Men in tights

Rating: 4/10 (3 April 2016)

Batman v Superman is a bloated, portentous movie which takes an age to get going. In fact an hour into the film I did look at my watch to see how long it has been going and the person in front of me in the cinema was snoring.
The film apart from pitting the Caped Crusader against the Man in the red cape also sets the Justice League universe up for the next slew of films as well as giving us Wonder Woman.
The film asks us to forget the events of Man of Steel where Superman did battle with General Zod who was seeking to destroy the human race and led to a destructive battle over Metropolis.
This film asks questions whether such an omnipotent being is above the law or whether he should be subject to controls. Bruce Wayne simply blames him for the death and destruction of people in Metropolis.
Some sinister forces conspire that Superman needs to be set up to take a fall which plays into Batman's hand who is already getting ready for a fight.
The key is a young Lex Luthor who is portrayed here as a whimsical and mischievous entrepreneur doing deals with politicians to gain access to a Kryptonian ship, the body of General Zod and Kryptonite. Luthor has shady plans of his own which includes using new found knowledge to create something with Zod's body
When Luthor throws a party he brings people together which includes Bruce Wayne, Clark Kent and Diana Prince who will later come together as their alter egos.
Zack Snyder has chosen to use a washed out palette to visualise his story, foregoing once again the bright primary colours we normally associate with Superman. Henry Cavill again lacks the charisma of Christopher Reeves and his Clark Kent is bland and barely noticeable.
Ben Affleck who plays the older Batman was better than expected having a world weariness of a man who lived dangerously in order to die young but is still going. Gal Gadot also came across well as Wonder Woman where previously we just had a bleached out promotional picture to go on which really did not do her character justice.
Of course we get an action packed finale, a fight between Superman and Batman is always going to be one sided unless Kryptonite is involved and worse still another monster raises its ugly head leading to our superheroes combining forces.
The film is disappointing in its story which drags, it is incoherent and the way it has been brought to the screen is far away from the characters comic book roots.