A strong DC movie

Rating: 8/10 (29 March 2016)

This movie is narratively messy, sometimes feels extremely slow paced (particularly towards the end) and is laid out in a way that is very much like Game of Thrones, but not executed brilliantly. Almost none of this was on my list of priorities when going in the cinema to see this film.
What I got in this movie was a fantastic iteration of Batman, I'm so glad we are seeing an older, more desensitized interpretation of the character and Ben Affleck pulls this off brilliantly. He bounces off of Alfred well (also another refreshing iteration of a character we've seen not too long ago) and I'm totally cool with him killing as he seems to in this film. He's been at it for 20 years, this is not a lenient Batman and will probably bee the darkest version we've seen yet and I'm totally cool with this. I would have liked to have seen a bit more of a rapport between him and Alfred, but they had a lot to get through in this movie, so I can see why that wasn't on the priority list.
I was pleasantly surprised by Eisenberg's performance as Lex Luthor's son. Yes it was a classic, twitchy Eisenberg performance, but it felt well suited to this Lex Luthor and there are some moments where Eiesenberg shines through with a touch of malice, the scene between Lex and Senator Finch in Lex's mansion is a particular favourite. I love the approach Warner Brothers are having with these classic characters, it's incredibly ballsy and from what I've seen from Man of Steel, Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice and the Suicide Squad trailer, it seems to be an approach that will pay off. After all, a lot of the main players in this universe are characters that haven't been too much of distant memory (The Dark Knight trilogy).
Another positive is the tone and visuals of the film. This is something I'm not going to go into in too much detail, because this is Zack Snyder and the dude is positively a genius when it comes to brilliant, though-provoking visuals.
And most importantly of all...THE SCRAPS! The fight between the two titular characters is breath-taking in its savagery, even if it's conclusion is a bit forced and seems pretty flukey. The battle between our heroes and Doomsday is brilliant too, full of twists and turns and unbelievable visuals. I like how Lex engineered the fight, as it fits with Superman's character that his motivations in fighting Batman are something other than a personal vendetta against Bruce Wayne. My one complaint is the under-use of Doomsday here. This guy is a heavy hitter in the DC universe, and he was reduced to nothing more than a plot device that gets killed off. Yes, he does kill Supes, but Supes all but comes back to life right at the end, which to me is totally pointless and was probably thrown in to give Doomsday more weight, narratively. (And he looks like the cave troll from LOTR). There's also another scene where Batman busts in and literally engages in a 30 man take-down. This is probably the best Batman action scene in the history of the franchise. Watch the hell out of it.
Wonder Woman is GREAT. Her arc in this is quite good, although we don't get much insight into her background. Understandable as we are getting a solo movie and they've managed to establish her quite nicely in this movie without it, working as a match for Batman and Superman, she doesn't seem shoe-horned at all. I do think the scene where she is opening the documents with info regarding Flash, Cyborg, Aquaman etc could've made quite a nice post credits scene, it did feel detached from the narrative, particularly at that point in the movie.
Overall a brilliant spectacle without a lot of focus. Plays out like a elongated Game of Thrones episode. It does get tiresome, but I got what I wanted and it has pumped me to see the rest of the DC universe!