Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice

Starring: Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, & Jesse Eisenberg

Rating: 3 1/2 out of 5 stars

Marvel's Avengers was written in such a way, that if you'd never read a comic or seen any of the lead in films, you could still follow what was happening, DC was not so forthcoming with Dawn of Justice. Batman v. Superman is a relaunch of the Batman series, taking place long after the events of The Dark Knight Rises, and it's a direct sequel to Superman: Man of Steel. It would be impossible to give an adequate plot description without spoilers, so let me just start by saying this. The beginning of this film, switches back and fourth between Gotham and Metropolis, shoveling in as much backstory as they possibly can on the two characters in an hour. It is this confusing mix of flashbacks, dreams, and current events, that just leaves your head spinning, after that the movie gets pretty enjoyable until the inevitable fight scene, which was just entirely too long, and shoots off in a direction you wouldn't expect it to. If you're not familiar with the characters from previous films and comics, I assure you that you will have no idea what's happening for most of this film. For those who are more familiar, you'll understand what's happening, but will you care? The way they bring these two franchises together is just an utter mess and the cast from Gotham, in particular, don't make things go smoothly. The cast of Superman has worked together before and Henry Cavill was fantastic, his counterpart however, Ben Affleck, was just as horrible as was expected. I've said it before and I'll say it again, he is a terrific Director, but a complete joke as an actor. Batman is a very difficult role for anyone to play, because it requires two personalities, Affleck barely has one, and I was just awestruck by how someone with his reputation actually may have been a worse Batman than Val Kilmer. On the flip side, Jesse Eisenberg, portraying Lex Luthor, was a revelation! Similar to how people felt when Heath Ledger was cast as the Joker, people laughed at Eisenberg's inclusion, but I found him to be the best part of the whole film. The bottom line here, DC saw how much money Marvel was raking in with the Avengers and wanted to jump on the bandwagon. They didn't want to go the same route as the Avengers did, but their way was far too confusing for the general audience, and only somewhat interesting to the fans of both series. In the end, I think the second film will clear up the mistakes of the first and will be much more enjoyable, but as far as this one goes, I could take it or leave it.