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Well, this is a little awkward.
Weeks after co-hosting a special on the CW network hyping the release of "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice," writer/director Kevin Smith is joining critics in panning the film.
"It didn't really have a heart," he said on the March 25 entry of his Hollywood Babble-On podcast.
Smith, regarded among fans as a genuine comic enthusiast, is a well-known Batman superfan and hosts "Comic Book Men," an unscripted AMC show about comic books and fan culture. Leading up to the release of "Batman v Superman," Smith co-hosted a special on the CW network alongside Geoff Johns, Chief Creative Officer at DC Comics.
Smith said the film "is missing joy" and, like many critics, pointed to director Zack Snyder as the source of many of the movie's faults.
“There seems to be a fundamental lack of understanding of what those characters are about,” he said. “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.”
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Smith repeated his disappointment with the characterization of both Superman and Batman. And although he enjoyed Affleck's portrayal of the character, he said overall this version of the Bat is "... certainly not the 'world's greatest detective' ... [he's] more like Bat-Trump."
As many critics have, Smith praised both the visuals and Gal Gadot's debut as Wonder Woman, but said the film ultimately fails to present interesting, well rounded versions of the superheroes that fans know and love. The resolution of the battle between the titular characters was especially disappointing for him. (We won't spoil it here.)
"Wow. $250 million riding on that [and] that's your moment?" he asked.
CW & Warner Bros/YouTube
Despite disastrous reviews ("Batman v Superman" is the lowest-rated Batman film since 1997's "Batman & Robin") the movie had a stellar $400 million opening weekend worldwide. Warner Bros. is already hyping up marketing for its next DC film, "Suicide Squad." An international trailer was just released for the August 5 film which will debut Jared Leto as Joker set in the same DC universe.
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