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Not Quite Kryptonite

As a film and as an experience, "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" should have been something great. After months of build-up and fan anticipation, speculation and Internet uproar over who was chosen to play the Dark Knight, "Dawn of Justice" is simply fine ("Meh" is the appropriate description of how I feel but not the most professional of terms.)

A lot of what makes "Dawn of Justice" underwhelming lies with director Zack Snyder. My personal disdain for Snyder aside (I haven't enjoyed a film of his since his first feature, the "Dawn of the Dead" remake), he's a filmmaker who so eagerly wallows in the muck of intense close-ups for dramatic affect. He's a heavy-handed filmmaker and a lot of his latest film, so shamelessly pumped with dread, is very heavy-handed.

There were moments leading up to the movie where I had hoped my fears of Snyder would subside and, as a casual fan of this world, I would be blown away by this film. Alas. "Dawn of Justice" is comprised of a series of set pieces, some of which work better than others. And this makes the entire experience underwhelming.

"Dawn of Justice" is a Venn diagram of a movie, structured as two separate entities, occasionally meeting up in the middle. The screenplay by David S. Goyer and Chris Terrio (the Oscar-winning scribe of "Argo") is too episodic in the beginning, that we constantly feel like we are ping-ponging between Batman/Bruce Wayne's (Ben Affleck) story and Clark Kent/Superman's (Henry Cavill) story. It's occasionally disjointing.

But as promised, the two share the screen. So much of Snyder's film is a slog leading up to it, that the anticipation for their inevitable showdown is faint, but it's undeniably there. Their meetings are often directly or indirectly orchestrated by Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg), the manic CEO of Lexcorp.

In a movie about Batman and Superman, Eisenberg's incarnation of Lex Luthor threatens to steal the entire show. After months of laughing at how miscast Eisenberg seemed as the villain - having seemingly wandered off the "American Ultra" set with his long straggly hair - I stand corrected. I absolutely loved his Converse wearing, twitchy, punk rock Lex Luthor. There are shadings of The Joker in his performance, while being his own creation. He doesn't have a lot of the screentime but he has some of the best.

"Dawn of Justice" has assembled a fine supporting cast all around. Amy Adams returns as Lois Lane and Diane Lane as Martha Kent. They bring soul and heart to the proceedings. Jeremy Irons steps in as the loyal butler Alfred and Holly Hunter has strong moments as Senator Finch.

Remember when the Internet exploded at the announcement of Ben Affleck as Batman? Well, he does fine work as one-half the title character. He and Cavill are really in an intense scowl-off for most of the movie, appearing with their furrowed brows and thunderous chest beating. But Affleck makes it work and he's believable as both Batman and Bruce Wayne. All of that panic was for naught. It's Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman that got the biggest applause in my showing of the movie and she holds her own against the two.

Like most superhero movies, and Snyder films in particular, "Dawn of Justice" relishes in the bombast. The film gets much more involving as it progresses but Snyder never knows when to call it quits. After a few endings, the credits finally roll and on to the next we go.