BATMAN v SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE (B-)

Mythologically muddled and self-indulgently overstuffed, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is the cinematic equivalent of Lucy and Ethel manically trying to keep pace with a conveyor belt of rapidly moving chocolates: shove some in your mouth, stuff some in your pockets, some of it falls to the floor.  It’s DC Comics’ attempt to swim in the super cinema serum that Marvel (Captain America, The Avengers, et al) has been gleefully chugging since the success of Iron Man back in 2008.  Here, DC takes a few swigs but never truly chugs from the fountain of creative fortune – and the aforementioned swigs are due largely in part to the rousingly rugged and cynically soulful performance from Ben Affleck – who rocks the Bruce Wayne/Batman dichotomy better than I could have ever imagined.  There is inherent intrigue to the building of this brave new world and the titular thunderous throwdown is worth the price of admission alone, but at 2 ½ hours these bits of brilliance occasionally get lost in a pandering, preachy and problematic sea of shoulder shrugging and nonsensically cloudy motivation.  Still, it was a fairly decent thing to witness while shoving popcorn in my face.  BvS is a gloomy and gritty affair; and it’s bitterly bleak and diligently dour outlook (combined with that bloated running time, it’s aggressively violent, blood-free nature and downright loudness) might prove too tough a match for younger viewers…  Certain to understandbly rile (most) critics and rally (many) fans, Batman v Superman is a bombastically belligerent blockbuster that works exactly as much as it doesn’t. If you’re at all intrigued then it’s definitely worth a look... 

Starring: Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Gal Gadot, Jesse Eisenberg, Laurence Fishburne and Diane Lane 

Directed by: Zack Snyder (Man of Steel, Sucker Punch, 300 and Watchmen)
Rated: PG-13 

Running time: 2hr. 31min.

Story: Fearing the actions of a god-like super hero left unchecked, Gotham City’s own formidable, forceful vigilante takes on Metropolis’s most revered, modern-day savior, while the world wrestles with what sort of hero it really needs. And with Batman and Superman at war with one another, a new threat quickly arises, putting mankind in greater danger than it’s ever known before… (Warner Bros.) 

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