Not Nearly As Bad As People Will Say (Watch the Ultimate Edition!)

Rating: 7/10 (15 November 2017)

Note: No spoilers until indicated.
When it comes down to it, yes, Zack Snyder is a second unit director who, whether he thinks so or not, prioritizes visuals over story cohesion. And, yes, that's reflected in the CGI-laden Batman v Superman, as it was reflected in Man of Steel. It's certainly flawed, but it's not flawed enough to make it seem like the trashfire of a film that other reviewers seem to say it is.
First off, Batman v Superman corrects some of the flaws that Man of Steel had. One particular gripe I had with Man of Steel was the fact that the final fight scene was unnecessarily long, clichÃ©, and destructive. Batman v Superman immediately corrects this by making this as a plot device that motivates Batman to turn against Superman. Suddenly I like Man of Steel more now. The scenes are depicted, for once, with the right amount of emotion to set up the pace for the film (it won't stay consistent, but we'll get to that later). Just to add on this, Man of Steel had too many fights in major cities that caused unnecessary destruction, Batman v Superman now has fights on uninhabited islands! Perfect!
As polarizing as it may be, Jesse Eisenberg's portrayal of Lex Luthor is wonderful. Instead of the ruthless Lex Luthor we're used to in the comics, Chris Terrio managed to modernize his characterization into the socially awkward, but incredibly intelligent, Silicon Valley-esque tech giant we see in this film. Many of the film's events orchestrated by Luthor perfectly illustrate his sinister characterization, sometimes without even needing him to be on screen.
Zack Snyder's direction, once again, brings a less-than-cohesive film plot that seems to jump between the tension between the main characters and superfluous action. It tries to pack so much into so little time, and the result is the odd pacing and underdeveloped characterizations and scenes that are slowly becoming Snyder's trademark. I'd compare him to McG and say that this film focused too much on being visually a comic book and less on a graphic novel, with underdeveloped characterizations and scenes that needed to be fleshed out longer. Zack Snyder is still trying to find his right pacing, and it's not working yet.
That said, Batman v Superman has one of the best action scenes in comic book film history. Zack Snyder, again, a visual guy, knows how to direct many of the complex action sequences the film portrays, and executes them beautifully, so I'll give him that.
I HIGHLY recommend watching the Ultimate Edition; it helps even out some of the pacing and narrative flaws in the original. The narrative is still a bit messy, but it was already messy to begin with. However, the added footage adds much more to the plot and helps answer any unanswered questions viewers of the original may have had (see spoiler section below).
Overall, Batman v Superman is not nearly as bad as critics or fans may say. Is it perfect? No, it has noticeable flaws. BvS tries to pack in the standards of a Christopher Nolan-brand superhero movie with the action spectacles of a Marvel film; the result is a visually aesthetic comic film with somewhat decent characterizations and scenes, at the compromise of its pacing and overall development.
For opinions on some spoilers:
SPOILERS BELOW:
The "Martha" issue is totally blown out of proportion. Batman doesn't "suddenly become friends" with Superman just because their mothers share the same name, the name only served as a trigger that halted Batman from killing Superman. That gave him just enough time to realize that Superman was also more "human" than he ever imagined, and that there were even bigger issues at hand rather than just killing Superman.
The Ultimate Edition adds in more details that makes the plot more cohesive and less "intuitive," so to speak. If you want to know what the Ultimate Edition adds to the original, here are some key details:
Additional opening scenes that add further detail on how Lex Luthor was able to place the blame on Superman for the village's destruction. Clark Kent's investigation of Batman's vigilante practices, which further motivates him to confront Batman (Adds more detail to the significance of the Bat Branding employed). Lois Lane's investigation of the bombing at the Capitol, which answers any questions viewers of the original cut may have had.