Many reviewers have had complaints about the "editing" of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Of course what they actually mean by "editing" is the sequencing of scenes. Complaints range from the movie being choppy to having scenes being randomly placed. Below is a brief analysis of the transition between scenes in the movie which shows how scenes are NOT randomly placed and that the sequencing (not the editing) makes complete sense. It squashes any claims reviewers have about the order of scenes, the "choppiness", or the illogical placement.
Scene: Waynes’ Murder and the Cave of Bats – Establishes Batman, the other protagonist.
Transition: From a funeral of people who are dead to a scene of people dying
Scene: Battle of Metropolis – Establishes Batman’s motive
Transition: From showing Batman’s motive for wanting to kill Superman to showing the means, ie the kryptonite
Scene: Kryptonite Sample – We see where the Kryptonite comes from: the world engine. We are also introduced to the method by which Lex Luthor plans to acquire more.
Transition: From one African village to another
Scene: Tragedy in Africa – Lex orchestrates a scenario that puts Lois in danger so that Superman has to enter foreign territory to save her. Lex’s men are planted as bodyguards for the general to incite a territorial clash causing many to die in turn framing Superman as the source of the instigation.
Transition: From the events of Africa as seen from our eyes to the repercussions and perspective as seen from the public’s eyes.
Scene: African Hearing – Senators take witness testimonies on what happened in Africa and hold Superman responsible for the collateral damage of his assertion into foreign affairs.
Transition: From the public’s perspective of the events of the African incident to Lois and Clark’s reaction of their perspective and stance on what happened.
Scene: Lois and Clark’s Apartment - Lois finds a strange bullet in her notebook and suspects foul play. Lois and Clark discuss the public reaction to Superman’s actions in Africa. They put those matters aside and go to a loving, happy place.
Transition: From day to night both in time and tone showing the contrast of Superman and Batman’s worlds.
Scene: Batman Branding - A glimpse into Batman’s nightly endeavors: he saves people and at the same time interrogates a criminal for information like a detective. We see the fear in the innocents and the ruthlessness in how Batman acts.
Transition: From gathering information in the field to gathering information in the base of operations, the bat cave.
Scene: “Everything’s changed” - Introduces Alfred and armor. Batman pursues other leads on an investigation. Links Batman to Anatoli. Introduction of the “White Portuguese” which is a mystery. Addresses the change in Batman from the Batman people are familiar with to this new ruthless Batman.
Transition: From Batman’s exploits in person to Batman’s exploits in the news. From what Batman is up to, to what Superman is up to.
Scene: Clark Cooking – Clark is cooking food, something a normal human would do, watching news about the Batman and the way the news is spinning the story just like they spin Superman’s story. Introduces Superman’s motive for wanting to stop the Batman.
Transition: From scenes of Batman and Superman, the protagonists, to Lex Luthor, the antagonist.
Scene: Meeting Lex Luthor - Lex Luthor is introduced to the Senators just as he is introduced also to the audience. The senators from the earlier Africa hearing are following up with Lex regarding Superman. Lex wants the Kryptonite seen in one of the earlier African scenes, while the Senators are pursuing matters regarding the other African scene, and their paths cross in these pursuits as Lex thinks he can help with the Superman issue.
Transition: From introducing one aspect of Lex’s plot, using the Kryptonite as a deterrent, to introducing another aspect of Lex’s plot, Wallace Keefe. From introducing Keefe in the opening scenes to showing him today.
Scene: Wallace Keefe’s Vandalism - Wallace Keefe is suffering and he blames Superman just like the Senators who were in the last scene blame Superman and the woman who testified before them. Keefe defaces the Superman statue making his hatred known publicly to the world, and more importantly to Lex.
Transition: From Wallace in person to Wallace on TV. From reactions by witnesses, to reactions from the public, ie reporters. And moving on to Superman who Lex intends to target with Keefe.
Scene: Daily Planet Reactions - Business as usual at the Daily Planet until the television news shows us the very last scene. We see Clark learning about Keefe, and connecting Keefe with Wayne who he later finds out is Batman. We also see an overall swing to viewing Superman as bad by the public.
Transition: From introducing elements from two of Lex’s plots, the Kryptonite and Keefe, to introducing elements of Lex’s third plot, Zod and the Kryptonian Ship. Showing Keefe also gave a lapse of time for Lex’s meeting with the Senators.
Scene: Lex’s Wish List - We see Lex’s plan unfold as he gains access to Zod and the Kryptonian ship and has the senator “eating out of his hand”, a further sign that he is slowly manipulating the world to see things how he wants them to.
Transition: From establishing the elements of Lex’s plans while simultaneously showing what Superman is up to, to returning back to Batman’s investigation which all the while is leading him back to Lex and his initial plan with the Kryptonite.
Scene: Bruce Underground - Bruce follows up on his lead and tails Anatoli who he mentioned to Alfred in his last scene continuing his investigation of the White Portuguese. It leads him to an underground fight club where he blends in by betting on fights. He gets close enough to Anatoli to clone his phone in an attempt to gather information for his investigation.
Transition: From Bruce following up on a lead, to Lois following up on a lead. Bruce’s lead is furthering his plan to kill Superman. Lois’ lead is furthering her plan to redeem Superman.
Scene: Daily Planet Pitch Meeting - Lois approaches Perry about a lead she wants to follow which is a continuation of what was established in the African incident. Perry gives her the okay. Meanwhile Clark it trying to pursue the Batman through legitimate avenues but hits a brick wall when Perry tells him no.
Transition: From a few scenes of Bruce, Lex, and Lois making progress in their pursuits, to a few scenes of them hitting brick walls starting with Clark in the last scene. Both the White Portuguese and the bullet Lois found have to do with Lex, so the next scene moves to Lex.
Scene: Fince at Lex’s House - A little time has passed over the last couple of scenes so we go back to Lex’s proposition to Finch regarding his first plan with the Kryptonite which she has had time to consider. She of course rejects Lex so Lex’s first plan hits a brick wall which motivates him to pursue his other plans harder. This also affects Batman’s pursuit of the White Portuguese. Lex tells Finch Devils come from the sky.
Transition: From Lex preserving the memory of his father and talking theology about Devils coming from the sky, to Bruce preserving the memory of his mother in a catholic cemetery and facing his own devil. From a scene where Lex’s spirits are dropped, to a scene where Bruce’s spirits are dropped.
Scene: Bruce’s Dream - Bruce is in a cemetery to pay respects to his parents and a manbat crashes through the mausoleum to reveal this is a nightmare. This fuels his state of being and desire to be Batman. It is an indication that he is not well mentally and his mind is clouded.
Transition: From Bruce waking up, to Swanwick in the bathroom washing his hands where one would find someone after waking up in the morning. Following two scenes showing Lex’s and Bruce’s spirits drop, we see a scene of Lois’ spirits dropping when she hits her own brick wall.
Scene: Lois & Swanwick in the Restroom - Lois confronts Swanwick about the bullet who sheds some light on how the events in Africa were viewed by the world.
Transition: From the bathroom, to the kitchenette where breakfast is served. The previous scene allowed a passage of time to establish this setting which shows Bruce hitting a brick wall in his own investigation all the while paralleling Lois’ investigation.
Scene: Bruce Invited - Bruce discusses hitting a brick wall in his investigation with Alfred who gives him the answer to his problem by giving him an invitation to Lex’s fundraiser. Bruce is not happy with doing things as Bruce because he’d rather be Batman, especially after having that nightmare which fuels Bat persona.
Transition: From bed, bathroom, kitchenette, to garage, a normal morning routine. Bruce goes from discussing a plan to executing it, but not before resenting not being able to do things as Batman.
Scene: Bruce Broods - Bruce broods over the Batman costume with resentment and goes on to get into his car and drive to the fundraiser he just received the invitation for to further his investigation into the White Portuguese.
Transition: From Bruce leaving his home to arriving at the fundraiser where Bruce’s, Lex’s, and Clark’s paths intersect following their individual scenes.
Scene: Lex’s Fundraiser - Bruce is continuing his investigation of the White Portuguese by taking information from Lex’s servers unbeknownst that Lex is allowing him to do so as part of his plan. By having this fundraiser Lex has a reason to invite Bruce which furthers his plans. Clark happens upon Bruce discovering his identity which furthers his investigation of Batman. Meanwhile Diana finds some success in her own investigation of Lex by taking Bruce’s leash. Clark sees an emergency on the television which keeps him from pursuing Bruce further.
Transition: From the fire on the television, to the fire in person, Clark transitions to Superman and saves the people from the TV. Already Superman we see several scenes of him saving people.
Scene: Day of the Dead & Hero Montage - Various acts of heroism by Superman which show this side of his life after seeing his journalist side as Clark.
Transition: From seeing the good that Superman does and people loving and worshipping him, to seeing the other perspective of those who hate Superman with Wallace Keefe. From seeing Lex as a philanthropist at the fundraiser to seeing Lex as a philanthropist helping Wallace. This also furthers Lex’s plan to discredit Superman.
Scene: Lex Bails out Keefe - Wallace Keefe is bailed out of jail by Lex who gives him a wheel chair and gives him a means to speak out against Superman at the Senate Hearing by giving him a line to Senator Finch who has it out for Superman.
Transition: From Superman’s heroics, back to Clark’s journalism. From the fundraiser event where Clark learns about Bruce, to Clark’s copy about Batman. From Wallace pursuing efforts to speak out against Superman to Clark pursuing efforts to speak out against Batman.
Scene: Clark & Perry - Clark attempts to get this story against Batman printed, but Perry refuses saying “No one cares about Clark Kent taking on the Batman” forcing Clark to resort to taking on the Batman as Superman.
Transition: From talking about Batman who happens to be Bruce Wayne, to Bruce Wayne trying to get his leash back which was taken at the fundraiser.
Scene: Bruce & Diana at the Museum - Bruce confronts Diana about her taking his leash device. We also learn why she took it. And we discover that the leash had military grade encryption gives us a hint that Lex is behind the African incident because of the military grade bullets. Bruce gets his leash device back from Diana which is already in his car.
Transition: From talking about the leash drive, to decrypting and checking its contents back at the bat cave.
Scene: Knightmare - Bruce is waiting in anticipation of the leash drive’s decryption and “seemingly” doses off. This of course is to facilitate the “knightmare” which isn’t a dream at all but a vision of the future. The suddenness of this scene is done purposefully to evoke the abrupt nature of time travel, especially given that Flash has come back to the wrong time. That initial sense of confusion is exactly what you’d experience if a time traveler randomly appeared and showed you the future. This scene also acts as a means to justify Batman’s behavior and reasoning as it shows he is right in having those fears about Superman given they come to fruition.
Transition: From Batman’s concerns about Superman, to Superman’s concerns about Batman.
Scene: Clark gets photos - Clark receives photos (from Lex Luthor) as evidence of Batman’s brutality. Whereas the last scene justified Batman’s issue with Superman, this scene justifies Superman’s issue with Batman.
Transition: From addressing Batman’s concern about Superman (Superman’s counterpoint), to Bruce explaining what was found on the leash drive from his last scene and vocalizing those concerns.
Scene: Absolute Certainty - Bruce discovers what the White Portuguese is. He has broken through his brick wall and discovered the one item that will facilitate killing Superman. Alfred discovers along with the audience what Batman has been chasing, and Bruce explains his reasons. We also can an insight on Bruce’s psyche.
Transition: From Alfred who has been trying to contain Bruce’s pursuit of Superman, to Perry who has been trying to contain Clark’s pursuit of Batman. From Clark at his desk at the Daily Planet, to Perry looking for Clark who has left to pursue Batman.
Scene: Perry Looks for Clark - Perry looks for Clark who is nowhere to be found. This is because Clark has headed to Batman to confront Batman as Superman.
Transition: From Chief Editor of the Daily Planet, to star reporter of the Daily Planet. From the offices of the Daily Planet, to the field. From Bruce and Clark investigating each other, to Lois investigating Lex.
Scene: Lois & Swanwick – Lois shows her persistence following up on the events of the African scene. Swanwick gets the bullet from Lois to investigate.
Transition: From one of Lex’s plans (the African Incident) to another (the Kryptonite). From Bruce learning about the White Portuguese and the Kryptonite, to Batman acting on that information. From Clark seeing evidence of Batman’s crimes, to Superman acting on that information.
Scene: Batmobile Chase – Batman pursues Kryptonite from the White Portuguese which he learned about in his previous scene. Superman shows up and threatens Batman to cease being Batman after seeing the photos in his previous scene and being unable to take any action as Clark.
Transition: From the chase, to the tracking. From transporting the Kryptonite, to the delivery of the Kryptonite.
Scene: Tracking the Kryptonite – Bruce returns to the Batcave due to a damaged Batmobile and losing the delivery truck. He tracks the vehicle using a tracker he planted in the previous scene. We see the Kryptonite delivered to Lex Luthor.
Transition: From Lex and his Kryptonite, to the person who refused him access to his Kryptonite and is responsible for the previous scene even happening because of that.
Scene: Finch’s Invitation to Superman - Finch invites Superman to the Senate to answer for himself and the events in Africa.
Transition: From Superman’s invitation to the Senate, to him discussing the invitation with his mother.
Scene: Clark and his Mom - Clark struggles with the world’s perception of him and discusses it with his mother. He ponders the invitation presented to him by Finch.
Transition: From one of the women in Clark’s life, to the other. From Clark debating the invitation to answer for the African incident, to Lois finding the truth about the African incident.
Scene: Swanwick Talks to Lois – Swanwick reveals Lex’s involvement in the African incident and that Superman isn’t to blame for what happened.
Transition: From Lois learning the truth about the African incident, to Capitol Hill where the Senate assembles to discuss Superman as a result of the African incident. From Finch inviting Superman to the Senate, to the actual Senate.
Scene: The Capitol Hill Tragedy - The world is watching, including Bruce Wayne, as the Senate assembles. The connection is made between Wallace, Bruce, and Lex’s Kryptonite plan. The stage is set and we see Lex, the mastermind behind what is about to transpire, and Wallace, the pawn in this plan. The Senate commences. The jar of urine is a call back to the earlier scene Lex had with Finch and acts as a distraction when Lex’s plan comes to completion with the explosion of Wallace’s wheelchair.
Transition: From seeing the Capitol Hill tragedy in person, to seeing it on the news. From Superman living the tragedy to Superman explaining and discussing the tragedy to Lois.
Scene: A Moment with Lois as the World Reels - We see the television news reporting on the Capitol Hill tragedy giving us more information on what happened. Superman comes to Lois’ balcony to explain what happened and seek solace.
Transition: From the absence of Lex in the Senate, to Lex’s presence in the Scout Ship. From one of Lex’s plans to another.
Scene: Lex and the Scout Ship – with the distraction of the Capitol Hill tragedy and the elimination of the Senators’ watchful eyes, Lex proceeds with his other plan to kill Superman.
Transition: From Lex preparing to kill Superman, to Bruce preparing to kill Superman. From one of Lex’s plans (Doomsday) to another (Batman v Superman).
Scene: Bruce Prepares for Battle – Bruce is training and preparing for his battle with Superman including creating the weapon which will kill Superman, the Kryptonite Spear.
Transition: From Bruce creating the weapon which will kill Superman (the Kryptonite Spear), to Lex creating the weapon that will kill Superman (Doomsday).
Scene: Lex Creates Doomsday – Lex goes through the process of cloning Zod and his own DNA to create Doomsday.
Transition: From Lex creating Doomsday to kill Superman, to showing why it’s okay to kill Superman now: the public is against him. From showing Bruce and Lex rallying against Superman to showing the public rally against Superman.
Scene: Daily Planet Concerns – We see the public reaction about Superman and how the world has turned against him. Lex’s plan to discredit Superman has come to fruition.
Transition: From Perry asking “where’s Kent?”, to showing where Kent is, in solitude. From the world hating on Superman, to Superman trying to figure out what to do about it.
Scene: Jonathan Kent – Clark looks for answers and speaks to his dead father who gives him an anecdote about how doing good sometimes can result in bad things happening.
Transition: From Jonathan Kent’s anecdote about consequences to seeing the consequences Bruce is facing. From Clark’s solitude, to Bruce’s solitude. From Clark’s gleaning knowledge and advice from his father, to Bruce gleaning knowledge and advice from his father. From Clark reasoning his purpose, to Bruce reasoning his purpose.
Scene: Wayne Manor – Bruce is at a burnt Wayne Manor where he is thinking about his dead father and how he set out to do good but only bad things seemed to happen. How none of the good he did seemed to make a difference, similar to what Superman is feeling.
Transition: From dead fathers, to Clark’s live mother. From Lex working on creating Doomsday for that part of his plan, to his thugs kidnapping Martha for the other part of his plan. From the world rallying against Superman, to the woman Clark sought advice from regarding the world’s perception of him.
Scene: Martha is kidnapped in Smallville
Transition: From one woman in Superman’s life, to the other. From Lex creating Doomsday, to Lex luring Superman. From Lex’s goons kidnapping Marth, to Lex showing pictures of Martha kidnapped.
Scene: Lex’s Helipad - Lex lures Superman with Lois and uses Martha to get him to fight Batman in hopes that Batman, with the help of Lex’s kryptonite, will kill Superman. Or if that fails, Doomsday will finish the job. Although ultimately Lex plans for Doomsday to be seen as a Kryptonian creation which he will be seen as a hero for helping the government stop it. He reveals his cards to Superman essentially telling us his whole plan.
Transition: From Lex forcing Superman to face Batman, to Batman preparing to face Superman.
Scene: Preparing for War - Batman establishes the turf for his fight with Superman preparing the field of battle.
Transition: From Batman preparing to face Superman to Superman preparing to face Batman. From one plan going into motion, to another plan going into motion.
Scene: Preparing for the Worst - In a very different way, Superman is preparing to face Batman by seeing Lois, the reason he fights, his motivating force. From seeing Batman prepare for battle to seeing Doomsday’s preparation for battle.
Transition: From the two helpless women in Superman’s life being used as bait, to the strong wonderous woman who will actually help Superman in his fight. From revealing learning what is in the mind of Lex Luthor to seeing more of what Lex Luthor knows. From showing the threat of Doomsday rising, to show who will be integral in neutralizing that threat.
Scene: Metahuman Files - Diana receives Bruce’s email containing the content of the leash drive. It gives us a little info about her before her big fight showing her in her battle gear, and It shows the other members of the future Justice League. Lex has been researching metas as was mentioned at the beginning of the movie when Finch refers to the “metahuman thesis”. Here is the proof and results of that research. Here is why Lex warns “the red capes are coming”. It shows how Lex knew Superman’s and Batman’s identities on the Helipad scene.
Transition: From one woman who will be integral in helping Superman, to the other woman who will be integral in helping Superman. From Lois learning of Superman’s pending face-off, to her making arrangements to go try and help him.
Scene: Lois gets a Helicopter - Lois asks Perry for a Helicopter for personal use. This tells us she’s not chasing a story, she’s trying to help the man she loves. It also indicates where Superman and Batman will be fighting.
Transition: From showing where Lois wants to go, to showing what’s there: Batman & Superman. From Lex’s research to the culmination of that research: pitting the two heroes against each other, to ultimately eliminate all “metas”. From the other members of the Justice League, to the two most important ones. From Superman leaving Lex to fight Batman, to Superman arriving to fight Batman. From Batman preparing the battlefield, to seeing those preparations in action.
Scene: Superman v Batman - Superman confronts Batman in the hopes of working together to stop Lex. Batman can’t hear Superman through his suit and unleashes his attacks. Lex’s plan is in full swing as Batman tries to kill Superman with the Kryptonite Lex smuggled into the country. The fight culminates in a character growth moment which calls back to the opening scene and links the two characters and the part of Lex’s plan involving the kidnap of Martha. Lois, the other woman in Superman’s life, arrives with the helicopter she acquired in the previous scene to stop the fight and acts as moderator.
Transition: From the culmination of one plan, to the blossoming of another plan as we see the Scout Ship drawing energy for Doomsday.
Scene: The Scout Ship - We see Lex’s other plan (Doomsday) about to come to form as his previous plan to have Batman kill Superman fails. Time passes for Superman to explain to Batman what Lex has been up to.
Transition: From seeing the Scout Ship, to Lois explaining its drawing power.
Scene: Lois Tells the Heroes about the Scout Ship - Lois tells Batman and Superman that the scout ship is drawing power and the two realize Lex is up to something and must be stopped. With the new information, Batman recommends the best course of action.
Transition: From making a plan to executing it. From Batman saying he will save Martha, to doing it.
Scene: Batman talks to Alfred and gets a location to where Martha is likely being held. He rescues Martha as set forth in the previous scene.
Transition: From one part of the plan to the other. From saving Martha to stopping Lex. From Batman, to Superman.
Scene: Superman confronts Lex. Lex learns that Martha has been saved. His plan for Batman and Superman to kill each other has failed. We learn exactly what Lex’s follow-up plan is relying on Superman’s need to be a hero and protect people to draw him into a battle with Doomsday. Doomsday hatches and immediately tries to kill Superman. Doomsday is unleashed into the world and is seen for the threat it is. The US Government acknowledges the threat and discuss how to deal with it. The news reports and explains the situation as Doomsday starts destroying.
Transition: From the government and news reporting on Doomsday, to Alfred reporting to Batman about Doomsday.
Scene: Batman learns about Doomsday - Alfred conveys the threat of Doomsday unleashed in Metropolis.
Transition: From the public learning about Doomsday, to Batman learning about Doomsday, and now Diana learning about Doomsday.
Scene: Diana on an uninvisible plane - Diana sees the news and is familiar with this sort of threat so she decides to stick around and help. She wants to repay Bruce while realizing that hiding away in Themyscera won’t do any good.
Transition: From a call to action, to Superman’s action.
Scene: Superman takes Doomsday into Space
Transition: From Superman’s action to the US Government’s action.
Scene: A-Bombs Away - The US Government nukes Superman and Doomsday fighting in the stratosphere.
Transition: From action, to inaction. A pause at the awe of the explosion and anticipation of its effects.
Scene: The Calm Before the Storm - After the explosion Doomsday falls to Earth. The US Government waits to see what happens. We learn where Doomsday fell and that Superman is down for the count. We also learn about Doomsday’s power and how much of a threat he really poses.
Transition: From learning Doomsday is unkillable, to learning how it can be killed. From losing hope, to gaining hope. From one plan failing, to making a new plan.
Scene: Batman’s Got This - Batman immediately makes a new plan and acts on it.
Transition: From seeing Doomsday recover from the nuke, to seeing Superman recover from the nuke.
Scene: Not Quite Dead Yet - Superman is exposed to sunlight which shows hints of healing him.
Transition: From Superman about to come alive, to Batman about to die. From both men down for the count, to a strong woman who is ready for battle.
Scene: Diana Saves the Day - Batman manages to lure Doomsday to Gotham but crashes his ship. Doomsday is about to kill Batman with his heat vision but Diana swoops down and saves him. She starts battling Doomsday one on one. Batman explains the plan to Diana. Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman face off against Doomsday. Lois Lane, wanting to help, retrieves the Kryptonite Spear she tossed into the water thinking it was a weapon they could use against the creature. Batman his grapple and the kryptonite gas bullet he had created for his fight against Superman. Wonder Woman uses her braces, lasso, and sword. Superman uses his heat vision. Superman hears an unusual pounding and goes to save Lois who has the spear. He makes the ultimate sacrifice and uses the spear to kill Doomsday dying in the process.
Transition: From Superman dying, to Superman’s funerals.
Scenes: The world mourns Superman and Clark Kent. At Clark’s funeral Bruce talks to Diana about an approaching threat.
Transition: From discussing the approaching threat and the need to recruit the metahumans, to a flashback explaining Batman getting some insight into that threat.
Scene: Batman and Lex - Batman sees Lex in prison and Lex warns of the approaching threat. “The bells has been rung”.
Transition: From the flashback of Batman learning about the approaching threat from Lex, back to the funeral.
Scene: Again...Not Quite Dead Yet - Lois is saying her final goodbyes as dirt rises from the coffin.
