“Batman V Superman” sells tickets, flops with critics

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TNS

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

Joe DeNardo, Chief Editor

The hype surrounding “Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice” was enough to earn over $420 million worldwide it’s opening weekend, while subsequently being skewered by critics and fans alike.

Even though this would-be summer blockbuster premiered over the Easter weekend, it still crushed all of its competitors at the box office and set records for highest grossing March premiere of all-time.

Meanwhile, the film is being called a “waste of potential” and “special effects driven” on Rotten Tomatoes.

The less-than-stellar reviews even inspired an internet meme for “Sad Affleck,” which went viral after a video showing Ben Affleck’s reaction to hearing the bad news surfaced.

The critical dissection is more based on terms of disappointment than overall poor quality.

“There is not much thought given to the slugfest that is Batman V Superman,” critic Raja Sen said. “It’s the worst superhero movie of all-time.”

It isn’t that terrible, but the fact id these weren’t any scrub superheroes—these are DC’s blue-chip franchises that represent everything the company stands for.

But what anticipated fans got was a glorified launch pad to the Justice League.

Mayfield sophomore Jayden DiMicco was excited to see the film its opening weekend, but even his reviews are like many others.

“There were parts that I enjoyed,” DiMicco said. “But the fact that it was so long and had so much filler material really made it seem to drag on forever.”

A seemingly endless build up to the action the film has in its last act is one of the primary criticisms the film faces.

Junior Lou DeNardo is a dedicated fan of the Dark Knight and had high hopes going into the movie, but his optimism was shattered early on.

“I remember sitting in the theater watching the scene where everyone’s talking about whether Superman is a threat to humanity or not,” DeNardo said. “And then you see Superman standing before Congress and all I could think is ‘What am I even watching?’”

Without spoiling (though I could save you twelve bucks if I did) the plot consists of Bruce Wayne being concerned over the threat of Superman turning against the human race while Clark Kent is hoping to shed some light in Batman’s unorthodox brand of justice.

Seems solid enough—although the execution is what kills it.

There is barely a contrast in the characters, as both Affleck and Henry Cavill are given bland material to work with and ultimately come off as two muscle-bound, emotionless hunks.

Basically the film suffers from DC’s plague of trying to be realistic and gritty so it can contrast Marvel’s colorful, positive nature.

Not to say realism is a bad thing—the Dark Knight trilogy did it incredibly well, in fact some say that series redefined the genre.

It’s just the mood overlaps the substances making the film come off as dark and inevitably forgettable.

Put simply if your premiere is followed by a slew of articles that say why the film “Isn’t THAT bad…” it’s probably that bad.