Snyder's Frankenstein

Rating: 7/10 (29 March 2016)

What to say about this that already hasn't been crowed? Most likely my opinion will be no different than you heard from previous--and much better--critics than myself.
But that I have finally finished watching BvS, both on the big screen and a second time here, I am left with a singular impression: Frankenstein. That's strange, I know, but bear with me.
It's clear Zack Snyder had a helluva task before him: Marry his distinct visual flair with the seed of a story that will blossom into DC's cinematic universe for the next umpteenth years. But here's the catch: When it comes to Zack, that commandment is both his strength and ultimate weakness.
Zack, of course, excels at inventing revolutionary cinematic scenes. And I will wager he's one of the few directors who can layer meaning upon hidden meaning on a single piece of celluloid. Anyone else catch the Passion allegory at the end of the film with the "cross" (wreckage from the building) in the background that was clearly meant to intone a scene from Calvary? I won't go into too much detail to avoid spoilers, but all three heroes are in that scene, and its a quick flash. But Zack clearly knew what he was doing to instill meaning behind Superman-- and it was either incredibly clever or offensive (depending on your point of view) especially in light that this movie was released on Easter weekend.
But that, again, is Zack's strength. He's a visual storyteller.
Where he fails is in being able to build a long-form original story that will have multiple movies. Zack's best movies are ones that are stand-alone features: 300, Dawn of the Dead and even Watchmen. First--they're not original stories. But Zack has an incredible talent for translating publications to the screen. He's just not an original storyteller. That's clear when we saw Sucker Punch, a noble, yet outright failure.
In this case, instead of an encapsulated existing story, Zack meshed together elements of some of Batman and Superman's more iconic story arcs--The Dark Knight Returns and Death of Superman--into what amounts to a mess. I know. That's been said, but it's true. Snyder's BvS is a mess. He's pieced together the stories from various comics and tries to make a cohesive single story to launch the larger DC universe like Dr Victor Frankenstein tried to piece together various body parts to create a new life form. The end result was a monster that ran amok.
The same can be said for BvS.
That's not to say I didn't enjoy it. I actually loved BvS, if for nothing else than the sheer audacity to take the hopes and dreams of geek fan boys everywhere onto the Silver Screen. And I personally feel Henry Cavill is one of the best screen Supermans we've seen. Ben Affleck is an excellent Bruce Wayne, but only a mediocre Batman. Gal Gadot is an ...interesting...Wonder Woman, and at times hard to understand through her accent. And less said about Eisenberg's Luthor, the better.
If this movie sinned in any big single away against the DC comics cannon is having Batman flat out kill bad guys. That was shocking, and goes against everything us fan boys know about the Dark Knight's moral code as the treads a thin line between good guy and bad guy.
So, I still look forward to the coming Justice League movies, but I do not hold out hope that Zack will be able to craft a compelling original story that will keep everyone happy.