Lots of missed opportunities (6/10)

Rating: 6/10 (27 March 2016)

Conflicted is the word I would use to describe my feelings towards the movie. On one hand, there are so many things that I absolutely loved about this movie. But, some of the things didn't work at all. Though, I feel the good outweighed the bad, but just by a tiny margin.
Things I liked:
1.The new Batman/Batfleck: This Batman is the one I had always wanted. He was a culmination of Frank Miller's older Batman from Dark Knight Returns and the one from the Arkham Games. Not a bad way to start things at all. Ben Affleck is a Batman we have never seen before, and he knocks it out of the park as a vicious, menacing, intimidating, poignant and brutal vigilante.
2. Visuals: This is a fantastic looking movie. Some of the scenes are like orgasm for the eyes. But, that's something that we can all expect from a Zack Snyder movie.
3. Wonder Woman: I thought Gal Gadot did a good job. She added her own touch and small nuances to a few scenes. She is set up as a mystical woman, who even outsmarts Bruce Wayne. The next is her appearance as Wonder Woman, which was really cool. She looked like a well balanced combination of power and elegance. Needless to say, I'm excited to see Wonder Woman in her own solo movie, releasing in 2017.
4. Dark and Dreary Tone: They are trying to mirror real some of the real world issues and add a political thriller aspect to their movies, so the dark tone meshes well with this particular universe.
5. Final Showdown: The showdown between Batman and Superman is spectacular and I'm glad they nailed it.
6.Justice League Setup: Now, I don't have a huge problem with the way these characters were introduced, but it seemed to convenient and even a little lazy. I feel it could have been handled better.
Things I didn't like:
1.Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor: Many people would be surprised to know that Lex Luthor isn't actually playing Lex Luthor, he is portraying his son. However, that doesn't excuse that fact that Jesse Eisenberg didn't fit the bill at all. Jesse is a really good actor, but he was one of the most glaring failures of the movie. He was borderline autistic and insane whose motivation for killing Suerman aren't well explained. Luthor is supposed to be one of the most intelligent men in the DC universe. He is dark, vindictive, arrogant and egotistical. Also, he is the arch nemesis of Superman. But, I didn't get that feeling from portrayal. He is spontaneous quirkiness was unintentionally annoying.
2. Character Motivations: Some of the character motivations didn't make sense at all. Why does Lex want to fight Superman? They needed to delve deeper into that. Why is Batman so outraged by Superman? He has a personal vendetta against him. But, he goes crazy to do whatever it takes to destroy him. Some of his motivation was shown in the opening sequence, but Batman is called the "World's greatest detective". He analyzes each an every step and doesn't pick a fight unless he actually has to. Over here, Batman seemed to have an ego issue, out for the blood of Superman. Given his intellectual prowess and intuition, can't he see that despite the destruction of Metropolis, Superman is actually doing a lot of good for the world. I'm sorry, but again, his motivation to go against Superman was really lazy. He just picked the fight, so we could have an overblown visual spectacle.
3. Incoherent Presentation: This is another huge flaw of this movie. They were trying to juggle too many things in this movie. Batman's arc, Suerpman's arc, Batman and Superman conflict, Lex's evil schemes, Justice League setup, Doomsday, Lois Lane side plot, after effects of Man of Steel. It was a bit too much for just one movie, and boy did it bring the movie down.
4. Doomsday: Doomsday is another villain in the movie. You could call him a henchman of Lex Luthor, and I was really disappointed by this character. Here is a just a screaming maniac causing havoc on Metropolis, just used as a convenient tool to make Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman team up. Sad.
TLDR............... All in all, BvS is a mixed bag. There is greatness somewhere in this movie, but it doesn't live up to its full potential. After teasing this movie for all these years, the audience, especially a superhero nerd like me had higher expectations. Inconsistent is a word that can aptly describe this movie. Editing of the movie really holds it back. However, from a summer action stand point it is light years ahead of most the movies releasing at its time. The opening sequence and the Batman v Superman showdown is worth the admission price alone, so I feel it's certainly a movie you should check out cause there is a lot of enjoyment you will find in it. But, I like my movies to be deeper than just a 10 minute action scene. I wanted them to delve into the ideological difference between Batman and Superman. It's full of missed opportunities. But, it's full of great elements as well. Let's score is, shall we?
**Final Verdict: 7.2/10**