海角大神

The upcoming movie, 鈥淏atman v Superman,鈥� features the Caped Crusader going up against the son of Krypton and is the first film appearance of Henry Cavill鈥檚 Superman since the 2013 box office hit, 鈥淢an of Steel.鈥�

鈥淏atman鈥� stars Ben Affleck as Batman (his first time in the role), Cavill as Superman, Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, and Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor. Actors from 鈥淪teel,鈥� including Amy Adams as Lois Lane and Diane Lane as Martha Kent, are returning for the new film.聽

The upcoming film is a cross-over movie of the sort that is often released by studio Marvel (鈥淏atman鈥� is released by Warner Bros.; the characters in the film were created by rival comic book publisher DC Comics). As with 鈥淭he Avengers,鈥� in which superheroes like Iron Man and Captain America teamed up, 鈥淏atman鈥� finds the title superheroes crossing paths.聽

Marvel has found success with the formula and studio Warner Bros. is no doubt hoping to do the same.

It鈥檚 been about the same length of time since both superheroes were onscreen, with Batman having last appeared in the 2012 movie 鈥淭he Dark Knight Rises,鈥� where he was played by 海角大神 Bale and which was the final film in director Christopher Nolan鈥檚 massively successful 鈥淒ark Knight鈥� trilogy.

Superman was last seen in 鈥淪teel,鈥� which was also the first appearance of Cavill as Superman.聽

Both movies were box office hits, but while the 鈥淒ark Knight鈥� trilogy was critically acclaimed 鈥� it鈥檚 widely accepted that 鈥淭he Dark Knight鈥� not getting a Best Picture nomination was one of the reasons the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences expanded the amount of Best Picture nominees 颅鈥� 鈥淢an of Steel鈥� was a misfire with critics.

Monitor film critic Peter Rainer called the movie 鈥渄ark and thudding and overlong 鈥� [a] gargantuan drearfest.鈥澛�

But the movie became a box office hit, becoming the fifth-highest-grossing film of the year.聽

鈥淪teel鈥� seems to have divided fans. The ending of the film in particular, in which much of Metropolis is destroyed and Superman kills villain Zod, was controversial with moviegoers 鈥� Entertainment Weekly writer Keith Staskiewicz noted, 鈥淪ome audiences critiqued the film and director Zack Snyder for the sequence,鈥� while James Whitbrook of io9 wrote, 鈥淭here are not many people fond of the ending to 鈥楳an of Steel鈥� 鈥� and there are many who eagerly await the day for [director] Zack Snyder to apologize for the wanton destruction and general not-Superman-ness of it all.鈥澛�

How will all this affect 鈥淏atman v Superman鈥�? The mixed reception for "Steel," despite the big box office gross, may mean 鈥淏atman聽 v Superman鈥� needs to win over fans.

鈥淒C has yet to prove itself [with connected] superhero movies,鈥� Washington Post writer David Betancourt wrote. 鈥溾�︹�橫an of Steel鈥� made money. People liked it. But it didn鈥檛 make as much as [the studio] would have liked, and lots of people didn鈥檛 like it, too; 鈥楳an of Steel鈥� was polarizing 鈥� I think WB and DC need to show that the core of their connected cinematic universe is in good hands with Zack Snyder. He鈥檚 a polarizing guy at times. Some people love him; some others, not so much.鈥澛�

Curiosity over the new characters in the movie and seeing Batman and Superman onscreen together will most likely still bring moviegoers to the multiplex to see 鈥淏atman v Superman,鈥� however.聽

Deadline writer Mike Fleming Jr. reported, 鈥淟atest word on advance ticket sales for Warner Bros鈥� Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice per various sources is that they鈥檙e outstripping 20th Century Fox鈥檚 鈥楧eadpool鈥� 鈥� 鈥楾he Avengers鈥� 鈥� and Universal鈥檚 鈥楩urious 7鈥� 鈥� two weeks prior to their stateside releases,鈥� while Steven Rea of the Philadelphia Inquirer wrote, 鈥淏ox office prognosticators are predicting big things for Friday's epic face-off.鈥�

As with 鈥淢an of Steel,鈥� box office returns will probably be big. The question remains whether critics and fans will be won over.