Best Batman V Superman Moments

With all the nerd-rage that Batman V Superman is getting, it’s so easy to just ride the bandwagon and hate the film, too. But the movie is not without its glorious moments, and despite all the incredibly stupid moves they made (some of which I have already detailed), here are the best Batman V Superman moments that reduced me to a giddy little sap geeking out to the max during the film. MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!

1.Batman goes full Chuck Norris and takes out a bunch of thugs in an ambush.

The thing about Batman V Superman is that it’s not a Superman film, even though it’s supposedly a Man of Steel (which I hated) sequel. It’s actually a Batman film in disguise, and a pretty damn good one at that. Why? It’s NOT that Batfleck is the best Bats ever like most people are saying, but it’s that he has an actual Batman moment in this film that has never been seen before. On his quest to rescue Martha Kent from Luthor’s thugs, he uses his strategic gadgets and jaw-dropping combat skills to take down all these armored goons single-handedly. The best part about it all is that he’s not invincible—he actually gets hurt in the fight, which is a nice little touch to show just how human he still really is.

2. The cast do their very best.

Despite the horrible plot holes and terribly pieced-together scenes, newcomers Jesse Eisenberg and Gal Gadot do their damn best. There’s been a lot of hostile responses about Eisenberg’s Lex portrayal, and while I still consider Smallville’s Michael Rosenbaum the best live-action Lex ever, Jesse’s performance actually made me like his version—jittery quirks and all. Plus, there’s a pretty cool quote that he gives during his “confrontation” with Superman, where he goes, “If god is all-powerful, he cannot be all good. And if he is all good, he cannot be all-powerful.” There’s also that famous Luthor bravado that’s evident when an enraged Superman shines his heat vision at him and Lex is still too confident for his own good, believing that his head is not going to get blown to bits.

Of course, everyone’s raving about Gal Gadot, and even though I still think her physique is not quite right to play the Amazonian warrior princess from Themyscira, her performance both as Wonder Woman and the sly Diana Prince is fantastic. Those war cries of hers are pretty chilling, and her mysterious elegance during her interactions with Bruce shows her inner strength and power. Truly, just like she says in the film, he has never known a woman like her before.

3. The Man of Steel battle from down below looks effing terrifying.

   

There’s always that big superhero conflict towards the end of a movie, but from the point of view of helpless spectators on the ground, everything just looks so much more horrific and WTF-worthy. I particularly loved that whole scene where Jack, Bruce’s employee, is praying for his life while Superman’s laser beams are wrecking everything behind him and dooming him to his imminent death. It just makes the casualty count more real.

4. That slo-mo montage of the Waynes dying is just heartbreaking.

I know that we’ve seen Bruce’s parents get shot plenty of times already, but that doesn’t make it any less tragic. The slo-mo effect that Snyder’s so good at is in full swing here, and it doesn’t help that you already know what’s going to happen before it even happens. Poor little Bruce—no wonder he developed a Bat fetish and got emotionally scarred for life.

5. Sad Batman is sad, but Sad Superman is sad, too.

   

So everyone’s ranting about how the films don’t understand Superman at all, and that they are forcing him to be this gloomy character instead of the bright and colorful ray of hope that he should be. I completely agree that they should stop trying to ‘Nolan-ify’ Superman, but I gotta give mad props to Henry Cavill—his tortured Supes-look is spot-on, even when he doesn’t say a thing. That look he gives when the Senate hearing explodes is just priceless.

6. The cop bust at the beginning furthers the mythos of the Bat beautifully.

Like I said, BvS is actually a Batman film in disguise, and being so, it was able to get the whole “cowardly and superstitious lot” down pat. The scene where Bats breaks a prostitution ring from the POV of two cops shows how efficiently Batman uses fear as his weapon. Nothing is seen or heard except periodic screams of pain, and when the cop finally shines a light on Batman hanging from the corner of a wall, the the built-up intensity is just immensely satisfying. The caged ladies were also mumbling that the “devil” saved them, which reminds me of the short stories from the animated film, Batman: Gotham Knight. The first one, titled Have I Got a Story For You, shows Batman told from the perspectives of different children on the streets, and each one has his or her version of the “monster” that’s been stopping crime in Gotham. Brilliant.

7. Pa Kent is back to bring all the feels.

I think everyone’s got their Kevin Costner sniffles-moment. Damn it, Costner.

8. There’s Superman V Batman, but not in the way you’d expect.

   

I personally didn’t like the actual battle between the two (which is really sad since that’s supposedly the whole movie’s selling point), but the other more subtle interactions between The World’s Finest are what won me over as the best Batman V Superman moments. The whole Batmobile chase goes to great lengths to show how powerful and semi-indestructible the Batmobile is, but with just a tap of Superman’s knee, it goes careening off to the side. Then there’s a slow-mo shot of Bruce seeing Superman in person for the first time as he loses control of the Batmobile, and that look of shock and fear in his eyes is perfect.

Now, about that ridiculous “Martha” thing towards the end. Everyone’s flipping tables about it, and while they’re all ready to march into Zack Snyder’s home with pitchforks and flaming torches, let me just say that I actually found it to be a nice little touch. I abhorred the fact that Batman actually took Superman down completely in the film (and not just momentarily as was in The Dark Knight Returns), but the fact that Batman was completely thrown off guard and rattled upon hearing his mother’s name just goes to show how broken and unstable this version of Batman is. People forget that this Batfleck is older, grittier, and angrier. He’s not quite right in the head, not as efficient and precise as he once was, and he’s not at a hundred percent. I’d even go so far as to say that he’s not thinking clearly, which probably explains why his drive to eliminate Clark is unjustified.

He’s not the calm, collected, and perfectly calculating Batman we’re used to. Even that scene where he recklessly and furiously drives his broken Batmobile back into the cave shows his instability. This probably also explains why he’s so meddlesome all of a sudden. I found it quite irritating that Batman is sticking his nose in where he’s not concerned—I mean, doesn’t Batman always just want to keep to himself? As long as you don’t set foot in his city, he doesn’t give a damn about you. But this is explained when he has a conversation with Alfred where he says that 20 years in Gotham is not enough anymore, and that criminals will always keep popping up. He says that eliminating Superman is his legacy.

Which is why when Martha’s name comes up, he totally loses it and screams out into the air in classic emo fashion. He’s just not the Batman he used to be, and that bitterness is messing with his character and his head.

9. The Justice League of America is teased in a revelation that’s more ‘nerd-gasmicly’ exciting than the big action scene it’s smack-dab in the middle of.

    

   

Flash. Aquaman. Cyborg. Wonder Woman. Best Batman V Superman scenes. ‘Nuff said.

What about you? Let us know what you loved most about the film! Or if the horrible scenes are still keeping you up at night and haunting you every waking hour of the day, then check out my “Dumbest BvS moments” article HERE.