It’s been nearly two years since Superman’s (Henry Cavill) colossal battle with Zod (Michael Shannon) devastated the city of Metropolis. The loss of life and collateral damage left many feeling angry and helpless, including crime-fighting billionaire Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck). Convinced that Superman is now a threat to humanity, Batman embarks on a personal vendetta to end his reign on Earth, while the conniving Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg) launches his own crusade against the Man of Steel.

Starring  Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams

Director  Zack Snyder

Alright. I suppose I will start with the silver linings. I have to say, I did appreciate the paradoxical approach in the story of Superman. How do his powers function and work within in our judicial system? What should be his focus? These questions are good deep thinking points that create good story telling elements. It was only natural for the story of Batman, who is always on the hot seat of our judicial system, to intertwine. Now, creating a good product that lays it all out is the challenge. It failed me on most aspects with this one.

My big problem with this one carries over from Man of Steel. To me, a good superhero movie is it’s laughable/fun quality. I want the camp and comedy. Superman is suppose to be fun and not take itself too seriously. I understand why they went for more realism, but it took a nosedive for me. I also feel that the ability to suspend my disbelief is fueled a bit by the fun nature of superhero action. I’ll allow impossible things to happen if it’s fun. This was not fun. Granted, Batman is suppose to be dark. It worked when Nolan did it, but only because he rocked it and he had three whole movies time to do it in. This one has the problem of smashing too many things in one movie as so many of these types do.

Right off the bat (ha ha), I had a hard time with the screenwriting/screenplay. It seemed extremely bland creating a lot of forced acting, especially with Affleck. His portrayal just did not work for me. I want to see more of Bale’s Batman, who really embodied Bruce Wayne as a nonchalant millionaire. This Batman seemed only to be angry and displaced. Also while we are on characters, Eisenberg’s Luthor was just off. He appeared to be full-on-nuts. That characterization should not have trumped his genius aspect, but it really did. Wonder Woman should have been too much to throw in just yet. She barely makes the screen, and when she does it’s in a very generic way. We don’t get much back story or personality. If they wanted to introduce her, it should have been with a separate movie or a short little tease to get us excited for more.

Another big element that I feel went wrong was with the audio/visual aspects. The music was extremely random, interfering at times with little synchronization to what was happening. There where no recognizable themes, which creates the excitement we crave for these types of films. You might argue that Wonder Woman’s appearance sparked an exciting theme, but it just seemed forced and over dramatized. Tying in to the musical aspects where the visual portions that film-makers will often slow down to create meaningfulness in a scene. This was grossly overused. I couldn’t help cringing over most of these parts.

Altogether, there where just so many things that increased my chances of walking out of the theater. I didn’t though. I stayed and let it play out to see if it would redeem itself. It never did for me. I suppose it’s asking to much of you to not to watch it, as it’s one of those the masses flock for. If you are just curious though, a warning, it’s not what it should have been.