An improvement over "Man of Steel", "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice"* dispenses with the maudlin subplots of its immediate predecessor and prioritises more palatable elements of the comic book movie formula to produce a 3-hour-plus action movie that never wears out its welcome. It helps that its overlapping origin stories (of Batman, Superman and Lex Luthor) create a fascinating dynamic that essentially casts Ben Affleck's beefed-up Batman as a quasi-henchman to Leth Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg, who I personally love in this role), fearful as he is of the seemingly immortal Superman's (Henry Cavill) potential for destruction. This all builds to a series of climactic face-offs, fight scenes and explosions that showcase Zack Snyder's strengths as an action filmmaker in what was also his most intricately (and interestingly) written movie at the time of it's release (I still have to watch "Zack Snyder's Justice League" to see if that opinion changes). Oh, and Jena Malone also shows up to serve cunt, which definitely helps. Overall, this movie is maybe too serious about itself, as DC movies often are, but as pure superhero-centred entertainment, it's a bit of a triumph.
*Ultimate Edition
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