On Thursday, a trailer for one of geek culture’s most anticipated movies, 2016’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice hit the internet. Unfortunately, it was a pirated version of the preview that leaked out, seemingly recorded on a cellphone with blurry visuals and muddy audio.
The video was apparently recorded somewhere in Brazil, as indicated by the Portuguese subtitles seen with the trailer. As could be expected, many who watched the bootleg trailer complained about how dark the video was. Others criticized the grim, dour tone of the trailer, which carried no sense of the fun or wonder that we often expect from comic book superhero movies.
Warner Brothers and director Zack Snyder had an event planned for Monday (April 20) in which the BvS trailer would premiere in IMAX theaters, providing the big screen and sound that would make those two minutes a spectacle. Additionally, the leaked trailer was released mere hours after pop culture was still swooning over the new Star Wars: The Force Awakens preview that was universally adored.
The timing of the release and poor quality of the pirated video hardly the circumstances under which WB and DC Comics wanted people to see the first look at their superhero showcase film. As Badass Digest’s Devin Faraci wrote, this scenario was a potential disaster from a publicity standpoint. Really, the only way to get in front of this was to officially release an HD-quality clip, presenting the trailer as it was meant to be seen and extinguishing the negative buzz that had developed.
Sure enough, that’s what Snyder did on Friday evening.
#BatmanvSuperman #NotBlurry #NotPirated https://t.co/6twr1oFBvr
— ZackSnyder (@ZackSnyder) April 17, 2015
The director followed up with another tweet clarifying that Monday’s IMAX event would still be special for those who bought exclusive tickets, with a trailer that includes additional footage and licensed swag from the production. But Snyder’s “#NotPirated” and “#NotBlurry” hashtags — along with cracks about seeing the preview in IMAX, rather than a cellphone video — made it pretty clear that he and WB were pissed off about the bootleg trailer leaking out and creating a poor perception of the project.
Now that damage control is in place and the supervillains of pirated video and negative buzz have been vanquished, the BvS trailer can be properly judged on its own merits.
The trailer undoubtedly looks better in its proper format with HD-quality video. Now it’s clear what we were supposed to see, especially the tracking shot pushing in on a city square with what’s revealed to be a statue of Superman that’s been vandalized with the words “False God.” In the background, we see what’s presumably a reconstructed Metropolis, restored after being pulverized in the battle between Superman and General Zod at the end of Man of Steel.
The destruction and loss of innocent lives that surely came with it was the most controversial aspect of Snyder’s Superman film. (OK, maybe the second most controversial, after Superman ending the battle by killing his enemy.) This was not the virtuous superhero we’d come to know. He would have worked harder to save people — or at the very least, moved the battle away from the city to prevent further carnage and mass casualties. Snyder seemed far too interested in crafting the cool visuals of skyscrapers falling, of two titans smashing each other through steel and glass while trading superhuman blows.
I defended the film and that story point, as I felt Snyder was depicting a Superman in the early stages of his heroism. He hadn’t yet learned the cost of his actions, how taking on a superhumanly powerful figure and brawling with him would result in tragic consequences. Though Man of Steel had to be judged as a single work, wasn’t it at least possible that this was just the beginning of the story and part of this character’s journey was to deal with the repercussions of asserting his power?
Judging from this trailer, it’s clear that Snyder, along with writers Chris Terrio and David Goyer, had this narrative in mind for the sequel. Perhaps it’s a response to the criticism of Man of Steel or maybe it’s something that the filmmakers intended from the beginning.
I lean toward the latter, as the intention behind this reinvention of Superman always seemed to be portraying how such a character would be received in our modern day and age. How would we react to learning an alien lived among us, that we weren’t alone in the universe? And what would our response be when it’s apparent that this being could crush us with a swing of his fist? Perhaps some of us would worship this god-like figure and the benefit he could bring to humanity. Others, of course, would fear the presence and question the motives of someone so much more powerful.
However, those themes might not necessarily make for the best trailer, the best way to promote this superhero blockbuster. This glimpse of Batman v Superman seems unrelentingly bleak. Is that the tone of the entire film? If so, maybe it’s accurate — and fair to viewers — to convey that impression, rather than present a different sort of movie than what will actually be shown in theaters.
But do you feel excited about seeing two of the culture’s greatest, most famous superheroes teaming up on the big screen, in live-action, for the first time with this trailer? I’m as geeky about comic book superheroes as it gets, and have wanted to see Superman and Batman in the same movie since I was a kid.
Yet I’m not so sure this trailer has increased my anticipation for this film. I’m left wondering where the fun is. A movie like this needs a sense of that, along with the gorgeous spectacle of Superman lifting rockets and Batman standing high above the city.
What concerns me the most is that both Superman and Batman who are supposed to be heroes and inspirational figures aren’t portrayed as likable here. They both appear to be villains, judging from this trailer. Who’s the good guy? Batman (who looks absolutely huge, between Ben Affleck packing on the muscle and whatever’s in that suit) threatens Superman, asking him if he bleeds. Say what? Even if that’s in the movie, should it be in the trailer?
But maybe this clash — ideological and physical — is part of the point Snyder is trying to make with Batman v Superman — at least early on. We would be scared about these people being in our world. And is it possible that the world just isn’t big enough to share the opposing ideologies of these two figures? I just wonder if that’s what Snyder and WB should be selling with its first pitch to the audience. It probably works for the fanboy crowd, especially those familiar with the 1980s era of Frank Miller comics inspiring this film. But does it work for general viewers hoping for a cool superhero movie?
We’ll see plenty of other trailers for Batman v Superman in the months to come, leading up to its March 25, 2016 release. So there will be opportunities to convey different themes that may be present in the movie. Maybe one or two of those previews will carry a lighter tone and focus a bit more on the spectacle of these two iconic superheroes, along with whatever threat brings them together and leads into the eventual Justice League franchise that WB is working toward.
Right now, however, even the Man of Steel and Dark Knight might have trouble battling the villains of poor timing and bleak tone. Maybe emerging from that early struggle will make this story even more special. Here’s hoping for that eventual triumph.
