A lot of people were waiting for this movie to be good. If you head over to Rotten Tomatoes, you'll see that most critics are having a hard time digesting this one but that most fans seems to give it a passing grade. I'm closer to the fan field than the critics. Long story short, it's worth seeing once...maybe not in theaters, but worth seeing.
The movie starts with giving us the spark notes on Batman's origins, really something we needn't see, but whatever. And then proceeds to tell us that it's a dream. We then see the destruction of Metropolis from the point of view of Bruce Wayne. This was probably the highlight of the movie really. There is a fight scene later where Batman takes out a bunch of goons and that is bar none one of the best non-animated Batman fight scenes I've ever seen (Definitely the fight choreographers saw fighting in the recent Batman Arkham games and decided that was cool). Ben Affleck as Batman was a good choice. He plays a great Bruce Wayne and does a pretty good job as Batman. The problems with this movie don't stem from the actors...it definitely comes from somewhere else.
If you have been up with comicbook media, you've probably already watched most of Daredevil's Season 2, which stars the Punisher. In the third episode you get the defining moment of the season, Daredevil's argument with Punisher on whether killing is okay. It's amazing, the thoughts are well developed, the dialogue fits the characters and it flows. Batman v. Superman (With your judge being absolutely no one) lacks this central moment. At no point is there an argument as well thought out or presented as there should have been. Everyone knows that there isn't really a contest between who would win between Batman and Superman (you have your favorite, I'm staying neutral). The real fight is a philosophical one. Batman uses fear and hopes that people will help themselves, Superman is the symbol that we can be better. This is what this movie really needed more than fisticuffs or blatant teasing for the Justice League franchise (which of dubious quality at this point). More than camera problems, scene setting (sometimes you guess where you are), the new geographical proximity of Metropolis and Gotham (Now they're the twin cities only separated by a river), or pacing issues, this movie lacked a real philosophical debate between the protagonists.
For other issues that need addressing, Spoilers are needed. If you have seen the movie or don't care about spoilers you may continue reading.
There are two major things that really bothered me. Lex Luthor somehow divines the identity of Batman and he then goes crazy at the end. And number 2 is that Bruce somehow gets prophetic abilities and foresees the coming of Darkseid and meets a time traveling Flash(maybe?) that tells him these things. That is a whole lot of WTF all at once when it happens too.
Lex Luthor seems to have a difficult time finding the right motivation for wanting to take down Superman. You kinda start getting it at a party when he mentions that although Knowledge is power is still nothing compared to what Superman can do. Then later he goes on an anti-God rant, which is kinda cool, but still a little weird, and loses his mind at the end of the movie for no apparent reason.
I'd like to say that this movie makes me more excited for future DC movies, but it doesn't quite hit that sweet spot of say, the end credits of Iron Man 2 where we see Thor's Hammer. I am still excited as hell for Aquaman though. Jason Momoa is a not Antonio Banderas Man-Crush.
The roll of the dice give this movie a 7/10. It's not what you hoped it would be, but it'll do for now.
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