Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

Oh boy, here we go. This is one of the most difficult times I've ever had writing a review. I've never been this conflicted on a film in my life. Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice was my most anticipated movie of the year. When it was announced at 2013 SDCC, I had a minor stroke. Since then, I have been anxiously waiting for this movie to come out. When the third, spoiler-filled trailer was released, my expectations were lowered by a huge margin. And rightly so, because Batman V Superman is a huge disappointment.

The acting (mostly) all around is great. Henry Cavill is a great Clark Kent and Superman, stepping up from his boy-scout persona from Man of Steel. He's nothing too special, but he works fine. Now the big question on most people's minds is "how is Ben Affleck as Batman? ". Well, he's FANTASTIC! He makes Bruce Wayne and Batman his own character, and is actually incredibly loyal to the comics. He's a badass, killer detective with a dark and gritty personality. Gal Gadot is surprisingly very good as Wonder Woman, even if her character was useless. Jeremy Irons as Alfred was actually my favourite part of the movie. He is often very funny and surprisingly badass. Amy Adams is fine as Lois Lane and the rest of the massive supporting cast all work fine. However, there is one MAJOR problem with the casting here and we all saw it from a mile away. Jesse Eisenberg is atrocious as Lex Luthor. He was like Willy Wonka from Tim Burton's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory on LSD. He had a few moments, but I couldn't help thinking about what could have been.

Oh boy, time to talk about the "plot". Let's just say that BVS is a mess. They form at least 6 subplots that are never explored. Somewhere in here, there are three good movies cut up and smashed together. There were some elements that I loved and was surprised by, but so many questionable choices were made that I sat through the movie constantly asking myself "why? ". The film was overstuffed with plot and characters. If they focused on one or two plots, the film would have been amazing.

The action in Batman V Superman is brilliant. Even if the action is surprisingly uncommon, it is beautifully filmed. Every punch and kick is felt by the audience. The BVS fight, even though it was unfortunately really short, paid off. It was badass and epic. The effects and CGI were hit and miss. Speaking of CGI, who knew that the Ninja Turtles had a cameo? Yeah, as we all expected, they ruined Doomsday. He's just a CG monster thing that makes a lot of noises and explosions. Nothing more.

I had so many faults with BVS, but I will talk about these more in my spoiler-filled review. The entire film was basically a trailer for Justice League. The cameos were forced in a scene that both angered and delighted me and Wonder Woman was there to sell tickets. However, even with the enormous amount of flaws, I found myself constantly entertained by BvS. I was never bored and constantly invested in what was going on on screen, no matter how ridiculous it was.

The unfortunate thing about Batman V. Superman is how much potential it had. The dark tone and epic scale could have made for an incredible, unforgettable experience. Instead, we got a bloated mess, filled with too many characters and subplots. It's fun to watch and has many moments that show how great the movie could have been, but the final product is overall... a disappointment.

RATING: 6/10

(NOTE: the cinematography, direction and musical score were all excellent. Just letting you know.)