Once Again, Zack Snyder Defends ‘Man Of Steel’ Destroying Metropolis, Talks ‘Batman V Superman’
Can you think of a more romantic spot for a first kiss than when you’re surrounded by hundreds, if not thousands, of dead bodies? Doesn’t exactly set the mood, does it? Lois Lane (Amy Adams) was into it, though, and she even cracked a joke (“It’s downhill after the first kiss”) amongst the chaos. It’s one of the tone deaf moments ofMan of Steel’s third act, which has been dividing fans ever since the film’s release. But to this day, directorZack Snyderstands by the destruction of Metropolis.
After the jump, Zack Snyder defendsMan of Steeland discusses the repercussions its destruction will create inBatman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
Snyder hasstatedbefore that he needed to show the consequences of a superhero and a super-adversary fighting. Since Superman was relatively new to the whole hero gig, he understandably had a hard time taking his fight with Zod (Michael Shannon) out of Metropolis…but we rarely ever saw the big blue boy scout even try to do that.
Speaking withFamous Monsters of Filmland, Snyder expressed his reasoning for the third act mayhem:
“I stand by it, because for me, I’ve always said when I was working onWatchmen— and maybe it’s sort of left over from aWatchmenphilosophical sort of thing — that there should be consequences to superheroes' interaction with the earth. And that was kind of the way that we approached Man Of Steel. I wanted a big consequence to Superman’s arrival on earth. Certainly, Batman v Superman sort of cashes in all its chips on the ‘why’ of that destruction.”
Man of Steelshowed the consequences, but it didn’t convey the gravity of the situation. When all these people are dying, you should probably feelsomething. The third act ofMan of Steelisn’t a disaster, but even as someone that enjoys the film quite a bit, its climax is hard to defend.
In thetrailerswe’ve seen forBatman v Superman, it’s apparent there’s going to be ramifications for the events inMan of Steel. You can also tell that Snyder and his team are trying to make this fight between an invincible alien and his human foe believable. As Superman says to Batman in one trailer, “If I wanted it, you’d be dead already.” Snyder again:
“The discovery of the story is that Batman fights Superman. Now move your superhero chess pieces so that can happen. And it can happen in a credible and interesting way. … It’s just incredibly satisfying and fun to dig into these two mythological characters and find a through line that allows them to come into conflict in a way that not only is philosophically satisfying, but also physically real.”
I’m curious howBatman v Superman: Dawn of Justicewill be philosophically satisfying. Amongst all the fighting we see in the trailers, it’s difficult to tell what the film is actually about beyond that besides punching and kicking. What exactly is Snyder hoping to say withBatman v Superman?
