The critical reception for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice hasn't been positive, but fan buzz was enough for the film to break box-office records opening weekend. That being said, more than a few fans have found Zack Snyder's version of Batman and Superman to be out of character.
Director and celebrity nerd Kevin Smith is one of those fans. In a recent podcast with Ralph Garman, the subject of Batman v Superman came up, and the two friends didn't have kind words for the film.
"There seems to be a fundamental lack of understanding of what those characters are about," Smith says. "It's almost like Zack Snyder didn't read a bunch of comics, he read one comic once and it was Dark Knight Returns, and his favorite part was the last part where Batman and Superman fight."
Smith and Garman go on to say that the film lacked heart and that the characterization of both Superman and Batman felt off.
"The movie I felt like didn't really have a heart," Smith says. "It was certainly f****** humorless, there was nothing funny going on in that world whatsoever, but it had lots of spectacle. Like you can't take that away from Snyder. Boy, he knows how to like compose a frame and how to set up a shot. Beautiful visual stylist but you need more than just the pictures, you need like characterization and these characters seemed off character, particularly Superman."
Garman goes on to describe Batman v Superman's caped crusader as not that bright, which prompts Smith to call Snyder's idea of the character as more like Bat-Trump.
"Certainly not the world's greatest detective! More like Bat-Trump," Smith says, following up with that "he hates immigrants in a big, bad way."
That wasn't to say actor Ben Affleck was bad in the role of Bruce Wayne. Smith and Garman seem to think he did fine with the material that was given him, but that the character didn't feel like the Batman fans have come to love so much over the years. You can listen to the entire podcast below.
