Gone in with high expectations - expectations met

Rating: 9/10 (25 March 2016)

To those on the fence about watching this movie, given the poor Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic ratings - I'm staying up late to write this review for you. I have therefore deliberately kept it spoiler-free.
I am a Marvel fan boy. I've seen most of their properties so far, and they have only gotten better and better at honing their art. Kudos to them.
DC never really got my attention except for the recent Nolan movies. Burton piqued my interest. Man of Steel - though divisive - was entertaining in my book, though I had my fair share of issues with it.
Comics-wise, I've always been more interested in the DC series only because I think the plot lines were easier to follow, more consistent, and generally more interesting than Marvel's. Don't shoot me - I'm just speaking as a casual consumer in that regard.
I went in to BvS with high expectations, despite what I thought were pretty poorly edited trailers (which did not inspire me to watch this film, mind you), and not to mention the atrocious Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic scores. Suicide Squad looks much better by comparison, and is the Lego Batman movie. However, I decided to purchase 2 IMAX tickets (which were criminally expensive at my IMAX theater) because (i) it would be a good 'date night' with my wife and to have someone take care of our young daughter tonight; (ii) there are some actors and actresses in it that I have enjoyed in other movies (i.e. Ben Affleck, Amy Adams), and I respect most of their work so far though not all are critically acclaimed.
Zack Snyder wouldn't be the reason why I am watching this. Aside from Man of Steel, I have only seen his '300' which is strangely hailed as his best work. Personally, I detested it.
I walked away from BvS with a large smile on my face. The acting was good - Ben Affleck and Jesse Eisenberg were my personal highlights. I know some don't like his portrayal of Lex - but my wife found it to be the highlight. Teetering on the edge between that of a wealthy genius young entrepreneur and man obsessively manic over the morality of power -- man could Jesse Eisenberg act.
Ben Affleck is easily one of my favorite Batman depictions to date. Christian Bale's best take on the Dark Knight was in Batman Begins when Nolan had time to flesh out the character. But in none of Nolan's films was Batman thoroughly depicted as (i) a detective, and (ii) a fighter. Christian Bale's fight scene against Bane in TDKR was okay – a bit slow and I did not feel the weight of the punches/kicks (sometimes I wish that these action films would take note from the Ip Man series). In this film, I can see why, from the comics, he had the potential to lead the League of Assassins. Man, did the fight/action scenes deliver.
A side note is that this is easily one of the most visually splendid films I've had the pleasure to watch on IMAX. Don't know what it will be like on a smaller screen, but just on the level of cinematography alone, I was in awe. Much improved over Man of Steel. Larry Fong, well done.
Finally, plot. I have heard a lot of criticisms but given this is a spoiler-free, I can't say too much, but hear this:
1. It was not incoherent, but I can see why criticism is warranted. The editing, whilst an improvement from Man of Steel, still could do with some work. More time could be spent on certain plot lines before jumping to another. Personally, I found the different strands easy to follow.
2. I can see why Wonder Woman feels shoe-horned in, as also with the other Easter Eggs which seem to detract from the 'main story'. However, following the original Frank Miller comic which has a sub-text on the 'meta-human' controversy, I can also see why it makes sense to include another 'meta-human' (other than Superman) in this movie but not overcrowd it with anymore. This actually made a lot of sense to me, and feeds into Batman's story arc and character development.
3. This is not a Marvel film, which is riddled with humour to hide the fact that their properties, too, can be light on plot but nevertheless are great entertainment. I found the dark tone fitting, and the occasional levity appropriate. I left the cinema actually still pondering a lot of the serious theological-politico questions raised in the movie which I felt were cleanly and elegantly answered. The answers were not in my face but could be rewardingly reached with some work.
4. This movie has a lot of 'show, don't tell'. Many plots which, I suspect, would be explored in later movies. They are incorporated cleverly, fleeting, and not distracting. If you want distracting plots hammed in for sequels etc, go watch Iron Man 2 and Avengers 2.
5. My plot highlight was the reason why Batman and Superman eventually reconciles. Resonates a lot with me personally.
In brief DC has done a great job carving out their own identity with BvS, a tone that was set in motion since (flawed) Man of Steel. This deserves at least 80% on RT/Metacritic, and is not a 30% caliber film (I know what kind of films those are, and this is not one of them). This is perhaps why there is a surprising divide between the user review and critics' reviews.
Give this film a chance, bring a date if you will, and form your own view. Whatever it is, you cannot fault the makers for their excellent craft. On a plus side, my wife (who has no comic book b/g) enjoyed it immensely. A double win for me.