Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice - Ultimate Edition - Blu-ray

Film: Superman's (Henry Cavill) battle with Zod (Michael Sheen) has brought much suffering and destruction to Metropolis. Still, to many, the Man of Steel is a hero. But one doubts that Superman is indeed the great bringer of salvation. For Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck), the dark knight of Gotham City, Superman is no hero. To him, he is a danger that must be eliminated at all costs. And so he prepares for the ultimate duel, which he hopes to win with the help of Kryptonite. But while the two superheroes are at each other's throats, they completely overlook the fact that Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg) has a perfidious plan that could destroy them both for good and bring even more destruction and death to Metropolis, Gotham and the rest of the world. To stop Luthor, the two would have to join forces - but it seems to be long too late for that.

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is the sequel to Zack Snyder's Man of Steel, which flushed over $650 million into the worldwide box office three years ago. Snyder needed to significantly surpass that result if the clash of the two superhero legends was to be a financial success. This was achieved with almost 900 million dollars, because the interest in a duel between Superman and Batman was extremely high. Nevertheless, the box-office result fell short of the studio's expectations. In addition, it hailed masses of criticism. It's a pity, because the film is really successful in large parts. Ben Affleck, who was often criticized beforehand, does a good job as the aging, disillusioned Bruce Wane/Batman. Especially the opening sequence, which establishes very vividly why Bruce Wayne hates Superman, can convince all along the line. And even otherwise Affleck quickly makes you forget the not really positive impression he left as Daredevil.

The fact that the film shows what negative consequences Superman's heroic deeds can have adds a whole new facet to the story that sets it apart from previous adaptations of the popular comic book hero. Snyder has succeeded in stripping Superman of his halo without demystifying him as a hero. Rather, he also allows the viewer a glimpse of the darker side of the Son of Krypton, which is especially evident in a dystopian vision of the future. Anyway, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is overall a very serious, dark and brutal superhero movie. And that's exactly what could become a problem for some viewers. Unlike recent Marvel heroes Deadpool or Ant-Man, this movie - with a few minor exceptions - takes itself pretty damn seriously. It's exciting and action-packed, but it's not really fun in the classic sense.

And especially towards the finale, this creates some moments of unintentional comedy embedded in a jumble of extreme CGI bluster and overly quick cuts. As with Man of Steel, less would clearly have been more in the final third of the film. There's no question that the special effects are, with minor detractions, great. The action sequences during the titular duel are top notch. But at some point it just becomes too much of a good thing, when the action is always kicked up a notch and the whole thing happens at a pace that the normal human mind can hardly follow (or wants to). At the end Snyder tries to build up a big emotional climax, which is celebrated extensively. The problem is that almost every fan should know that what happens here will be undone in the upcoming Justice League movie at the latest. And as a result, this entire sequence feels far too extended and almost unnecessary.

There's a lot to criticize about Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor, for instance, can only really convince in a few moments. A little more humor would have done the film good in places. And the reason why Batman and Superman suddenly stop fighting and Batman calls the Man of Steel his friend a few moments later is ridiculous to say the least. There's no way around that. But overall, Zack Snyder has directed great popcorn cinema with good showmanship that should please fans of Man of Steel in particular. While most members of the upcoming Justice League - like Aquaman or The Flash - only have very short mini-appearances, Gal Gadot can already prove that she was a very good choice for the role of Wonder Woman. We can already look forward to her own movie, which will hit theaters in 2017.

However, not only connoisseurs of the comic book template, but also all those who generally enjoy great fantasy spectacles should not miss this dark superhero battle. Certainly not a perfect film and also not one of the best comic adaptations of recent years. But in any case entertaining entertainment cinema with some quite great moments and therefore also despite deductions in the B grade: worth seeing!

The Ultimate Edition: The new extended cut of the film runs about 30 minutes longer than the already very long theatrical version. Now viewers get to see a three-hour superhero duel. For those who had problems with the theatrical version, the new scenes certainly won't make them fans. But for fans, this is the noticeably better version of the film. That's because some plot lines are better fleshed out, making the narrative flow feel a bit more coherent. True, there are still some deep logic holes and a few dramaturgical missteps. But a few weaknesses of the theatrical version are successfully ironed out in this version. The extended action scenes are hardly noticeable, as the theatrical version already offered an overkill of these sequences. But even here, there are a few small new highlights that make the Ultimate Edition clearly the more watchable cut version of the film.

Picture + Sound: Here, the viewer is treated to absolute top-notch quality. The image features an extremely high level of detail, which is impressive in that the film is overall very dark and gritty. The artificial-looking color scheme is also convincing across the board, as is the image depth, which has been tuned really well even in the 2D version. The sound in a Dolby Atmos mix is explosive in the truest sense of the word and really lets it rip from all channels, especially during the action scenes. But even the quieter moments offer a pleasant spaciousness and the dialogues are well intelligible to the rest of the tonal action. For this, we give it an absolutely deserved: very good!

Extras: The extensive bonus material consists of eleven featurettes with a total running time of over two hours. These are all on the disc containing the theatrical version of the film. The focus is on the unification of the superheroes (approx. 15:05 min.), which marks the first on-screen meeting of the DC giants (approx. 12:28 min.). A very interesting short documentary takes a look at the background of Wonder Woman (approx. 21:16 min.), where you learn more about her comic book origin now 75 years ago. Absolutely worth watching! Also very entertaining is the look at the design of the new Batmobile (approx. 22:46 min.) and the set of the Batcave (approx. 7:12 min.). In addition, Superman (approx. 7:08 min.), Batman (approx. 8:15 min.), Wonder Woman (approx. 6:48 min.) and Lex Luthor (approx. 12:33 min.) get their own featurette before the exchange of blows between Batman and Superman is analyzed in more detail (approx. 5:15 min.). Finally, it's pointed out once again what useful and wonderful animals bats are (approx. 4:37 min.).

Conclusion: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was one of the most eagerly anticipated superhero movies of the year - and, unfortunately for many fans, also the biggest disappointment. However, while there may be many valid criticisms, Zack Snyder has undoubtedly directed a visually stunning and thoroughly entertaining action film, which is now available on Blu-ray in a 30-minute longer cut version. This is still far from perfect, but can iron out some of the weaknesses of the theatrical version also included in this set. Technically, the realization of the blockbuster is on quite a high level and also the almost two-hour bonus material has some very worth seeing contributions to offer. Therefore, there is for this disc a very clear: Absolutely recommendable!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp