Early Reactions From Critics Screening Of ‘Captain America: Civil War’ Hit The Net!

u do realize u got trolled by NR who didn’t watch the movie. ur such a sad sack

Independent of the credence you’ve given to NR, who is obviously being a s***-head, you’re being obstinate towards the critic reactions.

Most people rate a movie purely on how enjoyable they found it to be. Those people get criticized for not caring about the quality of the storytelling/symbolism/etc. I believe that, despite my own standards for a “good” film, they deserve respect for their opinion (especially considering they are the majority of movie-goers).

Nothing can “force” a person to enjoy something. You should have learned that during your year-long crusade to control the narrative about BvS. You obviously struggle with empathy, as you are unable to rationalize the different response many had to BvS.

I’m not admonishing anyone. I’m criticizing you and your behavior. Your fandom and anti-fandom has destroyed your objectivity. It is a shame, because you’re obviously an educated fellow.

Maybe read NR’s tweets again. He isn’t analyzing the movie, he’s making things up to be controversial. He is trolling, and you are buying his act.

Okay buddy. I’m stuck at work for another hour, with nothing to do. You obviously don’t have a willing debate partner. Let’s do this.

Things I thought were objectively good about BvS:
–Gal Gadot has tremendous screen presence.
–Ben Affleck (with Terio) did some great work with Bruce Wayne. They went with the crazy version of the character and it really came together well.
–The writing for Lex Luthor. He was brilliant and conniving.
–Batman’s fight scene in the warehouse was phenomenal in choreography, cinematography, and character moments.

Things I think are objectively poor about BvS
–Diana Prince serves no purpose in the story-line. She was just wedged into the narrative so they could include WW. Gal is also pretty flat in many of her lines, which I hope won’t hurt her solo-film too much.
–Superman is not written as a character, but as a general concept that other characters observe. This destroys the few moments he does get.
–Lois Lane is there throughout the story despite serving no real function other than as a damsel for Superman. She is rescued so many times in the film that it becomes meaningless.
–The method for introducing the other JL characters was weak, but made far worse by the fact that WB knew that would be under heavy scrutiny and failed to do something interesting with it.
–The story structure of the first two acts is a slow burn and makes the effort to establish compelling justifications for the superhero fight. Then, instead of building into the fight, the movie sets up the real climax RIGHT BEFORE THE BATTLE! Thereby upstaging the titular conflict. When the BvS battle starts, the audience is already waiting for the end so they can go fight Doomsday. I, along with many others, felt robbed. I still do.
–Jesse Eisenberg tried something big, and it rubbed many people the wrong way. I don’t have a problem with it myself, but it should have been clear to the filmmakers that his performance would anger people.
–The “Martha” moment was contrived. While I was on-board with Batman being taken aback by the name, there needed to be more to that exchange to make Batman change his whole perspective. I thought he would realize that Luthor had been manipulating him all along and that he had been too distracted by hate to notice. Batman could have paused his battle to save Martha, but not completely embraced Superman.
–The faux death scene in space, followed quickly by his resurrection, destroyed the emotional impact of the “real” Superman death. We were all shown that Superman can be healed by the sun, so we can’t feel anything during the funerals (except, I admit, during that brief Lois/Martha moment in his bedroom). Then, to assure us of what we already know, the dirt rises off the casket. They tried something huge with the death, then totally botched it.

I have more complaints, but I think they’ll mostly be answered in the director’s cut. Perhaps some of the one’s I’ve listed here will also be answered in the full movie.

Sounds good.

It’s coming, I promise. Work today was alot busier than I expected, so I haven’t had the chance to sit down and respond in a thorough way, the way I’d like to.

But rest assured, I thought about your statements, and my responses to them all the way home last night. Please know that I haven’t forgotten about you.

You get the email notifications, right? That’s how I always know people have responded to my posts.

In Continuation….

–Lois Lane is there throughout the story despite serving no real function other than as a damsel for Superman. She is rescued so many times in the film that it becomes meaningless.

While I agree with this, it’s kinda a double-edged sword. This is precisely the reason why I’ve NEVER been a fan of Lois Lane. She’s a pointless character, that serves no real purpose, other than what you described. I feel like she’s part of what made Superman stale for the past few decades. It never made any sense to me, that Clark Kent, as this farm-boy, would chase after this condescending, ball-busting city woman, who doesn’t respect him as a “man”. She belittles his upbringing every chance she gets (calling him “Smallville”, “farm-boy”, and the like), undermines all his professional endeavors, and NEVER once thought of giving the Clark Kent persona a chance at love, despite how much he threw himself at him. But everytime “Superman” showed up, she was all in. “Clark Kent” was ALWAYS worthless and inferior in her mind, and even when he revealed his true identity to her, she still only tolerated “Clark”, because she knew it was a facade.

Those 2 characters NEVER belonged together, IMO. According to the comics, they’re not even genetically compatible. I was more than elated when DC finally opted to pair Superman and WW together in the comics. But alas, that doesn’t seem to be the route they are going in for the movies.

BUT, this is basically the same concept as the Lois in the comics. There really isn’t all that much that can be done with the character, and have her remain faithful to the comics, which is what they did.

I personally would’ve been fine if they’d written her completely out of the story, but it seems that they have a purpose for her later on, as was evinced in the Knightmare sequence (re: Injustice).

However, I did feel that they redeemed her to some degree, between MOS and BVS. They really played up her investigative skills between the 2 films. And she wasn’t the rip-roaring b!+c# that she usually is in the comics. But then again, they front-loaded the story for the movies, where Clark’s persona wasn’t something that she didn’t know right out the gate.

–The method for introducing the other JL characters was weak, but made far worse by the fact that WB knew that would be under heavy scrutiny and failed to do something interesting with it.

I completely disagree with this, but you didn’t really give me alot to work with here (what was “weak” about it? What could/should they have done different?), but here goes… The easter eggs for the other characters were amazing. Flash was like a ghost in his segment; WW’s set her up as an ancient character (hence her role in the film); Aquaman’s is actually a throwback from MOS, wherein he (or some of his Atlanteans) saved Superman in MOS; Cyborg’s was especially poignant, as they established his connection with Darkseid an the New Gods, as well as establishing Cadmus in the DCEU.

The beauty about these segments, is that it’s clear the metahumans in the DCEU don’t want to be found, and Superman’s presence has brought unintended light on them (as was stated in the Suicide Squad trailer).

But beyond that, I really don’t get what’s not to like about these. We were told months ago, that the cameos would be precisely that, and that’s exactly what we got. Half the goal of BVS was to establish the DCEU, and it did that as well, hence the “Dawn of Justice” part.

–The story structure of the first two acts is a slow burn and makes the effort to establish compelling justifications for the superhero fight. Then, instead of building into the fight, the movie sets up the real climax RIGHT BEFORE THE BATTLE! Thereby upstaging the titular conflict. When the BvS battle starts, the audience is already waiting for the end so they can go fight Doomsday. I, along with many others, felt robbed. I still do.

Sorry, but I really don’t understand what you’re saying here. Are you complaining that the BVS fight wasn’t long enough?

Otherwise, this is typical superhero storytelling; the villain makes the heroes fight each other, and when the misunderstanding is cleared up, the Heroes team up against the real threat. Not sure what you felt “robbed” over. If “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” isn’t a clear indicator of what you were going to get from this film, then I really don’t know what to tell you.

–Jesse Eisenberg tried something big, and it rubbed many people the wrong way. I don’t have a problem with it myself, but it should have been clear to the filmmakers that his performance would anger people.

Based on what, exacltly? And this seems like a rather disingenuous complaint. There’s no need for you to play defense attorney for others. If it’s not your battle, don’t fight it. You should be standing right beside me, explaining why it worked, not taking up the sword against people who share your sentiment, for the sake of people who would just as soon question your tastes as well.

–The “Martha” moment was contrived. While I was on-board with Batman being taken aback by the name, there needed to be more to that exchange to make Batman alter his whole perspective. I thought he would realize that Luthor had been manipulating him all along and that he had been too distracted by hate to notice. Batman could have paused his battle to save Martha, but not completely embraced Superman.

What you supposed, is precisely what I got from the scene. Batman realized he’d been played for a fool. He allowed Luthor to put a battery in his back, realizing that Luthor set up the sequence of events, practically from the beginning. I didn’t need any of this spelled out for me. And, as much as I’m interested in seeing the director’s cut, it’s not gonna tell me anything that I wasn’t able to ascertain for myself.

–The faux death scene in space, followed quickly by his resurrection, destroyed the emotional impact of the “real” Superman death. We were all shown that Superman can be healed by the sun, so we can’t feel anything during the funerals (except, I admit, during that brief Lois/Martha moment in his bedroom). Then, to assure us of what we already know, the dirt rises off the casket. They tried something huge with the death, then totally botched it.

Except Superman can’t be killed. This sequence of events plays right out of the comics, albeit a truncated version. Everything from the nuke blast, to the death, to the pending resurrection. The sun will always heal Superman. Full stop. So what did they botch, exactly?

When it comes to complaints such as this one, it seems like people’s real complaint is that the film was TOO comic book accurate. Should they have gone the Marvel route, and only loosely base their films on their books? Moreover, it was the way he died against DD that was the emotional resonance. His confession to Lois, his having to kill “Zod” again, and making what he knew was going to be the ultimate sacrifice. Regardless of what the audience knew or knows about Superman’s powers, or the fact that something was up with him in the grave, you were supposed to identify with all the other characters, who were reacting to his death.

Watching people react and mourn in solidarity, who would otherwise be divided on their POV of Superman, was something to behold. He was the selfless hero that died for them.

It sounds like you robbed yourself, by focusing on the fact that you knew Superman would resurrect. At no point was that relevant to the story of BVS. It’s definitely relevant to the DCEU as a whole, but not this particular film.

I have more complaints, but I think they’ll mostly be answered in the director’s cut. Perhaps some of the one’s I’ve listed here will also be answered in the full movie.

I’d also recommend watching the film again, if you haven’t already.