FRANKFURT — If the proposed merger between Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank were a film, it would already be racking up the rotten tomatoes.

The powerful labor unions are against it. Regulators are wary, and could impose onerous conditions. Shareholders are skeptical. There is some formidable political momentum behind it, but the government is split over the wisdom of morphing Germany’s two largest banks into one.

The banks are expected to announce in coming days or weeks whether they will pursue becoming a megabank in order to capture a critical mass of the German consumer market and share the cost of shifting services to the internet. Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank began talking a month ago, spurred by support within both banks and lawmakers in Berlin for creating a lender large enough to take on Wall Street’s giants.

Say this much: The saga is particularly German. It is hard to imagine a bank merger in any other country generating as much emotion and debate.