The Controversy
Batman V Superman? More like fan V critic. Or fan V studio. Or even fan V fan. BvS’s controversy is the stuff of Hollywood legend (that could make a movie of its own). The film’s initial announcement at the San Diego Comic Con in 2013 was met with an ecstatic reaction from audiences, since the rendezvous of those two iconic characters was every geek’s wet dream for decades. However, the first tokens of discontent started to surface when the studio made public the casting of Ben Affleck – infamous for portraying Daredevil in 2003’s atrocious adaptation – as Batman. While many spontaneously reacted to this decision with condemnation and mockery, for the moment this was nothing more than your average fanboy whining (pretty similar to the opposition of casting Michael Keaton in Burton’s 1989 version).
The production fully backed their casting choices and started an enormous marketing campaign in order to vigorously promote their DC Extended Universe debut and maybe steal some of Marvel’s soaring momentum. In this process, fans took issue with several creative decisions such as the tone of the film, which looked too dark for a superhero movie, the trailers that looked overstuffed and spoiled too much, and even the full title itself, making fun of its pomposity (which sounded like an Far Right political party) and the unnecessary removal of the “S” from the versus initials (which annoyed this guy’s OCD). Despite all that, many where eager to see the final film, bound by hope, curiosity or an irresistible urge to have their opinions of how bad it will suck validated. And it wasn’t until its worldwide release in March 2016 that BvS was fully backlashed.
The critics slated the film with overwhelmingly degrading reviews. Gathering a bone-crushing 27% rating at Rotten Tomatoes (lower than Affleck’s Daredevil flick), BvS reportedly failed in almost all of its aspects: its storytelling techniques, its complicated plotlines, its seemingly serious themes, its nonsensical dream sequences, its hollow characters, its over-stylized action scenes, etc. The negative climate around it quickly snowballed all over the States and Europe and its record-breaking opening was followed by a record-breaking drop of 71% in ticket sales on the second week. The image of an apologetic Snyder humming “I don’t know how else to do it” and “it is what it is” and a doleful Affleck almost crying when a reporter in a London cast and crew promotional interview that coincided with its release informed them on the mixed response it was getting, was downright heartbreaking.
Sad as it may be, unlike art-house and indie films, critical acclaim is not necessarily associated with cult cinema. On the same interview, Henry Cavil acknowledged the fact that it’s not the critics’ opinion, but the audience’s that really matters in the end. Besides, badness is heavily tied to a film’s cult status. And it wasn’t just the comic-book-uninitiated babbling critics bashing the film. Many fans deeply accustomed to the DC properties criticized Snyder for badly mishandling their beloved heroes. Even nerd king Kevin Smith argued that it’s humorless and lacks of heart, an opinion he rallied to change upon his second viewing.
Of course, not everyone hated it. Despite its blunders, many viewers seemed to have enjoyed the film and its adult oriented take on superhero mythology. Even more so, BvS instantly gained a large group of loyal fans who consciously or unconsciously recruited themselves to defend it by any means necessary. Spending hours fighting in social media, they openly declared war towards all haters, accused critics for being bribed by Disney, cursed Marvel for destroying the superhero film with their light tone and silly gags, slammed fans for being too dumb to understand it and even sent death threats to BvS naysayers.
Many of these fans, taking pleasure in their acquired insider’s knowledge of DC comics, interpreted the vast opinion chasm between them and the impugners as cognition deficiency and therefore shortage of cultural capital of the latter. That’s the essence of cinephilia, i.e. the eclectic exercise of movie-watching that distinguishes oneself from the mainstream. This level of commitment, this rebellious attitude and the notion that BvS devotees are system underdogs tangled in a shadowy conspiracy to overthrown their object of reverence is not only a study item of social behavior and indicator of fandom psychology, but a distinctive element of cult cinema.
