A visual spectacle, but not much else.

Rating: 5/10 (26 March 2016)

Zack Snyder's follow-up to 2013's divisive Man of Steel feels nothing more than a 150 minute visually striking trailer for DC's Justice League movie that spoilt it's climax in the trailers. Ben Affleck does make for an excellent Bruce Wayne/Batman, walking a fine line between billionaire playboy and justice crazed vigilante, and when Gal Gadot is on screen, she makes for an enigmatic Diana Prince/Wonder Woman. However, the film is smothered in a coat of brooding dark paint with no levity in sight. So many explosions occur that you could be mistaken for watching a Michael Bay movie. The film's main plot is about controlling Superman so he doesn't cause as much unintentional destruction as in Man of Steel, but it completely goes against that to deliver a finale with MORE destruction than Man of Steel. Not to mention, when the trailer back in December showed Doomsday, I thought "Superman is going to die". And I was completely right. There are no twists or turns and the film is a structural trainwreck. If DC want their own cinematic universe, then they'll need to do better than this.