Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice–where can I really begin with this film?

Well, let’s begin with the good parts of the film.  Batman was great! The casting of Ben Affleck as Bruce Wayne was a fantastic choice; he brought a serious tone to the character and made him stand out in the film.  The fight scenes were also brilliant.  It is truly apparent that Zach Snyder has great directing talent for action and violence, but sadly that is where the good comments end.

The story behind this film is 18 months after the events of Man of Steel, the world begins to start to both worship and fear Superman. Many see him as an alien life form that could tear down the whole world if he choses to–and others see him as a savior and hero who they thank and honor.

One of the people who work against the idea of Superman as a savior is Bruce Wayne, a survivor of the Metropolis battle at the end of the first film (the events of the first film had changed both Bruce Wayne and Alexander “Lex” Luthor played by Jessie Eisenberg). Lex turns his attention to taking down Superman and proving that he isn’t the heavenly angel people claim–and that he was indeed nothing more than a devil in disguise. So, the film goes through the motions of trying to bring up serious topics like “What’s it take to be good” or “Who is the bigger monster? The beast or the man who made the beast?” 

After seeing the film, you are just left with so many questions and the film doesn’t give any light on any issues.  Coming in at 2 and half hours, I was still confused about some of the scenes, because they come out of nowhere like a freakish Frankenstein monster. There were parts of the film that were completely ruined tone wise with the twitchy acting of Jessie Eisenberg that imitated more of the Joker than a smart, calculating Lex Luthor.

There was a point where Batman and Superman start calling each other by their real names, which threw me off and made me wonder if I missed an important part of the movie. The film tries setting up so much in such a short time that it can’t help but look like a little kid trying to copy Marvel Studios.  Going into the film with decent expectations and an unbiased view, you’ll probably feel a little disappointed at the end once you see all the stuff the movie tries cramming into it. If you are a comic fan, you’ll be mad at all the changes, and if you aren’t…Well you’ll be completely lost by some of the scenes.

As stated by the title Dawn of Justice, you can obviously tell they are trying to set up the Justice League films but fall short by showing no real connection with many of the characters.  It just feels like DC is trying to catch up to Marvel with their huge ultimate villain release.

The rest of the Justice League (Cyborg, The Flash, and Aquaman) didn’t get any character development whatsoever, and their “cameos” would work so much better as online extras or bonuses–maybe even something for the special features. And, sadly, the main character (Superman) doesn’t really get any character development either–and it’s technically his movie.

But, all in all, the film was fun to watch and was a pretty decent superhero movie, due to all the other gleaming failures in the long line of superhero films that have been around for a while. So, you should go see it and hopefully you will enjoy it and find a way to take every detail of the film seriously and care about the situations in the film. 

Personal rating: 6 Super Hero Easter Eggs out of 10