BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE

Genre: Action / Adventure
Running Length: 2:34
Cast: Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill,  Gal Gadot, Amy Adams, Jesse Eisenberg, Laurence Fishburne, Diane Lane, Jeremy Irons, Holly Hunter
Director: Zack Snyder
Screenplay: Chris Terrio and David S. Goyer

BATMAN V SUPERMAN wasn't bad. But it wasn't good either. It was just OK.

Snyder has always been a visual and cinematic director for me and this movie really crushes it in this department. It's a visual fest - it looks grim, apocalyptic and big. Even the action sequences are epic (actually, everything is turned up to 11 eg. the close up bullet shell slowly falling on to the ground. Wah...). But when it comes to character development, Snyder is unable to deliver. Both Batman and Superman ends up as avatars rather than fully developed characters.

Granted that the studio is rushing to push out Justice League but there were many missed opportunities in the movie to build these iconic characters. Instead, they chose to spend time on re-telling the origins of Batman (yet again) and dream sequences.

And the narrative is unnecessarily convoluted. Audiences expecting to experience a royal smack down would feel cheated. To be fair, the plot to establish the superheroes as rivals rather than buddies is flawed but interesting nevertheless.

There are two highlights for me. Ben Affleck as Batman and Gal Gadot's version of Wonder Woman. I would pay to watch Ben Affleck as the brutal detective in a standalone Batman. I thoroughly enjoyed his iteration of Batman and seeing him single handedly take down a group of henchman MMA style. And as for Wonder Woman, her entrance and the accompanying electric guitar riff  was just W.o.W. Yes, I would want to see her too in her own movie.

I definitely credit Snyder for being ambitious in his film. He wants us to see this film as more than a disposable popcorn flick by exploring "what if it happens in the real world" concerns - such as regulating the role of superheroes as protectors. But it's so poorly executed he should have just focused on the battle royale.

Rating: 6/10