Disappointed

Rating: 5/10 (15 April 2016)

Spoiler Warning: If you haven't seen this movie yet you may want to skip this review because it contains spoilers.
Batman and Superman are arguably the two most iconic comic book heroes ever. As a lover of comics (both DC and Marvel), Zack Snyder's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was perhaps one of the most anticipated films of 2016 for me. Sadly,I walked out of the theater mostly disappointed and shaking my head.
In this film, Superman and Batman are essentially meeting each other for the first time. The main premise of the film is that Batman ( played by Ben Affleck) does not trust Superman (played by Henry Cavill) due to the collateral damage caused to Metropolis in Superman's battle with Zod in the previous film, Man Of Steel. To be quite honest, it feels as if certain scenes of this movie are missing or just not explained very well. For example, how did Lex Luthor (he is played by Jesse Eisenberg) know Batman was waiting to fight Superman in Gotham? Are we to assume they made a deal with each other? How was Lex sending him those messages about how he "let his family die" (in reference to one of Bruce Wayne's employees who was injured in the damage caused in Superman's fight during Man of Steel)? Does this mean he knows Bruce Wayne is Batman? There is no time to get invested in a scene either. While you're trying to process what is going on you find yourself in another scene completely. There is not enough real substance between the fight scenes and explosions and it felt like they were just playing with these characters rather than treating them properly to tell a story. By the way, the reason they give for trying to turn Batman and Superman into friends just after a scene where Batman was literally about to stab Superman to death with a kryptonite spear was incredibly weak. Just because their mothers are both named Martha, really? Oh and of course we get some pointless dream sequences and pretentious dialogue.
I do think there were some positive elements in the movie. While I did not appreciate the fact that this Batman was killing people, I do think Ben Affleck does an excellent job for what he was given to work with. His fight scenes are intense and there are certain scenes where it feels like there is a great Batman just waiting to come out and it's hindered by this script. Jeremy Irons is wonderful as Alfred and his banter with Bruce was fantastic and really left the impression that they have known each other for many years. Laurence Fishburne as Perry White was also solid and I enjoyed his moments with Clark and Lois. I enjoyed seeing Wonder Woman (played by Gal Gadot) make an appearance here as well. She seemed charming in her cameos leading up to the final battle and when she entered the fight it was exhilarating just seeing her go toe to toe with Doomsday. Plus, the music that plays when she is on screen was awesome.
Overall I think this movie had some good elements but the problems outweigh the positives. This movie clearly draws the Batman v Superman elements from The Dark Knight Returns storyline and Doomsday as well as Superman's death from The Death Of Superman storyline and frankly I just don't think mixing these things together works. The Batman in The Dark Knight Returns lived in a much different universe than the one in this movie does. The negative response to the film doesn't seem to have made an impact on Warner Brothers releasing a Wonder Woman movie starring Gal Gadot and a Batman movie with Ben Affleck, so hopefully DC can turn things around. I'm also hoping to see how Marvel handles a similar premise in Captain America: Civil War.