Really promising movie squandered by Justice League set-up and embarrassing finale.

Rating: 5/10 (26 March 2016)

What started so promisingly with a superb Batman and political back-story was totally ruined by a finale battle with a throwaway CGI monster that left me with my head in my hands... and a migraine. Too many subplots were juggled and it ultimately fell apart. I would have been delighted with a straight-up MoS sequel dealing with the previous film's fallout, or one that focused solely on the two heroes' conflict, or best of all - a Batfleck solo movie. In the end, we got a bloated film with excess Justice League baggage that didn't improve on Man of Steel's flaws - it was as if Zack Snyder ignored the criticisms and worsened them. It was even bleaker, with less humour, and even greater gratuitous collateral damage. Which brings me to the ending, and spoilers follow. The title fight barely lives up to the hype - it's short and one-sided - and then a completely unnecessary half hour is tacked on, featuring a large mutant creature created by Lex Luthor. Cue a series of incomprehensible nuclear-level explosions, as people are punched and blown up and buildings levelled. For no reason. I was embarrassed to be sitting there watching it. What makes that so disappointing is due to the promise of what came before; it's not a disaster of a movie. Their conflict is justified and established well, in an intriguing political context. Ben Affleck conveys the pain and the rage of a tortured Bruce Wayne/Batman like none before him, and thoroughly impresses, as does his compatriot Jeremy Irons, who delivers in spades. However, it says a lot that the only other stand out was Laurence Fishburne as the newspaper editor. ("Crime wave sweeps Gotham. In other news: 'Water. Wet.''') It's not that Henry Cavill and Amy Adams are bad, it's just that the characters are given so little by way of range. The first hour is thoroughly decent, but what the film lacks is focus - it ultimately feels like a contrived attempt to hurriedly set up the Justice League, and should have focused on the titular battle, and certainly could do without the last 30 minutes.