Batman vs Superman: The Ultimate Grudge Match

I need a hero!

“That was awesome!’

That was what I heard a guy say as I was leaving the men's toilets directly after watching the movie. It was about 3am, no other movies were on/finishing. It’s quite possible that this guy blacked out for over two hours and dreamt the film was good, unfortunately this was his genuine opinion.

You’re probably asking how and why this review isn’t singing Zack Snyder’s praises, especially coming from me, a fan of all the superheroes in this movie; and some of Mr Snyder’s previous work. It’s because for the most part this was a mishmash of disjointed ideas on how a superhero movie should be, intermingled with that dark DC undertone and the added pressure of a convoluted plot line that failed to deliver on many levels.

Ben Affleck does deserve his dues here, managing to portray an older, burnt out version of Batman who is simply at his last tether with the worlds adopted saviour who; upon his forced exposure to the world manages to destroy both his hometown of Smallville and his new town Metropolis (Man of Steel) in one fell swoop (pun totally intended). But we don’t really see enough of the Bat and what we do actually get is brief and over an hour into all the action.

Superman on the other hand being the focus of Bruce Wayne’s anger is prominent throughout the film without actually adding much to proceedings owing to yet another bland performance from Henry Cavill. There’s a lot that could have been improved on here but unpicking the mess that has been made onscreen would be, soul-sapping.

Maybe I’m being too harsh, I mean, the special effects were fantastic! But wait, it’s 2016, this is a big budget movie in a growing franchise, the effects are supposed to be out of this world by default!
I sat there looking at my watch every so often to see how much sleep I could get in before I have to wake up. I felt the movie was robbing me of precious rest.

Essentially, this was always going to be the movie to introduce us to the Justice League, but even that was done with very little tact and in a way that suggested maybe a writer from Marvel would have done a better job.
Jesse Eisenberg’s portrayal of Lex Luther came off more ‘mad’ than mad genius’ and I couldn’t help thinking he was simply a more damaged and psychotic version of nearly every character he has ever played in another film he’s been in. 
Wonder Woman was brilliant when she showed up, taking on Doomsday and coming off looking like she may have taken him down without any help.

I could name several sub-par Marvel movies that I could watch in place of this. The only thing I took away from this experience is the desire to see ‘Captain America: Civil War’ that much more!