Unanimously panned monstrosity that had all the warning lights flashing

Rating: 2/10 (22 November 2016)

STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning
After a series of catastrophic disasters, the public turn their scorn on Superman (Henry Cavill), feeling that a man with his powers just doesn't belong on their planet. Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck) is concerned that he may simply be a menace in disguise, and prepares to go to war with him as Batman. But a new threat to world peace emerges in the shape of Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg), who wants to harness an energy source to wreak global havoc. The two rival superheroes must come together, along with fellow warrior Diana Prince a.k.a. Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) in order to stop Luthor's diabolical plan.
A combination of bad feeling and word of mouth stopped me from seeing this film in what could be described as its natural format on the big screen when it came out over here at the end of March, and its taken till now for me to witness it in all its gory glory. Reading like some ten year old kid in the playground's nonsensical fantasy, and playing out not much differently, director Zack Snyder has really scraped the bottom of the barrel and produced the most desperate, pitiful piece of filmmaking I think I've seen all year, a monumental monstrosity with no sense of fun, wonder or excitement whatsoever.
Such a flimsy excuse for a premise was hardly going to produce much in the way of a decent story, and this is all a really jumbled, plot less, incoherent mess that I struggled to produce a plot summary for, if I'm honest. For a more condensed piece, this would be bad enough, but stretching at nearly two and a half hours, its just taking the biscuit. But what makes it even worse is the sheer overbearing earnestness of it all, taking something so throwaway and making it more grim and moody than the fall of Rome. Even Wonder Woman loses her old school schiztzy appeal, and its just a terribly humourless bore all round.
Performances wise, Affleck is the most stiff, uptight Bruce Wayne/Batman there ever was, while Cavill and love interest Amy Adams have nothing to lose as Superman and Lois, having already established their personas in 2013's less than well received Man of Steel. But worst of all is Eisenberg as Luthor, who delivers the most jabbering, irritating maniacal performance ever, but just looks miscast in the role anyway, whilst Gadot just feels wasted as the new Wonder Woman. A colourful support cast including Diane Lane, Laurence Fishburne and Jeremy Irons as Alfred also fail to add any spice.
Its every bit as bad as they said, and if 1997's Batman and Robin was the franchise as its worst in the camp style, this is just as big if not worse an atrocity in the dark, brooding one. *