With the Marvel Cinema Universe garnering massive popularity, acclaim and the green that makes the world go 'round, DC comics has decided to cash in on this success with the development of the DC Extended Universe. This cinematic universe began with “Man of Steel” and will extend into “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice," to be released on March 25. “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” will feature two of the most popular comic book heroes of all time, Batman and Superman, as they face off against one other due to their opposing views on how to be a correct figure of justice.
When the first few trailers for “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” were released, they seemed odd. That is not to say it does not look interesting with cameos and introductions from other DC heroes and the action, in general, does look highly entertaining and suspenseful. It just seems like the story is a little muddled and with too many sub-plots. If for some reason you haven’t seen a trailer for “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice," because you somehow have the ability to never be exposed to an advertisement, here is the trailer released by Warner Bros. Pictures.
The trailer has a mixed reception among fans, which is due in part from the editing and amount of information the editors tried to cram into three minutes. With that being said it is exciting to see two of the most beloved favorite heroes on the same screen in live-action, but it’s also a bit worrisome and here are six reasons why:
1. Zack Snyder
Snyder directs “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” and is set to direct the upcoming two-part Justice League movies. He is also producing future DC endeavors such as “Aquaman," “The Flash," “Wonder Woman" and “Suicide Squad” which is set to release this coming August. I find this to be a bit risky on the part of Warner Bros. due to Snyder’s track record with his films. Snyder knows how to handle action, which is demonstrated in films “300," “Dawn of the Dead," “Watchmen," “Man of Steel" and “Sucker Punch.” Unfortunately, when it comes to storytelling, his films are a bit bland and primarily focus on style over substance leaving all but “Dawn of the Dead” with mixed reviews so it will be interesting to see what he does in the DC Extended Universe.
2. Doomsday
Doomsday is arguably Superman’s greatest foe. In the comic “The Death of Superman” Doomsday and Superman beat each other to death allowing for Doomsday to be known as the only being to ever kill Superman. In the trailer, we get the idea that Lex Luthor creates Doomsday out of the dead body of the deceased General Zod from “Man of Steel.” It’s exciting to see Doomsday in a live-action movie but in a movie where the sole purpose is to have two different ideologies in Batman’s vigilante justice and Superman’s law-abiding justice fight is a bit confusing. It deters from the whole purpose of the story not to mention it almost throws in a forcing element, as depicted in the trailers, but hopefully, it is explained in depth during the movie.
3. Action
For a movie coming out of the comic book superhero genre, it is a necessity to have action and from the trailers released, there’s enough action to keep even Michael Bay satisfied. There appear to be several action sequences that build up to the battle between Batman and Superman -- all of which appear to be handled very well and seem essential to the plot and not as a filler to appeal to those who care solely for action.
4. Wonder Woman
One of the greatest female superheroes of all time, Wonder Woman, finally makes her big screen debut in this movie and she looks awesome. She looks to be at the same level as Batman and Superman -- if she wasn’t, it would be quite an injustice to this character who isn’t just one of the strongest female heroes but strongest heroes in general. It is concerning as to what kind of role she will play in the film. She seems to just appear in the nick of time to help Batman and Superman take on Doomsday. Her character appears to be somewhat of a forced introduction but, as I hope with the sake of Doomsday, that Wonder Woman will be an important part and not just thrown in without reason.
5. Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor
There were many casting choices for comic book characters that had received initial praise such as Robert Downey as Iron Man, and others who have received massive backlash such as Heath Ledger as the Joker. Fortunately, for the case of Heath Ledger and comic book fans, Ledger killed it as the Joker and is arguably one of the best incarnations of the Joker ever created. Which would make it safe to assume that one shouldn’t judge the casting choices until after they see the film.
Jesse Eisenberg has been on the receiving end of backlash for his being cast as Lex Luthor, but in the defense of fans who have jumped to the conclusion of calling Eisenberg wrong for Lex Luthor, they may be right in doing so. This is not to say Eisenberg is not a good actor, he had been nominated for an Academy Award for his portrayal as Mark Zuckerberg in “The Social Network” and has been in great in other movies like “Zombieland," “American Ultra," and “Adventureland.”
As others will point out, all of his roles in these movies have not been intimidating antagonists but a similar awkward, fast-speaking, witty character. This isn’t the best resume for the famously boastful, arrogant and flamboyant Lex Luthor and while Eisenberg may give a good performance it may not be enough to match what is needed for the infamous Luthor.
6. The Flash, Aquaman and Cyborg
Apparently somewhere in this film The Flash, Aquaman and Cyborg are supposed to appear. Why? Why do these characters need to be in this movie besides to set up the Justice League movies? Again, the movie hasn’t been released, but in a movie where Batman and Superman are supposed to “throw down," there is just no need for these other characters.
It seems so unnecessary to feature these characters when they have yet to be introduced to the DC Extended Universe; they wouldn’t have much to offer the story. Even in a run time of 150 minutes, it seems like these characters are going to be forced into this conflict in hopes of drawing in more fans because there is no mention of them in the trailers and the trailers seem to be revealing everything to us before we go see the movie.
Hopefully, I’m wrong. Hopefully, it makes sense to the story having them in the movie but I’m very skeptical.

























