Half good movie, half poorly structured movie

Rating: 6/10 (24 March 2016)

Batman V Superman is a movie that had some great story elements but it suffers from the same problem as Age of Ultron and The Hobbit films which is being over-bloated. The movie throws in so many easter eggs to Justice League but made it feel less and less like a Batman vs Superman movie which is want I wanted to go for. Most of the Justice League teases were unnecessary and I thought prevented more character-driven moments from being shown.
I am one of the many who actually enjoyed Man of Steel because it offered a fresh take on the Superman mythology and character. While Man of Steel was a very straightforward, BVS suffers from trying to be over-complex without taking any actually time to explore the characters. There were also a few major scenes from the trailer that were cut out. It felt as if the first half of the movie Zack Snyder shortened certain pivotal scenes just to get to the action quicker. And it seems that is where Zack Snyder's strengths do apply. Snyder really knows how to make fight sequences feel brutal and epic. The Batman-Superman fight and Doomsday fight do not disappoint and neither does a scene with Batman taking out dozens of men single-handily. The story does become more focused by the last half when it explores more about the conflict with how each hero proceeds with their own actions. The finale is epic and I felt did have a satisfying conclusion though does end with a big cliffhanger.
Many of the characters are well-written and well-performed. Ben Affleck did great as a more brutal but more worn-torn and damaged Batman. Unfortunately, I felt he didn't get enough screen time to fully explore his character so I still don't know if I prefer Ben Affleck over Christian Bale as Batman. Henry Cavill definitely portrayed much better as Superman by showing him have an internal struggle with humanity perceiving him as a either a saviour or as a global threat. While I could find a logical reason with Superman killing Zod at the end of MOS, there are many scenes where Superman and Batman do certain actions that make me say WTF??!!! Gal Gadot was quite impressive as Diana Prince/Wonder Woman but she probably had the least screen time. The one character I thought was the biggest problem in the movie was Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor. Eisenberg comes off almost cartoonish when he tries to make Luthor feel intelligent or intimidating. Every time he was on screen I really just wanted to move to the next scene. His character is uniquely- written but Eisenberg can't really show him as being a believable person. HIs performance is on par with Jim Carrey's Riddler and Jamie Fox's Electro. If I could change one thing I say less Luthor, more Batman and Superman.
Overall, the movie does have great moments but there are overcrowded with too much build-up to the Justice League and poor editing. BVS has definitely made me concerned for the Justice League movie, especially with Zack Snyder directing. However, I am still excited for Suicide Squid and still very interested in Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman movie.