Nobody does it better...than....

Rating: Null/10 (25 March 2016)

Marvel. Period.
I've had a problem with the writing of various DC properties, but this has to be something like a new low for WB/DC, with almost every plot device being shown as explicitly shoehorned-in, and completely inorganic.
But hey, the good things first.
Refreshing, how this one, and its predecessor, deal with death, and the impact of superhero smack-downs in the real world around us. From that perspective, there's more meat on the bones here, than in Marvel's theatrical works. Thanks to Frank Miller?
The movie looks (Larry Fong, reuniting with director Snyder after Amir Mokri shot 'Man of Steel', and he's worked with his director on 300, Watchmen and Sucker Punch, among others), and sounds great too (Junkie 'Fury Road' XL supporting Hans 'Cymbals' Zimmer, and quite a few great sound designers). What they end up doing, following the character's dark arc with one of the superheroes' nemeses, was also a bold move, in spite of the end cop-out, which, to be fair, there was/is no escaping.
Cavill makes for a good Superman, Affleck for a great Batman (almost go DKR on him with some great mano-a-mano sequences given to him, that he bravely shoulders), Fishburne for a great Perry White (wish he'd had more scenes), Callan Mulvey (300: Rise of an empire, Captain America:Winter soldier!!!) and Gal Gadot, shoehorned-in, though not as badly as a few others, makes for a surprisingly great Un-Amazonian Wonder Woman.
Holly Hunter and Jeremy Irons are also given good parts, and their presence, as well as performances, elevate the rather shoddy material everyone is forced to work with.
SPOILERS, SPOILERS, SPOILERS.....(but not for people following the development of these properties online)in addn to the main warning before the review.
Jason Momoa and Chris Pine look to be cast well in the photographs they appear in (and the standalone upcoming flicks). Tao 'The Wolverine' Okamoto is lovely, and deserved more scenes and better characterization.
Why did they not have Grant Gustin instead, since one cannot even see Ezra Miller playing the same character, since he has nothing but a blink-n-u-miss-it gone-in-a-Flash kinda thankless role anyway? Snyder has spoken about it, but his explanation makes no sense to me, given the shoehorned-in context within this flick. Smacks of a big deal being made outta nothing.
Now, I will not be watching this again, in any format, like I usually try doing so for those movies I feel I enjoyed, or need to understand more. I do not regret watching this one, its like a juggernaut that's inescapable, and I will be checking out the standalone movies plus both the upcoming JLA flicks - they're inevitable viewing. And yeah, I was waiting for the movie to end. And I've watched longer movies than this one, patiently.
The writing sucks, and I'm kinda wanting to pin it on David S Goyer (not Terrio, who has only a few credits, including the Batffleck connection, Argo), due to wildly inconsistent work (contrast Dark City/Blade I and II/Dark Knight/Flashfwd/Da Vinci's demons to the likes of Blade:Trinity/Dark Knight Rises/Ghost Rider:Spirit of vengeance/Unborn/Jumper). It sucks when Batman has 10 minutes to do something, and its something to do with the complete inconsistency of (all things) his suit (not just that, but...).
Jesse Eisenberg. One of the worst performances, and characterizations, ever. The campy Gene Hackman made for a better Luthor, while Spacey's chrn./perf. will remain the best, even though it was in a middling Superman movie.
The redcapes are coming, the redcapes are coming... The bell has been rung (ergo, you cannot unring it, ergo...) Ding ding ding ding ding ding ding....
All the stupid dream sequences. Could have all been completely edited out.
The stupid characterization of Scoot McNairy, not just wasting this underrated actor's talents, like they do that of Hunter, but also trying to make 1 character stand for so many things, all at once, all in the same place, and in the same context.
Doomsday: the birth. Doomsday=Hulk?
Martha? Really? Seriously? And bring me the head of ..... 2016, folks!
Diane Lane and her diner TV-viewing, and all of her meaningless/impactless platitudes. Even the Kevin Costner dream- banter sequence (randomly/unnecessarily/gratuitously inserted) was better than when the camera was on her, and this is like the complete opposite of how it was in 'Man of steel'.
Lois Lane. Sigh. Why Amy why? Not sure the money's that good, but I honestly wouldn't know that it might be.
And why's Morgan Freeman not on-hand when you need him? Not kidding. He was always the conscience in the Nolan trilogy, albeit impotent, but a great sounding-board of sorts. Nolan executive producing this one, to me, did not seem to bring anything at all to the table this time around, unlike his blessings on 'Man of steel'.
Snyder's not a bad filmmaker by any stretch, and his rendering of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbon's 'Watchmen', especially the director's cut, is one of my favorite movies of all time, and that edit is 3 hours and 40 minutes long! He also made a great Zombie movie, 'Dawn of the dead'. '300' was alright, and 'Man of steel' just about passed muster. Sucker Punch, imo, had some great moments, but ended up leaving a largely bad taste, but has to be appreciated for being an original attempt at whatever it was going for, no matter that they PG13'd something that would be more comfy in R/NC17 territory. This, to me, regardless of whose fault it actually was, is Snyder's absolute worst movie to- date, and I am disappointed, since it had many, many things going for it, including Snyder himself.