Yea, because there are no further examples of Alfred heroically saving Bruce.
Yeah, because he does other stuff. He alludes to a life of war, which is more interesting coming from the humble and soft grandpa than the gruff guy who'd you'd expect to have done rough shit in the past in TDK, engages bruce more constantly and consistently and actually makes some headway (as opposed to Affleck, who just rebuffs what Alfred says to the point that the only reason Alfred is speaking at all is so the audience can see how EXTREME Bruce is), and then makes a tearful departure from Bruce's life. It's good stuff.
I'm not going to make judgements on my predictions of what Iron's will do as Alfred, but given the direction this universe is headed in, he's probably just going to have some badass fight scenes because he's a gruff badass. And narratively, that's boring. I am not going to be surprised or interested when Alfred is revealed to be able to do hand to hand combat or whatever. If anything, I'm more curious where he got his engineering expertise.
Contrast! Contrast and range is what makes characters interesting and feel like people. Right now, Iron's is just a Sarcasm and halfhearted ineffective advice dispenser.
You could always exit the discussion if you hate the movie so much. I realize this is probably foolish to say to the top poster for this thread, but still...
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=208642500&postcount=544
Like I say there, how much I like a movie isn't really that important to me.
Point being? You are dodging everything I said when comparing the two but instead just name two things Caine did in the movies. To prove he is not a one trick pony? Fair enough, but neither is Irons Alfred who in just one movie (not even a straight up Batman movie with limited screen time) showed to be useful for more stuff than Caine ever did.
Alfred actively coming in and rescuing Bruce makes him an active character, as opposed to Alfred in BvS whose role is entirely passive. He snarks at Bruce, he throws ignored advice, he works on his tools, etc.
Alfred of BB has a much greater impact on Bruce as a character because he has more range, there is more communication between the characters, and being an actually active part of his life by showing up to rescue him is more than just a function to keep him biologically alive. Alfred in BB, during the house fire scene, served to emotionally reinvorgorate Bruce into taking up the fight, renew his faith and get meet his opponent.
If the best thing you can say Iron's Alfred does is provide tech support, then he is a one trick pony, and his trick is being a plot device, not a companion.
What's wrong with a director putting symbolism in their film?
As a general technique applied to directors in general? Nothing, obviously.
Snyder, however, is very bad at using symbolism. The reference to Moby Dick adds no information we didn't already know, is distracting, inappropriately placed, and in general unnecessary. It's not that symbolism is bad, just that this is a bad instance of symbolism.
