Wasted Potential

Rating: 3/10 (12 June 2019)

I found Batman v. Superman very disappointing. First of all, the movie is very muddled and doesn't seem to know what it wants to be. It's clear that Zack Snyder and the writer Chris Terrio were attempting to develop themes, but these themes are never really communicated well, partially due to the unnatural, forced dialogue. Ben Affleck and Henry Cavill attempt to bring depth to their characters, but Batman and Superman are both portrayed as one-dimensional brooding a-holes. The plot is a convoluted mess. Not to spoil anything, but the story is so needlessly complicated and nonsensical that it becomes quite difficult to tell what's going on. The story is also dragged down by numerous unnecessary characters and lame attempts to set up future movies. The visual style works in many places but at other points, the lighting and composition is just ugly and drab. The CG is pretty shoddy at points and the action is very hit or miss. The Batman warehouse rescue is a fantastic action sequence and probably the best scene in the movie. The actual Batman vs. Superman fight is pretty cool as well. On the other hand the end fight scene with Doomsday is just a boring overload of CG. Many of the things that work in this movie seem like they were thrown in for the sake of being cool, as opposed to fitting organically with the story. Because of this and the other criticisms I've mentioned, Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice ultimately just feels very underwhelming.