First Take: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice Ultimate Cut- here we go again.

SYPNOSIS:

Fearing that the actions of Superman are left unchecked, Batman takes on the Man of Steel, while the world wrestles with what kind of a hero it really needs.

Back in March, I correctly predicted that this would fail to make as much as Civil War. Two of the most iconic properties of all time coming face to face for the very first time on film would have been a big box office draw- but the film we got was all over the place. This new Ultimate Cut (exclusive to the Blu-ray here in the UK) attempts to fix that.

Zack Snyder’s freshly edited 3 hour epic still has a lot of the issues that affected the cut we got in cinemas- the pacing is still shoddy, with some very questionable narrative decisions, but the extra 30 minutes really allows the film to breathe, and it actually makes it watchable. The performances are pretty much unchanged from the March cut, but I have started to like Ben Affleck’s take on Batman a lot more after watching the Blu-ray. The only new addition I can really comment on is the restored plotline featuring Jena Malone’s character- I can understand why Snyder cut it, as it didn’t fit in with the rest of the film. This new cut is much darker, and embraces the R rating (well, it’s still a 12 over here) with a tonne of CGI blood and an extended scene between Clark and Lois. This new cut could be seen as a way of saving DC’s hopes going into next year’s Wonder Woman solo film and also Justice League- and this new version puts them in a good place. I still didn’t enjoy it, but it’s a major improvement on the disappointing first round earlier in the year.

THE VERDICT

Even with an extra half an hour of footage, the Ultimate Cut is still choppy- but Snyder has been able to redeem himself. This new cut should have been the one that was released to cinemas, and this might have just saved DC from being buried by the impending threat of Marvel’s Phase 3 plans. It’s not perfect, but I wasn’t angry. I was, at best, satisfied.

Rating: 3/5