Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2015) Directed by Zack Snyder. Starring: Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams. IMDB says: “Fearing the actions of Superman are left unchecked, Batman takes on the man of steel, while the world wrestles with what kind of a hero it really needs. With Batman and Superman fighting each other, a new threat, Doomsday, is created by Lex Luthor. It’s up to Superman and Batman to set aside their differences along with Wonder Woman to stop Lex Luthor and Doomsday from destroying Metropolis.”

I’m a casual Batman fan. Yeah I know some of the “lore” and have a better understanding of the Bat than some, but I’m not obsessed. I couldn’t tell you who Cassandra Cain is nor could I tell you the issues in which we first meet the Joker without the power of Google. I grew up on the animated show where Kevin Conroy was my Batman and Mark Hamil was my joker. I have a dozen or so Batman graphic novels, and when I read them, it’s Conroy’s and Hamil’s voice I hear in my head. I never left Gotham. I didn’t explore the rest of the DC universe so my knowledge of other superheroes is limited to what I’ve picked up on through context clues, Google, or Kevin Smith. (Full disclosure, I tried getting into Jonah Hex and it did not work. At all.) My Superman experience was limited to the Fleischer Studio cartoons and a Superman SNES game I played incessantly. Limited yes, but my experience was always a positive one. So when Batman v Superman was announced, I was excited. Not jump for joy twist and shout excited, but excited nonetheless. Visually, I really enjoyed Man of Steel and I was interested to see how the Batman would be presented. So Nate and I went into a packed theatre and prepared ourselves for a two and a half hour cinematic adventure; An adventure which did NOT have an after credits scene.

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice begins with the death of Bruce Wayne’s parents, something everyone knows. But it happens during the opening credits and it isn’t dwelled upon. Think of it as a brief refresher rather than a chore. From there we’re shown the huge end fight sequence of Man of Steel but from the perspective of billionaire philanthropist Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck). He’s rushing through the city, trying to get to the office building he has in Metropolis. You can guess what happens. As the movie progresses, we’re reintroduced to Lois Lane (Amy Adams) and we are formally introduced to Alex “Lex” Luthor (Jessie Eisenberg). Lex wants to help the government put Superman (Henry Cavill) in check. Many people see Superman abusing his powers as he answers to no human. Many see him as a God, which can be a good and/or bad thing. Bruce Wayne, via Batman, wants to put a stop to Superman as well. The film stumbles at times but ultimately gives us ringside seats as the Man of Tomorrow takes on the Bat of Gotham. I don’t want to spoil what happens next.

HOWEVER, if you’ve seen Trailer #2, sorry friend, you’ve seen the entire movie. Sure, there are little nuggets here and there that haven’t been spoiled (yet) but that Trailer ruined what could have been two of the greatest reveals in the DC Cinematic Universe. Hell, they might have ranked high amongst comic-based films in general. That trailer gave away so much that I actually lost interest in seeing the film. I thought, there has to be more. Maybe it’s interesting how they get to certain moments. Maybe there is something greater at play that they aren’t revealing. The answer to both is no.

What the trailers don’t show you, is the solid acting we get out of Affleck and Eisenberg. Ben Affleck is a great choice for this version of Batman we see. This Batman is inline with the Batman we see in the Frank Miller penned The Dark Knight Returns. This Batman is older and he’s been through tragedy, both seen and alluded to. This Batman also relies more on his gadgetry, which is a welcomed sight. I had my reservations, but moving forward, if Affleck continues to portray Batman, I’m there. Jessie Eisenberg is a great Lex Luthor. He’s not the old menacing and calculating Luthor we’ve seen in the comics and in previous films (portrayed by Gene Hackman and Kevin Spacey). This Luthor is a young genius that is trying to outshine his father’s legacy through questionable means. He’s also a bit… off. He’s somewhere between eccentric and a psychopath.

The rest of the cast is alright. Henry Cavill continues his great portrayal of Superman, so really, I don’t have much to say about him. Jeremy Irons is a good choice for Alfred, but the focus isn’t on him. Lawrence Fishburne and Scoot McNairy are good, but their roles almost feel unnecessary. Hell, Lois Lane feels unnecessary in this movie. It’s as if her role was reduced to the damsel in distress or anytime we need a close up on tears. It’s a shame; four solid actors whose abilities are ultimately wasted. But really, we’re not showing up for them.

The fights are the reason we’re all showing up. They’re good. As the film progresses though, they become grander and become these fantastical CGI orgies. The fights feel like something we’d actually see in a comic book rather than these realistically grounded things we saw in the Nolan Batman films. That’s not a bad thing, but after a while, you wish they would tone down the CGI. For me the highlights are when we have Batman kicking ass and taking names in hand-to-hand combat. It’s enough to get the adrenaline pumping.

The score is okay. Hans Zimmer teamed up with Junkie XL. For me, the theme for Lex Luthor is the big standout. It’s the only time in the film the music feels fresh. Everything else sounds like a rehash of something we’ve already heard. That’s what ends up hurting the film. Last month we had Deadpool. The movie takes these big budget comic book/action films and lampoons them while having a fun yet moving story. Batman v Superman felt like a return to form. It felt like business as usual. The fun was occasionally there, and the emotion was hard to come by. In fact, many of the scenes in the film felt like something was missing. There are moments and cameos that provide nothing to the plot. So why are they there? Sure some are to provide a bit of background for the next adventures in the DC Cinematic Universe, but others just feel like a lull in a story that could have flowed so much better. It makes me wonder if this will be another Watchmen situation where the film is decent but then the director’s cut comes out and put the film on another level.

I sure hope so. I liked this movie. Yeah it’s got its problems, but when it worked, it really worked. It brought you in and made you feel like you were apart of something. Some scenes had a real Iron Man vibe in that you were watching seeds being planted for something much, much bigger. I won’t spoil those scenes though I’m sure a trailer will be out in a few weeks and remedy that. But in those moments, a lot of the seemingly hardcore DC fans were cheering and applauding. So I guess Warner Brothers is doing something right?

I do recommend seeing this in theatres, especially in IMAX. There are some big beautiful scenes that could only translate their epic majesty on the big screen. We were lucky to have seen the film in JUST IMAX. If you can find one like that, do it. If it’s IMAX 3D, maybe consult your doctor first. I feel like IMAX 3D would be too much. This film isn’t bad, it just could have been better.

For the past decade Marvel has successfully created their own cinematic universe. Film after film, they continue to release movies based on beloved characters that have worldwide recognition. On the other side of the superhero comic universe we have the team over at DC Comics. The only real equitable franchise they have been able to sustain in the past decade have been Nolan’s Dark Knight films. But as that era of “The Bat” came to an end in 2012, DC needed a new face to put on the big screen. So once again they were going to give Superman another shot, even after the catastrophe that was Superman Returns. A year later Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel hit the cinemas and despite the unfavorable reviews by most critics, it was a success. After raking in a worldwide box office of 668 million, it appeared that they were onto something. Since then DC have been brewing up something in their labs and with the release of Batman v Superman, we get a glimpse at what is to come. Ladies and gentleman I give you, the start of the DC Extended Cinematic Universe.

The film that Snyder has concocted is quite a good one, not perfect by any means but he damn sure tried to please the fans. Thematically the film tackles the age old battle between Good vs. Evil and God vs. Man. He gives us a look at a darker and more damaged Batman that has been fighting crime for 20 years, something we haven’t yet seen on the screen. We also get a glimpse into some other characters briefly that are not to be named, but will clearly be showing up in the next couple years. And of course we get our first glimpses of Wonder Woman, even if her amount of screen time isn’t that much.

The film picks up after the events of Man of Steel and develops the Clark Kent/Superman character further than we saw the last time around, allowing us to see a little more into his relationship with Lois as well. Then we of course are introduced to the much more aged Batman. I thought Affleck was great and really enjoyed his interpretation of Batman, and you could actually understand what he was saying so that’s always a plus. Then we have Gal Gadot who played Diana Prince/Wonder Woman. She was an impeccable presence on the screen when she finally got her moment to help out the boys in their battle against a certain villain. Also I was surprised by how much I enjoyed Eisenberg’s interpretation of Lex Luthor. He’s much different than we’ve seen and is just downright crazy in his portrayal! Jeremy Irons was also a great Alfred and paired well with Affleck’s bat.

The tone of this film is extremely dark. Some people thought Man of Steel was pretty dark, but this film makes it look like a ray of sunshine. Also something that really surprised me in the movie is that there are some genuinely scary moments in this movie. That Batman sure has some creepy dream sequences. One of these sequences is really unique as well as it was a one-shot, those are always awesome to see tackled by a director. To add to this we also have your typical accompanying score from Hans Zimmer, which really was about what you would expect from him.

The plot of the film I won’t really get into because I don’t want to spoil anything, just go in knowing that Batman and Superman are at least gonna have some words. For comic book lovers out there this movie should be pretty exciting since Snyder himself is a huge comic nerd. They incorporate several bits and pieces from various comic storylines which the fans will be able to pick out, including the ending. I was extremely satisfied with how they chose to end the movie and look forward to see what they come up with next.

Overall I really enjoyed the film. It was visually pretty amazing and I was lucky enough to see an IMAX 2D screening of the film which looked spectacular. This is a must see movie in the theater to get the full experience. So go out this weekend and give them all your money so they can justify creating the rest of the universe. Look out Marvel, there’s about to be a new gang of heroes on the block. One last thing, I think Affleck may be my favorite Batman. Affleck you da bomb as da bats yo! Enjoy.

FTS SCORE: 74%