Not deserve all the raging criticise, but also, not a stunner

Rating: 7/10 (28 March 2016)

Critics are bringing Zack Snyder's follow-up of MAN OF STEEL (2013) under fire, whose subtitle DAWN OF JUSTICE blatantly heralds the ambitious blueprint for the Justice League in DC extended universe, a pressing imitation of Marvel's success. The superhero blockbusters are all the rage now but, a detrimental feeling of enervation is also palpable after the recent barrage of over-frequent output.
MAN OF STEEL fails to duplicate the victory of IRON MAN (2008) as the vanguard of DCEU, although Snyder's sombre colour aesthetics has its vein in all his works, it definitely differentiates itself from Marvel's wheelhouse and attracts a great amount of loyalties, that's why its box-office doesn't bomb despite of the lopsided broadsides from critics. Another viable disappointment may arise from a boomerang from the fervid anticipation of a Batman vehicle, which turns out to be not at all on the same level of Christopher Nolan's THE DARK KNIGHT trilogy. Still, under the presupposition of Batman (Affleck) faces off Superman (Cavill), it is incumbent on Batman to be a less integral character (some personal reasons are introduced as an immediate after-effect from MAN OF STEEL) to find fault with Superman, because the latter has no dark side and can do no wrong, but Batman is of human breed, so presumably we are inclined to take the side of Superman, which could be a perfect opportunity to establish a more ambivalent angle for Batman, unfortunately, Snyder and his writers are too conservative on that front and the foe-to-friend changeover strikes rather underwhelming, only if Superman could yell the magic word before, we would have zero chance to see a God being bashed by a human with a little help of kryptonite. Plus, Ben Affleck is plain bog-standard wherever he acts in front of the camera under his emotionless thousand-yard stare.
From xenophobia to the primary fear of God, Superman is facing a bigger challenge in the second chapter, and he is powerless to handle the equilibrium between his almighty puissance and his default setting in the human society, like a hero in an ancient Greek tragedy, self-sacrifice is his only exit of a cynical and inequitable world. Coupled with a fearless Lois Lane (Adams), their love becomes the saving grace among all the vices and maelstroms. Gal Gadot debuts as Wonder Woman is a satisfactory stunner, with a feature film slated next year, finally a female superhero can lead a blockbuster, good luck to that! Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor is quirky enough but as a pallid phenomenon of uninspired villains in the comic universe, him and Doomsday founder on keeping our adrenalin driving.
In whatever way, BVS is not a second-rate merchandise worthy of all the badmouthing, plushly constructed, wonderfully scored and self-seriously acted, it can best most of those Marvel stocks. But personally, it also takes down a peg or two compared with MAN OF STEEL, maybe it is a warning sign of the same concept has been cranked out ad nauseam, let's be prepared to see whether CAPTAIN America: CIVIL WAR (2016) can alter the status quo by pitching superheroes against each other, instead of knocking off some inadequate super-villain clinkers.