TID BIT — BATMAN V SUPERMAN: ULTIMATE EDITION

photo courtesy of youtube.com

     To begin, a word of clarification: this piece, which I’ve appropriately entitled “Tid Bit,” is not a re-review or a rehash of Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, but instead a musing on the new ULTIMATE EDITION release. The Ultimate Edition has been rumored to do a bit more justice (wink wink) to the characters and plotline, so I decided to give it a whirl. For a fuller, much broader, and generally more scathing review of the film, see my earlier post.

BEWARE SPOILERS, OBVI

photo courtesy of collider.com

     In case you’re wondering what’s in the Ultimate Edition that was left out of the theatrical release, I can tell you the answer: not much. And even less that makes any substantive difference in the film as a whole. There are a few new scenes, but the majority just serve to complement existing scenes or accentuate a point, rather than validate the whole misguided enterprise or add anything new to the mix.

     One of the draws of the Ultimate Edition is that it has earned an R-rating, which in the post Deadpool world is code for amazing and ingenious. Let me nip that right in the bud. The only reason it has the R-rating is that it’s a taaaad bit more violent, and it has an F-word or two. Doesn’t revolutionize anything.

photo courtesy of denofgeek.com

     Here’s the deal with the scenes. They won’t change your opinion of the movie. They don’t right any of its wrongs or make its character motivations more believable. What they actually do is give a little more screen time to unwrapping the foundations of Lex Luthor’s plan. Is it substantially improved? Not really, but we do feel a little more comfortable with him as the orchestrator of the film’s events. Just slightly. They also provide a little more basis for Superman’s motivation for disliking Batman—which the movie still throws under the bus later (because Martha!), so again, not much gained. And lastly, they allow us to see Jena Malone’s character (DC comics character Jenet Klyburn), who manages to be surprisingly uninteresting and unexciting. Just a reporter doing reporter things with Lois Lane and verbalizing a smidget of Luthor’s plan for the audience.

jena malone in the ultimate edition. photo courtesy of screenrant.com

     The only thing of real substance and impact is one scene in which Lex is seen in the crashed Kryptonian ship’s Genesis chamber. It’s easy to see why it was deleted; it’s too quick and oddly edited to really tell what’s happening before it’s over, and it serves to overcomplicate and overstuff things even more than they already were. But it turns out Lex is talking to Steppenwolf, a cosmic DC villain, in the wake of the battle with Doomsday. It’s a foreshadowing of the events of Justice League, in which Steppenwolf will likely play a role. While the mysterious introduction of such an intriguing villain is somewhat worthwhile, the movie definitely has enough pointing us to Justice League without throwing the villain in, too.

photo courtesy of screenrant.com

     FINAL VERDICT: Is it better? Yes, marginally. Is it worth your time? Yes, if you care about anything I just mentioned. Otherwise, you can safely buy the cheaper edition and look the extra clips up on Youtube. Or just go about your life and ignore this film altogether. I don’t judge.