Batman and Superman are DC Comics’ best-known superheroes. And thanks to Zack Snyder, we finally have a film where the two “titans of justice” battle each other. But is it any good?  The film picks up after Man Of Steel, and in the film, there is a lot of controversy around Superman. While battling General Zod, the two caused a lot of chaos, and Bruce Wayne/Batman isn’t happy with that. A lot of people he cared for died in Metropolis that day, and he feels very threatened by Superman’s presence, as do a lot of other people.

There’s also a new threat on the horizon, as Lex Luthor (played by Jesse Eisenberg) puts an evil plan into motion. One of my main problems with BvS was Eisenberg’s performance. I found him a lot like Tommy Lee Jones’ Two-Face from Batman Forever. He’s a bit too over-the-top, and not in a good way. He’s all giggles and fun, which I don’t find compelling, for a villain that creates Doomsday, a humongous threat to the heroes.

Ben Affleck was phenomenal as Batman. He played the character so well! In fact, he just might be my favorite on-screen Batman yet. Henry Cavill was also good as Clark Kent/Superman. Since I’ve never really found Superman an intriguing character, I’ll always end up criticizing Superman in one way or another, but Cavill gets the job done. Gal Gadot is in this film as Diana Prince/Wonder Woman, and while her appearance as the famous character is brief, I still enjoyed her performance overall. Jeremy Irons is stunning as Alfred, and I found him better than Michael Caine’s version, mainly because how much more helpful he is to Batman. He’s more of a partner, not a butler, and I like that more.

Now, I did have a couple problems with Batman, the first one being that he’s killing so many people in this movie! Yes, they’re thugs, but the point is that Batman’s moral code is completely absent in the film! My second problem was that he’s less of a hero and more of an antihero. The whole “Bat-brand” arc really solidified his position in the film, and I didn’t like it one bit.

A huge problem I had with the film in general was that it spent way too much time setting up the Justice League film. A reoccurring problem in movies these days, especially superhero movies, is that they spend too much time setting up the next film, that the story is lacking, and has a lot of loose ends! One huge example of this was 2014’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2, which wasn’t awful, but spent so much time setting up the Sinister Six film, that it forgot how to tell a good story! And did that film ever get made? No! Will it ever get made? Probably not. Instead of always focusing on the next big thing, filmmakers should just go back to creating an amazing movie so that people can look forward to a new film!

Also, let’s discuss the very, very stupid “Martha” scene. There really isn’t much that hasn’t been already said about it, so the bottom line is that the whole scene is really stupid. Batman’s sudden “Grinch” change of heart after hearing that Superman’s mother’s name is Martha is just dumb. And then the two shake it off like they weren’t just trying to kill each other. It’s unrealistic, and considering how awesome the battle between the two heroes was.

Now, let’s talk about the final battle, with Trinity vs Doomsday. I think that they shouldn’t have thrown the “Death Of Superman” story arc in the film, the main reason being that it will get very confusing in the upcoming Justice League film bringing him back to life. I think that the filmmakers should’ve kept him alive, so that Bruce, Clark, and Diana could go on to form the Justice League. We all know that Superman’s coming back somehow, so the death of him adds some confusion, and I think that it’ll be hard to juggle both the Justice League formation and the rebirth of Superman.

Also, I didn’t mind her in Man Of Steel, but Lois Lane (played by Amy Adams) made some really stupid decisions in this film. In one instance, she walked up to a major villain, and asked “Don’t I know you?” Take some time and observe, lady. Also, she was saved by Superman 3 freaking times. That’s a tad too many for a character that’s always playing the “damsel in distress” role. Don’t get me wrong, I think Amy Adams is a great actress, especially in this film. I just don’t like her character.

Now, there were also a lot of things I liked about the film. Like I said before, there are some very strong performances from Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, and Jeremy Irons. I also think the cinematography in BvS is amazing! Every one of Zack Snyder’s films is beautiful, in an explosive, action-packed way, but BvS took it to the next level. Next, I do like the script. I know a lot of people said it was bad, but I didn’t find any problems. There’s also a lot of great Easter eggs/references. The whole “Metahuman” scene is awesome, getting a glimpse into the new Flash, Aquaman, and Cyborg. There’s also Robin’s suit in the Batcave, with the words “Joke’s on you, Batman” spayed on the front, referencing the death of the first Robin. I also think Hanz Zimmer’s / Junkie XL’s score is outstanding! I really enjoyed Junkie XL’s score in Mad Max: Fury Road, and I was excited for him to return for this. Hanz Zimmer’s score is a good as any of his other ones. I don’t like it nearly as much as I liked his Dark Knight Trilogy score, but it was still pretty good.

Overall, Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice has a lot of problems, but also a balanced amount of things I liked. I’m going to give it a C+.

Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice stars Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Jesse Eisenberg, Diane Lane, Laurence Fishburne, Jeremy Irons, Holly Hunter, Gal Gadot. Directed by Zack Snyder.