Disappointing story, disappointing movie

Rating: 5/10 (30 March 2016)

"Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" was released last weekend (3/25) after much anticipation from comic book fans around the world. The movie comes as part of a much larger collection that began in 2013 with "Man of Steel" and will continue next year with "Wonder Woman." So, did it live up the the hype? Or will the Justice League movies fall short of matching "The Avengers" success? The movie starts out – sigh – like any other Batman movie, an origin story. I definitely feel that we have reached a saturation point in the retelling of Batman's origin story and going over it again at this point is just plain overkill. Nevertheless, it was told anyway – but, like many aspects of this movie, it was told for no apparent reason.
Directed by Zack Snyder, "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" tries to be more than it should. After the movie let out, I found myself wondering if something was missing, or perhaps there was too much. If the fluff was cut out, this could have been a great movie. Instead, we're left with scenes that feel as though they were stitched together without rhyme or reason other than to eventually lead into further Justice League movies.
The overarching plot to the movie also seemed rushed, while at the same time the movie itself seemed to drag on forever. The continuous foreshadowing of what's to come in the movie will leave the viewer knowing the next move of every character ten-minutes before it happens, so feel free to take a bathroom break at any time during this one.
The character portrayals in this movie were what stood out as something excellent. Ben Affleck takes the Batman character and makes it his own in a morose, melancholy kind of way while Henry Cavill continues as Superman. Both leading characters portray their characters in ways that comic book fans will not be displeased with.
Wonder Woman, played by Gal Gadot also makes an appearance in the movie. Gadot portrays the character well, despite the fact that the character could have been completely removed without much change in the outcome. It would suffice to say that the Wonder Woman appearance served only to assist in the promotion of the 2017 title.
Finally, the standout for me was Jesse Eisenberg in his portrayal of Lex Luthor. Eisenberg gave Luthor a somewhat Joker-esque crazy spin that seemed to work out for the character, now if only the story had given him more to work with.
For me, it may have been my expectations going into the movie that soured the experience. I did not care too much for "Man of Steel", but I had hoped that it was just a fluky bad spot for Snyder. Unfortunately, it would seem that yet again Snyder is attempting to tell too many stories in too little time and the viewer is the one who suffers.
For the great, dark, cinematography we have come to expect from DC Comics movies by Larry Fong, and for the great character portrayals by all involved, I give this movie a 5/10. Given a better tied together story and less of a committee driven push to promote the future movies there's no reason this couldn't have obtained The Dark Knight status of nobility amongst comic book fans.