Saturnine superhero showdown

Rating: 7/10 (15 April 2018)

A bleak and bitter Batman, feeling that the world would be a better place without Godlike alien heroes, decides to fight the Man of Steel. The film is very dark and grim yet oddly maudlin in places, for example: despite Batman's apparent intent to beat a kryptonite-weakened Superman to death, the pair miraculously bond over the shared name of their mothers and become friends and allies. This reconciliation is a good thing, as super-villain Lex Luther (Jesse Eisenberg) has turned on a Kryptonian monster maker, and now a doughy-looking "Doomsday" is terrorising Metropolis. Henry Cavill is fine as Superman and Ben Affleck makes a bulky, tough-looking Batman (whose growling voice I quickly tired; the aforementioned mothers' name epiphany is a good example of why). Amy Adams makes for a photogenic Lois Lane although her impractical (but very complimentary) shoes seem out of place of on a 'women of action'. Jesse Eisenberg's Lex Luther is easily the worst character in the film, with a grating 'jolly psycho' delivery that comes across like a knockoff of Heath Ledger's now legendary take on the Joker in "The Dark Knight". Diana Prince/Wonder Women's (the gorgeous Gal Godot) cameo appearances are great (unfortunately, they are (IMO) better than her 2017 eponymous film). The film is slow in places, suffers from the typical plot-driven inconsistency of super powers (Superman's super-hearing being a good example) and the final 'climatic battle' looks like all the other 'climatic battles' in recent DC/Marvel adaptations. Watchable with some fine CGI work, but not memorable.