THE GOOD:
Ben Affleck was fine as Batman.
The last act was the best part of the film. Very entertaining; in a mindless, dumb, blockbuster kind of way.
I enjoyed Jesse Eisenberg's performance as Luthor. He plays him like an insane, mildly mentally disabled (think Aspergers) yuppie billionaire. I never once believed him as Luthor, but I'd be lying if I said he didn't have me chuckling a few times.
Gal Gadot was good as Wonder Woman (When she was in her costume).
Holly Hunter may be the best actor here, though she is given little screen time.
THE BAD:
The film is trying to tell five different stories at the same time
(It wants to be a Batman film, it wants to be a Superman film, it wants to be the catalyst for a Justice League Movie, It wants to have the battle from The Dark Knight Returns, and it wants to tell the story of The Death of Superman)
. By trying to tell all five simultaneously, it in turn fails to tell any single one of these stories properly.
The film lacks focus. This is both a Superman movie, and a Batman movie. It feels like two seperate movies forced into one single film, and they never coalesce or gel together all that well (It all feels very disjointed). It doesn't help that the film constantly jumps between our three leads (Lex Luthor, Batman, and Superman), never really letting any one character shine (Though I will say it feels like Superman gets the blunt end of the stick here compared to the other two). Between trying to tell 5 different stories in one film, and jumping between characters like it does, the film feels like it forgot to take it's ADHD pills. It all feels like one big mess.
The film doesn't feel interested in what we came here to see. It's so obsessed with setting up a Justice League film, that the film it advertised itself to be (Bats vs. Supes) takes back seat.
The film has zero plot. The first two acts are literally poor build-up (and kind of boring) to the big Bats vs. Supes fight WHICH ONLY LASTS 10 MINUTES TOPS, PROBABLY LESS THAN THAT (and what's worse, the fight really isn't all that great. Some cool parts in it, but it's too short and not as impressive and cool as you would have hoped).
This film proves just how useless Snyder is as a director. Batman Vs. Superman lacks direction (as can be evidenced by my many points above). He was unable to say no to the Studio's various demands. He acts here as more of a Yes Man than as an actual director, being nothing more than a lifeless puppet for the studio to do with as they please. He also lacked a vision for the film. It's the equivalent of a boy wanting to smash two toys together again and again and again, but he doesn't know how he wants them to clash and is told he has to create his own story for why they are clashing but doesn't know how to properly do so.
The film is completely nihilistic, cynical and dark. It doesn't seem too fond of our heroes, painting Supes as a man who wants to do good but is deeply irresponsible and ineffective (Why are people worshipping this guy again? He causes so much damage in both Man of Steel and BvS, you'd think most would have denounced him by now) and Batman as a completely deranged madman who is hellbent on destroying Supes, even if it means resorting to murder and burglary in order to do so. Most of the movie is very dark and gloomy, and not much action takes place until the final 40 minutes or so. It's a VERY dark film that deals with adult themes (I would have liked this, if the film had been tighter, more focused, and just overall better).
DC and WB have not earned their own DC Cinematic Universe. They want what Marvel has, but aren't willing to put in the time and effort necessary to create their own cinematic universe. It took Marvel eight years to build their universe, DC and WB try to do all that work in ONE SINGLE FILM. The result is about as good as you'd expect it to be, which is to say it's not....at all. They haven't earned this.
SUMMARY:
I had feared that BvS: DoJ would end up being another Spider-Man 3. A film that tried to do way too much and suffered for it. I was right, except that this film's heart is in completely the wrong place. It exists not to tell a story, but to act only as a stepping stone into a Justice League Movie and the start of the DC Cinematic Universe, which has not been earned at all. BvS
oJ is a film that wants to have it's cake and eat it too. I say, don't let it. This film is going to make a crap load of money, and it doesn't deserve a single cent of it.
1.5/5 STARS