Review of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) by Schneider L — 16 Jul 2018

Strengths: The follow up to the solid Man of Steel continues some of what worked. Henry Cavill (Clark Kent/Superman) is again strong as the lead. He's probably my favorite Superman so far. Amy Adams (Lois Lane) is also one of the highlights, but the real show stealer is Gal Gadot (Diana Prince/Wonder Woman). She's not in a ton of scenes, but each one is usually one of the better moments of the film. Her arrival in the big fight as Wonder Woman is great. The big fight between Batman and Superman is satisfying. It's a big CGI war, but one that is fitting of the film's billing. I also found Ben Affleck (Bruce Wayne/Batman) to be better in the role than expected. He played the grizzled, older version of Bruce well.

Weaknesses: There's not much in the way of a plot. It's straightforward and doesn't challenge or intrigue a viewer. The film relies more on the big budget special effects than a solid script to get things from point A to point B. It's something that the MCU films don't typically do. There's not enough to make you care about any of these characters. Jesse Eisenberg (Lex Luthor), who is usually good, goes over the top with a cheesy performance as Lex. The movie tried cramming way too many ideas together. It manages to be the rare combination of feeling rushed and also dragging to feel longer than the two and a half hour runtime. The pacing is that bad. I'm pretty sure I saw Batman kill a few people, which goes against the character completely. There was also the forced Justice League member cameos. Flash uses his powers in front of a camera, Aquaman stares at one before attacking, and Cyborg just looked terrible.

Overall: If there was ever a bloated film, this is it. Zack Snyder continues to struggle with pacing in his movies and they all kind of look the same. There are a few strong points, but this is mostly a muddled mess that tried to do too much.