinematic history...we finally get to see Bruce visit his parents' resting place. More than once.

- Don't expect much explanation or backstory about the Robin suit in the cave.

- While the tie-in book says that Alfred was the Waynes' bodyguard and is currently Bruce's head of security, none of this is mentioned in the film. On the other hand, Irons's Alfred never serves Bruce food or wears a tux, so he doesn't come across as a butler either.

- Batman unquestionably performs detective work in this film.

- And here's what's going to be controversial about this Batman: he kills people. As hinted in the trailers, the Batwing/Batmobile blows up criminals. He sets out to kill Superman. Thugs die in that warehouse fight from the last trailer. Unlike Nolan's Batman, however, he does not talk about having a vow against killing, so his behavior doesn't come across as hypocritical.

[Wayne49]

What an epic meltdown to a franchise trying to reboot itself. Somewhere in the world, Christian Bale is saying, "Thank God I didn't take this role again." I have never seen such incredible distain for a film. Batman & Robin never got it this bad when it opened. Current Rotten Tomatoes score at the time of this posting- 36%. Only 10 from Green Lantern. Some already saying they liked Forever and Spider-man 3 much better. Just wow...

[The Dark Knight]

What an epic meltdown to a franchise trying to reboot itself. Somewhere in the world, Christian Bale is saying, "Thank God I didn't take this role again." I have never seen such incredible distain for a film. Batman & Robin never got it this bad when it opened. Current Rotten Tomatoes score at the time of this posting- 36%. Only 10 from Green Lantern. Some already saying they liked Forever and Spider-man 3 much better. Just wow...

The RT score is atrocious indeed. However I do feel we need to see the film first, before writing it off.

[Wayne49]

Oh it will have big numbers for this weekend. That's a frontloaded lock. And yes, I will form my own opinion for my collection. But as a project that is expected to make a billion worldwide, this film is facing a monster uphill climb. Even steeper than MOS. You have to admit, that is not favorable from a business axiom.

[The Joker]

Never would have thought this film would get such a negative reaction that is has been receiving. I don't recall what the initial ratings were for last years Fantastic Four reboot, or Green Lantern for comparison, but this is indeed unfortunate, and doesn't bode well for a slate of planned films that would spin off from this launch pad.

Given the news, it'll be interesting to see how received Suicide Squad turns out to be, especially considering it'll be the first film in DC's cinematic universe NOT directed by Snyder....

[Paul (ral)]

I left somewhat disappointed. Not to say it was a bad film, but it wasn't a great one - and that's down to a number of factors.

[Wayne49]

Never would have thought this film would get such a negative reaction that is has been receiving. I don't recall what the initial ratings were for last years Fantastic Four reboot, or Green Lantern for comparison, but this is indeed unfortunate, and doesn't bode well for a slate of planned films that would spin off from this launch pad.

Given the news, it'll be interesting to see how received Suicide Squad turns out to be, especially considering it'll be the first film in DC's cinematic universe NOT directed by Snyder....

You know I had been offering some strong reserves on this film for the past few months. The trailers looked lifeless to me. It played like an extended video game. But even my most pessimistic side didn't envision this kind of critical collapse. It's interesting how the lessons fully realized in this genre about the need for story and character development have seemingly been discounted with the belief two and half hours of eye candy will suffice. And sadly Warner bros is typically the studio that has to learn the hard lessons. Oh well... This weekend at the box office could be the only good news this film elicits before the collective masses turn in their report card. If it looks anything like what the critics and even some diehard fans are saying, the cliff this film jumps off of may be steep.