You all know me to be a big Batman fan. Some will even say I am one of the biggest Nolan fan boys on this board (I probably am) but I also pride myself on being fairly objective toward movies - whether they be directed by Nolan or by Uwe Boll.

When Batman v. Superman first came out in theaters back in March, I expressed tremendous disappointment with how the film turned out. I didn't really have too many problems with thematics or characters though. My biggest problem was with the story and how very little sense it made.

Because of the story, as well as a very weak third act, I gave the original theatrical release a 5/10 rating. Which is right around a C- or D+ letter grade.

So when I heard that a 3-hour cut was going to be released for home viewing I couldn't tell you how excited I got. I really felt like most of Batman v. Superman's problems were editing decisions gone wrong. Chris Terrio is a solid writer and I highly doubted he would come up with a screenplay that contained such mediocrity.

When I finished the 3-hour cut I couldn't begin to tell you how sorry I started to feel for Zack Snyder. While this film still will contain thematics and characterizations many of its detractors couldn't stand, and while the third act still has it's problems (including the annoying "Martha" scene), I feel as if the second and third acts are given a big boost by the additional 30 minutes of footage.

It's not a night and day difference, but the biggest problem I had with the movie (the story) is given a HUGE band-aid. Story beats and character moments that didn't make sense and had us all scratching our heads in the theaters are more fleshed out and understandable here. You actually understand why the world distrusts Superman and why Superman doesn't like Batman.

The biggest improvement is the scene in the desert. In the theatrical relief, we were left to wonder what in the hell just happened there. What we saw and what the characters in the movie were saying happened there just didn't jive. Why is that? Because a lot of critical story elements were cut out of the movie.

What happens in the desert is the lynchpin for your entire story. Cutting out important story elements for the sake of an acceptable theatrical runtime is not the way to go. Because of those cuts, the audience was left confused by it and the film never recovered.

Other changes like these are made throughout the movie. Changes that bring Lex Luthor's master plan more into focus instead of leaving it as the jigsaw puzzle it was in the theatrical cut. The characters of Clark Kent, Lois Lane, and Lex Luthor are all greatly aided by the Ultimate Cut.

Why this film wasn't the one released in theaters is totally beyond me.

As I said above...the film is still not a masterpiece. Many flaws still remain (particularly the third act). But the first and second acts are elevated to such a high level that the film itself goes from mediocre/below average to actually being a decent movie.

Theatrical Cut Grade: D+
Ultimate Cut Grade: B-