Not outright awful, but a massive disappointment.

Rating: 4/10 (24 March 2016)

Disclaimer: rant mode activated. In the relatively short history of comic-book movies, no other showdown between (and teaming-up of) beloved heroes has garnered as much anticipation and fan fervour as that between the Man of Steel and the Dark Knight. It's the Holy Grail not only of the DC cinematic universe, but that of the entire superhero genre. So how in the name of Zeus' butthole did Warner Bros – and specifically DCCU spearhead Zack Snyder – mishandled it this badly? Now I'm not talking Fantastic Four level awfulness, but that movie also had zero expectation and hype attached to it hence came and went with barely anyone batting an eyelid. Not so for BvS, its potential for greatness makes its failure all the more disappointing.
It begins with a redundant opening credits sequence (we get it, Bruce Wayne witnesses his parents' death and is forever tormented by it) and zigzags through varying levels of messiness to arrive at a CGI-drenched climactic battle that makes the Transformers finales look subtle. It's not just the concluding skirmish that hits us over the head with a visual and aural sledgehammer though, majority of the action sequences are edited with unrelenting rapidity and cloaked in unnecessarily gloomy cinematography. The inevitable melee between our title characters is a gem amongst boulders, but with a 2.5-hour runtime it barely scratches the surface of what this epic premise could have delivered. It also boasts one of the only moments of levity, an element sorely absent from this drab affair.
Snyder has to shoulder a large portion of the criticism aimed at this bloated misfire, yet even he can't be blamed for the screenplay (from David S. Goyer and Chris Terrio) unravelling into a convoluted and uninteresting story. Marvel has mastered the lighter side of big screen comic-book outings and Nolan reinvented a whole genre with his dark and gritty Batman trilogy, but instead of striking a balance between the two, BvS goes full-tilt serious. Serious, and bonkers, as demonstrated by one utterly unwarranted dream sequence featuring an apocalyptic future, time-warping weirdos and winged devil-creature-thingies; because, you know, that's definitely what has been missing from these movies for way too long.
Considering the amount of whinging caused by his hiring, it's ironic that Ben Affleck is one of the most positive elements in this garbled wreck. His performance as Bruce Wayne / Batman is suitably moody, portraying depth in an iconic figure that is otherwise lumped with a clichéd plot. Many of the other cast members – Henry Cavill, Gal Gadot, Amy Adams, Jesse Eisenberg, Jeremy Irons – are adequate without justifying a special mention; although some – Holly Hunter, Scoot McNairy, Diane Lane – are given such short shrift it's a wonder why they are there in the first place. The inevitable setting up of future films within the franchise (the hint is in the title) isn't handled too badly, although there's an unshakeable feeling that DC's game of catch-up with Marvel is going to be a long and bumpy road.
Not the nadir of superhero flicks, but what should've been a crowning achievement for DC's cinematic world is instead a massive misstep that could be this year's biggest bummer. Thanks Zack Snyder, this is why we can't have nice things.