In Defense of Batman V Superman Part 1: Degree of Difficulty
93
89
26
12
Those 4 numbers represent consecutively the rotten tomatoes scores for the 4 Christopher Reeves Superman movies. Even without an advanced degree in mathematics, I have spotted a trend. It seems that the last half of the franchise is awful.
What is less easily devised is that Superman and Superman II are one story. They were filmed together and represent what most people consider to be the pinnacle of Superman storytelling. In fact, everyone pretends that Superman III and IV do not exist. They are most certainly not cannon. Bryan Singer tried to capitalize on this in 2006 by making a direct sequel to Superman II. Though not as financially lucrative as the people with all the money would have liked, it nevertheless earns a 76 on the tomato meter. The third highest score of any Superman film. Good but not enough to create a franchise.
There are 7 Superman films (including Batman V Superman) since 1978. Only two of which have a metascore above 80. And those 2 are in actuality 1 long movie written by Mario Puzo (author of the Godfather) and directed by Richard Donner.
1 critically acclaimed film in 7.
My thesis is simply this: telling a good Superman story is incredibly difficult because Superman is morally and physically superior to everyone else when the story begins. There is no character arc for Superman. He begins and ends every story exactly the same which makes for a lousy, boring movie.
So in defending Batman V Superman from the opprobrium and the 26 on rotten tomatoes, the first thing to understand is that telling a compelling Superman story is extremely difficult. And why I would argue for the genius of Zack Snyder's vision. Snyder gives Superman a character arc without taking away his physical perfection or moral goodness. Level of Difficulty: threading a camel through the eye of a needle.
89
26
12
Those 4 numbers represent consecutively the rotten tomatoes scores for the 4 Christopher Reeves Superman movies. Even without an advanced degree in mathematics, I have spotted a trend. It seems that the last half of the franchise is awful.
What is less easily devised is that Superman and Superman II are one story. They were filmed together and represent what most people consider to be the pinnacle of Superman storytelling. In fact, everyone pretends that Superman III and IV do not exist. They are most certainly not cannon. Bryan Singer tried to capitalize on this in 2006 by making a direct sequel to Superman II. Though not as financially lucrative as the people with all the money would have liked, it nevertheless earns a 76 on the tomato meter. The third highest score of any Superman film. Good but not enough to create a franchise.
There are 7 Superman films (including Batman V Superman) since 1978. Only two of which have a metascore above 80. And those 2 are in actuality 1 long movie written by Mario Puzo (author of the Godfather) and directed by Richard Donner.
1 critically acclaimed film in 7.
My thesis is simply this: telling a good Superman story is incredibly difficult because Superman is morally and physically superior to everyone else when the story begins. There is no character arc for Superman. He begins and ends every story exactly the same which makes for a lousy, boring movie.
So in defending Batman V Superman from the opprobrium and the 26 on rotten tomatoes, the first thing to understand is that telling a compelling Superman story is extremely difficult. And why I would argue for the genius of Zack Snyder's vision. Snyder gives Superman a character arc without taking away his physical perfection or moral goodness. Level of Difficulty: threading a camel through the eye of a needle.
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