A visually satisfying entry in DC Cinematic Universe (Spoiler-free review).

Rating: 8/10 (31 March 2016)

There was a lot of hype ever since we saw the Batman poster in Man of Steel in 2013. After few months Snyder confirmed about Batman V Superman and believe me there was a lot of hype. A lot! Directed by Zack Snyder, the film is a follow- up to 2013's Man of Steel and is the second installment in the DC Extended Universe. So does it satisfy the viewers and how much of it? We all know DC's approach in making these films. First of all, DC alienates it's audiences. We all have seen it. They are dark and gritty, different from most of the superhero movies that come out these days, deals with ideas that recognizable to mature audiences. And BvS continues this trend. There's something about Snyder's visual aesthetic that I enjoy enough that I'm willing to deal with his films' generally weak storytelling and other flaws. I means who doesn't have flaws. You can't expect a movie to be 100% perfect. I've enjoyed Sucker Punch, and that film's pretty much a crap-show. He only cares what a 13-year-old comic book fan and video game geek wants to see — or thinks he wants to see, anyway. He wants to see Spartans kick-ass, shot-for- shot recreations of graphic novels and sexy kill-bots in a boss fight. He also wants to see Batman and Superman punch the hell out of each other, and then team up for a boss fight, too. That's why Zack Snyder is a film-maker; that's the baseline you work with. Everything else is incidental, anything else you get is kind of a bonus. And yes, we can argue about whether we should be expecting more from Snyder when he's put in charge of the whole franchise. I think he's a great film-maker and credited for his unique work flow. I remember the criticism he faced regarding the destructive end-fight sequence in Man of Steel. We all know the consequences when a god like human fights with a similarly powerful villain in a urban area. It's equally justified. Coming to the film yes it has good moments and bad moments. The characterization is commendable as Gadot as Wonder Woman and Affleck as Batman nailed it, Eisenberg as Lex was good, Irons as Alfred was OK and Cavill is usual as good. BvS borrows many ideas from from Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns. Cinematography is good though as there are those epic slow motion shots and few amazing IMAX sequences which maintains the standard set by Snyder in his previous movies. And yes, action sequences are amazingly shot. The music by Zimmer and Holkenberg was a big highlight for me (especially the WW Theme, Opening Cue and Lex's Theme). Few fans might get disappoint as the pace of the film is very slow as the BvS showdown begins after the first-half of the movie. There are some crucial cameos which introduces to the Justice League (set to be released in 2017). The only reason i was disappointed because of messy storyline and so does the editing because there are plenty of scenes which leaves a big question mark. So, if you don't have a track in the comics then it's quite difficult to figure out what's going on. I guess it'll be sorted out in the 'Ultimate Cut' scheduled to be released later this summer which has approximately 30 minutes of deleted footages that didn't make it to the 'Theatrical Cut'. Personally I enjoyed it despite its flaws and it sets everything up upcoming JL movie which makes me even more excited. Till then there are two more movies in line Suicide Squad (2016) and Wonder Woman (2017) which are prequel to BvS.