Batman vs Superman: Should have been a 2nd Man of Steel

Rating: 7/10 (27 March 2016)

Batman vs. Superman is a movie that is ill named. It should have been a 2nd Man of Steel movie. I say this because this movie was absolutely about Clark Kent/Superman and very little to do with Bruce Wayne/Batman. But before I get on with any further cons, I'd like to start with what made the movie good.
Well, I gave one thing away: Superman. Superman is what made this movie good. And I really mean it. Henry Cavrill's performance as Superman was superb. They really gave the character the depth and readability that he was sorely lacking in Man of Steel. He's much more humanized, and his struggle with the world's perceptions of his attempt to be a good guy are believable and really tug on your strings. He's a good guy who doesn't want to be seen as bad or do bad things, but ultimately his power and god status clearly make people afraid of him, including the deuteragonist Batman and the antagonist Lex Luthor. He's a good example of people fearing what they do not understand, and when people come to realize he is good, it serves to show the hurdles Superman had to overcome to get there. The movie did an overall excellent job of this.
I also really like how they characterized Lex Luthor. He is a brilliant but crazy egomaniac who finds the idea of a person more superior than him to be both frightening and dangerous. His penchant for perfection has him conceiving an elaborate plan to kill Superman that almost worked, had Superman and Batman's mothers not had the exact same name (lol). Still, despite being a bit quirkier than the comic/cartoon Lex Luthor, he still manages to be charming when needed, and psychotic at the right times. The bald head at the end was perfect as well. A worthy villain who plays to his strengths.
Wonder Woman, for the short time she was on screen, sounded, moved, and enjoyed combat just like the real Wonder Woman. She could have used a bit more boldness to her voice out of the costume, but now that she's been introduced she'll have time to flesh the character out better in the future sequel. Lois Lane was also a much better credit in this movie than she was in Man of Steel, where she actually had a use other than being the Damsel in Distress, actually getting to the bottom of the conspiracy and aiding Superman emotionally.
Now. *sighs*, to get to where the movie really started breaking up Batman-Yes, I know most people who went to see the movie saw it for Batman, and if you take issue with this, you can officially go gargle a raw egg for all I care. Anyway, I feel whether or not he was the best Batman ever is a moot point. The best kind of bland is still just that: bland. I feel that he was in the movie simply as a catalyst for an epic fan boy fight (which feeds right into the fact that Batman has far more fans *coughs*).
His back-story is nothing I haven't seen done a dozen times, his motivations while fitting with the character are WAY too hasty without any real thought, and the fact that he was going to steal a dangerous weapon from Luthor just to use on Superman is utterly stupid. If this is supposed to be the movie's way of saying, "Batman is one step away from being Luthor.", congratulations, I knew that ever since I read the comics and watched the show. This isn't clever, it's just a ton of filler to show off Batman.
The "Tell me, do you bleed?" was corny as hell and made me face palm, and the dream sequence which got interrupted by a future vision where he saw a red armored stubbly Cyborg was utterly jarring (and I couldn't understand a damn word that Cyborg said in that scene either). Alfred is not endearing at all, being a bitter old man who's just there to sneer at Batman (which got old after the first 3 times). Other than saving Martha Kent, he was pretty much pointless in the movie, fan filler.
Also, a minor complaint. If Mercy is supposed to be Luthor's robot bodyguard, why the chuck is she NEVER in any scene where he needs protection? Luthor should have probably junked her for failing so hard.
So anyway, after all is said and done, I feel the movie deserves a 7.5/10, which in my book is "good". Not "great", not "meh", not "bad", not "OMG YOU SUXXORS!", just good. I feel the good elements of the movie held it together, but this movie really should have just been a Superman Sequel to Man of Steel, rather than having Batman's name in the title. Oh well, at least Superman was good in this movie, and that's what really counts.