Was Eisenberg's Lex more of a miscast or misinterpretation?

[Slowpokeking]

His Lex was really awful to me, he doesn't look like Lex as well. But maybe his acting was ok but the script didn't write Lex well?

Maybe Zack Snyder should take more responsibility of it. The character had no clear motive and never got the calm appearance.

[Mister Mets]

I completely get why they wanted someone who got an Oscar nomination for playing Mark Zuckerberg to play Lex Luthor.

I think it's a valid take on the character. At times, he's been older in comics, and at times he's Superman's contemporary. Eisenberg and Cavill are the same age.

But they should have made him look more like the comics Lex, rather than saving the bald look for the end.

And I agree that it wasn't well written. They got to the trial way too soon.

[BeastieRunner]

I liked him better in the extended edition or whatever it was called.

[Scott Taylor]

His portrayal was fine for me. He was a mix of the original megolomaniac and the Byrne businessman, with more of an emphasis on the former. But I understood his motives - it was very much all about his ego. Very Lex through all of the incarnations. His intellect might not have been the brilliant level we all expect but then again no one was particularly smart in BvS except maybe Alfred.

The hair thing is funny. I guess the original Lex had red hair and the bald Lex was a mistake by a colorist in one of the early issues, which was then incorporated into the character through a retcon. Since that time he has still had hair sometimes.

[Slowpokeking]

His portrayal was fine for me. He was a mix of the original megolomaniac and the Byrne businessman, with more of an emphasis on the former. But I understood his motives - it was very much all about his ego. Very Lex through all of the incarnations. His intellect might not have been the brilliant level we all expect but then again no one was particularly smart in BvS except maybe Alfred.

The hair thing is funny. I guess the original Lex had red hair and the bald Lex was a mistake by a colorist in one of the early issues, which was then incorporated into the character through a retcon. Since that time he has still had hair sometimes.

To the majority it wasn't.

[krazijoe]

To the majority it wasn't.

Congrats, you are in the majority. I was ok with him because he was a younger Lex...More Panic'd Lex that didn't know how to be calm yet. More of like he was in the comics when he was younger. He HATES Superman with a passion and hasn't learned to contain that emotion or not show emotion like he can now, in the comics.

Plus, the Motherbox may have messed him up a little too. And looking at the ZS cut, he may be Earths savior in the end...

[James Cameron]

I loved his Lex. He had all the best lines of the movie, and really played into the idea of Lex being a survivor of childhood abuse, with a spoiled sense of entitlement. He really stood out to me and if only the movie hadn't been butchered by the studio, I think his performance would have had a greater effect on the entire film.

[ChrisIII]

Think either Eisenberg or others were trying in part to draw some inspiration from the Joker as well.

Hoping Hoult's version (although it appears he has Hackman's henchwoman now as Miss Teschmacher has been cast) dials things back from pretty much every cinematic Luthor.... (Although certainly Hoult can do crazy if they decide to go that route again-Nux from Fury Road for example)

[Slowpokeking]

Think either Eisenberg or others were trying in part to draw some inspiration from the Joker as well.

Hoping Hoult's version (although it appears he has Hackman's henchwoman now as Miss Teschmacher has been cast) dials things back from pretty much every cinematic Luthor.... (Although certainly Hoult can do crazy if they decide to go that route again-Nux from Fury Road for example)

Which is a big mistake.

[Jim Kelly]

The hair thing is funny. I guess the original Lex had red hair and the bald Lex was a mistake by a colorist in one of the early issues, which was then incorporated into the character through a retcon. Since that time he has still had hair sometimes.

The original Luthor had red hair. Supposedly, another artist looking at a page from one of those early appearances mistook Luthor's assistant for Luthor himself, and the assistant was bald so Luthor became bald (imagine if an artist mistook Ubu for Ra's al Ghul and Ra's was a baldy from then on). However, this explanation sounds a bit suspect to me. They could have corrected it easily enough, but they didn't. So even if it was a mistake, it was a mistake that made better sense for the character and they kept it that way.

Also, in the comic strip, when Luthor first appears he's bald and he's called the Ultra-Scientist (he also looks a bit like Sivana). I think they saw a way to amalgamate red Luthor with the Ultra-Humanite, to birth the bald Luthor. He was bald from then on until he appeared as a young man in the Superboy stories (in 1960) at which point he got the name Lex--so he could be another L.L. character. Young Lex had brown hair, not red, until he lost his hair in an experiment he was conducting for his hero, Superboy.

The problem with the scenery-chewing Eisenberg Luthor is that he's too crazy. I think that the Joker being such a popular villain has influenced other screen villains--and the actors who play them all want to play the same sort of mad genius. But Luthor is not mad. He's incredibly smart and focused. He shouldn't have all these maniacal mannerisms. I blame the director--Eisenberg might've come up with this interpretation, but the director should have told him to quit it and play the character straight.

[Bunch of Coconuts]

Eisenberg's Luthor was annoying as hell.

[Frontier]

I get what they were going for but all around I think it was an issue of execution...like a lot of the DCEU.

[MichaelC]

I completely get why they wanted someone who got an Oscar nomination for playing Mark Zuckerberg to play Lex Luthor.

This!
Eisenberg was perfectly capable of playing a convincing Lex Luthor. He just wasn't directed to do so. Somebody, maybe the director, maybe some executive speaking into the director's ear, insisted he play Luthor as Joker because Joker makes money. It screams of clueless executive meddling.

[Scott Taylor]

Eisenberg's Luthor was annoying as hell.

So is Lex Luthor.

[choptop]

I didn't think he was that bad.