The Boldest Superhero Film of My Time

Rating: 9/10 (11 July 2018)

I'll start by making it clear I have only ever seen the Ultimate Edition. I'm aware of what was cut out for the theatrical release, so I will concede up front that most of the criticisms about pacing, editing, and missing bits of plot at release were merited.
With that caveat out of the way, I must reiterate that this was bar-none the boldest superhero movie I have ever seen. To me, it was arguably the best as well, though "best" shouldn't be taken to mean "most enjoyable." That honor easily goes to "Thor: Ragnarok."
What makes BvS stand out among other films in the genre is that it takes two characters who have been done to death since the 1970s and brings them up to date. I recently tried to watch "Superman: The Movie" for the first time in a number of years, and while it was still good and Reeves will always be iconic, I just couldn't take it seriously. I'll put it this way: If the story in BvS was "stupid" in your view but Superman turning back time by spinning the earth backward on its axis didn't seem like one of the dumbest things you have ever seen -in any movie from any genre- to the extent that it outright ruins the movie for you, then your opinion about BvS isn't worth much. Nostalgic bias was always going to be a problem for this movie, and the way people reacted to and reviewed "Man of Steel" was telling in this regard.
That brings me to Zack Snyder's take on Superman. You know, that guy whose status as the first extraterrestrial ever encountered by humanity was a total non-issue in the old movies. Apparently, Snyder has a similar view to my own in that his take on the Man of Steel makes his being an alien a core piece of his identity. He may look like any other (absurdly attractive) person, but he knows what he is, and that makes him perpetually uncertain of where he fits in this world. He is essentially good and really does care about people, but he struggles to truly empathize with the likes of us. To be human is to be frail, and that is not something he can easily relate to. This is the root of his conflict with Batman.
Just as Clark struggles to genuinely relate to most people, Snyder's Batman either refuses to or otherwise just can't relate to Superman. He doesn't see him as anything but a threat regardless of Superman's clear good intentions. Remember, a small group of Kryptonians were able to bring humanity to the brink of extinction in less than a day, and Bruce Wayne is nothing if not a realist. He didn't know the guy from Kansas. He only knew the god from another world.
While Batman's anger toward and fear of Superman are readily apparent from the start, Superman's inability to imagine things from Bruce Wayne's perspective only becomes truly apparent during their first real interaction. This reminded me of the animated version of the "world's finest" storyline, where Superman judges Batman harshly for using fear tactics and threats of violence (also, actual violence) to get the job done. Superman wasn't willing to consider what it would take for a human man to fight criminals and save innocents, or what that life would do to him over time. Just as Batman didn't see the guy from Kansas, Superman didn't see the man who lives his life trapped in one brutal, unthinkably traumatic moment (this was beautifully conveyed during the film's opening moments), and had spent his whole adult life bearing witness to humanity at its absolute worst.
The conflict between these two characters is as old as human history. They want the same things, but they can't understand one another. So they fight. And what a fight it was.
Watching a fight between, say, Captain America and Iron Man was, to me, more frustrating than anything because each understood the other's perspective perfectly. The fight between Batman and Superman in BvS was genuinely gut-wrenching, as intended, because they would have understood one another if either had tried. The whole sequence hilighted Batman's tactical prowess and ability to control a situation. Maybe the most badass thing about the fight was that it ended exactly where Batman planned. That brings me to the big elephant in the room named "Martha."
I can't recall exactly which YouTuber put it this way, but if you thought the "save Martha" exchange was about their mothers having the same name, you had your brain turned off. The brain-on people have explained this to death, but it bears repeating. This was the moment when Superman became humanized to Batman. He was about to die, and his only concern was for his adoptive human mother. He still believed that the man about to take his life would do the right thing. Even with the cowl on, there was no mistaking the look on Batman's face. It was the look of shame, guilt, and sudden uncertainty that says "What am I doing?"
Turns out even the most brutal, angry version of Bruce Wayne is better than Tony Stark at knowing right from wrong. At knowing that he had gone too far.
From there, the third act was a series of truly impressive (albeit mostly CGI) fight sequences, beginning with what I regard as the undisputed champion of Batman fights. Nothing in the Nolan movies (and especially nothing in the Burton movies) even came close. Go ahead, try to convince yourself that Batman and Bane taking turns punching one another in the face until Bane's mask broke was a good fight sequence. No, this was a fight straight out of "Arkham Knight," and it was glorious.
The battle against Doomsday really was one for the books. From the moment Wonder Woman arrived accompanied by the intense sounds of Tina Guo's electric cello to Superman's tragic, heroic death at the hands of Doomsday, I was glued to the screen. Sure, the mere presence of Doomsday spoiled the end to a degree, but watching the Man of Steel laboring to carry that kryptonite spear towards certain death was no less impactful.
A brief word on Jesse Eisenberg's take on Lex Luthor. At least one other reviewer on this site already said it best when they pointed out that this was his origin story. If you consider his scheme objectively, he is actually one of the more formidable incarnations of the character.
If we're lucky, we'll eventually get to see a Snyder Cut of "Justice League" and find out where this story was actually meant to go. For the record, Joss Whedon and Danny Elfman both should have said "no" to taking a dump on someone else's art.