Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

After the bumpy experience that was Man of Steel, Zack Snyder somehow was given the greenlight to helm Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and see two iconic superheroes go head to head in the ultimate clash. This had a lot of fans pumped but left many thoroughly deflated.

Man of Steel wasn't a terrible experience but it did feel like it was tripping over itself to establish DC's new take on Superman as they setup their own version of the Avengers with Justice League. This is never a good sign and Iron Man 2 is proof of that with many scenes just standing in as an advertisement for what to expect next. Sure, Snyder did a few things right and Henry Cavill was good in the lead role but the action left me feeling shellshocked with the mind-numbing action sequences and the director's style-over-substance approach.

Now with the studio potentially realising there might be a dip in the box office if they just went for a straight sequel, they decided to mix things up and add Batman to entice the audience back for round two. After the climatic battle in the last film, BvS starts strong as Bruce Wayne witnesses many of his employees and friends die as buildings collapse due Superman fighting Zod. This leads him to decide that Superman is a curse on the city and must be removed.

The introduction of Batman/Wayne, played by Ben Affleck, was a great choice and these scenes were the best parts for me. His character has motivation and is likeable so the idea of him trying to defeat the last film's protagonist is exciting. Snyder also does a good job, or should I say Affleck, at distinguishing their own Batman following Christopher Nolan's series, and it is entertaining to watch. What's more, any action sequence involving the bat is considerably more grounded and packs a real punch, reminding me of Watchmen, unlike whenever Superman has another weightless CGI explosion extravaganza.

However, while Batman's scenes are good, BvS does fall apart in my mind when I start to think about the story. We see Amy Adams return and is out in the field uncovering secrets, but it's rushed and hard to care about. The villains also feel tacked on with Jessie Eisenberg as Luthor who is good but only serves the purpose to trigger our two heroes to fight each other for a few minutes. Yep, the whole premise of the film, while entertaining, is quick and lacks any real engagement. And once it's over, Snyder decides to throw in a CGI mutant to give us a few more dull explosions when we really didn't need any. For some reason the studio thought they can't end a film with a one-to-one fight, and had to go big and loud.

BvS is entertaining but there's a lot wrong with it including how Henry Cavill feels shortchanged as if the writers didn't know what to do with him. I've heard there director's cut is an improvement but with an 150 minute running time, this should have been a stronger film to begin with.