Definitely a big surprise for me

Rating: Null/10 (2 July 2016)

Every once in a while a film comes along that I very much disagree with the majority of critics on. Last year it was Ryan Gosling's much-maligned directorial debut Lost River. This year, I guess it's Batman v Superman.
I remember watching the trailer months before the film came out and thinking it looked like, well, not good. Then it came out and it was mostly blasted. Yet I still had interest in it. I still expected a completely bloated, overwhelming, extremely messy and awkward film that had glimpses of quality. Instead, I saw a good superhero film through and through. Yes, it had some stretches of being too busy for its own good, but it was nowhere near the mess I expected it to be. It reminded me of The Dark Knight Rises and The Dark Knight in many ways. Perhaps it does focus too much on CGI in its last hour (and perhaps some of the turns in the story, particularly between Batman and Superman in that last hour, are a bit too sudden) but it has that same driving force and energy and the same sprawling ambition. I can sometimes like Marvel films, but my biggest problem with them is that they always play everything for comedy and end up playing it way too safe. This is an example of a superhero film that goes a bit further than that and really raises the stakes. Even Jesse Eisenberg was a surprise. From what I had heard, I expected an incredibly cartoonish, over-the-top, embarrassing performance. Compared to what I had read and heard, he was pretty subdued.
I never saw Man of Steel but luckily did some research before watching it so I wasn't lost much. However, I do think Henry Cavill limits how great a character Clark Kent could be. He has the look (oh boy does he) but compared to his other cast members, he's probably one of the weakest links. Still, doesn't drag it down significantly or anything.
I did see the Ultimate Cut, so perhaps that's a reason... but I just didn't see the mess that reviews made me believe I would. Then again I'm a fan of Watchmen, so who knows. But this is definitely the biggest surprise of the year so far for me. I don't see how it's inferior to Civil War. In terms of some messiness, sure, but wow.