A Marvel fan's view.

Rating: 6/10 (13 January 2017)

To fess up straight away I absolutely hated Man Of Steel. Henry Cavill was a plank in it and the film itself was one long smash-up fest. So I avoided this movie when it came out. Normally I watch DC films, too as I have no hatred or bias against them. Just didn't like Man Of Steel!
I watched with some trepidation the 3hr version of the film on blue-ray. The cinema cut was poorly reviewed by critics and disliked by many DC fans, so maybe this "ultimate" cut makes a difference. The first hour I found fairly dull, to be honest, but as the movie went on it got better and better, and I'm the first to say I find the critic's response somewhat mystifying - this is by no means a terrible movie overall. It has faults, sure, and some plot points that should have been dropped into the nearest waste disposal; but much of it is also entertaining and watchable, and this time I thought Cavill was much better.
Ben Affleck, too, was surprisingly good. He fit the role of a slightly older Bruce Wayne well, and his Batman was much better than I thought it was going to be. The warehouse scene is arguably the best Batman fight ever. Not happy with Batman branding criminals. He's a vigilante not a torturer...
Wonder Woman? Don't know much about the character, probably needed a bit more build up and development; but she was very impressive in the fight scenes.
I would have been quite happy to give the film a 7 if it were not for Jesse Eisenberg. C'mon DC fans; you've been decrying Marvel villains for years as generic but admit it - he was one of the worst bad guys ever seen in a superhero movie. Eisenberg was terrible, and his plan was ridiculous. For god sake re-cast the role!
However, overall this has somewhat restored my faith in the DC film universe. Haven't seen Suicide Squad yet but I'm certainly prepared to give that a fair crack of the whip. Justice League could be great...