2 weeks ago marked the 3rd anniversary of Zack Snyder's Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice. Director Zack Snyder's darker take on the DC universe established in this film and its predecessor Man of Steel has the community split. While there are certainly those who appreciate the darker and grittier feel of superhero films presented initially by Christopher Nolan in his Dark Knight trilogy, in the present day of the Marvel film, a lot of people believe that this decision was the wrong one. It's because of this division that Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice will probably be one of the most discussed and influential films (for how not to do's more than how to's) in the industry. With the aforementioned 3rd anniversary of the film's release, Snyder attended a limited theatrical release of Batman vs Superman: Ultimate Edition, or the directors cut of the film. During this event, he spoke to the audience at a panel, and the words he had to say should serve as ABSOLUTE testimony as to why this man should NEVER have been allowed to touch these characters.
Before going into what he said, it's important to have a little context. One of the biggest problems that people have with Snyder's vision is the lethality of both Superman and Batman. Superman kills a lot of people between his fight with General Zod and even starts off BvS by flying an African warlord through a building at Mach 6. While this was disturbing enough, the film's interpretation of Batman has the character seemingly casting his personal rule of not murdering aside. This has been a major point of criticism for this film for fans as Batman's famous ONE RULE is how the character rationalizes his war on crime. However, for defenders of the film this is meant to show just how far Batman has fallen to the darkness, that between Bruce's inability to save Robin, and his being useless to save his employees from the Black Zero event in Metropolis, Bruce's belief in the crusade has faltered and as such the rules that once applied to it are somewhat out of the window. However, Snyder had some different thoughts that he presented at the panel:
"Someone says to me: "Batman killed a guy," I'm like "F--k really?" WAKE UP... Once you've lost your virginity to this f--king movie and then you come and say to me something about, My heroes wouldn't do that, I'm like: Are you serious? I'm like down the f--king road on that... It's a cool point of view to be like: 'My heroes are still innocent. My heroes didn't f--king lie to America. My heroes didn't embezzle money from major corporations. My heroes didn't commit any attrocities.' That's cool, but you're living in a dream world.
I honestly feel that this statement speaks for itself, that you couldn't have a more condemning statement for this man's complete miss of the mark for the characterizations of these heroes and what they stand for, but STILL, I see people coming to this man's defense. I guess that's a bit unavoidable as there are fans who are just that loyal they refuse to see reason or criticism. However, this goes beyond comparison. This is no longer about what Burton or Nolan did to handle the character, it goes how well he may have cast these parts, this goes beyond any argument because Mr. Snyder, living in a dream world is THE WHOLE POINT OF DC COMICS! Since Superman made his debut in Action Comics #1, DC has strived to create a modern American mythology of heroes and gods that would serve as beacons of light and morality in the darkest of times. Unwavering symbols that were free from the gray tones of the world and existed in a place of the stark contrast of good and evil, black and white. In the DC world, we can get lost in escapism from reality, because if you want to talk reality: Batman's whole crusade would be utterly worthless as all the evidence he collects would be inadmissible in court. It's all illegally obtained through breaking and entry, coersion, and to sugar coat ACTUAL physical torture, unwarranted interogation. A defense lawyer would have a field day getting all the charges dropped on these gangsters and supervillains because of this alone, but sure Zack, keep on making it "real."
It's funny because Snyder wanted BvS to be a love letter to Frank Miller's iconic story The Dark Knight Returns. Snyder had made several comments about wanting to make that comic into a film, and the design alone of Batman vs Superman is enough to show that's what he wanted. However, even in this Snyder failed. In an interview with Frank Miller about Miller's working relationship with Alan Moore (writer of such works as V for Vendetta, and The Watchmen and a known critic of superheroes for their "childishness") as a competing writer, Miller had this to say:
Both Alan and I enjoy eachother's work, but we still disagree about what our work means and what a super-hero is. It's an enjoyable disagreement, but if you look at Alan's 'Watchmen' and my 'Dark Knight,' you'll see that for all its teeth gritting, 'Dark Knight' is still intensely romantic.Now Frank Miller's use of the word 'romantic' should not be confused with love stories, however, it is in the classical use of the word which would be stories of gallantry, bold acts of heroism, and gestures of love like the stories of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round table, or Alexandre Dumas' Three Musketeers. They are stories that allow us to romanticize periods of time, they are a form of escape from the harshness of reality. That's always been what DC especially has been about. Superman is a character that never gives up on us because he's been fortunate to see the best of what we are capable of being in his family and friends. Batman is a symbol of justice that is unwavering in his principles. These are the core foundations of these characters and Snyder just never understood. Maybe his work on Watchmen (a story that actively questions the role of Superheroes and their effect on a realistic society) prevented him from seeing this. I can't say, but either way, Snyder's statement has shown his true colors and the only shame about him being gone from DC is the fact that it didn't happen before he damaged the brand this badly.
This has been another edition of Comic Relief! I hope you have enjoyed and we will see you again soon!
