Inside the screening room.

The big screen flickered between light and dark, but the film's overall tone was gloomy.

That would have been fine.

Audiences aren't unwilling to accept dark-toned films, like the Batman Trilogy or Joker, but they can't accept boring and verbose plots.

The following plot was just that:

Clark wants to report on Batman, but the editor says, no way, you stick to reporting on the ball game, blah blah blah...

Lex finds a piece of Kryptonite from the crashed Kryptonian scout ship. As a victim of the Black Zero event, he chooses a path toward destruction (killing gods) to create what he thinks is a better human world, blah blah blah...

Batman punishes evil and promotes good in the city; everyone praises the old master, blah blah blah...

Superman does the same, punishing evil and promoting good, but the process causes some major destruction to the city; everyone starts hating Superman, blah blah blah...

Clark flirts with his girlfriend, blah blah blah...

Batman flirts with the butler, blah blah blah...

In between, there are numerous metaphors hidden:

For example, the CIA, to eliminate a Mexican warlord, uses Jimmy Olsen as a photographer to scout the warlord's hideout. Mercenaries hired by Lex "assist" the warlord by revealing Jimmy's true identity to the crowd and killing him.

After tracking Jimmy's device, the CIA, disregarding Lois and over a dozen Mexican villagers on site, launches missiles into Mexico, which are stopped by the arriving Superman.

Before Superman rescues Lois from the Amazons, Lex's mercenaries betray and shoot the warlord, then burn his and the villagers' bodies together, faking that Superman used Heat Vision to indiscriminately attack civilians to save Lois.

Except for the mercenary perpetrators, only the CIA knows the truth, and to cover up their own indiscriminate bombing of Mexico, the CIA tacitly allows the rumor of "Superman killing civilians," which also satirizes the real US government's actions in the war on terror.

Another example: Lex coerces Mexican villager Kasich to perjure on Congress condemning Superman, intentionally leading humans to believe Superman is a potential dictator.

The visual composition of this scene perfectly corresponds to the oil painting The Judgment of Jesus by Pilate.

"Zack Snyder is indeed likening Superman to Jesus; this judgment plot is alluding to Pontius Pilate listening to the wicked's slander, demanding the judgment of Jesus." Sofia said. The source of this content ɪs novel_fіre.net

Martin nodded. "The visuals are great, the allusions are spot on, but they don't serve the plot. Actually, this over-five-minute plot could be summarized in thirty seconds."

There are also Gotham street billboards vandalized with "The End Is Nigh," and post-Congress explosion survivors burning Superman effigies.

This is Zack Snyder paying homage to his own film Watchmen, where "Rorschach" Walter Kovacs holds up a "The End Is Nigh" sign on the street. In 1957, after investigating a child kidnapping, his personality became more eccentric and irritable.

After the Keene Act took effect, Walter Kovacs was accused as a criminal for refusing to "retire." Everyone hated them (the Watchmen), burning their effigies during parades, shouting for the Watchmen to get out of their city.

Then there's the Gotham police car number "DC27," alarm address "1939 Hubble Avenue," corresponding to Batman's debut in 1939's Detective Comics (now DC) issue 27.

Officers "Mazzucchelli" and "Rucka" are named after DC artists David Mazzucchelli and writer Greg Rucka.

The clear "52" logo in the football game pays homage to the "New 52" series in comics.

Alfred's military background homage to Earth One: Crisis on Infinite Earths post-main universe.

Another interesting detail is composer Hans Zimmer reversing his composed Superman theme "An Ideal of Hope" from Man of Steel to create Lex's BGM "The Red Capes Are Coming," with adjusted melody and tempo to make it more eerie and corrupt.

Also, the Superman statue is inspired by Detroit's Spirit statue, and Heroes Park by the 9/11 memorial plaza.

In the Black Zero event, most of the eastern district was leveled by the Kryptonian scout ship; to commemorate the disaster, the US government built Heroes Park there.

The Superman statue is located in Heroes Park, with a memorial wall behind it like the 9/11 memorial, engraved with victims' names, remembering the victims while also emotionally appeasing Superman.

But in the eyes of "Superman threat theorists" like Lex Luthor and Wallace Keaton, the government's building of the Superman statue is promoting blind worship of a false god.

The Superman in the statue kneels on one knee, without any godly intimidation, left hand holding up the sky, right hand humbly extended to humanity.

Symbolizing Superman as a bridge between divinity and humanity, and how to balance divinity and humanity is Superman's primary issue.

One has to say, Zack Snyder has many ideas, but stuffing so much into the film—did he not consider the audience's feelings?

Look at the sleepy audience in the theater; they don't care about the film's depth. They're here for entertainment; otherwise, why choose a blockbuster to watch?

"Still that line: Metaphors can exist, depth can exist, but they must serve the script," Martin said.

"Like Joker?" Sofia quipped.

"Yes, like Joker," Martin smiled.

At this point, Zack Snyder also sensed something was off, as the frequency of audience bathroom breaks was a bit too high—not a good sign.

And sitting behind, "Superman" actor Henry Cavill looked even worse; he actually heard snoring from the back.

The box office failure of Man of Steel had put him under a lot of pressure; if this film failed too...

He didn't dare think further.

Sitting beside him, Batman actor Ben Affleck also felt the audience's restlessness, a bit worried, but he was okay—just mildly concerned.

After all, with the Dark Knight Trilogy as foundation, he was basically seen by comic fans as the symbol of Batman; one or two film failures wouldn't affect him.

Even the latest Batman comic was modeled after his image.

"Don't worry, Henry; the movie isn't over yet," he whispered to comfort Henry Cavill.