A bumbling mess.DC's panic to catch up shines the most here

Rating: 2/10 (9 July 2016)

The very idea of this movie had me skeptical. I'll admit that I'm a bit tired of superhero movies, but when done right they still can be an absolute joy (i.e. Captain America: Winter Soldier). Once the 3-minute trailer was released, my skepticism was all but confirmed. The trailer revealed way too much and the panic was so glaring it was almost blinding.
After finally viewing the film (3-hour Ultimate Edition), I came away perplexed and disappointed that all my suspicions & concerns came to fruition and then some. Jesse Eisenberg was absolutely horrible as Lex Luthor. My friend watching with me said "he should've played the Riddler". Nail on the head! Whose idea was it to have Lex Luthor a snotty, schizophrenic, annoying brat? Ugh. It really was painful to watch. Lois Lane had WAY too much screen time; she may have had more than Batman. I don't get the love affair with the character; with Man of Steel and now BvS she seems to be forced into crucial parts of the storyline for no apparent reason. There's just no good reason why I'm seeing her as much as Batman in a Batman vs. Superman movie! I hated the idea of Ben Affleck as Batman when it was announced, but he was tolerable; actually he's one of the few bright spots in the movie. A few things were just flat-out corny, and the pacing was terrible for a Batman vs. Superman movie, as it took so long to get going. When things finally do get going, it's at max volume with epileptic seizure-inducing special effects that affect you in no way. The battle between Batman & Superman – when it finally happens – just left me underwhelmed; especially how it ended (again, corny). I reacted more to a Batman solo action sequence in a warehouse than the "showdown". To see a real showdown between Batman and Superman, go see the DC animated film 'The Dark Knight Returns', which was released a couple years ago.
Now for the story, or what they tried to present as a story. Man oh man. Talk about trying to do too much! There's just too much going on and its all disjointed. They put so much into this one film and failed miserably as trying to connect all the pieces together; there's no cohesiveness whatsoever. Batman's "The Dark Knight Returns" storyline, the "Death of Superman" storyline, Wonder Woman, Lois Lane "being the key to everything", the reveal of other Justice League characters – in the middle of the film no less - to no real effect, Doomsday, Lex Luthor, out of place dream sequences with no connection to the story, the weight of it all is too much and it just crushes the film.
Which leads me to this thought, which I had from the moment this movie was announced: DC is in full panic mode. With the success of the Marvel comic films, DC is playing catch-up and rushing their product to compete. The effort, care and methodical nature in which Marvel has treated their material has definitely paid off; however DC is REALLY late to the party and is making the huge mistake of trying to follow in Marvel's footsteps instead of treating their own material with the same care and planning. It shows in everything DC does, and it is truly hurting them. It really is a shame, because DC's catalog always had a more grounded, adult tone to it, which provided for some very rich material that was so juicy when you sunk your teeth into it. In the end, BvS can be perfectly summed up as wasted potential. How the idea of Batman vs. Superman can be messed up the way it was here is truly indicative of the lack of insight, care & talent in Hollywood (moreso behind the scenes than in them). It truly is a shame at how mismanaged this has all been handled.
In the end, BvS has a couple of cool scenes, but its an overly long mishmash of way too many story lines with no rhyme or reason to them, numerous cheesy moments, the Zack Snyder- standard of mindless CGI action mayhem and a grossly, horribly miscast villain; the movie simply fails.
** out of 10 stars.