Doing too much too soon by laying the ground works for Justice League

Rating: 7/10 (26 March 2016)

Following the announcement of this film back at Comic Con '13, I've been eagerly anticipating this film since. Keeping up to date with all the latest developments, pictures, trailers etc. As a big Batman/DC fan, this is the movie I have wanted to see for years.
*Spoilers ahead*
Soon as the credits started rolling I didn't know what to think. Ben Affleck for me, nailed it as Bruce Wayne and in my opinion was the best incarnation we've had of Batman. Cant wait for a solo Batman movie with Batfleck! I knew they were pulling a lot of material from the Dark Knight Returns comic and an Injustice style nightmare scenario with an evil Superman. The two surprises for me was the Flashpoint paradox style time travel and also the Death of Superman. I love the fact they are pulling these stories straight from the comics. This is what the fans want to see! The trouble is, having that many different stories in one single film. I think that's the reason I wasn't able to enjoy it as much as I would of liked to, because it was a busy film and you had to keep up with what was going on. I don't blame Synder for this though as his directors cut was a whole 30 minutes longer, which I believe would have helped to piece things together a lot better, and explained things more. I can understand the studio wanting to cut the film down, 1)Three hours would have been too long for some people and means less showings of the film each day in cinemas = less money. 2) Taking out some of the intense violence to keep it PG13 so a wider audience can see the film, kids will buy the toys = more money. Its just the way the film was edited felt rather choppy, cutting from one scene to another and parts missing. The biggest disappointment is the main fight between Batman and Superman. It didn't feel long enough although the directors cut on Blu Ray I believe will have an extended fight.
I also think Dc crammed so much into this movie purely to play catch up with Marvel, who are way ahead in the cinematic universe. I really feel they should have just stuck to Batman v Superman, and the whole Dawn of Justice could have literally been a 5 minute bit at the end, rather than half this movie. We all know Justice League is coming, but we just wanted to see Batman take on Superman! The original two trailers were awesome but it was the Doomsday trailer which gave away way too much. I think if the whole Doomsday and Wonder Woman stuff wasn't shown, we would have had even more to be surprised about. So much footage was release in the marketing campaign I felt like I had already seen the movie. Hopefully Warner Bros will learn for their future DCEU films.
Few more little mentions of things that bugged me... Lex Luthor having all the Heroes symbols on the Meta Human file. Cyborgs meta human file video wasn't the best. How quickly Batman and Superman become friends after finding out they both have mums called Martha (Although there may be more dialog etc. cut from theatrical version). Bruce Wayne's last line to Wonder Woman felt a little weak at the end ("I've just got a feeling').
I am going to see it a second time tomorrow and I think now I've had time for it all to sink in, I may enjoy it a whole load more.
I do want to just mention the positives too as it really wasn't as bad as what the critics say, but it is definitely a film for the fans. If you aren't familiar with the comics you may not have a clue what's going on for half the movie! As I've mentioned, for me, Ben Affleck was great. I especially liked the part when the cops go into the dark building and you see Batman in the top corner of the room. Felt almost like a horror! Batman's fighting style is very much like the Arkham games which was cool. By far the most brutal Batman we've seen, which I like. People may have a problem with Batman killing but there is compilation videos on YouTube of all the Batman kills in previous movies and its at about 50, Its just you don't always realize. I loved the nightmare scene as it was a cool look into what could be and Batman with his trench coat (again taken from comics). The Batmobile and Bat suit are both my favourite out of any previous movie. In fact all the costumes are great. Jeremy Irons is a cool more hands on version of Alfred. Hans Zimmer and his friend Junkie XL do a brilliant job with the score. I loved what Hans did for the Dark Knight films and also on Man Of Steel. Every time Wonder Woman was seen, her own music played which made her seem even more mysterious, and then once in action, the music ramped up!
Overall, I thought all the casting was great. I prefer the fact that Dc are darker than Marvel. I still believe in Zack Synder, I really liked Man Of Steel, i just think the studio wanted too much too soon with not enough time to do it all in. I think I probably went into it with expectations a little too high wanting the best superhero movie ever. Realising after it didn't quite meet those expectations, plus unfortunately seeing bad reviews after put a downer on what could have been so epic.
I still don't think its as bad as some reviews I have read, and urge people to still go see it. But just have an open mind and don't expect it to be a 10/10 movie. I give it a 7/10