Short of Super

Rating: 7/10 (12 November 2016)

"Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" came up short of super, but I still liked most of it. (This review will NOT spoil any portions of the films that are not already seen in advertisements. However, for many, this review will give crucial background to understand why Batman is different in this version.)
The portrayal of Batman by Ben Affleck will be jarring for many viewers who do not know the Batman graphic novels. In this film, we meet a middle-aged Batman, more scarred, more gray, and more cynical. This film is set sometime after the graphic novel "Batman: A Death in the Family" (where the second Robin (Jason Todd) is murdered by the Joker). Batman views Jason Todd's death as his greatest failure and keeps the second Todd's Robin's uniform on display in the Batcave. The connection with the graphic novel is expressly made in "Batman v Superman", when the battered Robin uniform, spray painted with "Hahaha The Jokes on You", is displayed in the Batcave as Mr. Affleck's Bruce Wayne walks past it.
This graphic novel, combined with Frank Miller's "Batman: The Dark Knight Returns" graphic novel in which Batman uses a machine gun to save a child from a kidnapper, has created a different Batman that has never been portrayed on screen before. So, if you don't want to see a grizzled, mad, gun using Batman, "Batman v Superman" is not for you.
"Batman v Superman" is very much a sequel to "Man of Steel". This meaner, middle-aged Batman is forced to deal with the events in "Man of Steel" where General Zod and aliens have wreaked havoc on Earth, and he and the people of the Earth must decide if a being with Superman's powers is good or bad, God or man, and asks the question what if he turns evil. As a work of fiction, screenplay writers David S. Goyer ("The Dark Knight") and Chris Terrio (Academy Award screenplay winner for "Argo") deal with classic conflicts: man vs God, man vs man, and man vs society.
However, where Mr. Goyer so deftly dealt with larger than life debates in "The Dark Knight", he misses the mark here. In "The Dark Knight", Mr. Goyer was able to have the debate between regular people, like the people on the ferries who were given a life and death choice to save themselves are kill the people on two other ferries, while the Bat looked on. In "Batman v Superman", the debates are between Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent, Lex Luthor and Holly Hunter's "Senator Finch", and between Jeremy Iron's Afred and Bruce Wayne. The people of Gotham and Metropolis are only depicted as protesters, and Mr. Goyer and Mr. Terrio never ground the film in the lives of real people, just icons. This failure prevents the film from ever getting too deep philosophically.
Regardless, Mr. Affleck's portrayal of Bruce Wayne/Batman is relentless, aggressive, and captivating. I was very much fearful of Mr. Affleck's ability to be dark, but he finds his darkness and excels. Mr. Cavil's portrayal of Superman is fine, because Superman really isn't that meaty of a character to portray. Unfortunately, Jesse Eisenberg's portrayal of Lex Luthor misses the mark, mostly because of the dialogue he is given. Mr. Eisenberg is forced to speak unbelievably awkward lines and we never get a sense of real genius. Gal Gadot's portrayal of Wonder Woman is not well developed enough for me to comment.
Director Zach Snyder ("300", "Watchmen", "Man of Steel") keeps the action moving so you don't feel the 2 hour 31 minute length, and the cinematography by Larry Fong ("Super 8", "Watchmen", "Now You See Me") is beautiful. The Art Direction and Production Design teams have done a fantastic job creating gritty and timeless cities for this clash of titans.
The bottom line is that there are about three or four really bad scenes, and the about five or six really good scenes, so on balance, I recommend this film for anyone who is alright seeing a different kind of Batman, and doesn't mind a film that misses the mark 30%-40% of the time.