A Superhero Punchup

Rating: 8/10 (26 March 2016)

I later found out that this film was universally panned by the critics, but then again what do the critic's really know – sometimes I wonder if they really know how to enjoy a good movie, but then again they probably watch so many movies that they have actually forgotten the art of simply going to the cinema to enjoy a good movie. Okay, I will have to admit that the best part of the movie was right at the beginning when one of the audience members screamed out 'go Batman!'. I have to admit, especially since Nolan's trilogy, I've always had a soft spot for the Dark Night, and never been a huge fan of The Man of Steel.
Anyway, I think the problem is that Snyder is simply trying to do too much in this film. It is clear, from the title no less, that this is a lead up to a Justice League movie (no doubt an attempt to cash in on the popularity of the Avengers movies), however since it is slated for release in 2017 he is limited in what he can do. We've also just come out of a very successful Batman franchise so Synder was somewhat restrained in how he could bring Batman into the universe, and he does so through a direct sequel to Man of Steel.
At the beginning of the film Superman is fighting General Zod and Bruce Wayne, who is actually quite old at this time, is somewhat angered at the fact that during the battle 1000s of people (including a number of his employees when one of his buildings collapsed) were killed, and lays the blame directly at Superman's feet. In fact he has developed an intense distrust of Superman, namely because he is incredibly powerful, is not of this world, and doesn't seem to answer to anybody. Okay, Batman may be a vigilante, but in Bruce Wayne's mind this is okay because he has been doing it for years – Superman's the new kid on the block. However, it is clear that all of his villainous counterparts are dead and Gotham seems to be just as crime ridden today as it was when his parents were killed.
If there is one thing that I didn't particularly like and that was Lex Luther, but then again I've never liked Lex Luther. It feels that he simply gets overused, to the point that he seems to be the villain in every piece. It was one of the things I didn't like about the original films, because Lex Luther simply always seemed to come back with another nefarious way to destroy Superman. Okay, in this film he was somewhat crazier than the calculated villain that you usually encounter, however he is still a pain in the neck. Also, while trying not to give too much away, when he gets arrested at the end of the film I'm sort of wandering what happens to his company. Okay, we will probably find out down the track, but I hope it is dismantled and sold off. Doing the type of things that Luther does in the film is most likely going to result in the US Government confiscating all of his assets and selling them off to the highest bidder.