Tech

Here's the problem with all those bad 'Batman v Superman' reviews

Sidney Fussell

2016-03-30T21:30:00Z

"Batman v Superman" isn't a perfect film. But it would have to be a lot worse to justify its embarrassing dogpiling from critics. We take a deeper dive into the superhero genre as a whole and came up with at least a few merits to the action epic.

Here's what critics missed in their rush to dismiss the blockbuster:

Critics are using their "BvS" reviews to express their frustrations with the big-budget superhero genre as a whole.

The stakes for "BvS" are extremely high. The film had to set up the DC universe, debut new characters, break even on the budget, and keep up with Marvel. Each misstep (and there are many) was reported as a complete disaster.

The pressure to do it all made for a very uneven film and many critics voiced frustration at what they saw was a rush to set up a lucrative cinematic universe (with endless spin-off and sequel potential) over simply making a good film.

Nerdist called the film a "grande burrito" of comic book references and The Detroit News (much of "BvS" was filmed in Detroit) said the many references and plot devices amounted to a " superhero-sized headache." The best example is the New York Times review, which took aim at the film industry itself:

"Entertainment is less the goal than the byproduct, and as the commercial reach of superpower franchises grows, their creative exhaustion becomes ever more apparent."

When reading the many poor reviews of "Batman v Superman" it becomes apparent that somewhere along the way the action epic morphed from just one subpar action film into the representation of everything wrong with the (admittedly stuffed) superhero genre.

The huge gap between critic reception and fan response shows that this movie really wasn't "for the critics."

"Batman v Superman" currently has a mediocre to fair 72% audience approval rating with a ghastly 28% critic score. Amy Adams, who stars as Lois Lane, said the movie simply wasn't "for the critics."

She's right.

It's not that film directors have to choose between box-office success and critical acclaim, but ultimately critics and audiences go to movies for different reasons: a critic goes to engage with a film, it's perspective, and decide how well it executes a cinematic vision from this perspective.

Audiences, especially for a popcorn action movie, go to be entertained. If "Batman v Superman" functions well as entertainment, but not as reflective Campbellian metaphysics, then (no matter what critics say) it works. And given its success at the box office so far, it's working fairly well.

Fans have many new films and heroes to look forward to and most of it isn't coming from "BvS" Zack Snyder.

Director Zack Snyder has taken the brunt of the criticism for "Batman v Superman," with most reviewers saying his vision of an ideologically heavy-action film resulted in clunky, obtuse dialogue. And while he's signed on to direct the upcoming two part ensemble "Justice League" films – coming 2018 and 2019, the intervening solo films will come from other directors.

And while the many teases to other properties irked some critics, at least fans can look forward to different visions for DC heroes from other directors. The sprawling DC Universe already has 11 more films in the docket between now and 2020, not including a solo adventure for Ben Affleck's Batman.