Bleak and miserable

Rating: Null/10 (18 November 2016)

You can have Superman and Batman in the same shared universe. Stylistically they're at the opposite ends of the spectrum, but they can coexist and you can even have them sharing a story. But the thing is that they're still at the opposite ends. Batman is dark and brooding, his stories filled with corruption, fallibility of man and the inevitable doom that looms over every victory. Where as Superman is all about nobility, rising above mortal failings, hope and potential. Which is why you cannot have a decent Superman story told as a Batman story with a sloppy paint job applied!
But, even with that, I could live. Henry Cavill is a decent actor and this movie franchise has some seriously talented people working behind the scenes. But unfortunately DC is in too much of a hurry to get its own cinematic universe off the ground and thus this movie is filled to the brim with subplots, foreshadowing scenes and characters beyond counting. It's bad enough that we get the Batman versus Superman plot, but we also have to cram in the ramifications of Man of Steel, Batman's introduction, Wonder Woman's introduction, Lex Luther's introduction and concurrent evil scheme, and finally the final woe, who I shall not spoil here. Any two of these elements would have been enough for a movie. Put all them in a single movie and it's a mess. There's very little rhyme or reason behind the various elements and they don't come together in a graceful manner. Wonder Woman feels especially out of place here, which is a shame because Gal Gadot is surprisingly believable as the Amazonian warrior princess. The complete opposite of Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor, in fact. Who though this was good casting? The man couldn't pull off suavely menacing if his life depended on it.
Sure, there are good things as well. Ben Affleck pulls off both Bruce Wayne and Batman beautifully, the visuals, while too dark and grim, are very impressive, the fight scene between Superman and Batman is excellent and I do applaud the film for trying to address the moral ramifications of having almost limitless power in the hands of a literal outsider.
But yeah, it's not a very good film overall. It has good things in it, but the structure is not suitable for showcasing any of them in a favourable light. I hope they slow down, take a deep breath and decide that if they are to continue, they need to do it properly.