Not the definitive version of either character

Rating: 5/10 (6 April 2016)

Recently I went back and re-watched Man of Steel and enjoyed it a little bit more than I did the first time, viewing in the theater. It's a visual feast, and gave me hope that its sequel could offer something beyond. Sometimes ingesting visual ideas wrapped in even an OK story is enough. I would go so far as to say I even (gulp) liked Man Of Steel. The fight scenes especially, between the Kryptonians and Superman, are innovative and like nothing anyone had done before.
Now we finally have unwrapped Batman V. Superman and it's hugely disappointing. It's dark and laced with a feeling of despondence and hopelessness.
The story feels forced. Seems to be the result of some executive forcing the Batman and Superman stories and worlds (as they are in comics) into one movie. They took elements of both the "Dark Knight" graphic novel and "Death of Superman" comic series. This mashup does provide thought provocation but does not congeal into a cohesive whole. Again, it's all enjoyable to look at but that is not enough.
the Dark Knight series is the definitive Batman series and always will be. Particularly the first two in the series. Even the Tim Burton Batman films are a better vision of the character (and world) than this is. Watched the 1989 entry recently too.
SPOILER ALERT: The trailer for this movie is selling you snake oil as far as the fight between the two characters goes. It makes the viewer curious about how Batman could stand against someone as powerful as Superman. I was worried though that there was some trick involved to how Batman is able to gain an upper hand on Superman. the entire second act is devoted to Batman's quest for the kryptonite rock found in the Indian Ocean. I was praying he would not get it, that it would not be the answer to how Batman beats Superman (he does). But it is. Kryptonite dust, kryptonite spear, Superman vulnerable. That's the ugly part about this. Superman never has it coming. Batman is wrong the entire time, and we're never convinced that he should even have the thought. The cunning with which Batman wins is true to the character, but it's false advertising. Every shot the trailer shows of Batman punching Superman is a moment Superman is weakened by the Kryptonite dust, even the infamous "blocked punch" shot. I was worried that this was the case, and it turned out to be true.
Christopher Reeve is the definitive Superman. Richard Donner got it really right. It makes you wonder what Donner would have done with the technology available today, if there weren't the constraints of 70's visual effects.