A Flashy Mess

Rating: 4/10 (7 April 2016)

Batman v Superman is a film so frustratingly close to being good that it somehow become significantly worse. There is likely a version of this movie that could rival the best of the genre, but that version is very far away from the one we see on the screen. To start with the good, Ben Affleck kills it as Batman, he is a darker, more brooding, and certainly more mentally conflicted Batman then we have ever seen before. His opening scene is on of the best in the film, mostly carried by his performance. Gal Gadot also does well with the material she's given, and I can't wait to see her solo outing. As I said the opening of this film is very good, rivaling the incredible title sequence from Watchmen. Jeremy Irons gives a good performance as Alfred, and its nice to see the character in a more active role. The aesthetic of the movie is pretty solid. While I'm close to through with the super dark, shadow aesthetic, here it works. One fight scene involving Batman really great, it's a standout of the film and it has me fairly excited to see what he can do when he gets his own movie.
Now for the bad. Firstly the story is bloated, the writers have tried to pack too much into one film and it is painfully apparent. Worse, the pacing of the film is hampered by drawn out and mostly useless dream sequences which completely pull the viewer out of the movie. The movie also wastes time on a subplot about limiting Superman's powers that basically just dead ends when Luther blows up Capitol Hill. Speaking of Luther, his character is unbearably annoying, which I think was the intent, but the writers attempt to frame his argument against Superman as possibly valid (it's basically the same opinion Batman holds), but its nigh on impossible to take him seriously because every word out of his mouth make you want to punch him. His motivation for hating is loosely defined at best, and non-existent at worst and his plot to get Batman to kill Superman is just plain dumb, and feels mostly like a contrivance. The actual fight between Batman and Superman is incredibly bland, you get a few seconds of the two characters punching each other before Batman uses a kryptonite grenade to render Superman useless. The rest of the fights consists mostly of Batman beating up an effectively unconscious man. Most of the fights in this movie boil down to punch-fests, with very little environmental adaptation or gadgetry. Wonder woman uses her powers in the final fight with doomsday, but her powers are so loosely defined that it feels a bit cheap. WW's entire character is, in fact under developed, she gets about 10-15 minutes of screen time, and very few lines. Henry Cavill remains completely uncharismatic as Superman, his performance isn't bad so much as it is just dull. Lois Lane gets the shortest stick here though. The writers try to develop her as a strong female character with a few lines at the beginning of the film, but undercut it with every future plot point.
Ultimately this film shows more promise than it's predecessor, but fails to deliver. Whether through the fault of the writers or the director the version of Batman v. Superman we saw in theaters was a bloated, incoherent mess carried mostly by the skill of one actor.