DC can do better, they have to..

Rating: 2/10 (4 April 2016)

Opinions don't matter here; DC "fanboy" or Marvel, it doesn't which side you're rooting for or against, what matters are the facts. And the fact is when you have a movie that was such a mess on so many levels, where it had potential to be great, that it gave Ben Affleck Daredevil flashbacks and is causing Warner Bros. To reconsider their plans for a DC Cinematic Universe, things need to change. Fanboys for the movie will say it was perfect, when deep down even they know it was depressingly flawed. Fanboys against it won't give it any credit despite the movie having some good in it. Fanboying only hurts, it never helps. For me, it was disheartening to see characters and stories that I love be treated so poorly but it was just as sad to see so many dedicated actors and set makers in a movie this sub-par. Most of the rumors you've probably heard are true; the pacing was slow, some acting performances were better than others, but what really got me was the characterization, narrative direction, and lack of technical prowess that really bogged this movie down. While I applaud Ben Affleck's performance as Batman, more on that later, the motives of the Batman he portrayed were more inline with a petulant child overreacting, rather than the cold, calculating, brooding detective that values life. Jessie Eisenbeg is a fine actor,and he's shown us his skill before, but his depiction of Lex Luthor felt like a poorman's Joker. And Superman....I long for the day when we'll see a charismatic, inspiring Action Ace. I don't blame actors, for I know they can deliver better performances if allowed. Instead,I question the source of their direction. Zack Snyder is an artist when it comes to visual spectacle, but his ability to create a compelling, coherent narrative is almost none existent. In any film, the inability to forge a narrative is a problem, but with a movie that's supposed to serve as the launching point for an entire universe, bad storytelling is downright unacceptable. A major criticism I kept hearing was that this movie lacked heart. I think it did have heart but lacked direction and it suffered greatly for that reason. There's some hope for the future, Ben and Henry have potential to be great but they need better direction, the whole DCU needs it. Until they change things, DC will continue to achieve Pyyrhic victories with their films, raking in big bucks but tarnishing names and never fully realizing the potential their characters, stories, and storytellers have.