Time had reached mid-May.

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice premiered.

Martin also brought Sofia to attend the premiere.

The flamboyant Zack Snyder expressed his welcome to Martin's arrival.

Sitting in the screening room, before the movie started, Sofia teased Martin with a grin: "Are you here to scout the enemy?"

Martin smiled and said: "No, I'm just here to offer my condolences to the loser."

The screen lit up, and the movie began.

Unlike the traditional three-act structure of films, Dawn of Justice used the five-act structure of revenge tragedies that emerged in the 16th century, exemplified by The Spanish Tragedy and Hamlet.

Zack Snyder's cinematography was as excellent as ever, like oil paintings inclined toward emotion, coupled with a gloomy, dark style that immediately weighed heavy on the audience's hearts.

After watching for a few minutes, Martin relaxed.

This film was no different from the original timeline, so he figured the box office performance wouldn't differ much either.

The opening scene was Batman's parents being killed, followed by young Master Wayne fleeing after the funeral.

"There was a time when beautiful things still existed, like diamonds. But all things in the world will fall, and what has fallen is no longer (fallen)."

The opening fully showcased the "fall" element: From the leaves constantly falling at the Wayne couple's funeral, to Bruce fleeing the funeral and running into the woods. The upside-down spinning shot of falling in the woods, along with Bruce falling into the abyss from the bat cave entrance, all foreshadowed Bruce's inner corruption later.

At the end of this scene, Bruce rushed into the woods, which, in traditional literary terms, also implied that Bruce was about to embark on a spiritual journey of no return.

Honestly, the opening scene was filmed by Zack Snyder with exquisite and touching precision, showcasing his profound cinematographic skills, plus the implied meanings within, clearly captivating some professionals in the audience (film critics, filmmakers).

For example, Sofia next to Martin had appreciation and contemplation in her eyes.

When the posters for The Mark of Zorro and Excalibur appeared on screen, Sofia even whispered excitedly.

"Ah, this scene is amazing. The Mark of Zorro tells the story of Don Diego, after his best friend is assassinated, transforming into the masked hero Zorro to eliminate evil. Excalibur tells the mysterious, legendary story of King Arthur's life."

"Clearly, The Mark of Zorro playing hints that the Wayne couple's death will lead to the birth of a 'masked hero.' Excalibur coming soon—does that imply the latter part of the film's plot relates to the Arthurian legend? Hmm, the director probably wants to metaphor Superman and Doomsday as King Arthur and Mordred, and Batman, Lois Lane, and Lex Luthor as Lancelot, the Lady of the Lake, and Morgan respectively..."

"I get it; the director's concept is to shape Superman's character arc through Batman's perspective, from his initial hatred of Superman to eventual awakening, rediscovering his own lost humanity by discovering Superman's humanity."

As she analyzed, Sofia grew more excited, and the professionals in the theater all had flashes of excitement in their eyes.

However, for most ordinary viewers, this lengthy opening seemed a bit boring.

What a joke; we come to watch movies to relax, not to think.

Then came another symbolic upward shot. Latest content published on noveⅼfire.net

Bruce looked up at the deceased Robin's suit encased in glass.

In Dawn of Justice, Robin's death's impact on Bruce wasn't directly stated but implied through Bruce pausing to gaze at it.

At this moment, the shadow on the wall formed a giant bat shape.

And numerous bats, flying in a spiral, surrounded this "giant bat" and carried it toward the light.

"I get it," Sofia muttered. "The parents' death led to Bruce's inner fall, i.e., Bruce falling into the bat cave in the woods during the parents' funeral; while the Batman identity gave Bruce a new life, i.e., the bats surrounding him and carrying him toward the light..."

Then she heard Martin beside her say: "Dante lost in the forest of sin, gained rebirth after drinking from the River Lethe. Beatrice guided Dante through the nine circles of Paradise. Above the ninth circle, Dante met God, whose image flashed like lightning and immediately vanished."

What does that mean?

Sofia was stunned for a moment.

Martin turned to her and said: "The Batman identity never brought Bruce redemption. I think Zack wants to express that even as Batman, Bruce still can't escape similar tragedies—the death of family, not just the 'Robin'—Dick Grayson, but probably successors too."

Before she could ponder deeply, the plot finally entered the main story.

The scene shifted; Master Bruce was driving, then watched helplessly as his own skyscraper was smashed to ruins by the fighting Supermen, with heavy casualties among Wayne Enterprises' staff inside.

Unlike the god's-eye view of the battle in Man of Steel, Dawn of Justice recreated this alien terrorist attack—the Black Zero event—from a mortal's perspective.

Bruce raced madly toward the skyscraper, trying to save Jack O'Dwyer.

The camera moved to the collapsing skyscraper, where Jack O'Dwyer was praying to God: "Almighty God, creator of heaven and earth, forgive my soul."

....

Then he was engulfed by explosions, flames, and collapse.

The "god" responded to him with death.

Sofia's eyes widened.

"So that's it; Director Snyder is likening Superman to God. That line you said earlier meant the same, right? Indeed, there are successors—another person Batman wants to save dies, indirectly at Superman's hands."

"Fanaticism, rage, helplessness—they turn good people cruel and ruthless. Next, Batman should obsessively believe Superman is the greatest threat to the human world because of this, and hmm, this plot is also alluding to '9/11.'" Martin continued playing the mystic.

Sofia looked enlightened, then frowned. "Martin, don't you think Director Zack Snyder is trying to express too much? In less than 5 minutes, so many metaphors and hints—can the audience grasp it?"

"You noticed too?" Martin laughed. "Zack has big ambitions; pity he forgot this is a commercial film, not an awards one. The script, the script is the most important."

Having filmed plenty of commercial movies with Martin, Sofia had made great progress and nodded: "The script is clearly too verbose; the ideology doesn't serve the script—it's the opposite, like..."

"Pretending to be profound for the sake of obscurity," Martin said.

"Yeah, that's it."