Some movies are too big for little minds (especially critics)!

Rating: 10/10 (2 April 2016)

This is a movie that does not hold back. Too many other recent franchise sequels played it too safe and, as fun as they were, let's admit, kinda underwhelmed as a result of not daring to do anything new and different (e.g., Age of Ultron, Jurassic World, Force Awakens). Movies deserve commendation when they go all out with their bold choices, even if not all of those choices work, rather than rehash the past. Batman V Superman is a movie that is not afraid of going all out crazy.
Action: Even if you dislike every other aspect of his films, you can't deny that Zack Snyder is a master-class level action director. His sense of timing, cinematography, and choreography, and his visual style have never failed to impress. Snyder always makes sure we see what's going on during the action and never subjects us to excessive shaky-cam & rapid-fire edits, like too many other modern action movies. His superb Watchmen fight scenes got me wishing: "If only Batman could fight like that," and sure enough that's what we're getting in BvS.
Past Batmen can't compete. Past stiff batsuits barely allowed movement, much less convincing fights. Nolan's Bale-man movies did many things well, but the Dark Knight trilogy fight scenes left a lot to be desired. From the disorienting rapid-edit can't-see-what's-going-on fights of Batman Begins & Dark Knight to the clumsy haymaker-heavy brawls of Dark Knight Rises, Batman hadn't really ever been allowed to truly fight like Batman... until now.
Pacing: This is a movie that recognizes that we already know these characters and does not waste any more than the bare minimum amount of time reintroducing them to you. Call it underdevelopment if you want, but I say that's absolutely the right choice. We've seen Batman and Superman before in other versions, so it's fine to dive right a world where Lois and Clark are already a couple, where Batman has been operating for years, & where Superman is already known to the world. This movie jumps right into the plot and the pace never gets slow or tedious.
Themes: Gods among us. How do we deal with them? These are deep concepts, with real world connections. For instance, how often do people with power get blamed for bad things, regardless of whether they are at fault? Can we leave power unchecked and simply hope and trust it doesn't turn on us? These are certainly bigger ideas than simple popcorn fluff such as "Ultron is an evil robot" on which to build a movie. Take that, Marvel :P Seriously though, the epic scale that the DC movie-verse is reaching for is nothing short of ambitious. Beyond simply guys in costume punching each other (yes, there's that too), this is a movie that gets us thinking about grand questions.
Fan Service: As a DC fan, I was pleased and surprised by all the straight-from-the-comics elements in BvS. In addition to the Dark Knight Returns, it also took inspiration from other DC sources, classic and new, such as, among others, from the old Crisis on Infinite Earths, to the new Injustice: Gods Among Us, and the Arkham Batman video games, as well as other notable classic DC series that I won't mention to avoid spoilers. This is definitely a movie for the fans, but what impresses me is that it was so willing to go full fan-service, even at the possible expense of casual audiences who may be not so fluent in the DC Universe lore. In fact, most of the complaints I've seen about how some parts were confusing, or incoherent (notably the dream-sequences), or plot holes, were really direct references to the comics that as a fan I can see what they're doing right away, but may be baffling to casual audiences. I'm sure these things will be explained in the upcoming sequels though. Keep in mind that there's a big difference between intentionally cryptic content that will probably be explained in the sequels and actual plot holes resulting from sloppy writing.
Cast/Characters: - Ben, Gal, and Henry: Awesome. - Mark Zuckerberg, oops, I mean Lex Luthor: This casting was the most perplexing one when it was first announced, but has turned out to be quite inspired. Of course, there could be no better modern interpretation of a diabolical businessman/mad-scientist than as an obnoxious young tech mogul as smart as he is smug. Who better to cast in this role than Facebook's CEO himself?! - Lois: a character who's traditionally been very annoying is not so in this version. No complaints here. - Perry White: Who says anything about no humor in this movie? Perry's hilarious. - Martha: Who says this movie has no heart? I dare you not to get emotional from her scenes. - Alfred: This Alfred is not a butler, but more of a partner. Bruce even brings Alfred coffee. That shows the respect between them. Alfred's constant quips remind me of the Alfred from the animated series (again, who said anything about no humor?), but minus the whole awkward master servant relationship. Great modern take on this classic relationship.
Music - Hans Zimmer and Junkie XL's score: Beautiful, haunting, and bad-ass all rolled into one. Love the lietmotifs. When Wonder Woman's electric cello kicks in, prepare for pure amazement to follow.
Highlights: - Batman vs. room full of bad guys: Holy $#! THIS is the Batman we've always wanted to see! - A single-take action scene in a desert setting that's as visually spectacular as it is bizarre. Some people call this moment confusing, but I say just sit back and enjoy the visuals, because it's awesome. - Seeing the DC Trinity together on screen... I'm in DC fan-heaven!
Final thoughts: I've never watched any movie more than once in theaters. But I'll definitely watch this one again. Good job, Snyder. Bring on the Justice League!