A curious outcome from Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, is the polarizing reaction the film has elicited from critics and fans. Currently holding a 28% rating on Rotten Tomatoes one would think that a film being savaged by critics would be doomed at the box office. Au contraire mes amis as Dawn of Justice comes in with a 72% Fresh Rating from fans and has steamrolled its cinematic competition pulling in a mind blowing $166 million in domestic box office and $420 million worldwide so far. It appears the apocalypse or is it Apokolips (?) isn’t as bad as it appears as Warner Bros. and DC Comics have a hit on their hands without endorsements from critics. The fans have spoken with their wallets and this begs the question: Do critics and good reviews even matter anymore?
The intense marketing campaign leading up to the release of Dawn of Justice generated an incredible amount of buzz and anticipation for the film. Before opening day, the film was savaged by critics but the negative press seemed to have little effect on whether people would see the film. A common refrain among the fan base and voiced by a moviegoer waiting in line to see the film is, “Forget the critics. I’m going to see it and form my own opinion.” Heavily marketed genre films that re-imagine the mythology of our youth may be immune to negative reviews. While the majority of these films aren’t considered high art, there are exceptions. The Dark Knight, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Superman and Batman are examples of films that were critical and financial successes.
Even some of the disappointing films (The Amazing Spider-Man, The Wolverine) made money and the complete disasters like Green Lantern and Fantastic Four are rare to the genre. What is beginning to happen is the critic proof film. As long as the movie hits all of the points a fan is looking for then it seems like it will succeed. Examples of this are the recent Transformers and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle movies. Even though the critics hated them both franchises set worldwide box office records. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles scored a 21% critic rating and 51 % with the audience. Those disappointing numbers had little effect on the gate as it earned almost $500 million in worldwide box office. Transformers: Age of Extinction has an 18% rating with critics and 51 % audience score but raked in over a billion dollars in worldwide ticket sales. Yes. $1 billion. While some would say there is no accounting for good taste Paramount and Michael Bay are obviously doing something right.
Those films, like Batman v Superman have their flaws. However they please enough of their fan base and feed a global market still hungry for these films to make them into moneymaking machines. They’re like the cinematic goose that laid the golden egg, except that the goose has been bombarded with gamma rays. This isn’t to say that the people behind these films are only driven by the almighty dollar.
While the studios may be driven by the bottom line, some of the creative talent may have other aspirations. Ben Affleck has written, starred in and directed some excellent films (Goodwill Hunting, Argo, The Town, Gone Girl) during his career. Affleck reportedly did rewrites of the script during Batman v Superman’s filming and the negative press has got to sting a little, particularly given his past stumble in Daredevil (2003). Affleck still has a chance at critical redemption with Suicide Squad later this year and Justice League in 2017. Now that Warner Bros. and DC Comics have really got the ball rolling with their own cinematic universe they have a chance to learn from their mistakes. Can they create another The Dark Knight, this time featuring the crown jewels in their pantheon: Batman, Wonder Woman and Superman? Do they even care to? As long as their films continue to be immune to critical kryptonite, then it doesn’t matter at all.
