A film to transcend its expectations

Rating: 8/10 (24 March 2016)

I'm going to leave this review spoiler free, but let me begin by saying that this movie is replete with emotional and passionate nods to its comic lineage. This being said, if one were not to possess knowledge of certain key comic histories, I can see people feeling indifferent or even indignant of the inclusions that made the film. Quite frankly, Batman vs Superman is a chaos of spectacle and power, emotion and triumph, and with any epic of this scale each moment lost to a viewer can become increasingly risky. But with that out of the way, I'm fresh from the premiere and I need more - this movie is astounding.
The first thirty minutes of the film may be some of the most beautiful and impactful filming I've seen from Snyder. It generates a gravitas for the events that proceed, and serves as an artful mirror to those that would come to witness such horror in life. There is a sense of mortality and rage in the eyes of Ben Affleck, an almost flagrant disregard to the shadows these otherworldly warriors force upon the world, a singular drive of someone that is mindful of their limit - and irreverent to consequence as emotion sets in. In that moment I felt myself looking at decades of a character. An entire life. I would have paid for this movie for these scenes alone, I finally had my Batman.
So why an 8 out of 10? I found parts of the movie charming and fun. The philosophical portions were a bit labored and inconsistent, but they were a vehicle for so much more. If I were a betting man, I'd say its in regards to a specific world of gods, and one very frightening adversary. I always felt that Lex has known so much more than what is truly revealed. That his deliberate choices, much like Batman's meticulously planned fights, have been made through a neurotic call to arms. In the presence of gods mans actions, mans motives, have changed - mans weapon becomes obsession. And in capable hands, that obsession can move mountains.
Aesthetically the movie is a symphony of mediums, a beautiful marriage of a thousand storytellers and artists painting conflict and battle. The music charges with adrenaline, and the action tears through bone. Most of the drama - the remorse of loss, the journey of those that are forced to be strong while bearing such deep and lasting wounds - is delivered well enough throughout the film. But some lines fall flat, the chronology of events are frenetically twisting throughout, and just general small misses plague an otherwise masterful film. Lex's story in particular, in the third arc, is one that is tolerable but distractingly subpar... part of it captures the genius of the character, and another part just seems disgustingly convenient. Needless to say, it's a Macintosh in the hands of Jeff Goldblum.
I'd also like to note that while I loved most of the soundtrack, one important and lengthy scene happened to be accompanied by a woefully grating song. A siren whose song pushes you out, not pulls you in.
In short, the movie doesn't need to be a perfect 10/10 to be stunning and remarkable. For me it is like an heirloom, not nearly as treasured by the world for its richness as it is by me - but priceless for what I experience when I behold it. 8/10, I'll be watching this for the rest of my life.